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There are only three coniferous trees native to the British Isles. The Scots Pine and the Yew are two native species, what is the third? | conifers | Woodlands.co.uk
Woodlands.co.uk
A seasonal plant – Mistletoe.
by Lewis ~ 22 December, 2016 ~ one comment
Many evergreen plants are associated with Winter, and Christmas in particular – notably various fir trees as ‘Christmas Trees’, holly and ivy for decorations and wreaths, and mistletoe as the decoration under which lovers might kiss. For an interesting video on “The Botany of Christmas” visit Mark Nesbitt’s lecture to the Linnean Society .
Associations with Mistletoe go way back and there are a number of customs and myths surrounding the plant. Pliny wrote that it was collected by Druids – particularly from oak (believing that it held the soul of the host tree and it was to be cut from the trees with a golden sickle). Mistletoe has been used in folk / herbal medicine to treat various ailments – from cancer to epilepsy but clinical trials as to its effectiveness are needed. However, like many plants, mistletoe is actively being investigated for its phytochemicals and possible medical uses. Read more…
“Warming conifers”
by Chris ~ 22 May, 2016 ~ comments welcome
Mature woodlands and forests populated with deciduous trees remove significant quantities of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere, locking it up in complex organic carbon compounds – such as starch, cellulose and lignin. Such compounds add to the biomass of the trees. However, come the Autumn deciduous trees shed their leaves, and in Autumn and Winter winds break off branches and twigs. These dead leaves and twigs etc contribute to the ‘litter’ on the woodland floor and the humus in the soil. This material represents a vast source of ‘locked up carbon’. Read more…
Woodland types : Coniferous plantations
by Chris ~ 15 July, 2015 ~ one comment
Coniferous plantations are found throughout the U.K. There are some 300,000+ hectares in England, 900,000+ hectares in Scotland, and circa 106,000 hectares in Wales . Large scale conifer planting ‘took off’ soon after the First World War. At about this time, the woodland cover had fallen to 5% (in Britain) so the Forestry Commission was established. This had the aim of ensuring that there would be a strategic reserve of timber.
Vast areas of ‘low grade’ land were pressed into service. Areas around Thetford and Kielder were used, as were some sandy coastal sites (e.g. Holkham in Norfolk) and many large tracts in Scotland (including the use of some natural peatlands). Read more…
VOC’s and Pine trees.
by Chris ~ 21 March, 2014 ~ 3 comments
Boreal forest is found in Canada, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia. Essentially, it is coniferous forest with tree species such as pines, spruces, larches and aspens. In the U. K., this unique ecosystem is represented by the Caledonian Forest (a remnant of the vast sylvan wilderness that once existed here). One of the larger tracts of this native pine forest is the Black Wood of Rannoch .
One feature of the boreal forest or taiga is that it has areas of even-aged stands of trees. This uniformity arises through cycles of natural disturbance – from forest fires to outbreaks of insect pests such as pine beetle or spruce budworm , which periodically kill off large sections of forest – but these areas, in turn, regenerate. Read more…
Gin and Juniper
by Chris ~ 29 January, 2014 ~ 2 comments
Juniper ‘berries’ are fragrant and provide the oils / chemicals that give gin a distinctive flavour. The ‘berries’ used in gin production are rarely from the U.K. Many come from Italy or Macedonia, where the hot summers allow the full development of these oils (contained within the seeds). A ‘berry’ takes some two years to come to maturity and ripen fully. The ‘berries’ are often harvested by beating the Juniper shrub with a stick so that the ripe ‘berries’ fall to the ground for collection.
The ‘berries’ are not, in fact, berries but cones. Juniper is a conifer (the other two native coniferous trees are Scots Pine and Yew ). Whereas the cone of Scots Pine hardens and become a woody structure as it ages, the cone of Juniper has fleshy, ‘soft’ scales that merge together to give a berry like structure, which encloses the seeds. The ‘berries’ or cones are green when young but turn a purple black colour as they mature. Read more…
The redwoods.
by Chris ~ 17 January, 2014 ~ 3 comments
Every now and then, whilst strolling through a woodland one comes across a truly massive coniferous tree – with a thick fibrous bark. Such trees are usually redwoods – often planted many years ago as an ‘exotic’ . Victorian land owners were quite ‘fond’ of planting unusual species. There are three species of coniferous trees known as the redwoods –
the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens ),
the giant redwood (sometimes known as Wellingtonia) (Sequoiadendron giganteum), and
the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) .
The first two are natives of the western Sierra Nevada of California Read more…
Caledonian forests …..
by Chris ~ 9 August, 2013 ~ 3 comments
At the end of the last Ice Age, the recolonisation of the British Isles began. Plant and animal species moved across the ‘land bridge’ that connected us with continental Europe. Trees and other plants began to colonise and forest formed in many places. As it took some time for the climate to warm, the first forests were probably coniferous – resembling the Caledonian Forests that can still be seen in Scotland today. These early forests and woods would be characterised by pine, birch, aspen, rowan, juniper and perhaps oak. At one stage, it is thought that such forest / woodlands covered some 15,000 km2 – a vast area. Now, only a few remnants of this once enormous ecosystem survive in Scotland.
The Caledonian forest / woodlands represent a unique ecosystem in the British Isles – they are remnants of the vast wilderness that once existed here; and across on the Continent – as boreal coniferous forest. These forests and woodlands are populated particularly by the Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris). One of the larger tracts of this native pine forest is Read more…
Monterey Pine – Pinus radiata
by Chris ~ 19 April, 2012 ~ 7 comments
Monterey Pine or Radiata Pine (Pinus radiata) is found naturally in the coastal area around Monterey in California. There, it is under threat from Pine Pitch Canker (a fungal disease), which makes them liable to attack by bark beetles . Monterey pine is to be found growing in milder parts of the UK (where it grows faster than in its native habitat), and in coastal areas as it is resistant to salt spray.
The pine is extensively and intensively used in forestry, especially in countries like New Zealand (like the Kaingaroa Forest on the North Island). The monterey pine can be used for erosion control on steep slopes – as it has a widespread and fast growing root system
The growth form of the tree is conic at first, but as the tree ages it becomes dome shaped with heavily, twisted branches. Read more…
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In which battle of 1513 was the Scottish king James IV killed? | Research to discover forest trees for future climate - Farming UK News
29 March 2012 08:40:06 29 March 2012 08:40:06 | Forestry , News , Renewables , Shows and Events
Research to discover forest trees for future climate
Forest Research, a part of the Forestry Commission in the UK, is taking part in international research to identify alternative tree species that could be planted in the future climate. Funded by the European Union, Project REINFFORCE is to carry out research trials of 30 tree species at 37 locations on the west Atlantic that range from the Azores in Portugal to the Isle of Mull in Scotland.
There are three trial sites in western Britain including Westonbirt, The National Arboretum in England, The Isle of Mull in Scotland and Crychan (near Llandovery) in Wales. Alongside the REINFFORCE trials, there are two Forest Research trials in eastern Britain, one at Crowthorne Forest in Berkshire, a part of Swinley Forest affected by forest fires in May 2011, and the other near Peebles in Scotland.
Forest Research, a part of the Forestry Commission and a world-leading centre of research into trees, forestry and climate change, is working alongside 11 other European partners. They are to identify species that are likely to be more resilient to pests, diseases and most likely to thrive in the warmer climates predicted as a result of climate change.
The impact of recurrent ice ages has left the British Isles with only a small number of native tree species, most of which are broadleaf. Oak, beech, ash and birch make up our native broadleaf forests and Scots pine, yew and juniper the native conifer forests. Of these Scots pine is the only native conifer which is used on a wide scale for timber production. So there is a need to identify a wider variety of coniferous species.
For centuries new tree species have been introduced for a variety of purposes, including the production of timber, so a portfolio of commercial forestry species has expanded today to include Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, larch, Corsican and lodgepole pines.
However, the last decade has seen an increase in the number of tree pests and diseases affecting these species. Diseases such as Dothistroma needle blight has damaged Corsican and lodegpole pines, Phytophthora ramorum has caused high mortality to larch and bleeding canker has spread among horse chestnut or ’conker’ trees.
The REINFFORCE Project is to help identify which alternative tree species can be planted here in Britain with the changing climate and if the existing species become at risk of pests and diseases.
Dr Hugh Williams, Head of operations at Forest Research, said:
"Despite the uncertainties surrounding climate change, it is expected to have a significant impact on our forests over this century. In southern and eastern Britain hotter, drier summers may lead to greater risk of drought stress. Conversely a warming climate may make it easier to grow species that were previously thought to be too tender for southern and western Britain."
The 30 tree species to be planted in the research include familiar trees like English oak, Scots pine, silver birch and sweet chestnut as well as less usual species such as Atlas cedar and Macedonian, Maritime and Monterey pines.
Each of 37 trial locations will contain the same 30 tree species with three seed provenances (seed sources) for each. The research is to measure survival, health, height, trunk diameter and form across a wide range of climates and soil types, as well as how the trees respond to climatic variables like temperature and water availability. The research will then help to decide which forest trees to grow in the future.
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Before 1966 the Republic of Botswana was a protectorate of the British Government and was known as what? | Botswana | South African History Online
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Press Conference in Maputo: Comments by Oliver Tambo on South African offer of territory to Swaziland, 5 March 1982
Map of Africa showing location of Botswana
The Republic of Botswana shares a common border with South Africa in the South, Namibia in the west and north, Zimbabwe in the east, and Zambia in the North.
The earliest inhabitants of Botswana were the San and Khoe societies. These societies were later joined by the Batswana societies who moved to the areas around 1000 years ago. It is also around this period that large chiefdoms known as Toutswe in the area of Sowa pan and Tswapong hills developed. These large chiefdoms were later eclipsed by the powerful Great Zimbabwe. Towards the 18 th century the Batswana society were subdivided into eight principal chieftaincies currently forming part of the modern Republic of Botswana. Towards the end of the 19 th century Botswana became a British protectorate retaining internal autonomy on matters relating to Tswana laws.
Britain did not introduce economic development in the area; the area remained undeveloped until the discovery of diamonds in the 1970s. As a result, the protectorate was economically depended on the South African economy. Many Batswana people worked in South Africa as migrant labourers and some were sent to South Africa to get education. As a result of this close connection, they were influenced by political developments there. In the early 1950s to mid 1960s, many South Africans fled to Botswana seeking refuge from the apartheid government. Their presence in Botswana encouraged Tswana nationalism and the growing demand for independence. The colonial government responded by creating a legislative council, which was rejected by the Batswana because it divided power equally between White (10 percent) and Black people. South Africa's Pan Africanist Congress also influenced the thinking of Botswana leaders like Motsamai Mpho and Kgalemang Motsete who were educated in South Africa. Their Bechuanaland People's Party began to demand that all White people should leave Botswana.
Sir Seretse Khama , a member of the legislative council, formed a party of moderate Batswana, the Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP). People in rural areas and moderates in towns supported this party. The moderates wanted to adopt the Westminster model and traditional leadership. They were also against the socialist principles of Bechuanaland Peoples Party. They preferred a democracy similar to the British system of democracy. The British government also preferred to work with this party because it was not against the presence of White people in Botswana. The colonial government arranged for an election in 1965. These were the first general elections in Botswana, and were won by the Botswana Democratic Party. The BDP continued to build its government according to the Westminster system. Because of social, cultural, and political differences between Britain and Botswana, the Westminster model was changed to make room for these differences.
Democracy in Botswana married Tswana traditional practices of governance and the Westminster model . The Tswana kgotla, meaning a traditional assembly, was made part of government structures. To make room for traditional leaders, the government created the House of Chiefs. The House of Chiefs was modelled according to the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. But its role and structure are very different from the British House of Lords. The Botswana House of Chiefs brings in local political structures into the Westminster democratic model. It is a house for eight Tswana paramount chiefs to represent their ethnic groups and to advise government on matters affecting customary law. Like the British House of Lords, members of the House of Chiefs are not elected.
The National Assembly is also modelled on to the British system. Differences are that it has an executive president who is the head of state as well as head of government. The separation of the judiciary and the legislature exists only in terms of common law. In customary law, chiefs, within their respective kgotlas, act as the highest judges. The House of Chiefs cannot obstruct a bill passed by the national assembly for more than a year. Their role is to advise the government on matters relating to customary affairs.
The National Assembly is made up of the government and opposition party. The party that wins the majority of votes in the election forms a government. Only one party has ruled Botswana since independence in 1966. However, this has not undermined economic development and the country's democratic principles of governance.
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Maggie Pollit and her husband Brick were the central characters in which classic play and later film | Botswana History Page 1: Brief History of Botswana
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INTRODUCTION
The history of Botswana does much more than cover a gap between the histories of neighbouring South Africa and Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, and Zambia. In prehistoric and very recent times the Kalahari thirstlands of Botswana have been central in the historical geography of the region, as the intermediate territory between the savannas of the north and east and the steppes of the south and west.
Between the 1880s and its independence in the 1960s, however, Botswana was a poor and peripheral British protectorate known as Bechuanaland. The country is named after its dominant ethnic group , the Tswana or Batswana ('Bechuana' in older variant orthography), and the national language is called Setswana (aka 'Sechuana').
Since the later 1960s Botswana has gained in international stature as a peaceful and increasingly prosperous democratic state . It has had one of the fastest growing economies in the world, rising from one of the poorest to lower-middle income level. This new prosperity has been based on the mining of diamonds and other minerals, which have built up state revenues, and on the sale of beef to Europe and the world market. There has been extensive development of educational and health facilities, in villages and traditional rural towns as well as in rapidly growing new towns. But there has also been an increasing gap between classes of new rich and new poor .
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Early Hunting, Pastoral, and Farming People
Khoesan-speaking hunters and herders,P eople speaking Khoesan (Khoe and San) languages , have lived in Botswana for many thousands of years. A site in the Tsodilo hills (Depression Shelter), in the north-western corner of Botswana, contains archaeological evidence of continuous Khoesan occupation from about 17 000 BC. to about 1650 AD.
For most of that period Khoesan people subsisted as hunters and gatherers, their tools made of stone (and wood and bone), with a culture characterized by archaeologists as 'Later Stone Age'. Their hunting and gathering lifestyle was adapted to seasonal mobility in family groups over grassland and scrub, in and around the extensive riverine lakes and wetlands that once covered the north of the country and were dotted elsewhere.
During the last centuries BC many Khoe-speaking people in northern Botswana converted their lifestyle to pastoralism - herding cattle and sheep on the rich pastures exposed by the retreating wetlands of the Okavango delta and Makgadikgadi lakes. Cattle and sheep had been brought from East Africa, where they had previously been herded by other Later Stone Age people for thousands of years.
Some Khoe pastoralists migrated with their livestock through central Namibia as far south as they could, to the Cape of Good Hope, by about 70BC. They took Khoe language to areas where only San languages had previously been spoken.
Bantu-speaking farmers
Both farming of grain crops and the speaking of Bantu languages were carried southwards from north of the Equator over the course of millennia. From West Africa, Later Stone Age farming reached through Angola, and had been converted to the use of iron tools on the upper Zambezi by around 380 BC. From East Africa, Early Iron Age farming spread down the savanna to the Zambezi by around 20 B.C., as well as along the east coast. The farmers brought with them the speaking of western and eastern Bantu languages .
It took hundreds of years for Iron Age farming culture and Bantu languages to replace Khoe pastoral culture in the Okavango-Makgadikgadi area. As early as 200 BC people there were making a kind of pottery known as Bambatha ware, which archaeologists think was Khoe pottery influenced by (western) Iron Age styles. Khoe language was being spoken by pastoralists in the area, on the Boteti River, as late as the 19th century, within recent living memory.
The earliest dated Iron Age site in Botswana is an iron smelting furnace in the Tswapong hills near Palapye, dated around 190 AD - probably associated with eastern Iron Age Bantu farming culture from the Limpopo valley. Meanwhile farming culture of the western Iron Age type spread through northern and into south-eastern Botswana. The remains of beehive-shaped small houses made of grass-matting, occupied by western Early Iron Age farmers, have been dated from about 420 AD around Molepolole, and a similar site in the western Transvaal near Pretoria has been dated as early as 300. There is also evidence of early farming settlement of a similar type in Botswana west of the Okavango delta, existing alongside Khoesan hunter and pastoralist sites in the Tsodilo hills , dated from around 550 AD. Archaeologists now have difficulty in interpreting the hundreds of rock paintings in the Tsodilo hills, which were once assumed to be painted by 'Bushman' hunters remote from all pastoralist and farmer contact.
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Eastern Botswana chiefdoms
From around 1095 south-eastern Botswana saw the rise of a new culture, characterized by a site on Moritsane hill near Gabane, whose pottery mixed the old western style with new Iron Age influences derived from the eastern Transvaal (Lydenburg culture). The Moritsane culture is historically associated with the Khalagari (Kgalagadi) chiefdoms, the westernmost dialect-group of Sotho (or Sotho-Tswana) speakers, whose prowess was in cattle raising and hunting rather than in farming.
In east-central Botswana, the area within 80 or 100 kilometres of Serowe (but west of the railway line) saw a thriving farming culture, dominated by rulers living on Toutswe hill , between about 600-700 and 1200-1300. The prosperity of the state was based on cattle herding, with large corrals in the capital town and in scores of smaller hill-top villages. (Ancient cattleandsheep/goatcorrals are today revealed by characteristic grassgrowing on them.) The Toutswe people were also hunting westwards into the Kalahari and trading eastwards with the Limpopo. East coast shells, used as trade currency, were already being traded as far west as Tsodilo by 700.
The Toutswe state appears to have been conquered by its Mapungubwe state neighbour, centred on a hill at the Limpopo-Shashe confluence, between 1200 and 1300. Mapungubwe had been developing since about 1050 because of its control of the early gold trade coming down the Shashe, which was passed on for sale to sea traders on the Indian Ocean. The site of Toutswe town was abandoned, but the new rulers kept other settlements going - notably Bosutswe, a hill-top town in the west, which supplied the state with hunting products, caught by Khoean hunters, and with Khoesan cattle given in trade or tribute from the Boteti River. But Mapungubwe's triumph was short-lived, as it was superceded by the new state of Great Zimbabwe, north of the Limpopo River, which flourished in control of the gold trade from the 13th to the 15th centuries. It is not known how far west the power of Great Zimbabwe extended. Certainly its successor state, the Butua state based at Kame near Bulawayo in western Zimbabwe from about 1450 onwards, controlled trade in salt and hunting dogs from the eastern Makgadikgadi pans, around which it built stone- walled command posts.
The Butua state passed from the control of Chibundule (Torwa) rulers to Rozvi invaders from the north-east in about 1685. Under Rozvi rule, the common people of Butua became known as the Kalanga . The old Chibundule rulers appear to have fled to the western Kalanga (in the area now in Botswana), where they became known as Wumbe, giving rise to a number of local Kalanga chiefdoms. Other Kalanga chiefdoms descended from Mengwe, the 'uncle' of Chibundule, or from groups of Sotho attracted from the south such as the Nswazwi and Chizwina (Sebina) chiefdoms.
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North-western Botswana chiefdoms
From about 850 AD farmers from the upper Zambezi, ancestral to the Mbukushu and Yeyi peoples, reached as far south and west as the Tsodilo hills (Nqoma). Oral traditions tell of Yeyi farmers and fishermen scattering among the Khoesan of the Okavango delta in the early 18th century, like 'flies across a milk-pail'. The oral traditions of Mbukushu chiefs tell of migrations from the upper Chobe down the Okavango river later in the 18th century. These appear to have been responses to increased raiding in Angola for the Atlantic slave trade. The oral traditions of Herero and Mbanderu pastoralists, south-west of the Okavango straddling the Namibia border, relate how they were split apart from their Mbandu parent stock by 17th century Tswana cattle-raiding from the south.
Rise of Tswana domination
During the 1200-1400 period a number of powerful dynasties began to emerge among the Sotho in the western Transvaal, spreading their power in all directions. Fokeng chiefdoms spread southwards over Southern Sotho peoples, while Rolong chiefdoms spread westwards over Khalagari peoples. Khalagari chiefdoms either accepted Rolong rulers or moved westwards across the Kalahari, in search of better hunting and the desirable large cattle of the west. By the 17th century Rolong-Khalagari power stretched, as we have seen. as far as Mbandu country across the central Namibia- Botswana frontier. In the 1660's the military and trading power of the main Rolong kingdom at Taung (south of Botswana), in conflict with Kora groups of southern Khoi over copper trade, was known as far away as the new Dutch settlers at the Cape of Good Hope.
The main Tswana (Central Sotho) dynasties of the Hurutshe, Kwena and Kgatla were derived from the Phofu dynasty, which broke up in its western Transvaal home in the 1500-1600 period. Oral traditions usually explain these migrations as responses to drought, with junior brothers breaking away to become independent chiefs. The archeology of the Transvaal shows that the farming population was expanding and spreading in small homesteads, each clustered round its cattle corral, across open countryside - with a few larger settlements as evidence of petty chiefdoms. But after about 1700 the settlement pattern changed, with stone-walled villages and some large towns developing on hills - evidence of the growth of states often hostile to each other. These states were probably competing for cattle wealth and subject populations, for control of hunting and mineral tribute, and for control of trade with the east coast.
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Growth of Tswana States
Kwena and Hurutshe migrants founded the Ngwaketse chiefdom among Khalagari-Rolong in south-eastern Botswana by 1700. After 1750 this grew into a powerful military state controlling Kalahari hunting and cattle raiding, and copper production west of Kanye. Meanwhile other Kwena had settled around Molepolole; and a group of those Kwena henceforth called Ngwato further north at Shoshong. By about 1770 a group of Ngwato, called the Tawana, had even settled as far north-west as Lake Ngami, in country occupied by Yeyi and previously frequented by Khalagari-Rolong and Kwena hunters and traders.
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Times of war
Southern Africa as a whole saw an increasing tempo of disruption, migration and war from about 1750 onwards, as trading and raiding for ivory, cattle and slaves spread inland from the coasts of Mozambique, the Cape Colony and Angola. By 1800 raiders from the Cape had begun to attack the Ngwaketse. By 1826 the Ngwaketse were being attacked by the Kololo, an army of refugees under the dynamic leadership of Sebetwane, who had been expelled north- westwards, possibly by raiders from Maputo Bay. The great Ngwaketse warrior king, Makaba II, was killed, but the Kololo were pushed further north by a counter-attack.
The Kololo moved through Shoshong, expelling the Ngwato northwards, to the Boteti River, where they settled for a number of years - attacking the Tawana and raiding for cattle as far west as Namibia, where they were warded off in a battle with Herero. In about 1835 they settled on the Chobe River, from which the Kololo state stretched northwards until its final defeat by its Lozi subjects on the upper Zambezi in 1864. Meanwhile the Kololo were followed in their tracks by the Ndebele, a raiding army led by Mzilikazi, who settled in the Butua area of western Zimbabwe in 1838-40 after the conquest of the Rozvi. These wars are called the Difaqane by historians.
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Post-war Tswana commercial prosperity
The Tswana states of the Ngwaketse, Kwena, Ngwato and Ngwato were reconstituted in the 1840s after the wars passed. The states took firm control of commoners and subject peoples, organised in wards under their own chiefs paying tribute to the king. The states competed with each other to benefit from the increasing trade in ivory and ostrich feathers being carried by waggons down new roads to Cape Colony in the south. Those roads also brought Christian missionaries to Botswana, and Boer trekkers who settled in the Transvaal to the east of Botswana.
The most remarkable Tswana king of this period was Sechele (ruled 1829-92) of the Kwena around Molepolole. He allied himself with British traders and missionaries, and was baptized by David Livingstone (see Links for link to free electronic text of his classic Missionary Travels). He also fought with the Boers, who tried to seize Africans who fled to join Sechele's state from the Transvaal. But by the later 1870's the Kwena had lost control of trade to the Ngwato, under Khama III (ruled 1875-1923), whose power extended to the frontiers of the Tawana in the north-west, the Lozi in the north and the Ndebele in the north-east.
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A British Protectorate
The Scramble for Africa in the 1880s resulted in the German colony of South West Africa, which threatened to join across the Kalahari with the independent Boer republic of the Transvaal. The British in Cape Colony responded by using their missionary and trade connections with the Tswana states to keep the "missionaries' road" to Zimbabwe and the Zambezi open for British expansion. In 1885 the British proclaimed a protectorate over their Tswana allies, as far north as the Ngwato; and the protectorate was extended to the Tawana and the Chobe River in 1890.
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Threats of incorporation
British colonial expansion was privatized, in the form of the British South Africa (BSA) Company, which used the road through the Bechuanaland Protectorate to colonize Zimbabwe (soon to be called Rhodesia) in 1890. But the protectorate itself remained under the British crown, and white settlement remained restricted to a few border areas, after an attempt to hand it over to the BSA Company was foiled by the delegation of three Tswana kings to London in 1895 . The kings, however, had to concede to the company the right to build a railway to Rhodesia through their lands.
The British government continued to regard the protectorate as a temporary expedient, until it could be handed over to Rhodesia or, after 1910, to the new Union of South Africa. Hence the administrative capital remained at Mafeking (Mafikeng), actually outside the protectorate's borders in South Africa, from 1895 until 1964. Investment and administrative development within the territory were kept to a minimum. It declined into a mere appendage of South Africa, for which it provided migrant labour and the rail transit route to Rhodesia. Short-lived attempts to reform administration and to initiate mining and agricultural development in the 1930s were hotly disputed by leading Tswana chiefs, on the grounds that they would only enhance colonial control and white settlement. The territory remained divided into eight largely self-administering 'tribal' reserves, five white settler farm blocks, and the remainder classified as crown (i.e. state) lands.
The extent of Bechuanaland Protectorate's subordination to the interests of South Africa was revealed in 1950. In a case that caused political controversy in Britain and the Empire, the British government barred Seretse Khama from the chieftainship of the Ngwato and exiled him for six years. This, as secret documents have since confirmed, was in order to satisfy the South African government which objected to Seretse Khama's marriage to a white woman at a time when racial segregation was being reinforced in South Africa under apartheid.
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Advance to Independence
From the later 1950s it became clear that Bechuanaland could no longer be handed over to South Africa, and must be developed towards political and economic self-sufficiency. The supporters of Seretse Khama began to organize political movements from 1952 onwards, and there was a nationalist spirit even among older 'tribal' leaders. Ngwato 'tribal' negotiations for the start of copper mining reached agreement in 1959. A legislative council was eventually set up in 1961 after limited national elections. The Bechuanaland People's Party (BPP) was founded in 1960, and the Bechuanaland Democratic Party (later Botswana Democratic Party , BDP) - led by Seretse Khama - in 1962.
After long resistance to constitutional advance before economic development could pay for it, the British began to push political change in 1964. A new administrative capital was rapidly built at Gaborone. Bechuanaland became self- governing in 1965, under an elected BDP government under Seretse Khama as prime minister. In 1966 the country became the Republic of Botswana, with Seretse Khama as its first president.
For its first five years of political independence, Botswana remained financially dependent on Britain to cover the full cost of administration and development. The planning and execution of economic development took off in 1967-71 after the discovery of diamonds at Orapa. The essential precondition of this was renegotiation of the customs union with South Africa, so that state revenue would benefit from rising capital imports and mineral exports - rather than remaining a fixed percentage of total customs union income. This renegotiation was achieved in 1969.
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BOTSWANA GAINS INTERNATIONAL STATURE
From 1969 onwards Botswana began to play a more significant role in international politics, putting itself forward as a non-racial, liberal democratic alternative to South African apartheid.
South Africa was obliged to step down from its objections to Botswana building a road, with US aid finance, direct to Zambia avoiding the old railway and road route through Rhodesia. From 1974 Botswana was, together with Zambia and Tanzania, and joined by Mozambique and Angola, one of the "Front Line States" seeking to bring majority rule to Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
Economic and political growth
With an economy growing annually between 12 and 13 percent, Botswana extended basic infrastructure for mining development and basic social services for its population. More diamond mines were opened, on relatively favourable terms of income to the state, and less economically successful nickel-copper mining commenced at Selebi-Phikwe. The BDP was consistently re-elected with a large majority, though the Botswana National Front (BNF, founded 1965) became a significant threat after 1969, when "tribal" conservatives joined the socialists in BNF ranks attacking the "bourgeois" policies of government.
The later 1970s saw civil war in Rhodesia, and urban insurrection in South Africa, from which refugees flowed into Botswana. When Botswana began to form its own army, the Botswana Defence Force, the Rhodesian army crossed the border and massacred 15 Botswana soldiers in a surprise attack at Leshoma (February 1978). Botswana played its part in the final settlement of the Rhodesian war, resulting in Zimbabwe independence in 1980. But its main contribution was in formulating the Southern African Development Coordination Conference, to look to the future of the region.
The idea behind SADCC, as expounded by Seretse Khama, was to coordinate disparate economies rather than to create a unified market in southern Africa. All the states of southern Africa, except South Africa (and Namibia), formed SADCC in 1980, to work together in developing identified sectors of their economies - particularly the transport network to the ports of Mozambique.
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Masire succeeds Seretse Khama
Seretse Khama died in July 1980 and was succeeded as president by his deputy since 1965, vice-president Quett (aka Sir Ketumile) Masire.
Between 1984 and 1990 Botswana suffered from upheavals in South Africa when South African troops raided the 'Front Line States'. Two raids on Gaborone by the South African army in 1985 and 1986 killed 15 civilians. A new era in regional relations began with the independence of Namibia in 1990, and continued with internal changes in South Africa culminating in its free elections of 1994.
The economy continued to expand rapidly after a temporary slump in diamond and beef exports at the beginning of the 1980s. The expansion of mining output slowed in the 1990s, but was compensated for by the growth of manufacturing industry producing vehicles and foodstuffs for the South African market.
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Mogae succeeds Masire
In April 1998, Quett (Sir Ketumile) Masire retired as president, and was succeeded by his vice-president Festus Mogae . Since then the main opposition party, the BNF, which had begun to approach parity with the ruling BDP in the elections of 1994, has been split in half by a leadership dispute.
Botswana handed over leadership of SADCC, now the Southern African Development Community(SADC), to South Africa in 1994. But the secretariat of SADC remains housed in the capital of Botswana, Gaborone.
As well as SADC, the Republic of Botswana is a member of the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Commonwealth. Botswana is also a member (with Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland) of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU).
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History Links
A note on Colonial Office Confidential Print including affairs in Bechuanaland c.1870 - c.1930.
Try searching for "Botswana History" in Dogpile which will scan a number of other search engines.
For 20 best-selling books on Botswana history see Amazon.Com USA on Botswana History . (There is no equivalent page on amazon.co.uk .)
The Flogging of Phinehas McIntosh, A Tale of Colonial Folly and Injustice, Bechuanaland 1933
(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988) ISBN 0 300 04098 9
(1b) Michael Dutfield,
A Marriage of Inconvenience: the Persecution of Seretse and Ruth Khama
(London: Unwin Hyman, 1990) ISBN 0 04 44095 6
(1c) Fred Morton, Andrew Murray & Jeff Ramsay,
Historical Dictionary of Botswana. New Edition
. (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1989.) ISBN 0 89680 157 8. [bibliog. pp.143-216]
(1d) Fred Morton & Jeff Ramsay,
The Birth of Botswana: a History of the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1910 to 1966
(Gaborone: Longman Botswana, 1987) ISBN 0 582 00584 1
(1e) Neil Parsons,
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998).
(1f) Sir Charles Rey (eds. Neil Parsons & Michael Crowder),
Monarch of All I Survey: Bechuanaland Diaries 1929-37
(Gaborone: Botswana Society & London: James Currey, 1988). ISBN & 0 85255 016 2
(1g) Thomas Tlou & Alec Campbell,
History of Botswana
(Gaborone: Macmillan, 2nd edn. 1997) ISBN 0-333-36531-3
(1h) Diana Wylie,
A Little God: the Twilight of Patriarchy in a Southern African Chiefdom
(Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press/ University Press of New England, 1990) ISBN 0 8195 5228 3
| i don't know |
"Which two words complete the old proverb, ""Dilligence is the mother of ........... ?" | English proverbs - Wikiquote
English proverbs
Every man thinks his own geese swans .
First deserve, then desire .
Proverbs are popularly defined as "short expressions of popular wisdom". Efforts to improve on the popular definition have not led to a more precise definition. The wisdom is in the form of a general observation about the world or a bit of advice, sometimes more nearly an attitude toward a situation. See also English proverbs (alphabetically by proverb)
Contents
Absent[ edit ]
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American Proverbs . Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-19-505399-9 .
Long absent, soon forgotten.
Actions speak louder than words.
"Who cannot give good counsel? 'tis cheap, it cost them nothing."
Robert Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy (1793)
He who does not advance goes backwards.
Strauss, Emanuel (1994). "495" . Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs. II. Routledge. p. 445. ISBN 978-1-136-78978-6 .
Advice [ edit ]
Advice most needed is least heeded.
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American Proverbs . Oxford University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-19-505399-9 .
Anchor[ edit ]
Good riding at two anchors, men have told, for if the one fails, the other may hold. (Strauss, 1994 p. 879)
One rotten apple will spoil the whole barrel. or One scabbed sheep mars the whole flock.
"Evil spreads. One attractive bad example may be readily followed by others, eventually ruining a whole community."
Source for meaning:
Paczolay, Gyula (1997). "X" . European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese. Veszprémi Nyomda. p. 292. ISBN 1-875943-44-7 .
Cf. Dan Michael of Northgate, Ayenbite of Inwyt (1340): "A rotten apple will spoil a great many sound ones." (Middle English: "A roted eppel amang þe holen: makeþ rotie þe yzounde.").
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Cf. Notes and Queries magazine, Feb. 24, 1866, p. 153: "Eat an apple on going to bed, // And you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread." [1] .
Adapted to its current form in the 1900s as a marketing slogan used by American growers concerned that the temperance movement would cut into sales of apple cider. (Pollan, 2001 p.22)
A rotten apple injures its companions.
"This Proverb is apply'd to such Persons who being vicious themselves,
labour to debauch those with whom they converse." - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [2]
An apple a day keeps the doctor away--if you have good aim.
A humorous version of the nutritional exortation to maintain good health by eating fruit. Original source unknown.
English equivalent: The best art conceals art.
"Artistic excellence lies in making something that is subtle or intricate appear simple and streamlined."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 20 June 2013.
Don't make clothes for a not yet born baby. (Strauss 1994, p. 683)
"One never rises so high as when one does not know where one is going."
Oliver Cromwell to M. Bellièvre. Found in Memoirs of Cardinal de Retz
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
"Do not take the drastic step of abolishing or discarding something in its entirety when only part of it is unacceptable."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 25 August 2013.
Brown, James Kyle (2001). I Give God a Chance: Christian Spirituality from the Edgar Cayce Readings. Jim Brown. p. 8. ISBN 0759621705 .
Bad is the best choice.
"Don't avoid the clichés - they are clichés because they work!"
George Lucas to Marty Sklar , quoted in "The Imagineering Way: Ideas to Ignite your Creativity" (Disney Editions, 2003)
Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages . p. 17.
A bad settlement is better than a good lawsuit .
Filipp, M. R. (2005). Covenants Not to Compete, Aspen.
Good laws have sprung from bad customs. (Strauss, 1994 p. 879)
We must take the bad with the good.
Bed[ edit ]
As you make your bed, so you will sleep on it.
"One has to accept the consequences of one's actions, as any result is the logical consequence of preceding actions."
Source for proverb and meaning: (Paczolay, 1997 p. 401)
Bear [ edit ]
Some days you get the bear, other days the bear gets you.
"This proverb is used when a person fails to find what they're looking for. Good fortune may not come merely because we expect it."
Kavari, Jekura Uaurika (25 October 2013). Omiano vya Tjipangandjara: Otjiherero Proverbs and Idioms . University of Namibia Press. pp. 75–. ISBN 978-99916-42-07-9 .
Caroline Ward (1842). National Proverbs in the Principal Languages of Europe . J.W. Parker. p. 116.
The good is the enemy of the best.
"If you are content with producing what is merely good you will never achieve excellence."
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Beggar [ edit ]
Beggars can't be choosers.
"We must accept with gratitude and without complaint what we are given when we do not have the means or opportunity to provide ourselves with something better."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
Put a beggar on horseback and he'll ride it to death.
"It shows a weak mind not to bear prosperity as well as adversity with moderation."
Cicero, De Officiis (44 B.C.), I. 26.
Source for meaning:
Manser, Martin H. (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Begin [ edit ]
A good beginning makes a good ending.
"Starting properly ensures the speedy completion of a process. A beginning is often blocked by one or more obstacles (potential barriers) the removal of which may ensure the smooth course of the process."
Source for meaning:
Paczolay, Gyula (1997). "40" . European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese. Veszprémi Nyomda. p. 228. ISBN 1-875943-44-7 .
Well begun is half done.
"Starting properly ensures the speedy completion of a process. A beginning is often blocked by one or more obstacles (potential barriers) the removal of which may ensure the smooth course of the process."
Source for meaning of English equivalent:
Paczolay, Gyula (1997). "40" . European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese. Veszprémi Nyomda. p. 228. ISBN 1-875943-44-7 .
John Bunyan , Pilgrim's Progress
"It is better that somebody arrives or something happens later than expected or desired, than not at all."
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 30 June 2013.
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. xcv
Better safe than sorry. (Speake, 2009)
Better underdone than overdone. (Strauss, 1994 p. 589)
Beware[ edit ]
Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves. (Matthew; bible quote). (Strauss, 1998 p. 170)
"An innocent demeanor may hide much guilt."
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Birds of a feather flock together.
"It is a fact worthy of remark, that when a set of men agree in any particulars, though never so trivial, they flock together, and often establish themselves into a kind of fraternity for contriving and carrying into effect their plans. According to their distinct character they club together, factious with factious, wise with wise, indolent with indolent, active with active et cetera."
Source for meaning:
Porter, William Henry (1845). Proverbs: Arranged in Alphabetical Order ... . Munroe and Company. p. 41.
Alike people goes a long well.
Deal gently with the bird you mean to catch. (Strauss, 1994 p. 689)
"When people are are just, they need friendship in addition."
Aristotle , Nicomachean Ethics (c. 325 BC), Book VIII, 1155.a26
Fine feathers make fine birds. (Simpson , 2009)
"By dressing in elegant or good-quality clothing, people create a favorable impression on others, often appearing to be of better breeding or higher class than they are".
Source for meaning of English quality:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 27 September 2013.
It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest.
"Why wantonly proclaim one's own disgrace, or expose the faults or weaknesses of one's kindred or people?"
Source for meaning: (Kelly, 1859 p. 109)
It is the early bird that gets the worm .
"Those who are late to act, arrive, or get up tend to miss opportunities already seized by those who came earlier."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 5 September 2013.
Bite[ edit ]
Don't bark if you can't bite. (Sadler, 1873)
"I made the statement years ago which is often quoted that 80 percent of life is showing up. People used to always say to me that they wanted to write a play, they wanted to write a movie, they wanted to write a novel, and the couple of people that did it were 80 percent of the way to having something happen."
Don't bite off more than you can chew.
Heacock, Paul (2003). Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms (Illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 512. ISBN 052153271X .
Broke[ edit ]
A broken watch is right two times a day.
"If you make a great number of predictions, the ones that were wrong will soon be forgotten, and the ones that turn out to be true will make you famous."
Malcolm Gladwell , Dangerous Minds: Criminal profiling made easy (2007)
Honthaner, Eve Light (2010). I Hollywood drive: what it takes to break in, hang in & make it in the entertainment industry. Elsevier. p. 341. ISBN 0240806689 .
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. (Perkins 2007, p. 123)
"Do not try to improve on something that already is working well."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Broom[ edit ]
A new broome sweepeth cleane.
"We should never use an old tool when the extra labor in consequence costs more than a new one. Thousands wear out their lives and waste their time merely by the use of dull and unsuitable instruments."
Alternate meaning: "We often apply it to exchanges among servants, clerks, or any persons employed, whose service, at first, in any new place, is very good, both efficient and faithful; but very soon, when all the new circumstances have lost their novelty, and all their curiosity has ceased, they naturally fall into their former and habitual slackness."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Everyone's business is no one's business.
"Matters that are of general concern, but are the responsibility of nobody in particular, tend to get neglected because everybody thinks that somebody else should deal with them."
Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 116.
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 333. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 11 June 2013.
Buy[ edit ]
If you buy cheaply, you pay dearly.
Herrero Ruiz, Javier (2009). Understanding Tropes: At the Crossroads Between Pragmatics and Cognition. Peter Lang. p. 101. 3631592620.
If you buy quality, you only cry once.
Burch, Geoff (2010). Irresistible Persuasion: The Secret Way to Get to Yes Every Time. John Wiley and Sons. p. 138. 190731248X.
A cat may look at a king. (Speake, 2009)
All cats love fish but hate to get their paws wet.
"One is often reluctant to take the risk, or to do the necessary worked involved in doing/getting something desirable." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 346)
Curiosity killed the cat. (Strauss, 1994 p. 684)
"Inquisitiveness – or a desire to find about something – can lead you into trouble."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 9 August 2013.
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. 81
There's more than one way to skin a cat.
The more you stroke the cat's tail, the more he raises his back. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1184)
When the cat is away, the mice will play.
"In the absence of the person in authority those under his control will often neglect the duties/rules imposed on them." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 114)
Chain[ edit ]
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Or, a chain is no stronger than its weakest link
"A weak part or member will affect the success or effectiveness of the whole."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 388. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 1 August 2013.
The original version of this quote is "The child is father of the man" from William Wordsworth's poem "My Heart Leaps up When I Behold". See http://www.bartleby.com/145/ww194.html Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote a poem in answer to Wordsworth's use of this phrase, and uses the quote as given here on wikiquote. See http://www.bartleby.com/122/68.html
Children are uncertain comforts but certain cares. (Strauss, 1994 p. 654)
"Children are bound to cause their parents anxiety, and may or may not also bring them joy."
Source for meaning of English equivalent:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 2 August 2013.
Spare the rod, spoil the child.
"Never count your children twice." An old saying from the Anglo-Welsh border, where it was believed to be unlucky to do so. This saying arises from old superstition, which may have been contributed to in part by the terrain, which is rugged, hilly and sparsely populated; the region is also often subject to dense fog and disappearances under mysterious circumstance were not uncommon. Hence, the unlucky nature as on the second count, it was believed one child would most likely have disappeared; lost forever to the hills.
Cobbler/ Shoemaker [ edit ]
Cobblers children are worst shod.
"Working hard for others one may neglect one's own needs or the needs of those closest to him." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 65).
Shoemaker, stick to your last.
"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live."
Henry David Thoreau Journals (1838-1859)
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. 723
Cock[ edit ]
As the old cock crows, so crows the young.
"Children generally follow the example of their parents, but imitate their faults more surely than their virtues."
Proverbs of All Nations . W. Kent & Company (late D. Bogue). 1859. p. 27.
Give neither salt nor counsel till you are asked for it. (Strauss, 1994 p. 661)
Keep your own counsel.
"A wise man should never resolve upon any thing, at least never let the world know his resolution. How many things did the resolve in his declaration concerning Scotland, never to do, and yet did them all?"
Selden, John (1689). Table Talk: Being the Discourses . T. White. p. 175.
Ward, Caroline (1842). National Proverbs in the Principal Languages of Europe . J.W. Parker. p. 74.
Though thou hast ever so many counsellors, yet do not forsake the counsel of thy own soul. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1044)
"A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his own thought, because it is his."
Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance,” Essays: First Series (1883), pp. 47-48
Day [ edit ]
Praise the day at sunset.
"Make sure a matter is really over before relaxing about it. Unforeseen unfavourable developments may intervene and change the expected final result."
Source for meaning:
Paczolay, Gyula (1997). "X" . European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese. Veszprémi Nyomda. p. 323. ISBN 1-875943-44-7 .
Enjoy the present day , trusting little to what tomorrow may bring.
"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today."
Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living (1948)
Strauss, Emanuel (1994). "910" . Dictionary of European proverbs. II. Routledge. p. 765. ISBN 978-0-415-10381-7 . Retrieved on 28 December 2013.
Today is the first day of the rest of your life.
"If today was your last day . Could you say goodbye to yesterday?"
Chad Kroeger, the Nickelback song "If today was your last day " (2008)
Better the devil you know (than the one you don't.) (Speake, 2009)
Give the devil his due.
"People deserve recognition for their skills and contributions even if they are otherwise unworthy or unlikeable."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2009). The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions . Infobase Publishing. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-8160-7105-0 .
Idle hands are the devil's playthings.
Lowry, Lois (1980). Autumn street. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 59. ISBN 0395278120 .
If you sup with the devil, use a long spoon.
Someone who treats others poorly will eventually turn on you.
Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 138
Talk of the devil and he's sure to appear.
Where God has a church the devil will have his chapel.
"Very seldom does any good thing arise but there comes an ugly phantom of a caricature of it."
Proverbs of All Nations . W. Kent & Company (late D. Bogue). 1859. p. 130.
Dig[ edit ]
Who digs a trap for others ends up in it himself.
He who intends to harm others will himself suffer from his action. - As anger is blind, some aspects of an action - harmful for the doer - may be overlooked in the process. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 77)
Do[ edit ]
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Based on the Bible (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" in the King James version; "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." in the New International Version
If you want a thing done right, do it yourself.
Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 139
"Well done" is better than "well said".
A staff is quickly found to beat a dog. (Strauss, 1998 p. 103)
Someone who wants to be mean will find things to be mean about no matter what.
All are not thieves that dogs bark at.
Caroline Ward (1842). National Proverbs in the Principal Languages of Europe . J.W. Parker. p. 6.
Barking dogs seldom bite.
"Threatening does not always lead to action: Harsh words may disguise a different feeling, intention or ability." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 44).
Brag is a good dog, but holdfast is better.
A variation of "Talk is cheap".
This Proverb is a Taunt upon Braggadoccio's, who talk big, boast, and rattle:
It is also a Memento for such who make plentiful promises to do well for the
future but are suspected to want Constancy and Resolution to make them good. - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 4
The dogs bark but the caravan passes on. (Strauss, 1998 p. 340)
"Whatever any one does or says, I must be good."
Aurelius Antoninus , Meditations (161 BC)
Dogs wags their tails, not as much to you as to your bread. (Strauss, 1994 p. 710)
He who acts friendly does not seek your affection, but a specific thing from you.
Give a dog a bad name and hang him.
"Once somebody's reputation has been damaged – for example, by rumor or slander – it will never recover."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Give a dog a bad name and he'll live up to it.
How well a dog or human behaves depends on how he has been treated.
Clarke, Nick (1865). Alistair Cooke: a biography. Routledge. p. 174. 1420931989.
He that would hang his dog gives out first that he is mad.
"Those who are planning some action first try to justify it in advance."
Source for meaning of English equivalent:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas.
"If you associate with dishonest or disreputable people, you are likely to acquire their undesirable qualities."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. p. 224.
Love me, love my dog.
Bernard of Clairvaux attests in the 12th century this was a common proverb, In Festo Sancti Michaelis, Sermo 1, sect. 3; translation from Richard Chevenix Trench, Archbishop of Dublin, On the Lessons in Proverbs ([1853] 1856) p. 148.
Also reported in English by John Heywood , Proverbs (1546), Part II, chapter 9; and by Thomas Fuller , Gnomologia (1732), No. 3292
Egg [ edit ]
Better an egg today than a hen tomorrow.
" It is said, that the thing you possess is worth more than two you may have in the future. The one is sure and the other is not."
Jean de La Fontaine, Fables, V. 3.
(Strauss, 1998 p. 75)
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
"Spread your risks or investments so that if one enterprise fails you will not lose everything."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 18 August 2013.
First recorded 1662, G. Toriano, Italian proverbial phrases ("To put all one's eggs in a paniard"); 1710, Samuel Palmer, Moral essays on proverbs ("Don't venture all your eggs in one basket").
Apperson, GL (2006). Dictionary of proverbs. Wordsworth. p. 170. ISBN 978-1840223118 .
Eggs and oaths are soon broken. (Strauss, 1998 p. 765)
He that steals an egg will steal an ox. (Strauss, 1994 p. 962)
You can't have an omelette unless you break the egg.
"Sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve a goal; often used to justify an act that causes loss, harm, or distress to others."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 313. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. 259
Empty[ edit ]
An empty vessel makes much noise. (Speake, 2009)
It is not he who advertises for himself the most that can achieve the greatest results.
All's well that ends well.
Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [6]
Whatever you do, act wisely, and consider the end. (Strauss, 1994 p. 600)
Do not think that one enemy is insignificant, or that a thousand friends are too many. (Strauss 1994, p. 718)
"Thou canst not joke an Enemy into a Friend;
but thou may'st a Friend into an Enemy."
John Adams, Poor Richard's Almanack (1739)
The enemy of my enemy , is my friend.
"Those who dislike or oppose the same person or thing are bound to be friends or allies."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 8 September 2013.
If you have no enemies it is a sign that fortune has forgotten you.
"Envy is a kind of praise."
John Gay, The Hound and the Huntsman
Emanuel Strauss (1994). "1292" . Dictionary of European Proverbs. Taylor & Francis. p. 1008. ISBN 978-0-415-10381-7 .
Ambrose Bierce THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY (1991)
There is no little enemy . (Strauss 1994, p. 718)
We carry our greatest enemies within us.
"Seek first the virtues of the mind; and other things either will come, or will not be wanted."
Francis Bacon, 'The Advancement of Learning' (1605)
Specified as a proverb in
"73" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 300.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
There is nothing bad that does not bring about something good.
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. 115
Every rose has its thorn.
Bradley, E. and H. Bradley, Every Rose Has Its Thorn: The Rock 'n' Roll Field Guide to Guys, Penguin Group USA.
First come, first served. (Speake, 2009)
He who is first to arrive is the first to be served.
The first step to health is to know that we are sick. (Palta, 2006)
You must put an accurate diagnosis on a problem before you can solve it.
First things first.
"It is important to do things in the proper order, and not omit a basic first step."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
"Do not be discouraged by failure, and never give up – if you keep trying you will ultimately enjoy success."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Cf. William Edward Hickson's Try and Try again
"Tis a lesson you should heed:
Try, try, try again.
If at first you don't succeed,
Try, try, try again"
The last will be first, and the first last. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1085)
Those who humbly serve the Lord will be rewarded, and those who are arrogant will be humbled; Humbleness is a virtue, pride is a sin.
(First) is only first if you haven't sacrificed truth and integrity to be First!!!
Find[ edit ]
Love is not finding someone to live with; it's finding someone whom you can't live without.
Lipper, D. and E. Sagehorn (2008). The Everything Wedding Vows Book: How to Personalize the Most Important Promise You'll Ever Make, Adams Media.
Seek and ye shall find.
You always find something in the last place you look.
Mass, W. (2008). Jeremy Fink and the meaning of life, Scholastic.
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 30 July 2013.
"This Proverb intimates, That it is natural for all living Creatures, whether rational or irrational,
to consult their own Security, and Self-Preservation; and whether they act by Instinct or Reason, it still
tends to some care of avoiding those things that have already done them an Injury." - Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [7]
Do not add oil to the fire.
"One should not make a bad situation even worse by an improper remark." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 338)
Fight fire with fire. (Strauss 1994, p. 688)
"The best way to deal with an opponent is to fight back with similar weapons or tactics."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
There is no smoke without fire.
"There is no effect without some cause. also It is supposed that if there is a rumour, there must be some truth behind it."
Paczolay, Gyula (1997). "1" . European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese. Veszprémi Nyomda. p. 33. ISBN 1-875943-44-7 .
Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages . p. 4.
If wishes were fishes, we'd all cast nets.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
The earliest known version is from Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie , Mrs. Dymond (1885 novel): "I don't suppose even Caron could tell you the difference between material and spiritual,[...] but I suppose the Patron meant that if you give a man a fish he is hungry again in an hour. If you teach him to catch a fish you do him a good turn. But these very elementary principles are apt to clash with the leisure of the cultivated classes."
There are as good fish in the sea as ever were caught.
"Many are accustomed to envy others for their rare acquisitions, while they themselves have equal opportunity of obtaining the same. They ought to be satisfied that as good advantages are equally accessible to them as others, and remember the significant saying, that 'Man is the architect of his own fortune.'"
Porter, William Henry (1845). Proverbs: Arranged in Alphabetical Order ... . Munroe and Company. p. 192.
Emanuel Strauss. Concise Dictionary of European Proverbs .
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
(Fools) live poor to die rich.
Whiting, Bartlett Jere (1977). "F231" . Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases. Harvard University Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-674-21981-6 .
The first chapter of fools is to think themselves wise. (Strauss, 1994 p. 879)
Every fool is pleased with his own folly.
Strauss, Emanuel (1994). "147" . Dictionary of European Proverbs. I. Routledge. p. 139. ISBN 978-1-134-86460-7 .
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. (Speake, 2009)
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
"It is certainly a good thing always to forgive with generosity, but it is no doubt just never to forget the wrongs received: they belong to the route that leads to inner maturity."
Fausto Cercignani in: Brian Morris, Simply Transcribed. Quotations from Fausto Cercignani, 2013, p. 21
Alexander Pope , "An Essay on Criticism"
He that leaves certainty and sticks to chance,
When fools pipe, he may dance.
Caroline Ward (1842). National Proverbs in the Principal Languages of Europe . J.W. Parker. p. 50.
Knaves and fools divide the world.
"I trust no rich man who is officiously kind to a poor man."
Plautus, Aulularia, II. 2. 30.
A tongue of a fool carves a piece of his heart to all sit near him. (Strauss, 1994 p. 136)
There's no fool like an old fool.
A wise man changes his mind, but a fool never does.
"It is foolish to persist in the same opinion or course of action regardless of new information or different circumstances."
Source for meaning of English equivalent:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
A friend is best found in adversity.
Specified as a proverb in
"16" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 402.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
"Pure friendship is something which men of an inferior intellect can never taste."
Jean de La Bruyère, The Characters or Manners of the Present Age (1688), Chapter V.
A Dialogue Conteynyng Prouerbes and Epigrammes (1562) has Prove thy friend ere thou have need; but, in-deed. A friend is never known till a man have need.
A good friend never offends.
Specified as a proverb in
"36" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 403.
A true friend does sometime venture to be offensive.
Specified as a proverb in
"48" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 404.
A reconciled friend is a double enemy .
Specified as a proverb in
"42" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 403.
All are not friends who speak one fair.
"Flatterers are the worst kind of enemies."
Tacitus, Agricola, XLI.
Specified as a proverb in
"57" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 404.
Be a friend to thyself, and others will befriend thee.
"Mens friends commonly bear a proportion to their circumstances iu the world. And therefore if we be such friends to as to make our circumstances easy and plentiful we will not want friends."
"Know this, that he that is a friend to himself, is a friend to all men."
1759 Seneca: Works. Epistles. No. 6. (Thomas Lodye, Editor.)
James Kelly (1818). "B" . A Complete Collection of Scottish Proverbs Explained and Made Intelligible to the English Reader.
Bought friends are not friends indeed.
Specified as a proverb in
"73" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 402.
Do not think that one enemy is insignificant, or that a thousand friends are too many. (Strauss 1994, p. 718)
False friends are worse than open enemies.
Specified as a proverb in
"87" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 406.
He is my friend who grinds at my mill.
"That is, who is serviceable to me – a vile sentiment if understood to absolutely; but the proverb i rather to be interpreted as offering a test by which genuine friendship may be distinguished from its counterfeit."
Source for meaning:
Kelly, Walter Keating (1859). Proverbs of all nations. W. Kent & co. (late D. Bogue). pp. 238.
, p. 42
He is my friend that succoreth me, not he that pitieth me.
Specified as a proverb in
"112" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 407.
If you want enemies excel others, if you want friends let others excel you.
Specified as a proverb in
"140" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 409.
No longer foster, no longer friend.
Specified as a proverb in
"169" . Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically. G. P. Putnam's sons. 1887. p. 411.
Our friends are our mirrors and show us ourselves.
"Mens friends commonly bear a proportion to their circumstances iu the world. And therefore if we be such friends to as to make our circumstances easy and plentiful we will not want friends."
James Kelly (1818). "B" . A Complete Collection of Scottish Proverbs Explained and Made Intelligible to the English Reader.
When thy friend asks, let there be no to-morrow. (Ward, 1842 p. 51)
With friends like that, who needs enemies?
"Treacherous or disloyal friends are worse than enemies"
Source for meaning of English equivalent:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
"Most of our misfortunes are more supportable than the comments of our friends upon them."
Charles Caleb Colton, Lacon, p. 238.
Stolen fruit is the sweetest. (Strauss, 1994 p. 835)
"Things that you must not have or do are always the most desirable."
Source for meaning:
From those to whom much is given, much is expected. (Luke 12:48)
Resourceful people carries a great responsibility.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Blue, Kevin (2006). Practical Justice: Living Off-Center in a Self-Centered World. InterVarsity Press. p. 51. 0830833684.
Give and take is fair play.
Source for meaning: "Exchanging like for like – wether it be a blow, an insult, a favor, or a pardon is a fair and legitimate way to proceed".
Manser, Martin H (2007). The Facts on File dictionary of proverbs. Infobase Publishing. 0816066736.
, p. 133
Give, and ye shall receive.
From Luke 6:38
Give credit where credit is due.
Derived from Romans 13:7
Give him an inch and he'll take a yard.
"Give way slightly and he'll press home his advantage. Yielding a little to bad influence (or to a greedy perrson/group), one will be taken entirely or he/it will be encouraged to take much more." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 208)
Derived from Romans 13:7
Variant: Give a nigger an inch and he'll take an ell.
(Twain, 1885 p. 222)
Variant: Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.
(Strauss 1998, p. 240)
He gives twice who gives in a trice.
"Immediate aid is of more value. - A process of derogation can best be stopped in its initial stages, or a process of development can best be helped in the beginning." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 452)
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. X. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
"Every age has its peculiar folly: Some scheme, project, or fantasy into which it plunges, spurred on by the love of gain, the necessity of excitement, or the force of imitation."*
Charles Mackay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841)
"New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made new."
Samuel Johnson, Lives of the English Poets (1779)
"Ask counsel of both times—of the ancient time what is best, and of the latter time what is fittest."
Francis Bacon , "Of Great Place", The Essays, or Counsels Civil & Moral of Francis Bacon, p. 48 (1905). Based on the 1625 edition but with modernized spelling.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. (Speake, 2009)
God cures and the physician takes the fee.
God is on the side of the biggest cock. (Kin 1955, p. 255)
"You can have the other words— chance, luck, coincidence,serendipity. I'll take grace."
God works in mysterious ways.
"Sometimes, you need a door slammed in your face before you can hear opportunity knock."
James Geary, My Aphorisms, (2009)
Select Proverbs . Mustafa Akkus. 23 December 2013. pp. 15–. GGKEY:UBW9H94680W.
Mary Oliver , Winter Hours (1999)
Whom God will destroy, he first make mad. (Strauss 1994, p. 841)
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 17 August 2013.
Every man thinks his own geese swans.
"This proverb imitates that an inbred Philauty runs through the whole Race of Flefh and Blood. It blinds the Underftanding, perverts the Judgment, depraves the Reafon of the Diftinguishers of Truth and Falfity."
Divers Proverbs, Nathan Bailey, 1721 [8]
Goose, gander and gosling are three sounds but one thing. (Strauss, 1994 p. 104)
"Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb."
Greg Camp, All Star (1999)
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
"What is appropriate for one person is equally appropriate for their counterpart or their critic."
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
Drumming is not the way to catch a hare. (Strauss, 1994 p. 753)
Don't expect anyone to change his ways by scolding him.
You must not run after two hares at the same time.
"Concentrate on one thing at a time or you will achieve nothing. - Trying to do two or more things at a time, when even one on its own needs full effort, means that none of them will be accomplished properly."
Source for meaning:
Paczolay, Gyula (1997). "X" . European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese. Veszprémi Nyomda. p. X. ISBN 1-875943-44-7 .
Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 102.
Haste[ edit ]
Make haste slowly.
"Progress with discretion. Acting hastily one is likely to forget/overlook something important, leading to grave errors or failure." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 241)
Haste makes waste.
"By acting too hastily or doings too hurriedly you risk causing damage or making mistakes that subsequently have to be put right."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Head[ edit ]
He that hath a head of wax must not walk in the sun. (Ward, 1842 p. 54)
Two heads are better than one.
We should not expect to find old heads on young shoulders. (Strauss, 1994 p. 77)
Variant: You can't put an old head on young shoulders.
"The advice of the elders to young men is very apt to be as unreal as a list of the hundred best books."
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., "The Path of Law" 10 Harvard Law Review 457 (1897).
When the head is sick, the whole body is sick. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1117)
Who falls short in the head must be long in the heels.
Strauss, Emanuel (1994). "149" . Dictionary of European Proverbs. I. Routledge. p. 140. ISBN 978-1-134-86460-7 .
Health is wealth.
Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 273
A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.
Don't change horses in midstream.
Note: When in water it is ardous to mount and dismount.
"It is often wise not to quit an undertaking already begun."
Source for proverb and meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 18 August 2013.
Don't put the cart before the horse.
"How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live."
Henry David Thoreau, Journals (1838-1859), August 19, 1851
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 18 August 2013.
Cf. Dan Michael of Northgate, Ayenbite of Inwyt (1340): "Many religious folk set the plough before the oxen." (Middle English: "Moche uolk of religion зetteþ þe зuolз be-uore þe oksen.")
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
"There is no point in indulging in wishful thinking."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
I'll hear it from the horse's mouth.
"I will hear it from an authoritative or dependable source."
Source for meaning:
Ammer, Christine (1997). The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 640. ISBN 039572774X .
It's a good horse that never stumbles.
We all make mistakes from times to times.
Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 290
Look not a gift horse in the mouth.
"A present should not be criticized. It is an expression of respect and appreciation and any criticism would offend the donor. (The teeth of a horse reveal its age, i.e its real value.)"
Source for proverb and meaning:(Paczolay, 1997 p. 54)
Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
Don't critize gifts.
Goudreau, Colleen Patric (2011). Vegan's Daily Companion: 365 Days of Inspiration for Cooking, Eating, and Living Compassionately. Quarry Books. p. 133. 1592536794.
A golden bit does not make the horse any better. (Strauss, 1998 p. 52)
An ugly thing will remain ugly even if its appearance is taken care of.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.
"You can give somebody the opportunity to do something, but you cannot force him or her to do it."
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Medlin, Carl (2008). Second Great Reformation: Man Shall Not Live by Faith Only. Xulon Press. p. 74. 1606476459.
Zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse.
"Uninformed enthusiasm will only lead to disaster."
Source for meaning:
Manser, Martin H. (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 319. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Strauss, Emanuel (1994). "703" . Dictionary of European Proverbs. II. Routledge. p. X. ISBN 978-1-134-86460-7 .
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Learning is the eye of the mind.
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory , or even how much you know . It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't."
William Feather As quoted in Telephony, Vol. 150 (1956), p. 23 ; the first two sentences of this statement began to be attributed to Anatole France in the 1990s, but without any citations of sources.
Emanuel Strauss (12 November 2012). "590" . Dictionary of European Proverbs. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-86460-7 .
William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun (1951)
Life imitates art.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a completely ad-hoc plot device."
David Langford A Gadget Too Far (1992)
Bloom, H. (2007). Arthur Miller, Bloom's Literary Criticism.
Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.
Unknown origin, though sometimes attributed to Lou Holtz or Chuck Swindoll
Life is what you make of it.
"There is no fate that plans men's lives. Whatever comes to us, good or bad, is usually the result of our own action or lack of action."
Herbert N. Casson cited in: Forbes magazine (1950) The Forbes scrapbook of Thoughts on the business of life. p. 218
Life's battle don't always go to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or later the man who wins is the one who thinks he can.
Lucier, T. J. (2005). How to make money with real estate options: low-cost, low-risk, high-profit strategies for controlling undervalued property-- without the burdens of ownership!, Wiley.
Look on the sunny side of life.
The best things in life are free. (Speake, 2009)
I wonder the limits of the skies above,
None too much than the skies inside,
I often find myself looking back in the past,
Its then, that I realize,I've been a good teacher to myself.
-(Tanishq Sharma, The Stalemate) [1]
Love is like war, Easy to start, Hard to end, Impossible to forget.
Kumar, E. S. The Unofficial Joke book of New SMS, Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd.
Love laughs at locksmiths.
If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. And if they don't, they never were.
Israel, Yahdon (2009). Show Me a Nigger and I'll Show You a Racist: The Mind of a Psychopathic Genius. AuthorHouse. p. 100. ISBN 1438976607 .
It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. (Speake, 2009)
love is life, life is love. = [2]
William Blackstone refers to this traditional proverb in Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765–1769), Book 4, Chapter 16:
And the law of England has so particular and tender a regard to the immunity of a man's house, that it stiles it his castle, and will never suffer it to be violated with immunity: agreeing herein with the sentiments of ancient Rome, as expressed in the works of Tully ; quid enim sanctius, quid omni religione munitius, quam domus unusquisque civium?
Translation: What more sacred, what more strongly guarded by every holy feeling, than a man's own home?
Cometh the hour cometh the man.
A mans worst enemies are often those of his own house. (Strauss, 1994 p. 52)
Good men are hard to find.
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited. p. 272
Manners maketh the man.
'Manners makyth man' - the motto of William of Wykeham(1320 - 1404)
Wise men learn by other men's harms, fools by their own. (Strauss, 1998 p. 34)
Money [ edit ]
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10
Money makes the mare go.
Money talks.
Money talks, bullshit walks. (Speake, 2009 p. 388)
It is easier to accomplish goals using money instead of just talk.
Put your money where your mouth is.
Invest in what you claim will happen, and put in your own effort or money in matters you praise, warn about, or complain about.
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. 714
Time is money.
Leonard, F. (1995). Time is money: a million dollar investment plan for today's twenty- and thirty-somethings, Perseus Books Group.
More haste, less speed.(Strauss, 1994 p. 1095)
Hurry, but work slowly to make sure what you attend to gets done properly.
The more the merrier. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1094)
The more things change, the more they stay the same. (Washington, 2007 p. 132)
When things seem to be new, it is in fact history repeating itself.
Never[ edit ]
Never lie to your doctor.
Huler, Scott (1999). From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback. John Wiley & Sons. p. 200. 0471356522.
Never lie to your lawyer.
Huler, Scott (1999). From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback. John Wiley & Sons. p. 200. 0471356522.
Never put off till (until) tomorrow what you can do today.
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. 264
Never say die.
Don't give up if there still is a chance that you can succeed.
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. 203
Road[ edit ]
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Earlier variants of this proverb are recorded as Hell is paved with good intentions. recorded as early as 1670, and an even earlier variant by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Hell is full of good intentions or desires.
Similar from Latin: "The gates of hell are open night and day; Smooth the descent, and easy is the way" — Virgil, the Aeneid Book VI line 126
There is no royal road to learning.
Rome [ edit ]
All roads lead to Rome.
Do not stick to one way of solution or do not be disappointed meeting a failure as an objective can be achieved (or a problem can be solved) in different ways. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 437)
Rome wasn't built in a day.
It takes time to create something impressive.
Coady, Linus J. (1984). Rome wasn't built in a day: the history of the foundation of Brent's Cove Parish, 1959-1965. L.J. Coady. pp. 86.
He complains wrongfully at the sea that suffer shipwreck twice. (Strauss, 1994 p. 898)
Don't do the same thing again and expect different results.
Seek water in the sea.
Monkey see, monkey do.
People tend to do like others without thinking.
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. 709
There are none so blind as they who do not want to see. (Strauss, 1998 p. 320)
You can't see the wood for the trees. (Van Dertuin, 2006)
While tending to every detail you might miss out the big picture.
What you see is what you get.
McLenighan, Valjean (1981). What you see is what you get. Follett Pub. Co.. p. 4. 0695313703.
Shit[ edit ]
You don't shit where you eat.
Different segments of your life must remain contiguous such as business, your love life and leisure.
Iles, Greg (2007). Third Degree. Simon and Schuster. p. 159. 0743292502.
If the shoe fits, wear it.
Accept an unflattering yet accurate description of you. (Speake, 2009)
No one knows where the shoe pinches, but he who wears it.
"Nobody can fully understand another person's hardship or suffering."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 289. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Mawr, E.B. (1885). Analogous Proverbs in Ten Languages. p. 4.
Shoemaker /Cobbler[ edit ]
Cobblers children are worst shod.
Working hard for others one may neglect one's own needs or the needs of those closest to him. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 65).
Shoemaker, stick to your last.
Do not talk about things you do not know anything about.
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. 723
Son[ edit ]
A son is a son 'till he gets him a wife; a daughter's a daughter all her life.
As you sow, so you reap.
"The consequences are directly related to one's actions." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 38).
"It seems that every life form on this planet strives toward its maximum potential...except human beings. A tree does not row to half its potential size and then say, 'l guess that will do.”
Jim Rohn, Five Major Pieces To the Life Puzzle (1991)
Sow thin, shear thin. (Strauss, 1998 p. 1158)
"He that sows bountifully, also reaps bountifully. Raise high your standard of excellence, if you would make worthy attainments."
Source for meaning of English equivalent:
Porter, William Henry (1845). Proverbs: Arranged in Alphabetical Order ... . Munroe and Company. p. 163.
Spade[ edit ]
Call a spade a spade.
"Before Haig nobody had thought of saying 'at this juncture of maturization' to mean 'now.' He told the American people that terrorism could be fought with 'meaningful sanctionary teeth' and that intermediate nuclear missiles were 'at the vortex of cruciality.'" "If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things."
Sword [ edit ]
A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword.
Robert Burton cites this traditional proverb in The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) Part I, Section II, Member IV, Subsection IV:
It is an old saying, "A blow with a word strikes deeper than a blow with a sword:" and many men are as much galled with a calumny, a scurrilous and bitter jest, a libel, a pasquil, satire, apologue, epigram, stage-play or the like, as with any misfortune whatsoever.
Live by the sword, die by the sword. (Speake, 2009)
"Those who engage in aggression or violence will meet their death in a similar way."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
The pen is mightier than the sword.
Mazer, Anna (2009). The Pen Is Mightier Than the Sword. Baker & Taylor. 1442012889.
Take[ edit ]
Take things as you find them. (Strauss 1994, p. 722)
Nature, time, and patience are three great physicians.
Manser, M. (2006). The Wordsworth dictionary of proverbs, Wordsworth Editions, Limited.
Procrastination is the thief of time. (Speake, 2009 p. 233)
Time and tide wait for no man. (Spender, 1984)
Focus on the major worries you have today, because you will have even more major worries tomorrow; If you forsake the future, the future will forsake you.
Time flies.
"Time sometimes seems to pass with surprising rapidity."
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Cosby, B. (1988). Time flies, Bantam Books.
Time flies when you're having fun.
Time is money.
"Nobody can afford to waste time that could be spent earning money."
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Whiting, Bartlett Jere (1977). Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases . Harvard University Press. p. 441. ISBN 978-0-674-21981-6 .
Time is precious. (Paczolay, 1997 p. 428)
Time will tell.
"The true nature of something is likely to emerge over a period of time, and that conversely it is only after time has passed that something can be regarded as settled."
Source for meaning:
Knowles, Elizabeth (12 October 2006). The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable . Oxford University Press. p. 1725. ISBN 978-0-19-157856-4 .
Time will reveal the truth.
There is no time like the present.
It is far better to do something now than to leave it for later, in which case it might never get done.
Elkin, A. (1999). Stress management for dummies, John Wiley & Sons.
There is nothing more precious than time and nothing more prodigally wasted. (Strauss 1994, p. 722)
Avoid the pleasure which will bite tomorrow.
(Ward, 1842 p. 11)
Never put off till tomorrow what can be done today.
"It may be more difficult or sometimes even impossible to do something later, which can be easily done now." or "One can have time later for something else if a job is done now." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 87)
Tomorrow is another day.
The Works of George Herbert in Prose and Verse ; 1881, New York: John Wurtele Lovell, Pub.; pp. 440 & 454
Compare the older French proverb:
Outil: ... Meſchant ouvrier ne trouvera ia bons outils: Prov. A bungler cannot find (or fit himself with) with good tools.
Randle Cotgrave , A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues (1611)
Galen explains clearly, if less succinctly, in De Causis Procatarcticis (2nd c. A.D.), VI. 63–65:
They blame their tools: why did the carpenter make the bed so badly, if he was any good? He will reply: "Because I used a poor axe and a thick gimlet, because I did not have a rule, I lost my hammer, and the hatchet was blunt", and other things of this kind. [...] And who does not know that artisans make themselves responsible for the deficiencies in their work too, when they cannot pin the blame on material and tools?
Galen On Antecedent Causes , Tr. R. J. Hankinson, Cambridge University Press, 1998, ISBN 0521622506 , p. 90–93
"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."
Douglas Adams in Mostly Harmless (1992)
Do not play with edged tools. (Strauss, 1994 p. 716)
Tree [ edit ]
People only throw stones at trees with fruit on them.
They don't toot their horns so much for your incompetence as your willingness to get a driver's license. This is because you are commited to success "n. The one unpardonable sin against one's fellows."
Emanuel Strauss (1994). "1292" . Dictionary of European Proverbs. Taylor & Francis. p. 1008. ISBN 978-0-415-10381-7 .
The apple never falls far from the tree.
"Children observe daily and — in their behaviour — often follow the example of their parents." (Paczolay, 1997 p. 259).
There is no tree but bears some fruit. (Mawr, 1885 p. 131)
There is no person so useless that he can't be of use to others and to society at large.
Truth gives a short answer, lies go round about. (Strauss, 1994 p. 221)
Latin equivalent: Obscuris vera involvens. Translation: Obscurity envelops truth.
The truth shall set you free, or The truth will set you free.
"Sustained by truth, man becomes a most sublime spectacle. Here is the foundation of all true eloquence and dignity - the conscience untrammeled gives boldness and majesty, and the whole soul rises to the glorious height of its own nobility."
Porter, William Henry (1845). Proverbs: Arranged in Alphabetical Order ... . Munroe and Company. p. 194.
Second meaning: "Within reality is the possibility of our own personal miracle. Once we finally understand and accept the truth, the promise of the future is then freed from the shackles of deception, which held it in bondage."
Rohn, E. James (1991). The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle . Jim Rohn International. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-939490-02-8 .
In the Bible , John 8:32.
Truth is stranger than fiction.
Truth may be blamed, but it shall never be shamed.
"There's nothing you can hide from."
Steve Harris, No More Lies (2003)
Truth seeks no corners.
"Because he needs no praise, wilt thou be dumb? Excuse not silence so, for truth lies in there."
William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's sonnets (1609)
Bartlett Jere Whiting (1977). Early American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases . Harvard University Press. pp. 456. ISBN 978-0-674-21981-6 .
Try[ edit ]
You never know what you can do until you try.
"People are often surprised to discover what they are capable of when they make an effort." (Manser, 2007 p. 316)
Willful waste makes woeful want.
"Reckless extravagance leads to dire need."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 435. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Water [ edit ]
Still water runs deep.
"Slow but steady work can achieve much." or "That a man says little does not mean that he does not think profoundly."
Source for meaning:
Paczolay, Gyula (1997). "78" . European proverbs: in 55 languages, with equivalents in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese. Veszprémi Nyomda. p. 373. ISBN 1-875943-44-7 .
Wade not in unknown waters.
"Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect."
Marcus Aurelius Meditations (c. 161–180 CE)
George Latimer Apperson (1 January 2005). Dictionary of Proverbs . Wordsworth Editions. p. 608. ISBN 978-1-84022-311-8 .
Fine words butter no parsnips. (Speake, 2009)
"Mere words have no value unless they are followed by positive action."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 . Retrieved on 9 August 2013.
Many a true word is spoken in jest.
"A joke's a very serious thing."
Charles Churchill , The Ghost (1763), book iv, line 1386
Kelly, Walter Keating (1859). Proverbs of all nations. W. Kent & co. (late D. Bogue). p. 57.
Many words will not fill a bushel.
No need of words, trust deeds. (Strauss, 1994 p. 91)
"Actions may be, and indeed sometimes are deceptive in a measure though not as much so as words; and accordingly are received in general as more full and satisfactory proofs of the real disposition and character of persons than verbal expressions."
Source for meaning:
Porter, William Henry (1845). Proverbs: Arranged in Alphabetical Order ... . Munroe and Company. p. 10.
A woman's work is never done.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
"We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on."
Steve Jobs, Interview in Macworld magazine (February 2004)
Mieder, Wolfgang; Kingsbury, Stewart A.; Harder, Kelsie B. (1992). A Dictionary of American proverbs. pp. 710.
, p. xxiv
Many hands make light work. (Speak, 2009)
No man is born into this world, whose work is not born with him. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1107)
No man is so disabled that he can not be of use to society (at large).
Quick at meat, quick at work. (Strauss, 1994 p. 1150)
Smile, and the world smiles with you; cry, and you cry alone.
"Cheerful people never lack company, but miserable people are shunned by others."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon (June 1968). American proverbs, maxims & folk sayings . Applied Arts. p. 24.
Take all things as they come and be content.
"We should not plan and then try to make circumstances fit those plans. Instead we should make plans fit the circumstances."
John Heywood; Rudolph E. Habenicht (1963). A Dialogue of Proverbs: Edited, with Introd., Commentary, and Indexes. by Rudolph E. Habenicht . University of California Press. p. 284.
Wrong[ edit ]
If anything can go wrong, it will.
"If there is the remotest possibility of failure or disaster, you can be sure that it will happen."
Strauss, Emanuel (1994). "1605". Dictionary of European proverbs. II. Routledge. p. 1151. ISBN 0415096243 .
Reckless youth makes rueful age.
"Young people should take the opportunity to do all the things they will be unable to do when they're older."
Source for meaning:
Martin H. Manser (2007). The Facts on File Dictionary of Proverbs . Infobase Publishing. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-8160-6673-5 .
Strauss, Emanuel (1994). "1605". Dictionary of European proverbs. II. Routledge. p. 1151. ISBN 0415096243 .
They who would be young when they are old must be old when they are young.
"The greatest part of mankind employ their first years to make their last miserable."
Jean de La Bruyère , Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895)
Strauss, Emanuel (1994). "1605". Dictionary of European proverbs. II. Routledge. p. 1151. ISBN 0415096243 .
References[ edit ]
O'Donnell, Cynthia (1983). Evil Begets Evil in Mourning Becomes Electra and Desire Under the Elms. Manhattan College. pp. 71.
Opdyke, J. D. (2008). The World Is Your Oyster: The Guide to Finding Great Investments Around the Globe, Crown Business
O'Hara, K. (2011). Lost and Found in London: How the Railway Tracks Hotel Changed Me, Xlibris Corp.
Oshry, Barry (1996). Seeing systems: unlocking the mysteries of organizational life. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. p. 59. 1881052990.
| Luck |
The results of the 2012 RSPB national survey of birds shows the House Sparrow to be the most common bird to be seen in the UK. What is the second most common bird to be seen in the UK overall? | Conversation and Proverbs -
Superstitions
Conversation and Proverbs
A proverb is a short pithy saying that usually states a general truth or piece of advice. In the Umuofian society, proverbs are used very often in conversation and help people understand things better by presenting the truth and can also give them advice. Here are a few examples of proverbs used in Things Fall Apart, along with what they can be interpreted to mean.
Proverb 1:"Okonkwo was as slippery as a fish in water."(Chapter 1)
Meaning: Simply put, this proverb was intended to mean that Okonkwo was fast and agile. this particular proverb is a good example as to how some were intended by to give people a better understanding of a person by simply giving a metaphorical saying that a person could easily visualize.
Proverb 2: "Proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten." (Chapter 1)
Meaning: While this proverb is more complex than the first, it still can easily be interpreted. It is essential for the reader to know that palm-oil is a very important item in Umuofian society, and is used to cook and is also used as a fuel source. eating the words simply is a poetic way of saying to take them in, or to gain knowledge. Basically, this one means that proverbs are an essentially words of wisdom.
Proverb 3: "Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them." (Chapter 1)
Meaning: Unoka decided to use this complex saying to say that he will pay his biggest debtors, or people he owes money to before the debtors that he owes less to, most likely as a way to express his gratitude for the generosity of those who lend him more.
Proverb 4: "If a child washes his hands he could eat with kings." (Chapter 1)
Meaning: In the Umuofian society, if you are able to remove the footprint of your ancestors, you would be able to aspire to anyone you wished in the society. Okonkwo could not be respected due to his father until he became the notorious warrior that he was.
Proverb 5: "When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for walk."(Chapter 2)
Meaning: For the people of Umuofia, the mooon was very important. The influence and effect of the moon on the people in the tribe was so strong that if the moon shines on them, even a cripple could walk. This was an extreme way of saying that the moon gave the tribe the power to do anything.
Proverb 6:"Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to other, let his wing break." (Chapter 3)
Meaning: This proverb is rather complex, but it basically means that Okonkwo was ashamed of his father and was afraid of having the same misfortune of his father and the same end.
Proverb 7: "A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness." (Chapter 3)
Meaning: According to this proverb, if you respect greatness, you will become great yourself. In addition, this proverb means that in Umuofia that successful men respect greatness.
Proverb 8: "A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing" (Chapter 3)
Meaning: This proverb could mean a multitude of things, however it is quite apparent that the mean meaning is that something strange will not happen for no reason at all. Obviously, a toad does not usually run in the daytime, unless something happened, and the reader can infer that the proverb means that everything happens for a reason.
Proverb 9: "An old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb." (Chapter 3)
Meaning: This proverb means that someone is uneasy if something is said that effects them personally, whether it was a joke or not, they cannot laugh about it.
Proverb 10: "The lizard that jumped from high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did." (Chapter 3)
Meaning: This is a simple proverb. Even if nobody appreciates what you have done, you will remain proud of yourself since you know your accomplishment was successful.
Proverb 11:"Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching." (Chapter 3)
Meaning: Essentially, if Nwakibie gave yams to every man who asked, many of the yams would be wasted by their lack of effort. The yams did not mean as much to someone who had not rightfully earned them. Basically, someone must know how hard someone worked for something in order to respect the property themselves.
Proverb 12: "You can tell a ripe corn by its look" (Chapter 3)
Meaning: Branching off the previous proverb, Nwakibie could tell that Okonkwo is ready to receive his gift and not take it for granted. This means that none of the yams will be destroyed
Proverb 13: "Looking at the king's mouth, one would think he never sucked at his mother breasts" ( Chapter 4)
Meaning: Although Okonkwo once was a little baby, it feels as he never could be so vulnerable, because now is so big and robust. It scares him to think that he could have ever been as vulnerable as he was when he was younger.
Proverb 14: "Those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble." ( Chapter 4)
Meaning: This proverb is also rather simple. Basically, people who are blessed with luck by the gods, should be humble, and not criticize other people. They should not think they are better solely because they are more lucky.
Proverb 15: "When a man says yes his chi says yes also." ( Chapter 4)
Meaning: A man's spirit, or chi, will guide him and help him tackle any task that is at hand once he puts his mind to it.
Proverb 16: "They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi." ( Chapter 4)
Meaning: This proverb could indicate that Okonkwo was ignorant and not humble. Okonkwo was said to be so prideful he would challenge his own chi. Even though being prideful would be a good thing, it would be bad to think a man could challenge his chi.
Proverb 17: "A child's fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm." ( Chapter 8 )
Meaning: Once again, we are shown that proverbs are complex and poetic ways of saying simple things. This one simply means that those who obey their parents will not be punished by their parents.
Proverb 18: "When mother-cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth." ( Chapter 8 )
Meaning: Basically, this proverb means that children copy their parents and learn everything they do from them. It is important for parents to set a good example, or else their children will not live up to their expectations.
Proverb 19: "If one finger brought oil is soiled the others." ( Chapter 13 )
Meaning: Basically, if you do not treat yourself for sickness, whether it be mental or physical, you will pass it on to others.
Proverb 20: "Mother is supreme" ( Chapter 14 )
Meaning: Your mother is extremely important as she is the one who gives you life.
Proverb 21: "Never kill a man who says nothing." ( Chapter 15 )
Meaning: If somebody never says anything to you that offends you, then you never should do wrong to them. Only if they do something wrong that offends you should you take action against them.
Proverb 22: "There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts."
Meaning: Men who shout should not be feared, as that is the most they will do. They will never be the type of person to take physical action, therefore, you should not fear them.
Proverb 23: "Living fire begets cold, impotent ash." ( Chapter 16 )
Meaning: If someone thinks to highly of themselve and their influence is too much, then the person alongside them will never be able to come as successful.
Proverb 24: "A child can not pay for his mothers milk." ( Chapter 19 )
Meaning: Basically, parents who think that their children should pay them back for taking care of them is ridiculous. This is because the parents are the ones that brought them to life and therefore they are responsible for them and should take care of them by nature.
Proverb 25: "Men have learned to shoot without missing their mark and I have learned to fly without perching on a twig." ( Chapter 24)
Meaning: Basically, external influences have a great enough effect on people to change their fate.
Added by Kyle Krol
| i don't know |
Which coniferous species of tree now found in Britain, introduced from other countries, is unique in that it sheds its yellow needles in Autumn, making it Britain's only deciduous conifer? | Trees: A Woodland Notebook, by Herbert Maxwell
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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Trees. A Woodland Notebook, by Herbert Maxwell This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: Trees. A Woodland Notebook Containing Observations on Certain British and Exotic Trees Author: Herbert Maxwell Release Date: June 8, 2012 [EBook #39946] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TREES. A WOODLAND NOTEBOOK *** Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
A WOODLAND NOTEBOOK
ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY MR. HENRY IRVING AND OTHERS
Right Hon. SIR HERBERT MAXWELL
BT., F.R.S., LL.D. (Glasgow), D.C.L. (Durham)
Sit here by me, where the most beaten track
Runs through the forest—hundreds of huge oaks,
Gnarled, older than the thrones of Europe. Look,
What breadth, height, strength—torrents of eddying bark!
Some hollow-hearted from exceeding age
(That never be thy lot nor mine!)—and some
Pillaring a leaf-sky on their monstrous boles,
Sound at the core as we.
Tennyson's The Foresters, iii. 1.
[v]
To the Reader
The following chapters, which have their origin in papers originally contributed to the Scotsman, are designed to meet, and possibly to stimulate, that interest in British woodland resources which has so greatly increased within recent years. The author's aim has not been to present either a scientific botanical treatise or a manual of technical forestry; he has attempted to describe the leading characteristics of the forest growths indigenous to the United Kingdom, and to indicate those exotic species which have proved, or are likely to prove, best adapted to the British climate, whether as economic or purely decorative subjects.
There has been in the past—there prevails to a considerable extent in the present—confusion among British planters between the two branches of wood-craft—silviculture and arboriculture. Silviculture or forestry—the science of managing woodland to produce serviceable timber—has been so grossly neglected in the United Kingdom that its cardinal principles have had to be learnt afresh. Accustomed to rely upon foreign imports for our timber supply, we [vi] came to look upon woodland as a luxury, useful in so far as it provides shelter from storm, cover for game and foxes, and ornament to the landscape, but of negligible commercial value. Of this result the titles of the associations formed for the promotion and study of wood-craft are very significant; they are not styled Forestry Societies or Silvicultural Societies, but Royal Arboricultural Societies. Ever since the days of Tradescant and John Evelyn, British planters have excelled in arboriculture—the skilful rearing and tending of choice trees and their disposal singly or in groves for the decoration of parks and pleasure-grounds. Now, however, that the world's consumption of timber has overtaken, and bids fair soon to overtax, the supply, attention is being directed to the extent of forest capabilities in the United Kingdom. The development of these resources can be accomplished only through systematic forestry, as prescribed in the science of silviculture. We are the only considerable nation in Europe whose Government neglects forestry as a source of revenue; we have, consequently, immense leeway to make up. Timber of every description is a crop of long rotation, exceeding, in some cases far exceeding, the average duration of human life. One generation has to plant trees for the advantage of its successors; but it is just that kind of long-range altruism which chiefly distinguishes civilised from barbarous nations.
[vii]
Let me not be interpreted as underrating the value of the work done by arboriculturists. By the enterprise of our leading nurserymen, the intrepidity and zeal of their collectors, and the eagerness of landowners to embellish their estates, a vast experimental stage has been accomplished, enabling one to form a fair estimate of the adaptability of different exotic trees to the climate of the British Isles. The results of this experimental period have been summed up recently in the great work of Mr. Elwes and Dr. Henry, who have devoted many years of strenuous labour to examining the conditions of tree growth in all four Continents, and recording the behaviour of different species when planted in this country. The extent and thoroughness of their survey, and the critical experience they have brought to bear upon the subject, give a special value to their testimony to the work of British arboriculturists. "After having seen the trees of every country in Europe, of nearly all the States of North America, of Canada, Japan, China, West Siberia and Chile, we confidently assert that these islands contain a greater number of fine trees from the temperate regions of the world than any other country." [1]
It was high time that, in the material interest of the community, endeavour should be made to establish an organised forest industry in the United [viii] Kingdom. The Government, after many years of reiterated enquiry and hesitation, have at last taken the first steps in the establishment of State forest. At present, these steps have not carried the matter very far; but great bodies get slowly under way; as one may not judge the speed of an Atlantic liner by the rate at which she leaves the harbour, so we should exercise patience during the initial stages of what we hope may prove a great enterprise.
The newly formed Forestry Departments of the English, Scottish, and Irish Boards of Agriculture have the results of experimental planting by arboriculturists to guide them in their choice of species. The opinion is sometimes expressed that British forests should be composed of indigenous species, on the principle that Nature has indicated which species are best adapted to our soil and climate. This is to overlook the part played by chance in determining what trees and herbs should form the vegetation of these islands. When the ice-mantle was slowly being withdrawn, after grinding down the mountains to mere stumps of their pristine stature and strewing the plains with glacial débris, seeds wafted by winds and waves or borne by birds found a footing, and those for which the conditions of soil and climate then prevailing were suitable, established themselves most readily and formed the staple vegetation. But those conditions have greatly altered since that far-off time; vegetation itself is [ix] a main agent in changing the character of the surface soil, adapting it to support growths of a different character to those which first took possession thereof. It is, therefore, no derogation to the admirable qualities of our native oak, ash, and pine that it has been found to our advantage to cultivate such exotic species as larch, spruce, sweet chestnut, and sycamore. Among the vast variety of foreign forest trees introduced to this country during the nineteenth century, it is almost certain that some will prove of great economic value when submitted to scientific treatment.
I have endeavoured in these pages to recapitulate in a convenient form what has been ascertained by experiment of the behaviour of foreign trees under British conditions, relying, not blindly, upon the conclusions arrived at by masters of the craft, as corroborated or checked by personal observation of a practical and somewhat sedulous nature, extending over youth, manhood, and old age.
Among those to whom I owe cordial thanks for providing negatives and other material for illustration are the Duke of Northumberland, the Earl of Radnor, the Hon. Hew H. Dalrymple, Professor William Somerville and Mr. Gerald Loder.
HERBERT MAXWELL.
[1]
The Oak
The literature of the oak far exceeds in volume that of any other tree, and there is abundant evidence to prove that from earliest times it was regarded not only with esteem for its timber, but with religious reverence. Popular names of trees are uncertain guides; the revisers of the Old Testament express a doubt whether the tree under which Jacob buried the strange gods which he took from his household (Genesis xxxv. 4) was really an oak, as it is rendered in the authorised version, or a terebinth; but there seems to be no question about the tree Homer had in his mind when he describes Zeus as giving his oracles from the oaks of Dodona (Odyssey, xiv. 328), for the Greeks held the oak sacred to their premier deity.
Pliny (A.D. 23-79), writing about a thousand years later than Homer, describes in detail the religious honour paid to the oak in Britain, and asserts that the Druids, as children of the oak, were so called from the Greek name for that tree, i.e. δρυς. We are able to check his statements in one particular from our own experience. He says that the Druids held the [2] mistletoe as the most sacred of plants, provided it grew upon an oak, which it did very rarely. It is still so seldom to be seen on that tree that, although I have been on the lookout for an instance for many years, both in England and in Continental oak forests, I have never yet found one. Mr. Elwes, indeed, gives a list of twenty-three oaks in England reputed as bearing mistletoe; but he has only succeeded in verifying two of these by personal inspection. [2]
That the early Celtic inhabitants of the British Isles set as high a value upon the timber of the oak as they did upon its mystic attributes, must be patent to any one who has explored their ancient lake dwellings. The framework of these artificial islands was made of massive oak beams morticed together; these remain as hard and sound as the day they were laid down in the water; while every other kind of wood used in the interior of the structure—ash, alder, pine, etc.—has been reduced to the consistency of soft cheese. Moreover, these people anticipated the Admiralty in using oak for shipbuilding. All the many canoes which have been discovered in connection with these islands (five were found in Dowalton Loch alone) have been "dug-outs" fashioned from trunks of oak thirty or forty feet long. If other and more easily worked timber was ever employed for this purpose, it has failed to withstand the tooth of time.
PEDUNCULATE OAK
The application of iron to shipbuilding and architecture has done much to dethrone the oak from its [3] former pre-eminence, nor does its timber command the high prices of a hundred years ago. But it has no rival for dignity and durability, and very few equals in beauty, for domestic architecture and public buildings. Moreover, signs are not wanting that the supply of pitch pine and other cheap foreign substitutes for British oak is not inexhaustible; consumption is increasing hand over hand, and natural forests are being stripped far faster than they can be regenerated. British oak, therefore, though it is under temporary commercial eclipse, can never fail of producing timber of the very highest quality, and, owing to its long span of vigorous life, the tree may be left standing in the forest for centuries without deteriorating.
Those who desire a quick return from their woodland will hardly be encouraged to plant oak from such a far-sighted consideration; but forestry must always be a business of deferred profits. If ash be esteemed commercially mature at seventy years, larch and Scots pine at eighty or ninety, oak cannot be reckoned ready for the axe at less age than one hundred and twenty, and it continues to improve up to two hundred years.
Even allowing for the fall in value of oak timber and bark in recent years, high prices may still be obtained for fine trees, whereof there would have been far more in Britain at this day but for the excessive drain upon our woodland resources for the Navy during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In 1877 Messrs. Groom, of Hereford, paid £200 for a huge oak felled at Tyberton Park in Herefordshire. [4] This grand tree stood 130 feet high, with a girth of 22 feet 8 inches at 5 feet from the ground. It was felled after being struck by lightning and badly damaged; but for which mishap the purchasers estimated its value would have been £300.
In Kyre Park, Worcestershire, there still stood in 1907 an oak 113 feet high, with a straight trunk of 90 feet, for which the owner had declined an offer of £100 a few years previously.
In certain parts of England, chiefly in the eastern counties, the timber of some oaks is found to have assumed a rich brown hue, instead of the normal pale fawn. The cause of this is obscure; some botanists consider it to be produced by a fungoid growth; others, that it is the combined effect of age and soil; but, whatever be the agent, the result is to enhance enormously the market value of such trees. American cabinetmakers first created a demand for it, as much as 10s. a cubic foot being readily obtained for the best quality. Unfortunately, brown oak has not yet been recognised as occurring north of the Trent.
Botanists are not agreed whether the oaks of Great Britain consist of a single species or of two. There are certainly two distinct races, as was recognised by Linnæus 150 years ago, when he classified them, probably correctly, as sub-species-the durmast or sessile-flowered oak (Quercus robur sessiliflora) and the pedunculate oak (Q. robur pedunculata). Roughly speaking, the native oaks of the eastern and southern parts of Great Britain are of the pedunculate race; those of the western parts and of Ireland are of the [5] sessile-flowered type; but I have examined the old oaks in the Forest of Arden, Warwickshire, and found them to be durmast, while young trees, planted to replace blown ones, were all of the pedunculate kind. In the beautiful park of Knole, near Sevenoaks, there are hundreds of fine indigenous oaks, all pedunculate; but a splendid avenue, planted apparently 180 or 200 years ago, has been laid through them, and these trees are all durmast. I do not know of any place where the contrast between the two species may be so easily studied.
When grown in moderate shelter, the two kinds may be readily distinguished from each other by their habit of growth. Owing to the terminal bud on every shoot of the durmast oak being the strongest, the stem and branches are much straighter than those of the pedunculate oak, which puts its strength into lateral buds, giving the boughs that twisted, gnarled appearance so characteristic of much English woodland. In exposed situations, however, this distinction cannot be relied on, and one must examine the leaves and fruit as tests.
The durmast oak bears sessile flowers—that is, without foot stalks; the acorns, therefore, sit close to the shoot on which they are borne. On the other hand, the leaves are carried on footstalks clear of the twig. In the pedunculate oak these features are reversed, the flowers and acorns being stalked and the leaves stalkless. The leaves, also, which are more irregular in shape than those of the durmast, clasp the twig more or less closely with auricles or lobes. [6] The durmast never has these auricles, but the other features mentioned are liable to be modified, when recourse must be had to a less uncertain detail, easily distinguished through an ordinary lens. The back of a mature leaf of the pedunculate oak is perfectly smooth, without a trace of down or pubescence; that of the durmast invariably carries some fine down, at least in the angles of the leaf-nerves.
It may seem that these differences are of no more than botanical interest; but they carry an important significance to the forester. The timber of the two species being of equal quality, it is of course desirable to plant that kind which produces the straightest timber. Undoubtedly in this respect the durmast far surpasses the other. Unfortunately, owing to the durmast oak bearing acorns far less frequently than the pedunculate oak, British nurserymen have stocked the latter almost to the exclusion of the durmast, seed of which can only be obtained in favourable seasons, often at an interval of several years. Nevertheless, the superiority of the durmast, especially for Scotland and the north of England, is so great, that it is worth taking pains to secure it.
SESSILE OAK
The native oaks of the English lake district and of the shores of Loch Lomond are all of the durmast variety; when opportunity occurs of obtaining seed from these it should not be allowed to slip. Even in the south, durmast oak has proved its superiority to the other. Besides being far the handsomer tree, with richer foliage, it is generally immune from the attacks of that curse of English woodland, the caterpillar [7] of the little moth, Tortrix viridana. "I have seen," says the Hon. Gerald Lascelles, Deputy Surveyor of the New Forest, "I have seen a sessile oak standing out in brilliant foliage when every other oak in the wood around was as bare of leaf as in winter."
Most writers on forestry follow one another in describing durmast oak as suiting dry soils and pedunculate oak as preferring rich and moist soil. That is quite at variance with my observation. If the soil of Surrey, where the native oak is pedunculate, be compared with that of the English lake district and the west generally, where the durmast is indigenous, there can be little question which is the moister. The fact is the durmast, being the more vigorous tree, is able to thrive in a soil too dry and poor to support the pedunculate oak.
One word of counsel to planters on soil tending to dryness—never plant oak forest pure, but let beech be mixed with the oaks. The importance of this is well known to German foresters, who call beech the doctor of the forest. Its dense foliage prevents undue evaporation under parching winds and scorching sun, and its heavy leaf-fall in autumn creates the best kind of forest soil.
No clearer example can be given of the failure of ancient oaks, not from extreme age, but from the parching of the soil, than is presented in Sherwood Forest. The giant trunks that stand there singly or in scattered groups once supported a far loftier dome of foliage than they do now. The branches have died [8] back through the vigour of the tree being sapped by excessive evaporation from the ground, consequent on the loss of forest canopy and undergrowth. Within Lord Manvers's park of Thoresby, formed long ago by enclosing part of the Forest, oaks of the same age as those outside stand in close company with the fostering beech, and clothed with dense foliage to the very end of the branches. How often has one heard a forester, when a great oak goes "stag-headed," explain this as the result of the roots getting down to unsuitable subsoil; whereas the true reason is that an oak cannot fulfil his allotted span of years except when grown in close company of other trees.
As might be expected, the oak, as monarch of the primæval British forest, has contributed names to countless places, both in Celtic and Saxon speech; besides a few in Norman French, whereof Chenies, a parish in Bucks, may serve as an example. The Saxon ac, still current in the north, but supplanted in the south by the broader "oak," is easily detected in such names as Acton, Aikton, Ackworth, Akenham, in England; Aikrig, Aikenhead (sometimes disguised by an intrusive t as Aitkenhead) and Aiket, which is a contraction of the Saxon ac widu, oak-wood. Oakham, Oakford, Oakenshaw, Oakley, etc., speak for themselves. In old Gaelic the oak was daur, in modern Gaelic the genitive dara or darach is used, but in Manx and Welsh it remains dar. Deer, Darroch and Darra are Scottish place-names retaining respectively the old and new form of the word, the latter often appearing in composition, as in Kildarroch, i.e. [9] coill darach, oak-wood. Still commoner is the derivative doire, originally daire (pronounced "derry"), signifying primarily an oak-wood, but later applied to woods in general. Hence the large class of names like Derry, Dirriemore, Derrynabrock, Derrynahinch, etc. St. Columba founded his monastery at a place called Daire-Calgaich in the year 546. Adamnan, writing a hundred years or so later, glossed this name Roboretum Calgachi, Calgach's oak-wood. After this it became Derry-Columkille, the oak-wood of Colum of the Churches, until finally James VI. and I. granted a charter thereof to a London company of traders, and the place became, and remains, known as Londonderry.
The mightiest oak I have seen of late years, at all events the oak which impressed me most forcibly with its mightiness, is one of the pedunculate kind near the mansion-house of Panshanger, Lord Desborough's place in Herts. It is figured in Strutt's Sylva Britannica; when he measured it in 1822 the girth was 19 feet at 3 feet from the ground, and its cubic contents were estimated at 1,000 feet. Elwes measured it in 1905 and found the girth to be 21 feet 4 inches at 5 feet. Following him in 1913, but without being aware of his measurement, I made the girth to be 21 feet 6 inches. This tree, however, is not likely to increase much in girth, unless it grows burrs, for it is stag-headed and past its prime. In this fine park of Panshanger I found two or three other oaks with a circumference of 21 feet, but none so impressive and majestic as the one aforesaid.
[10]
"The oak," writes Mr. Elwes, "rarely attains in Scotland the size and vigour so commonly met with in England." [3] To that I make reply—"Give us time!" Scotland, her resources drained by three hundred years of all but incessant war which she had to wage in order to win and maintain her independence, became and remained a byword for poverty among the nations. Almost every shred of her woodland, once so vast, had been consumed before the end of the seventeenth century, so that Dr. Johnson was but drawing his bow a trifle too far when he vowed that in all his Scottish travel he had only seen two trees big enough to hang a man on. Practically no oaks were planted in Scotland until many years after the Union of Parliaments in 1707 had inaugurated an era of peace and security for north country lairds. "Give us time!" I repeat, and we shall produce oaks in Scotland that no English magnate would be ashamed to have in his park. Probably the tallest, if not the bulkiest oak that I have seen north of the Tweed, stands close to the mansion house of Blairdrummond in Perthshire. Elwes made it 118 feet high in 1906, with a girth of 17 feet at 5 feet from the ground and a clean bole of 24 feet.
Irish woodland suffered as disastrously as Scottish from reckless felling, but there can be no doubt about the size and quality of the oaks that grew in Ireland in the past. The roof timbers of Westminster Hall were grown in Shillelagh Forest, Co. Wicklow. These trees, no doubt, were of the sessile-flowered race, but [11] the forest has entirely disappeared; and the great oak-wood at Abbeyleix, in Queen's County, is composed of pedunculate oaks.
Besides our British oak, there are between two and three hundred distinct species of Quercus in the Old and New Worlds, many of which are very beautiful trees, but not one whereof the timber approaches that of Quercus robur in quality. The foreign oak most commonly seen in these islands is the Turkey Oak (Q. cerris, Linn.), a native of southern Europe and Asia Minor, which grows to an immense size; it is invaluable as a shelter for more valuable growths, especially in maritime exposure, but for little else, as its timber, though very heavy, is said to be perishable, and certainly produces an excess of sap wood. "We shall say little," wrote John Evelyn, "of the Cerris or Ægilops, goodly to look on, but for little else." [4]
The ilex, or holm oak (Quercus ilex) is another tree which nobody need think of planting for profit, seeing that it produces timber of little value except for firing; nevertheless, it is one of the most ornamental trees that can be grown. Planted in the open, and given some attention in its youth to keep it to a single leader, it develops into a stately-domed mass of evergreen foliage, quite distinct in character from any other tree that flourishes in the British Isles. It would be sombre, did the leaves not glitter delightfully in sunlight; and in cloudy weather the wind sweeps up their white undersides and sets them all a-twinkle.
[12]
Although a native of the Mediterranean region, it adapts itself thoroughly to our climate, being perfectly hardy in all but the coldest parts of our country, and ripening its acorns plentifully in districts near the coast. Indeed, it is doubtful whether in its native region many loftier specimens can be found than one at Rossanagh, in County Wicklow, which, when I saw it in 1905, was 80 feet high. The tallest recorded by Mr. Elwes stands in the garden of the Hotel Hassler at Naples, measuring, in 1910, 90 feet high and 12½ feet in girth.
We commonly follow Roman usage in calling this tree "ilex," nor is it easy to understand why Linnæus appropriated this name for the holly, because Pliny plainly distinguishes between them, writing of the holly as "aquifolium." In English vernacular this oak was known as the holm oak, which is a corruption of hollen oak—i.e. the holly-like oak, because it is evergreen and the leaves of young plants are spined, though not so strongly as those of the holly.
Pliny has a great deal to say about this tree. He tells us that in the Vatican of Rome there was in his day an ilex older than the city, bearing a brazen plate inscribed with Etruscan characters, showing that it had been sacred of old. He also states that at Tivoli there were three holm oaks flourishing which were growing when Tivoli (Tibur) was founded centuries before Rome. Now, considering that Rome was founded about B.C. 750, and Pliny died about A.D. 115, it appears that the traditional age attributed to certain trees in his day was as liberal as it remains in [13] ours. It would not be rash, however, to venerate the splendid ilexes in the grounds of the Villa Pamfili and the Villa Borghese at Rome as lineal descendants of the trees that Pliny loved.
In suitable districts near the sea the ilex is invaluable as shelter. Once established, it stands the roughest buffeting of storms without disfigurement. I am writing these notes within a hundred yards of an ilex at Ardgowan, on the Clyde. It is about 50 feet high, and stands isolated on a bare lawn, exposed to all the fury of tempests that come roaring up the firth, twisting its boughs in the most violent manner. Yet these are so tough as never to be broken, and the tree remains a model of symmetry and grace.
At Holkham, in Norfolk, there is a large grove of ilex, called the Obelisk Wood, the like of which for extent is not to be seen, I think, elsewhere. At Tregothnan, in Cornwall, also an immense number of ilexes have been planted in a long avenue beside the sea. It is remarkable—unique, probably—but it is not an arrangement to be recommended for displaying the peculiar beauty of the trees, which consists in their massive foliage. The branches meet overhead, and as you drive along under them the effect is gloomy.
Very near of kin to the ilex is the cork oak (Q. suber), which grows all through the Spanish Peninsula and the Mediterranean region, except in those parts where limestone or chalk forms the soil. Of all the oak family, this comparatively humble member is of [14] most importance to civilised life, for no efficient substitute has been devised for cork in some of the uses to which it is put. The annual consumption must be enormous; it is wonderful how the supply is maintained. Having no qualities to recommend it to the landscape gardener, the cork oak is only fit for growth in this country as a curiosity, and there only in the eastern and southern English counties. In the midland and northern districts it may exist, but cannot rightly thrive.
Many hybrids have been reared from the ilex. One of the choicest is Turner's oak (Q. Turneri), said to have originated in the Holloway Down Nursery, Essex, in 1795, as a cross between the ilex and the common English oak. It is of moderate stature, not greatly exceeding 50 feet, and is semi-evergreen, retaining its leaves, which are of a bright, rather light green, till February. The Lucombe oak (Q. Lucombeana) is also sub-evergreen, a hybrid between the ilex and the Turkey oak (Q. cerris), but is a much loftier tree than Turner's oak; the foliage inclines in colour to the ilex, but the leaves approach those of the Turkey oak in form, the under surfaces being clothed with white down. This variety was raised about 1765 by William Lucombe, of Exeter.
Another remarkable hybrid, apparently between Q. ilex and Q. cerris, is the Fulham oak, of which the finest example I have seen in Scotland grows on the banks of the Ayr, in the grounds of Auchencruive.
Although these hybrid oaks ripen acorns, they cannot be relied on to produce exact counterparts of [15] their parents, the offspring of cross-bred seeds always tending to revert to one or other type in the cross.
Of the forty-seven North American species of oak enumerated by Sargent, none is to be desired by reason of the quality of its timber, which in every instance is inferior to that of our native species; but three, at least, have proved their value in this country as highly decorative trees, owing to the rich tints of the foliage in autumn. These are the red oak (Q. rubra), the scarlet oak (Q. coccinea) and the pin oak (Q. palustris). These are all trees of great stature, the pin oak having already exceeded 100 feet in height in England, presenting a gorgeous display when its leaves turn scarlet in the fall. In Scotland, however, the summer is not always warm enough to produce these fine colours; in wet, cold seasons the foliage remains green till the early frost blights it into brown.
Among oaks of the Old World, the Hungarian oak (Q. conferta syn. pannonica) and the Algerian oak (Q. mirbeckii) are the most ornamental, and have proved amenable to British conditions. As a curiosity, a sheltered corner may be found for the Japanese Quercus acuta, a small evergreen tree with large laurel-like leaves, quite hardy, but apt to be broken by snow. In the absence of flowers or acorns, it would puzzle anyone to identify this tree as a member of the great clan of oaks.
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The Beech
Among all the trees of British woodland none excels the beech in grace, vigour, and hardihood. It is not indigenous to Scotland; indeed, it is only in recent years that it has been recognised as a true native of southern Britain, its remains having been identified in post-tertiary beds at Southampton, Cromer, and some other places in East Anglia. Previous to that discovery, botanists had accepted Julius Caesar's assurance that the tree he called "fagus" did not grow in Britain (Bellum Gallicum, v. 12). But popular names for plants are never to be relied on, and although it is certain that Pliny (Nat. Hist. xvi. 6) described the beech under the name "fagus," it seems equally clear that Virgil (Georgics, ii. 71) applied it to the sweet chestnut. The confusion arose, no doubt, from the application of a Greek word signifying food to two species of tree very different from each other, but each producing edible fruit.
Although the beech (Fagus sylvatica, Linn.) cannot be reckoned as an aboriginal native of Scotland, it is long since it received letters of naturalisation in [17] that country, and has taken so kindly to the northern soil and climate that it may no longer be considered an alien. Indeed, it is in Scotland that the mightiest beech in the United Kingdom, perhaps in the world, is to be seen; not the loftiest, but one containing the largest amount of timber. This is the famous tree at Newbattle Abbey, near Dalkeith. Eighty years ago the indefatigable John Loudon measured it, and found it to be 88 feet high. In 1906 the equally indefatigable Mr. H. J. Elwes took its dimensions, and ascertained them to be as follows:
7
½
Truly an amazing edifice of sound timber; how long has it taken in the building? Normally, the beech is not long-lived compared with the oak, the yew, the Corsican pine, and some other trees grown in British woodland. Its "expectation of life" does not exceed 200 years. When it gets near that age it sometimes dies in a night, so to speak, expiring suddenly while apparently in full vigour. At other times it gets stag-headed, a sure sign of flagging vitality, and becomes infested with parasites, especially the felted beech-scale (Cryptococcus fagi), which administer the coup de grâce.
[18]
But the Newbattle beech is probably much more than 200 years old. Mr. Elwes estimates its age at 300 years. It has adopted a plan for prolonging its existence by allowing its great branches to droop to the ground, where seven of them have taken root, whence they have sprung up afresh and form a perfect grove still maintaining connection with the parent tree. Some of these subsidiary trees are already forty feet high and five feet in girth; and if, as is possible, they continue to contribute to the nourishment of their parent, the life of the original stem may be prolonged indefinitely.
There are at least three other beeches in Scotland taller than the Newbattle monster—namely, at Hopetoun House, at Blairdrummond, and at Methven Castle; but all of these must yield the palm to the Queen Beech at Ashridge Park, Hertfordshire. Mr. Elwes measured this tree in 1903, and "made it as nearly as possible to be 135 feet high (certainly over 130), and this is the greatest height I know any deciduous tree, except the elm, to have attained in Great Britain. Its girth was 12 feet 3 inches, and its bole straight and branchless for about 80 feet, so that its contents must be about 400 cubic feet to the first limb." [5] It may be noted in passing that elsewhere in his book Mr. Elwes has recorded certain deciduous trees even taller than the Queen Beech. For instance, on page 365 he mentions larches at Croft Castle, Herefordshire, 150 feet high; on page 873 [19] he records having measured an ash at Cobham Hall, Kent, 143 feet high, and on page 1820 the height of the black Italian poplar at Albury Park, Surrey, is estimated at 150 feet.
QUEEN BEECH AT ASHRIDGE
Reproduced by permission from The Gardeners' Chronicle
Beech timber is not held in high repute in the United Kingdom generally, being hard, brittle and perishable under weather exposure, although it is extremely durable under water. I have examined some of the beechen logs which were laid to strengthen the foundations of Winchester Cathedral in the extremely wet peat and shifty gravel which seam the site. For seven hundred years these logs have lain in the ground, faithfully fulfilling the function assigned to them of supporting the Lady Chapel erected by Bishop Godfrey de Lucy in the last few years of his life (he died in 1204), yet they are still perfectly hard and sound, having acquired with age a peculiar wan pearly hue.
In the north we reckon beechen slabs to be the best material for drain-tile soles in wet land. The timber is put to higher purpose in Buckinghamshire, where the extensive beech forests about High Wycombe and Newport Pagnell afford one of the few examples of systematic wood-craft in England. The trees are regularly grown and felled in rotation to supply the chairmaking industry, clean timber commanding, as it stands, a price of 1s. to 1s. 6d. a cubic foot. It has been asserted that the very name Buckingham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon boc, a beech; but it appears in the Winchester Chronicle as Buccingaham, which indicates its origin in a [20] family named Buccing, descended from an ancestor or chief called Bucca, the Buck. Howbeit, we are incessantly, though unconsciously, using the Anglo-Saxon boc, for it was smooth tablets or panels of beech that formed the primitive "book." In like manner crept in the term "leaves" of a book, because the foliage of papyrus preceded paper, which is the same word.
The beech is distinguished for three qualities beyond every other native of British woodland. First, by its abundant leaf-fall it promotes the formation of forest humus—the rich vegetable soil so essential to vigorous tree growth—more speedily and effectively than any other tree. Secondly, it bears shade better than any other broad-leaved tree; indeed, the only trees of any kind that approach it in this respect are the hornbeam and the silver fir. These two qualities make the beech best of all trees for under-planting; for, while the young beeches nourish the older trees by their leaf-fall and by checking evaporation from the soil, they are themselves preparing as a successional crop for the time when the old trees are ripe for felling. The third distinguishing quality of the beech is its unrivalled merit as firewood. None other throws out so much heat or burns so steadily; though it is a curious fact that the hornbeam, belonging to a different genus from the beech, mimics it in its foliage, is nearly as patient of overhead shade, produces timber closely resembling that of beech in appearance and quality, and, as fuel, yields very nearly as much heat.
[21]
Besides the felted beech louse, Cryptococcus fagi, referred to above, the beech is liable to be attacked when young by the deadly fungus Nectria ditissima. The trees affected should be felled and burnt so soon as the canker characteristic of that plague manifests itself, for they never can recover. The singular disease called "beech-snap," which causes the stem to break off abruptly at 15 or 20 feet from the ground, is attributable to the fungus Polyporus adustus, though Nectria is generally present also on the trees affected.
The common beech has sported into many varieties. Those most commonly planted are the purple and copper beeches, which are far from being the same, as many people seem to think they are. A well-grown purple beech, such as that near the south-west corner of Osterley House, Isleworth (to name one out of very many fine specimens which exist in the United Kingdom), is a truly magnificent object, the rich, but subdued, depth of colour showing in charming contrast with other foliage, yet so soft as never to jar with it. This variety is said to have originated in a forest in the canton of Zurich, where, according to the legend, five brothers fought, three of whom fell, and from the soil where each lay grew a purple-leaved beech.
As for the copper beech, had I the chance of stopping the supply, I should not hesitate to do so, for the foliage, as I think, has a disagreeable metallic hue that consorts well with nothing else. Before purchasing young purple beeches, it is prudent to visit the nursery when they are in leaf, or you may [22] be served with copper beeches, and not discover the mistake till it is too late. The mast or seed of both purple and copper beeches yield a large proportion of seedlings in the parental livery; but no beech, green or purple, bears mast till it is at least forty years old.
The fern-leafed beech is no improvement on the type, and grows with the ungraceful pose of a grafted plant; but the weeping beech, which also has to be propagated by grafts, sometimes develops into an object of great beauty.
Of three or four exotic species of beech in the Northern Hemisphere there is but one, the American beech (F. ferruginea), which would be a gain to ornamental planting in the British Isles. Our own beech has a pretty bark, but that of the American species outshines it as silver does pewter. Unluckily, like many other growths of the Eastern States, it fails utterly to accommodate itself to the British climate. Visitors to Boston, Massachusetts, should not fail to see the group of beeches in the Arnold Arboretum at Brookline.
THE CHAIRMAKER, BUCKINGHAM BEECH WOODS
There are seventeen species of beech native of South America and Australasia. These have now been classified as a distinct genus, Nothofagus, that is, southern beech. Two of them appear to agree with British soil and climate, namely, the evergreen N. betuloides, whereof I have no experience, and the deciduous N. obliqua, of which two seedlings, raised from seed brought from Chile by Mr. Elwes in 1902, were sent me from Kew in 1906 to experiment on their [23] hardiness. These have grown vigorously, having endured 20° of frost without wincing, and are now [1914] about 20 feet high; but, owing to their leafing fully a fortnight earlier than our native beech, they are more apt to be seared by late frost. In its native country this species equals our own beech in stature and bulk, its timber being largely used for railway sleepers, building, etc. Moreover, judging from the very few young plants in this country, it is an exceedingly ornamental tree. Of the other southern species, six are large evergreen trees, natives of Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania, not capable of enduring the British climate, except, perhaps, in the mildest districts of the south and west.
There are still, I believe, among the loyal subjects of King George V. persons who profess to be Jacobites, as there are undoubtedly thousands who cherish the memory of Prince Charles Edward as a precious national heritage. For these, the beeches that droop over the swift-running Arkaig at Lochiel's place of Achnacarry must have a mournful significance. In the spring of 1745, Donald Cameron of Lochiel, already advanced in years, was busy, in common with many other Scottish lairds, in developing the resources of his estates by draining, reclaiming, and planting trees. The union of the English and Scottish Legislatures had brought peace and security to the northern kingdom such as it had not known since the death of Alexander III. in 1286, and landowners felt encouraged for the first time to apply themselves to useful enterprise.
[24]
Suddenly Prince Charlie landed at Borrodale on 28th July, and summoned Lochiel and the other Highland chiefs to his standard. Lochiel, well knowing the hopelessness of the enterprise, started to obey the summons, thoroughly determined to dissuade the Prince from going forward with it. His brother, John Cameron of Fassifern, begged him not to meet the Prince. "For," said he, "I know you far better than you know yourself, and if the Prince once sets eyes upon you, he will make you do what he pleases." Fassifern was but too just in his forecast. It happened exactly as he had said. Lochiel at first flatly refused to bring out his clan; but in the end yielded to the Prince's persuasion, returned home, marshalled fourteen hundred men, and took part in all the phases of that hare-brained campaign, till he was carried off the field of Culloden severely wounded.
During Lochiel's absence a quantity of young beech trees had arrived at Achnacarry from the south to his order. They were heeled in a long row beside the river, awaiting his instructions. But the chief "came back to Lochaber no more." He lingered a couple of years in exile, his estates forfeited, his person proclaimed, and he died in 1748. The beeches were never removed from the trench where they had been set to await his return. They have grown up in a rank of silvery stems, so closely serried that between some of them a man's body may not pass. Winds of winter wail a coronach among the bare boughs; in summer the leafy branches stoop low upon the hurrying water; at the sunniest noontide there reigns [25] deep gloom under that crowded grove. No more pathetic memorial could be designed for a lost cause and for him whom men spoke of as "the gentle Lochiel."
[26]
The Spanish Chestnut
The sweet or Spanish chestnut (Castanea sativa, Miller) cannot be reckoned indigenous to the British Isles, nor is there any evidence in support of the common belief that it was introduced during the Roman occupation. It is, however, far from improbable that the Roman colonists sowed some of the fruit which they imported as food, and, finding that the young trees took kindly to our soil and climate, continued to cultivate them.
SPANISH CHESTNUT In Winter
SPANISH CHESTNUT In Summer
Chestnuts, now as then, form an important part of the winter diet of country folk in Italy and Spain, being ground into flour, whence excellent cakes and pottage are made. British housewives regard them only as a luxury, and large quantities are imported into this country annually; but chestnuts are as nutritive and wholesome as they are palatable, and there are few more appetising odours than that wafted from the charcoal stove of the itinerant vendor of chestnuts, a familiar figure in London streets so soon as chill October draws to a close. I may confess to having partaken, under cloud of night, of this wayside delicacy; nor do I care [27] how soon the opportunity presents itself of repeating the treat.
Chestnuts ripen well and regularly in the southern English counties, though they are considerably smaller than those imported from the Continent. In Scotland we seldom have enough summer heat to bring them to maturity. The summers of 1911 and 1914, indeed, were long enough and hot enough to ripen them; but even so the nuts were so small that there was more patience than profit in collecting them.
Even though we cannot actually trace the introduction of this noble tree to our Roman conquerors, there is proof in Anglo-Saxon literature that it was known in England before the Norman conquest, for it receives mention by an early writer as the "cisten" or "cyst-beam," "cisten" being but a form of the Latin castanea. Chaucer (1340-1400) is the earliest English poet to mention it, the list of trees wherein he includes it being a very interesting one as showing the nature of English woodland in the fourteenth century.
As oke, firre, birche, aspe, elder, elme, poplere,
Willow, holm, [6] plane, [7] boxe, chesten, laure,
Maple, thorne, beche, awe, hasel, whipultre, [8]
How they were felde shall not be tolde by me.
The right English name is, therefore, "chesten"; modern usage has added "nut," which is as irrational as it would be to speak of a "hazel-nut" to indicate a hazel or a "fircone" to indicate a fir.
Shakespeare, of course, was quite familiar both with the tree and its fruit. Thus one of the witches in Macbeth:
A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap,
And mounched and mounched and mounched.
"Give me," quoth I.
"Aroint thee, witch!" the rump-fed ronyon cries.
Moreover, the chestnut had been long enough established in England to have its name borrowed to denote a rich shade of russet. So in As You Like It:
Rosalind. I' faith, his hair is of a good colour.
Celia. An excellent colour; your chestnut was ever the only colour.
The Spanish chestnut is essentially a southern growth, being found wild only in Southern Europe, Algeria, Asia Minor, and Northern Persia. It is remarkable, therefore, that it should thrive so well in the British Isles, even in the northern part thereof; for although, as aforesaid, it is shy of fruiting in Scotland, it grows to enormous proportions in that country.
Probably the tallest chestnut north of the Tweed is one at Yester, in East Lothian, which in 1908 measured 112 feet high by 18 feet 8 inches in girth. Next to it comes a fine tree at Marchmont, in Berwickshire, 102 feet high by 14½ in girth, with a clear bole of 32 feet. Still further north, there is a huge fellow at Castle Leod, in Ross-shire, which, though only 76 feet high, girths no less than 21 feet 4 inches at 5 feet from the ground.
[29]
The finest chestnut I have seen anywhere is in the woodland of Thoresby Park, near Nottingham, being within the bounds of the ancient Sherwood Forest. In 1904 it was 110 feet high, with a straight bole quite clear of branches for 70 feet. Its cubic contents in timber were estimated at 300 feet. Loudon measured this tree in 1837 and found it to be 70 feet high, with a girth of only 11 feet at 1 foot from the ground. Its girth at that height is now over 17 feet. It is impossible to imagine a more perfect specimen of the species than this beautiful tree. It was planted about the year 1730, and is, therefore, now, say, 180 years old. Planters may accept a lesson from this tree, which has been drawn up to its fine stature by being grown in close forest among beeches, some of which, of the same height as itself, have been cleared away to show its fine proportions. Without such discipline, it might have expended its vigour in building up an enormously swollen trunk, instead of towering to its present height.
This tendency towards breadth instead of height may be seen in countless places, both in England and Scotland. The Trysting Tree at Bemersyde, the massive pair in Mr. Wallace's garden at Lochryan, and the great chestnut at Myres Castle, in Fife (19 feet 9 inches in girth), are examples in point. At Deepdene, in Surrey, there stands a tree of this character, the clear bole being only 8 feet high, but girthing 26½ feet at the narrowest part. Near to it is one of nobler proportions—90 feet high, with a girth of 21 feet 5 inches.
[30]
There is one characteristic of the chestnut which, while it adds much to the beauty of the grove, certainly detracts from the value of the timber. Just as one may see in a Gothic cloister how the architect, wearying of straight columns, introduces here and there a twisted one, so the trunk of the chestnut often grows in a regularly spiral manner.
Economically and commercially, the timber of Spanish chestnut, up to a certain age, is no whit inferior to that of the oak—superior, indeed, in its young stages, owing to its producing less sap wood. Chestnut palings, gates, etc., are the most durable that can be made of any British-grown wood. In 1907 Lord Ducie exhibited at the Gloucestershire Agricultural Show some fencing posts made from chestnuts which he planted in 1855 and felled in 1885. These posts remained perfectly sound after exposure to wind and weather for two and twenty years.
Not only in durability, but in other qualities, the timber of chestnut is fully equal to that of oak, which it closely resembles; and, as it grows much faster and to a larger size than the oak, it would soon drive its rival out of the market, but for its greater liability to one grave defect, namely, "ring-shake." This is the name given to a splitting of the wood along one of the concentric annual rings, thereby ruining the log for the sawing of planks. The cause of this internal rupture is obscure, but the injury takes place in chestnuts over seventy years of age more commonly than in any other tree, and, as it cannot be [31] detected until the tree is felled, merchants are very shy of offering for a standing lot.
As a coppice tree, the Spanish chestnut has no equal in this country; the rotation of the crop is far shorter than that of oak, the poles are more durable, and a steady demand has been created for an admirable form of paling made up of split chestnut staves, set closely together upright and bound with wire. This kind of fence, however, ought not to be used in any fox-hunting country, for high-couraged hounds, attempting to climb it, get impaled on the sharp tops and frightfully injured.
"Chestnut," it is well known, is uncomplimentary slang for a worn-out anecdote. They told me in Philadelphia that the phrase had its source in a theatre in Walnut Street, one of the principal thoroughfares of that city. This theatre was built in rivalry of an older one in Chestnut Street: its répertoire lacked originality, and patrons of the other house, when they recognised jokes they had heard and situations they had seen there, used to hail the players with the cry—"A chestnut! a chestnut!" And this explanation may serve as well as another. In this connection I may be permitted to put on record a bon mot by a well-known member of the present Radical Government. We had been dining, a small party, in the House of Commons, shortly after the late Sir M. Grant Duff had published the third volume of his reminiscences, which, it may be remembered, contained many anecdotes not told for the first time. One of the ladies of our party expressed a wish to see [32] Westminster Hall, and, having been conducted thither, asked me what the fine roof was made of. "It is of oak," I replied; "some people used to think it was of chestnuts, but I don't suppose there were enough chestnuts in England to furnish a roof like that in the reign of Richard." "No," observed Mr. ——, "Grant Duff had not published his third volume!"
"Oh it's hame and it's hame, at hame I fain would be,
Hame, lads, hame in the north countrie;
Oh the oak and the ash and the bonny ivy tree,
They a' nourish best in the north countrie."
The bard who was responsible for this ancient jingle assigned that precedence to the oak which common sentiment has always accorded to it as the monarch of British woodland. Economically, also, the oak held the first place so long as Britannia ruled the waves from wooden walls, but in this ironclad era our Admiralty has little use for oak timber, and there is now no broad-leaved or "hardwood" tree that can be cultivated so profitably as the ash. Indeed it is hardly doubtful that this is the only species of tree, willows, poplars and certain conifers excepted, which a young man may plant with reasonable expectation of receiving any pecuniary profit during his lifetime. The properties which ensure to the ash (Fraxinus excelsior) this superiority to all rivals are its hardihood, the matchless quality of its timber for many purposes, and its market value from a very early age.
[34]
First, as to its hardihood. No British tree, not even the oak, is so wary of starting into growth before all risk of late spring frost is past. Tennyson, the very Virgil among British bards for keen observation of nature, has embalmed this characteristic in a beautiful passage in The Princess:
Why lingereth she to clothe herself in love?
Delaying, as the tender ash delays
To clothe herself when all the woods are green.
Once, and once only, do I remember the prudent ash to have been caught, namely, in 1897, when after a month of deceptive warmth, the mercury fell to 10° Fahrenheit on the 22nd May. Twenty-two degrees of frost within a month of the summer solstice! No wonder the young ash foliage, which had been lured into precocious growth, was shrivelled and blackened as by fire. And that, not only in the north, but in Herts and Hants, as I had occasion to note when trout-fishing in these southern counties. Even the beech and hawthorn fared no better, but their leaves were seared brown instead of black.
Then as to wind exposure, what tree can compare with the ash for length and strength of anchorage against the gale? It is astonishing to what distance it sends its tough roots, whether they run through free soil or wind themselves into the crevices of limestone rock. This far-ranging habit renders it the worst of all neighbours to a garden, and no ash tree should be suffered to grow within fifty yards of ground where herbs or fruit are cultivated.
MANNA ASH (Fraxinus ornus)
[35]
For toughness and strength the timber of ash has no equal, even among foreign woods; and it is always in request at a good price for waggon-building, implement-making, and other purposes. Moreover, British ash, properly grown, is more highly esteemed than ash imported from other countries. Unfortunately, owing to our neglect of systematic and economic forestry, as distinct from arboriculture and the management of game covert, ash is very seldom to be seen grown under proper conditions in the United Kingdom. It should be grown in woods sufficiently close to draw the stems up to such a height as will ensure a good length of clean bole. Standing in the open or in hedgerows, it sends out huge side branches which destroy the quality of the timber.
In consequence of our misuse of this tree, which ought to be the most valuable of all assets to British forestry, good ash timber has become exceedingly scarce; although undoubtedly there are an immense number of excellent stems in most parts of the country, which, if landowners generally understood their own interest and the true welfare of their woodland, would be felled and sold before they reached an unmanageable size.
In one respect the ash possesses a merit superior to any other hardwood tree, except, as aforesaid, willow and poplar, in that it reaches commercial maturity soonest. Grown under forest conditions in good, well-drained soil, it is most fit for the market at from fifty to seventy years of age. But, as it is readily saleable from twenty years old upwards, an [36] ash plantation may be reckoned on bringing in some revenue from thinnings long before the main crop is ripe for the axe. For instance, I was lately offered a very good price for ash poles averaging nine inches in diameter for the manufacture of billiard cues. The regular supply is drawn from Switzerland; but could most easily be furnished from British woodland if the necessary care were bestowed upon the saplings. The trees should not be allowed to stand after attaining eighty years of growth; for the timber, even if it continued sound, hardens after that age, and, losing much of its characteristic elasticity, does not command such a good price.
Homer says that the spear of Achilles had an ashen shaft, and all true Scots should hold the ash in special honour, forasmuch as of yore it furnished staves for their national weapon, the pike. It was from the long ashen pike-shafts of Randolph Moray's handful of Scots that de Clifford's cavalry recoiled on the Eve of St. John, 1314, after thrice attempting to break that bristling fence of steel; it was through the staunchness of his pikemen that next day, on the slopes of Bannockburn, Edward Bruce was able to bear the brunt of attack by the English columns, hurl them into unutterable ruin among the Milton bogs, and so set seal, once for all, to Scottish independence and freedom.
It was probably owing to the high value that the Scots had learnt to set upon ash timber, both for military and domestic use, that this tree was more commonly planted than any other in compliance with the statute of James II. (fourteenth Parliament, [37] cap. 80), requiring every landowner to cause his tenants to plant and maintain trees in number proportioned to the extent of their holdings. This was in 1424; in 1573 it was re-enacted, along with "sindrie louabil and gud Acts," by 6 James vi. c. 84; whereof the effect may still be traced in the landscape of many parts of Scotland in the shape of old ash trees standing round farmhouses and other homesteads. Often, where two or more farms have been thrown into one, the trees remain long after the disused buildings have been removed.
Belief in the medicinal virtues of the ash was very general in early times, probably derived from the Orient, where the manna ash (F. ornus) abounds. Yet Pliny, who recognised the difference between the two species, not only recommended extract of the common ash as a draught to cure snake-bites and as superior to any other remedy when applied to ulcers, but solemnly affirms that he has himself proved that if ash leaves are laid in a circle round a snake and a fire, the snake will crawl into the fire rather than touch the leaves. Even sage John Evelyn recommended ash extract to cure deafness, toothache and other ailments, and, later still, Gilbert White of Selborne describes the superstitious practice of passing sickly children through the stems of ash-trees, split for that purpose, in the belief that, if the clefts grew together again after the wedges were removed, the patients would recover. For household purposes, ash provides excellent firewood, which burns as well green as dry.
[38]
The tallest ash measured by Mr. H. J. Elwes in 1907, stood 146 feet high, and was 12 feet 7 inches in girth 5 feet from the ground. This fine tree is growing with many others of about equal height in Lord Darnley's park at Cobham, in Kent. The tallest ash recorded in Scotland was one at Mount Stuart, in the Island of Bute, stated to have been 134 feet high in 1879; but this has now disappeared. The loftiest certified by Messrs. Elwes and Henry as still standing is a great tree at Dalswinton, in Dumfriesshire, which, in 1904, stood 110 feet high, with a girth of only 8 feet 3 inches. Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn, however, claims to have one at Smeaton Hepburn measuring 124 feet in height and 11 feet in girth in 1908.
Weeping ashes have rather gone out of vogue, but they are very pretty things if the sport is grafted on a sufficiently high stem and the stock be not suffered to outgrow the graft, as it will do if not attended to. By far the most successful example of this kind of freak tree is the one at Elvaston Castle, near Derby, 98 feet high with branches hanging to a length of 60 or 70 feet, a truly remarkable object, and beautiful withal, as may be seen from the fine plate in Messrs. Elwes and Henry's book. Although its requirement of a deep, cool and generous soil render the ash unsuitable for London conditions, yet there are a few handsome weeping ashes in that city, notably one at the south-west corner of Bedford Square.
Like all our indigenous trees, the ash has impressed itself upon our place-names. Ashby, Ashton, Ashridge, [39] Ascot—the map of England is peppered freely with such names; that of Scotland more sparsely, owing to the preponderance of Gaelic in the topography. The Gael employed several forms of his name for the ash, namely, fuinnse, fuinnsean, and fuinnseog (pronounced funsha, funshan, and funshog), whence many names in southern and western Ireland such as Funcheon, a river in Cork, Funshin, and Funshinagh several times in Connaught. But the initial consonant soon dropped off, and in northern Ireland and among the Scottish Gaels the word became uinnse (inshy) preserved in the name Inshaw Hill (Wigtownshire), Killyminshaw (Dumfriesshire), etc.; or uinnseog (inshog), recognisable in Inshock (Forfar), Inshaig (Argyll), Inshog (Nairn), Drumnaminshoch and Knockninshock (Kirkcudbright). The plural uinnsean (inshan) has assumed a very grotesque form in Wigtownshire, where there are two farms twenty miles apart named Inshanks.
Liability to disease is an important consideration in regard to forest trees, and the ash has the merit of being remarkably free from ailments. The worst malady from which it is liable to suffer seriously is known as ash canker, whereby the timber is rendered worthless except for firing. Happily it does not seem very contagious; for I have known badly cankered trees standing for twenty years and more without imparting the disease to their healthy neighbours. The late Dr. Masters attributed the mischief to the work of the larva of a small moth (Tinea curtisella). That creature may start the injury, but [40] it is certainly taken up and aggravated by the fungoid organism Nectria ditissima. Although, as aforesaid, the disease does not appear to be readily communicable to healthy trees, it is not advisable to leave the unsightly invalids standing. The sooner they are cut down and burnt the better.
There are between fifty and sixty exotic species of ash, but among them there is only one known to me as specially desirable for ornamental planting, namely, the Manna Ash (Fraxinus ornus), producing a profusion of creamy-white plumes of blossom in June. This pretty tree is the source of the manna of commerce, a sweet and mildly laxative substance obtained by tapping the stem in late summer and allowing the sap which flows from the wound to coagulate.
Manna of various sorts is collected from many different kinds of plant; that which supported the Israelites in the desert is supposed to have been an exudation from the tamarisk; but Sicilian manna is the only kind that is recognised as an article of European trade. In Sicily the manna ash is planted in frassinetti or ash-yards, grown for eight years and regularly tapped, till the main stem is exhausted, when it is cut down, and a fresh growth is allowed to spring from the root. The active principle in manna is mannite, a hexatomic alcohol, chemically expressed as C6H8(OH)6. The manna ash is not often seen in this country; those specimens which are of any size are invariably grafted plants; but a stock is easily raised from seed, which Continental nurserymen [41] readily supply. In Dalmatia and Montenegro, where this tree abounds, drivers stick the flowers thereof in the harness of their horses to keep off flies, which dislike the peculiar odour. A Chinese species (F. mariesii) is near of kin to F. ornus, and is said to bear flowers of superior beauty to that tree; but of this I can only write from hearsay.
[42]
The Linden Tree or Lime
When we speak of a lime tree we conform to a corrupt usage, for the right English name is "line" or "linden tree," linden being the adjectival form of the Anglo-Saxon "lind," just as "asp" and "oak" give the adjectives "aspen" and "oaken." The late Professor Skeat, foremost authority in English etymology, observed that "the change from 'line' to 'lime' does not seem to be older than about A.D. 1700"; but he overlooked the use of the modern form by John Evelyn, who, in his Sylva (1664), writes always of "the lime tree or linden," showing that the change had taken place between his day and Shakespeare's.
Prospero. ... Say, my spirit,
How fares the King and his?
Ariel. Confin'd together
In the same fashion as you gave in charge;
Just as you left them, sir; all prisoners
In the line grove which weather-fends your cell.
(Tempest, Act v. sc. 1.)
The root meaning of the word is "smooth," referring to the texture of the timber, which caused it of old [43] to be in great request for making shields, so that in Anglo-Saxon lind meant a shield, as well as being the name of the tree.
COMMON LIME (Tilia vulgaris)
It is strange that Tennyson, so sensitive to delicacy of sound, should have used the modern form in his frequent mention of the tree. Only one instance comes to mind of his preferring the more musical dissyllable. When Amphion set the forest dancing—
The Linden broke her ranks and rent
The woodbine wreaths that bind her,
And down the middle—buzz! she went,
With all her bees behind her.
The limes form a somewhat perplexing family, inasmuch as, of the score or so of species recognised by botanists, several cannot be reputed as more than hybrids or sports. The only species claimed as indigenous to Britain is the small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata), and even about this botanists are not of a certain mind. For instance, the joint authors of The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland have formed different opinions, Dr. Henry considering it to be "a native of England, ranging from Cumberland southward," while Mr. Elwes fails to reconcile this with the facts that no fossil remains of this tree have been identified in the British Isles, and that he has never been able to find, or to find anybody else who has found, a self-sown seedling.
There are many fine specimens of the small-leaved lime in England, ranging from 80 to 110 feet high; but it has never been known to attain the dimensions of the common lime (T. europæa), which, although it [44] is an exotic species, has made itself thoroughly at home between the Straits of Dover and the Moray Firth, and is the tree which those who do not scrupulously discriminate regard as the lime tree par excellence.
It would require much space to mention all the notable limes in our country, for they were very extensively planted 200 or 300 years ago, and, being long-lived, many of them have grown to great size. Mr. Elwes gives the palm to the lime grove at Ashridge, Lord Brownlow's fine park in Hertfordshire. These trees were planted in 1660, and average 120 feet in height and 10 feet in girth. They have been grown in a close row, only 12 to 15 feet apart, and have thereby escaped the defects to which limes are so prone as ornamental trees—namely, spreading to ungainly breadth instead of rising to height, and covering their trunks with an unsightly mass of brush.
FLOWER OF THE LINDEN TREE (Tilia europæa)
At Knole Park, in Kent, advantage has been taken of this spreading habit to allow the formation of a very remarkable grove. The parent tree was described by Loudon as covering a quarter of an acre in 1820; the boughs have drooped so as to root themselves, and have risen again, forming trees 80 and 90 feet high, which in their turn have repeated the process, forming a second circle of trees 20 to 40 feet high, and these again are engaged in forming a third concentric circle, the total diameter of the grove, all connected with the central stem, being 36 yards. The great lime at Gordon Castle, known as the Duchess's Tree, has behaved in a similar way; but, [45] as the supplementary growths have not been trained into trees as at Knole, the whole forms a dense thicket, impenetrable save where a passage has been kept clear to the interior. A tree of this description covers almost enough ground, if not for a small holding, at least for an allotment, for the total circumference of this mass of branches is 480 feet or 160 yards.
It is as an avenue tree that the lime is seen at its best, disputing pre-eminence for that purpose with the beech. Moreover, although the beech must be accounted the more beautiful tree, its rival has advantage over it in the delicious fragrance of its blossom, which is produced in great profusion, powerfully attractive to bees. Strange to say, although the fragrant flowers are of a pale yellowish, greenish white, the honey extracted from them is deep brown, darker than heather honey, and of inferior flavour.
Fine avenues of limes are innumerable in Britain, many of them being over 200 years old. At Newhouse Park, Devon, Mr. Elwes describes a remarkable one, which was planted about 200 years ago as an approach to a house which never was built. The rows are only 20 feet apart, and the trees, which are only 10 feet apart in the rows, have risen to an immense height, averaging over 120 feet.
Among other notable lime avenues may be noted those at Stratton Park, Hants (Lord Northbrook's); Cassiobury, Herts (Lord Essex's), said to have been planted by Le Notre, the designer of the gardens at Versailles; at Braxted Park, Essex (Mr. Du Cane's), composed of three rows on each side; at Wollaton [46] Hall, Notts, and Birdsall, Yorks (both places belonging to Lord Middleton). In all these avenues the trees range from 120 to 130 feet high; but none can compete in length with an avenue planted at Clumber by the Duke of Newcastle in 1840, which is only 200 yards short of two miles long. Unfortunately, these trees were planted far too wide apart in the rows, 31 feet from tree to tree, and, having been afterwards neglected in the matter of training, have squandered their luxuriance in bushy growth. To form a fine avenue timely pruning is indispensable.
The lime, being more tolerant than the beech of drought, parching heat and a smoky atmosphere, thrives vigorously in towns of moderate size, and also in large cities where the chief fuel is not coal. The well-known thoroughfare, Unter-den-Linden, in Berlin, corresponds to the Mall in London. I have not identified the species with which it is planted; certainly of late years they have been planting in Berlin a natural hybrid known as the smooth-leaved lime (T. euchlora), which has the merit of keeping its glossy foliage later in autumn than the common lime. The trees in Unter-den-Linden are remarkable neither for size nor vigour, but they provide grateful shade and verdure in summer.
WEEPING WHITE LIME (Tilia petiolaris)
At Wakehurst Place
The atmosphere of Berlin is certainly not so hurtful to tree growth as that of London, where poplars, planes, ailanthus, and acacia (Robinia) are practically the only forest trees that can do battle successfully with the parching heat and stifling fogs of that city; conditions which the limes that used [47] to stand in the Mall resented by casting their foliage in disgust before August was sped. The limes in the Cathedral close of Winchester afford an example of felicitous association of foliage with noble architecture. Perhaps there is a remembrance of them in Tennyson's Gardeners' Daughter:—
Over many a range
Of waning lime the gray cathedral towers,
Across a hazy glimmer of the west,
Reveal'd their shining windows.
The smooth white timber of lime was once in much more request than it is now. Pliny praises it as worm-proof and useful, describing how the inner bark was woven into ropes, as it now is into bast for the mats with which gardeners protect their frames from frost. These mats are chiefly made in and exported from Russia. Lime timber, being less liable to split than other woods, was the favourite material for wood-carving; indeed, Evelyn writes of it as being used exclusively in their work:—
"Because of its colour and easy working, and that it is not subject to split, architects make with it models for their designed buildings; and the carvers in wood use it, not only for small figures, but for large statues and entire histories in bass and high relieve; witness, beside several more, the festoons, fruitages, and other sculptures of admirable invention and performance to be seen about the choir of St. Paul's and other churches, Royal Palaces, and noble houses in city and country; all of them the works and invention of our Lysippus, Mr. [Grinling] Gibbons, comparable, and for aught appears equal, to anything of the antients. Having had the honour (for so I account it) to be the first who recommended this great artist to His Majesty Charles II., I mention it on this occasion with much satisfaction."
[48]
It is owing to the neglect of British planters and the consequent irregularity of the home timber trade that this fine timber has been ousted from its former pre-eminence by imports of other kinds.
In writing of the common lime, I have used the scientific name, Tilia europæa as conferred on it by Linnæus, rather than the more recent title of T. vulgaris. There seems a special reason for retaining the old name, inasmuch as Linnæus considered his own family name was derived from the linden tree.
ENGLISH ELM (Ulmus campestris)
[49]
The Elms
It is a matter of doubtful argument how many species go to compose the genus Elm—Ulmus—owing to the uncertainty of distinguishing true permanent species from varieties and natural hybrids. Foremost botanists have differed widely on the question; for whereas Bentham and Hooker recognised in 1887 only two true species growing naturally in the United Kingdom, Elwes and Henry describe five native species, besides nine varieties of the wych elm, as many of the English elm, and no fewer than thirteen varieties of Ulmus nitens, a species hitherto classed as a form of the English elm.
The distribution of the elm family is somewhat peculiar, extending all the way from Japan, through Northern China and Europe to North America, but not crossing to the Western States; nor is any species to be found south of the temperate zone, except in the mountain ranges of Southern Mexico. Of all the cities of the New World, Boston reminds the British traveller more vividly of home scenes than any other, by reason of the massive English elms which enrich the landscape. Pity it is that we cannot [50] return the compliment by planting the beautiful white elm (Ulmus Americana), the glory of Washington city, for it does not take kindly to our island climate.
The elm with which we are most familiar in the North is the wych elm (U. montana), easily to be distinguished from the English elm by the fact that it throws up no suckers from the root, whereas the English elm hardly ever ripens seed, and propagates itself entirely by suckers which it sends out as colonists to an astonishing distance—50 yards and more. There are exceedingly few authentic records of the English elm ripening seed in Great Britain; on the other hand, the wych elm sometimes produces a prodigious crop. In the spring of 1909 this tree presented a curious appearance. The foregoing summer had been a very warm one, stimulating the wych elm to such extraordinary efforts at reproduction that, before the leaves appeared, the trees seemed to be covered with fresh young foliage, which was really the crowded leaf-like seed vessels. In June these leaf-like membranes had become dry scales, each acting as parachute to a single seed, so that, under a hot sun and a high wind, the air was full of them—so full that they actually choked the eave-gutters of my house. Each of these little monoplanes carried the potentiality of a majestic forest tree; given a suitable resting-place, any one of these minute seeds might develop into an elm like those at Darnaway, in Morayshire, which in 1882 were 95 feet high, with clean boles up to 24 feet. So great was the exhaustion following upon the [51] abnormal seed crop of 1909 that some of my elms were crippled by it, and two or three died outright. [9]
WYCH ELM (Ulmus montana)
To produce well-shaped wych elms, timely pruning is essential, followed by close forest treatment, for no other tree spreads more wildly and wantonly, and unless means are taken to keep a single leader on each, the result will be very different from those lordly examples which stood, not many years ago, on the banks of the White Cart at Pollok, four of which were figured by Strutt in his Sylva Britannica in 1824. The largest of these measured in that year 85 feet in height and 11 feet 10 inches in girth, and contained 669 cubic feet of timber. Two of this group were blown down in the great gale of 22nd December, 1894, and the remaining pair were felled in 1905, being respectively 90 and 96 feet high. The age of these giants was shown by the annual rings to be about 300 years.
The weeping elms which one sometimes sees in gardens is a variety which originated in a Perthshire nursery about one hundred years ago. It is very ornamental, though it never attains much height, being perfectly flat-topped. As it can only be propagated by grafts, a sharp lookout must be kept to prevent the stock outgrowing the scion.
The wych elm is indigenous over the whole of the northern part of Great Britain, the largest recorded being at Studley Royal, in Yorkshire—105 feet high and 23 feet in girth at 5 feet up in 1905. As an [52] element of the primæval Scottish forest, the wych elm must have been held in high esteem, judging from the number of Gaelic place-names commemorating it. The old Gaelic name for it was leam, plural leaman (pronounced "lam" and "lamman"). Ptolemy's Leamanonius lacus is now Loch Lomond, the lake of elms, out of which flows the Leven, which is the more modern aspirated form leamhan (pronounced "lavan"); and we find the same association of names in eastern Scotland, where the Lomond Hills overlook the town of Leven. The Lennox district was formerly written Levenax, which is the adjectival form leamhnach (lavnah), an elm wood. The rivers Lune and Leven in Lancashire (Ptolemy's Alauna), the Leven in Cumberland, and the Laune at Killarney all seem to indicate the former existence of elm woods on their banks. In the name Carlaverock is probably preserved another derivative—caer leamhraich, the fort among the elms.
It was long supposed that the English elm (U. campestris) was not indigenous to England, seeing that it never propagates itself in these islands by seed. Its presence was explained by the convenient device of attributing its introduction to the Romans; but there is not a shred of evidence in support of this conjecture. The elm of Italy is quite a distinct species, according to Elwes and Henry, a fact with which Shakespeare, though familiar with "Warwickshire weeds" (as elms are called near Stratford-on-Avon), may not have been acquainted when he made Adriana plead with him she believed to be her husband:
Come, I will fasten on this sleeve of thine;
Thou art an elm, my husband, I a vine;
Whose weakness, married to thy stronger state,
Makes me with thy strength to communicate.
The English elm, however, grows luxuriantly in Spain, and ripens seed abundantly there, the tradition being current that it was introduced from England to the Royal Park at Aranjuez when Philip II. was laying out that demesne. Dr. Henry, however, considers it not improbable that this tree is truly indigenous in Spain, and that it is certainly so in the southern counties of England, where, as aforesaid, it reproduces itself only by suckers. Other examples are not wanting of certain plants yielding to climatic conditions, by resorting to reproduction by suckers and ceasing to produce seed.
Perhaps the most striking display of the true English elm to be found anywhere is the magnificent quadruple avenue known as the Long Walk, at Windsor. Many of these are 120 feet high and 15 feet in girth. The avenue leads from the Castle gates to the statue in the park, a distance of two miles and three-quarters. Taller individual elms may be seen elsewhere, as in the grounds of King's College, Cambridge (130 feet), Boreham House, in Essex (132 feet), and Northampton Court, Gloucestershire (150 feet by 20 feet in girth). The last-named tree, by the way, may no longer be seen, for it was blown down in 1895, but there can be no doubt about its dimensions, which were accurately ascertained as it lay on the ground. It was probably the champion of that [54] particular species in England; but it was inferior in bulk to the great elm which stood in the grounds of Magdalen College, Oxford, until it was blown down in April, 1911, pronounced by Mr. Elwes to be "the largest elm I have ever seen and the largest tree of any kind in Great Britain." [10] Mr. Elwes carefully measured the fallen giant, finding it to be 142 feet high, 27 feet in girth, and containing 2787 cubic feet of timber. He and Dr. Henry pronounce it to have belonged to the variety or sub-species classed as the smooth-leaved Huntingdon or Chichester elm (U. vegeta, Lindley), although in this case no suckers had been produced, which the Huntingdon elm usually sends up in profusion.
It is usually stated in forestry manuals that the English elm is not suited for Scottish conditions. My own experience is directly opposed to that view, for, having some score or so of these trees now about 110 years old to compare with wych elms planted at the same time, the English species exceeds the other in height and equals it in bulk. Two English elms at Loudon Castle, in Ayrshire, were measured in 1908, and were found respectively to be 107 feet by 15 feet 4 inches and 105 feet by 16 feet 4 inches.
THE GREAT ELM AT MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD
I have found, however, that by far the shapeliest and best elm for Scottish planting is the smooth-leaved elm, formerly, and probably correctly, considered to be merely a permanent variety of the English elm (U. campestris), but now distinguished as a species under the title of Ulmus nitens. It certainly [55] resists violent winds better than the English elm, being therefore preferable for sea exposure. Moreover, its timber is esteemed more highly than that of other elms, being remarkably tough. Dr. Henry has distinguished a variety of this elm as Italica—the Mediterranean elm—which is the kind used by Tuscan vine-dressers to train their vines on.
The smooth-leaved elm is of less sprawling habit than the wych elm, but occasionally it takes advantage of space to spread out of all measure. Of this there is an example at Sharpham, near Totnes, where a tree of this species has covered the space of a quarter of an acre, some of its side branches being 104 feet long. The total height was between 80 and 90 feet in 1906, in which year it was figured in the Gardeners' Chronicle as a wych elm. Mr. Elwes, however, pronounces it to be of the smooth-leaved kind. On the other hand, the Cornish elm, which is a variety of U. nitens, is usually of columnar habit.
The Sycamore and other Maples
"Put forth thy leaf, thou lofty plane,
East wind and frost are safely gone;
While zephyr mild and balmy rain
The summer comes serenely on."
A north countryman, reading Clough's beautiful lines, is pretty sure to apply them to the wrong tree, because, when a Scots forester speaks of a plane tree, he is understood to mean what in the south is called a sycamore. But even that is a misnomer, the true sycamore, mentioned in Holy Writ, being a fig-tree (Ficus sycamorus).
SYCAMORE (Acer pseudo-platanus)
In Summer
The sycamore and the plane are quite distinct, belonging to separate natural orders, the sycamore being a maple (Aceraceæ), the largest of all the maples, and the plane constituting a single group in the order Platanaceæ. The confusion of names has arisen from the success with which the sycamore masquerades as a plane, imitating its foliage and aping it in its habit of shedding the bark in thin flakes. Botanists have given recognition to this peculiarity by the scientific title they have conferred on the sycamore, viz. Acer pseudo-platanus, or the false plane. But in [57] its flower and fruit the sycamore cannot disguise its true affinity. Its flowers are arranged in triplets on long hanging scapes, of a yellowish green, only requiring a dash of brighter hue to render the sycamore one of the loveliest objects in the spring woodland. The flowers are followed by fruits which stamp the tree unmistakably as a maple. The seed-vessels are composed of what in botany are termed samaræ or keys, each containing a large seed or two. These samaræ are attached to each other in pairs, and, as each carries a beautifully-formed membranous wing, the result is a pair of wings to each pair of seed-vessels, securing wide distribution of the seeds by autumnal winds. On the other hand, the flowers of the true plane (Platanus) are very minute, and the fruit consists of a mass of thin seeds set among closely-pressed hairs and bristles, forming a hard, perfectly round ball nearly an inch in diameter. These balls, from two to six on each fruiting stalk, hang conspicuously on the branches all winter, until the dry March winds burst them and allow the seeds to float away.
Neither sycamore nor plane are natives of the United Kingdom. The plane, though it excels all other trees for planting in smoky towns like London, does not take kindly to the cooler atmosphere of Scotland and northern England. Not so the sycamore, which, although naturally a product of the mountain ranges of Central and Southern Europe, nowhere flourishes more freely and sows itself more abundantly than in North Britain. Indeed, it is a conspicuous [58] instance of the careless prodigality of Nature how thickly every bare spot in a wood becomes covered with seedling sycamores, not one in a million of which have the faintest chance of surviving two or three seasons.
The life period of the sycamore is a long one, probably three times that of the beech and equal to that of the oak. At Truns, in the Swiss Oberland, a great sycamore, already in ruin, was destroyed by a storm in 1870. As it was under this tree that the Grey League, originators of the canton of Grisons, took the oath in 1424, it can scarcely have been less than 600 years old when it ceased to exist. Mr. Elwes gives the dimensions of another mighty sycamore in Switzerland, growing at an elevation of more than 4000 feet in the canton of Unterwalden, which must be coeval with the tree of the Grey League. It measures 29 feet in circumference at 5 feet from the ground. We cannot quite equal that in Scotland, although in that country and northern England there are some enormous sycamores. Behind the Birnam Hotel stand two very large trees, an oak and a sycamore. The oak, lesser of the two, is shown to visitors as the last survivor of that forest whereof it was said
Macbeth shall never vanquished be
Until great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him.
SYCAMORE
In Winter
The other is a giant sycamore, reported in Hunter's Woods and Forests of Perthshire (1883) to be one thousand years old, which, of course, is impossible. I measured the girth of this great tree in 1903, and [59] made it 19 feet 8 inches at 5 feet from the ground. It was not until long after that I found that Hunter had given exactly the same measurement twenty years earlier. This girth is exceeded by one at Castle Menzies, which, in 1904, gave 20 feet 4 inches. The loftiest sycamore reported in Scotland is also in Perthshire, at Blair Drummond. This tree Dr. Henry ascertained to be 108 feet high, with a girth of 10 feet.
At Kippenross, also in Perthshire, there remain fragments of a sycamore destroyed by lightning in 1860. It was known in the seventeenth century as "the Muckle Tree o' Kippenross," and was estimated in 1821 to contain 875 cubic feet of timber.
It would be vain to attempt within reasonable limits of space to give a catalogue of the notable sycamores in Great Britain. Most of the finest specimens are in Scotland; for no tree can be planted in our northern land with greater security of success; it fears neither severe frost nor reasonable wind exposure; but it insists upon well-drained soil. In damp, low-lying ground it may appear to flourish; but in such a situation it is sure to prove "boss" (to use a term in Scottish forestry) or hollow at the heart when ready for the axe. In England there are many sycamores of 100 feet and upwards; but this tree has become much more closely identified with the landscape of the northern counties than with that of the south.
As a forest tree, the sycamore has been treated with unmerited neglect by British planters; though it is not singular in that respect, so improvidently have [60] we accustomed ourselves to rely upon foreign supplies. We ought to bestow more care upon our sycamores, because not only is it a tree that rapidly re-establishes itself by seed and is practically immune from disease, but it produces timber which, when of sufficient size, commands a higher price than any other British-grown wood. That size is not less than 18 inches quarter girth, representing sixty to eighty years' growth, and from that size up to any dimensions, provided that the bole is straight, clean-grown and free of knots. The main purpose for which such stems are in demand is for making large rollers used in calico and wallpaper printing, in washing machines and cotton dyeing. A few years ago I was shown a single sycamore growing at Makerstoun on Tweedside for which the owner had been offered, and refused, £50. The wood is also in good request for railway carriage panelling, furniture, dairy utensils, etc.
FRUIT OF SYCAMORE (Acer pseudo-platanus)
As an ornamental tree it must be owned that the sycamore does not take high rank, owing to the monotonous tone assumed by its massive foliage after the flush of spring has passed. Nor does it usually compound for this by splendour of autumnal colour, as so many of the maple family do. Indeed, this is one of the qualities of its near kindred which the sycamore has discarded in order, it would almost seem, to simulate the plane more perfectly and to justify its appellation of "the false plane"; for the foliage of the plane falls like that of the sycamore without any dying brilliancy. It is true, however, that old sycamores, when sheltered from sea winds, [61] do sometimes assume bright tones of yellow and orange in autumn. At Keir, in Perthshire, a row of aged trees of this species surprised me by their brilliancy in November, 1913.
Although, as I have said, the sycamore is remarkably free from disease and from serious fungoid or insect attacks, it is the host of a parasitic fungus which seldom fails to make its presence apparent, though without perceptibly affecting the growth or health of the tree. Readers must be very familiar with the circular black spots which appear on the leaves about midsummer and continue till they fall. It is not a few leaves or a few trees here and there that are so affected, but all the leaves on large trees and on every tree in the wood. The difficulty is to find a leaf without these black spots; so that people have come to regard them as part of the regular colour scheme of the foliage. Nevertheless, each of these blots is a colony of the parasitic fungus, Rhytisma, whereof the life-history is still subject for investigation. It is not evident how the colonies are regularly distributed, each clear of the other, all over the leaves of a lofty tree, nor how, seeing that they fall to the ground with the leaves in autumn, the fungus manages to get access in the following summer to the loftiest branches. It is lucky that, being so widely distributed and existing in such incalculable numbers, these colonies do not appreciably interfere with the natural functions of the sycamore.
The only native species of maple in Britain is the Field Maple (Acer campestre), which does not extend [62] naturally into either Scotland or Ireland, though it grows freely in both these countries when planted in either of these countries. It is a very ancient element in the woodland of south Britain, its remains having been identified in pre-glacial beds in Suffolk. It has no qualities to recommend it for ornamental planting, and the timber, once highly prized by British cabinetmakers, has been ousted from the home-market by imported foreign woods. When the Rev. William Gilpin, author of a well-known work on Forest Scenery, died in 1804, he was buried, it is said, at the foot of a field maple growing in his own churchyard at Boldre, in the New Forest. Strutt gave a figure of this tree which he described as the largest of the species in England; but he gives the height as only 45 feet, whereas Elwes records several from 60 to 70 feet high.
A far more desirable tree than the field maple is the Norway maple (A. platanoides, Linn.). The title "Norway" no more indicates its natural range than the term "Scots" does that of Pinus sylvestris, for this maple is found in most European countries and as far east as Persia and the Caucasus. It is a beautiful tree, especially in autumn, when its foliage takes on brilliant red and yellow hues; but it requires attention during the first twenty or thirty years of growth, in order to check its disposition to a straggling branchy habit. If that be stopped by timely pruning, the Norway maple grows straight and free, attaining, under favourable conditions, a height of 80 to 90 feet. Its timber has not the ornamental character of that [63] of field maple, but is said to be of similar quality to that of sycamore. The petioles or leaf-stalks of this species contain a milky juice, whereby the tree may be distinguished from all other members of the genus.
Now, whereas botanists enumerate no fewer than one hundred and ten species of maple, natives of Europe, Asia and America, it would be impossible within the limits of this modest volume to discuss even the most desirable of the genus. Among the North American species there are several that grow to splendid dimensions in their native forest. One of the most distinct is the red maple (A. rubrum), a beautiful object in spring when it bears flowers profusely, which, in some varieties, are of a charming red colour. There are a few specimens in England of the well-known sugar maple (A. saccharum), but it seldom thrives in this country, though it has been frequently tried since its introduction, according to Loudon, in 1735.
[64]
The Plane
Among Scottish foresters the name "plane-tree" has come to signify the sycamore; but the sycamore is a kind of maple, whereas the term "plane" is rightly appropriated to Platanus, whereof there are four species, constituting the natural order of Platanaceæ. Of these four species, three are natives of North America; and forasmuch as none of them has proved amenable to cultivation in Europe, they may be dismissed with the remark that one of them, the button-wood (P. occidentalis), attains enormous proportions in its native forests, rising to a height of 170 feet, and with a girth (recorded by Michaux) of 47 feet.
The fourth species (P. orientalis) ranks among the noblest hardwoods of temperate Europe and Asia. Clear among memories of many sylvan scenes stand a pair of giant planes on the flank of Mount Olympus, in the leafless branches of which on a bright January morning a pair of white-tailed eagles monopolised the attention which I was intended by my Turkish host to devote to woodcocks in the copse below. Those who have sailed along the Dalmatian coast [65] will doubtless remember the harbour of Gravosa, and the solitary plane that casts such a grateful shade across the quay. But one need not go to the Continent for giant planes. In our day it is one of the trees most commonly planted in the southern counties for shade and ornament, and has no equal for the smoke-laden atmosphere of London. It may be that it was one of Evelyn's seedlings that Bishop Gunning planted in his Garden at Ely between 1674 and 1684. This tree in 1903 was 104 feet high, with a girth of 20½ feet. Messrs. Elwes and Henry give a photograph of it in their Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, and consider it to be the largest specimen in our islands of the cut-leaved variety.
Turner, writing in 1562, mentions "two very young trees" growing in England, which indicates the middle of the sixteenth century as the period of its introduction. A hundred years later, Evelyn says he has raised from seed—
"Platanus, that so beautiful and precious tree so doated on by Xerxes that Ælian and other authors tell us he made halt and stop'd his prodigious army of seventeen hundred thousand soldiers to admire the pulchritude and procerity of one of these goodly trees, and became so fond of it that he cover'd it with gold gemms, necklaces, scarfs and bracelets, and infinite riches."
The maple-leaved variety, usually known as the London plane, is the sort most commonly planted in England, and rightly so, for it is more vigorous than the other. Probably the tallest in England grows at Woolbeding, in Sussex; it was 110 feet high in 1903, with a girth of 10 feet, and a clean bole of 30 feet. It [66] would be needless to enumerate the fine planes in and near London; one has only to look at the groups beside the Admiralty and in Berkeley Square to realise how it thrives in an atmosphere pernicious to nearly all other forest growths. Fifty or sixty years hence the avenue of planes planted not long since along the Mall will be one of the sights of Europe. The skilful way in which they are being trained each to a single leader gives them a stiff, ungraceful appearance at present; but this treatment is a bit of true arboriculture, carried out in the teeth of bitter criticism. "Bairns and fules shouldna see things half dune."
It is the absence of the conditions specially favourable to the growth of the plane in London and the south that makes it unsuitable for planting in the North of England and in Scotland. It is native to a region of scorching summers; in London the sun's heat is reflected from buildings and streets in a manner most acceptable to it. It will stand any amount of frost it may encounter in Scotland; but it pines for want of summer heat, witness the unhappy condition of those which have been planted experimentally along the west end of Princes Street, Edinburgh. I do not know of a single plane of more than mediocre stature north of the Tweed.
The plane is nearly as late in leafing as the ash and the walnut, thereby escaping the cruel frosts so characteristic of British spring; but unlike the ash, it retains its foliage into very late autumn. Pliny described an evergreen plane growing in Crete; but [67] after the botanist Tournefort (1656-1708) had searched the island in vain for it, this was relegated to the category of myths. Howbeit, tardy justice was done to Pliny as the prince of field naturalists, when in 1865 Captain Spratt, R.N., was shown two young plane trees, retaining their leaves throughout the winter, which had sprung from the root of a very large tree that had been felled. He also heard of two others.
The Oriental plane has not been long enough established with us to give an estimate of its longevity in Britain. In the Mediterranean region it attains a vast age. Only a hollow stump remains of one at Vostiza, in the Gulf of Lepanto, which in 1842 was about 130 feet high and 37 feet 4 inches in girth, and was believed to be the tree described by Pausanias when writing his description of Greece in the second century after Christ. Neither have we learnt to make much use of the timber so plentifully produced by the plane, though it is said to be second to none for the bodies of carriages.
In antiquity of descent the plane tree has few, if any, superiors among broad-leaved trees, its remains having been recovered from the Cretaceous beds of North America, besides numerous species recovered from Miocene and Tertiary strata, in Northern Europe, whence they were expelled when that region became icebound.
The London planes have been accused of being chief agents in inflicting influenza, bronchitis and catarrh upon the inhabitants of the metropolis. It [68] has been seriously affirmed that when the seed-vessels of the plane break up in dry spring weather, the air is filled with minute spicules which act as an irritant upon human throats and noses. It may be so; but before condemning the trees, without which London would indeed be desolate, it would be well to ascertain first whether the ailments referred to are more prevalent in London during the months when the plane tree is shedding its dry fruit than they are at other times of the year; and second, whether they are more prevalent in London, where there is wealth of planes, than they are in cities where there are no planes, as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle, etc. Unless this can be shown to be the case, it is difficult to reconcile the fact that London has the lowest death-rate among the cities of the United Kingdom with any mischief arising from the luxuriance of these beautiful trees.
HORSE CHESTNUT (Æsculus hippocastanum) IN BLOOM
[69]
The Horse Chestnut
In one respect the horse chestnut (Æsculus hippocastanum) may be reckoned among the most remarkable trees of British woodland, inasmuch as, although it has been found in a wild state only here and there among the mountains of Greece and Albania, where it enjoys a climate widely dissimilar from that of Western Europe, it has a constitution so cosmopolitan as to become thoroughly at home in all parts of our country. It thrives as vigorously on the dry chalk soil of Hertfordshire as on the soaked hillsides of Perthshire, and, given reasonable shelter from violent winds, produces its magnificent foliage and flowers as freely near sea level as it does at Invercauld in Aberdeenshire, where there is, or was not long ago, a fair specimen growing at an elevation of 1,110 feet, not far short of the practical limit of tree growth in Scotland. In 1864 this horse chestnut was 8 feet 7 inches in girth, and was believed to have been planted in the year 1687; therefore, if it still stands, it is now 226 years old.
Another sign of the adaptability of the horse chestnut to British environment is the freedom with [70] which it ripens its large fruit and reproduces itself from self-sown seed wherever it gets a chance. The facility with which it does so has caused this tree to be deemed indigenous in many parts of Europe and Asia where it certainly is not a native, but where it has been planted originally on account of its beauty. Further confusion has arisen from the botanists Linnæus and De Candolle having failed to distinguish the Indian horse chestnut (Æ. indica) from the Greek species, and having assigned Northern Asia as the native region of the latter.
It would not be difficult to mention many individual horse chestnuts in the British Isles exceeding 100 feet in height; probably this tree, if subjected to forest conditions, would grow far loftier than that; but, as it is usually planted exclusively for ornament, it is most often found standing isolated, thereby receiving encouragement to develop enormous side branches and to grow in breadth and bulk rather than in height. Such is the character of a great horse chestnut standing in a group near Moncrieff House, Perthshire. In 1883 this tree measured no less than 19 feet in girth at 5 feet from the ground; but at 10 feet it divides into three huge limbs, each girthing 10 feet, and covers a space nearly 100 yards in circumference. The soil in this district is cool and the climate humid, very different from the conditions at Ashridge in Hertfordshire, where the soil is chalky and hot; yet there is in that fine park a horse chestnut even more massive than the Moncrieff House specimen, being about 80 feet high, and measuring 20 [71] feet in girth. Probably the loftiest horse chestnut in Britain, perhaps in the world, is one at Petworth, in Sussex, which, having been drawn up in close forest, now measures between 115 and 120 feet in height.
It is a pity that this noble tree does not more often receive encouragement to upward growth, seeing that if the surrounding trees are cleared away judiciously, that is not too suddenly, after the horse chestnut has reached a good height, it then feathers down in the most charming manner. It is very seldom that, without discipline of this kind, it will put its energy into height, and attain the fine proportions of a specimen at Biel, in East Lothian. In 1884 this grand tree, probably the loftiest in Scotland, measured 102 feet in height, with a clean bole of 40 feet. It is worth any amount of trouble to secure this character in the horse chestnut, which is an inveterate spreader if allowed licence; and the tendency may be checked by knocking side buds off the stem in the sapling stage, and timely pruning as the tree goes on to maturity.
As an avenue tree, the horse chestnut has few, if any, superiors. Perhaps the finest examples in Scotland of this manner of planting it are to be seen at Gilmerton, in East Lothian, and Drummond Castle, in Perthshire; while in England the splendid double avenue at Bushey Park, Middlesex, has long been famous, "Chestnut Sunday" being a noted festival for Londoners when the trees are in full bloom. The horse chestnut, however, is not a long-lived tree, and cannot be reckoned upon to survive beyond 250 [72] years. The Bushey Park chestnuts are failing fast, many having died already and been replaced by saplings.
Talking of avenues, it is worth while to note a calamity described by Mr. Hutchison of Carlowrie in the Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society for 1884. He states there that in 1867 an avenue of horse chestnuts was planted as an approach to the cemetery of Wimborne, Dorsetshire, the trees being set 25 feet apart in the rows. In 1875 it was thought to improve the avenue by planting yews in the intervals between the chestnuts, which had this unfortunate result, that the chestnuts, which had previously thriven finely, all pined away and died.
It is on record that the horse chestnut was first brought to France in 1615, and probably found its way into England about the same time. It seems that it was expected to rank with walnuts and Spanish chestnuts as a fruit tree, a notion which was speedily dispelled. John Evelyn, however, with a right taste for sylvan beauty, early discerned its decorative merit, writing about it in 1663 as follows:
"In the meantime I wish we did more universally propagate the horse chestnut, which being increased from layers, grows into a goodly standard, and bears a glorious flower, even in our cold country. This tree is now all the mode for the avenues to their country places in France."
Travellers in that fair land will remember with pleasure the fine use still made of this tree beside some of the high roads. Between Tours and Blois the wayside has been planted with a chestnut unknown [73] to Evelyn, for it did not exist anywhere in his day. This is the red horse chestnut (Æsculus carnea), which seems to have originated in Germany about the beginning of the nineteenth century, and is believed to be a hybrid between Æ. hippocastanum and the North American shrub Æ. pavia. It is a most beautiful tree, the flowers being of a delightful shade of bright carmine. We are told not to expect it to attain the stature of the common horse chestnut, so it would be well, in designing an avenue, not to mix the red and the white with a view to matching them in height; but the red hybrid has already risen to 50 feet high at Barton in Sussex, and I entertain an idea that this tree may develop into larger proportions than is expected of it, when planted in good soil and favouring shelter. At all events, some which I planted about thirty years ago are now quite as large as common horse chestnuts of the same age.
Mr. Elwes recommends the horse chestnut for planting in towns, remarking that "next to the plane it is one of the best trees we have for this purpose, and does not seem to suffer much from smoke." I regret that I am unable to endorse this view. It is true that in towns of moderate size, and in country villages, horse chestnuts may be planted with excellent effect. I know of few more charming sights than is presented by the group of these trees in the high street of Esher when they are in flower; but in London horse chestnuts prove a lamentable failure. Living as I used to do in the neighbourhood of Sloane Street, it was a distress to me each year to watch the [74] stunted, round-headed chestnuts in the gardens at the lower part of that thoroughfare, and in Eaton Square, unfolding their delicate fingers only to have them parched and blackened by the ruthless drought and dirt of the Metropolis.
As a timber producer, the horse chestnut cannot be assigned high rank. There is no lack of quantity, for the tree increases very rapidly in bulk, but in quality the wood is soft, weak, and very perishable. Moreover, it is almost useless as fuel, and probably the only economic purpose to which it could be applied profitably is the production of wood-pulp and celluloid.
The true meaning of the prefix "horse," by which this tree is distinguished from the true or Spanish chestnut, has been the subject of much discussion. Apparently it was not applied in the sense of "coarse, large," as in the terms horse-radish, horse-mushroom, etc., for the Turkish name for it is at kastan, signifying horse-chestnut; and this was explained in a letter written by the Flemish Dr. Quackleben to Matthiolus in 1557 (many years before the tree was known in Britain), explaining the use of the fruit as a specific against broken wind in horses.
ASPEN TREE (Populus tremula)
"Hard by a poplar shook alway,
All silver green with gnarled bark;
For leagues no other tree did mark
The level waste, the rounding gray."
There is much confusion among the different species of poplar, but it is clear that in these verses Tennyson had in view our native abele or grey poplar (Populus canescens), a native of Great Britain, often mistaken for the white poplar (P. alba), which nearly resembles the grey, and has been planted in this country, but is probably an exotic. The poet's epithet "silver green" admirably describes the foliage of the grey poplar, for some of the shoots bear green leaves, others white ones, others again green leaves on the lower part and white on the upper.
Of all known species of poplar, thirty or so in number, the abele produces the choicest timber, much in request by carriage-builders, who sometimes pay as much as 2s. 6d. a cubic foot for well-grown logs. It is excellent timber for flooring bedrooms, being [76] less inflammable than any other British-grown wood except larch. It is, therefore, characteristic of British neglect of woodland resources that this tree is hardly ever planted, though it is most easily propagated from suckers or cuttings, and attains an immense size long before an oak could reach maturity.
The abele is more common in Scotland than in England, and many large trees might be mentioned in the North. It would be difficult, however, to find any to surpass two growing at Mauldslie Castle, in Clydesdale, one of which in 1911 measured 100 feet high and 21 feet 3 inches in girth, the other 117 feet by 16 feet 5 inches. It should be noted that the girth of both was taken at between 2 and 3 feet from the ground, instead of 5 feet, which is the proper height for measurement.
Next in economic importance to the grey poplar stands what is popularly known in this country as the black Italian poplar (P. serotina), which is not Italian in any sense, but a hybrid originating in France (where it is called peuplier suisse) between an American species and the true black poplar (P. nigra). This confusion of names is all the more perplexing because the upright variety of the true black poplar goes by the name of Lombardy poplar. However, one must use the names most generally recognised among woodmen, and the black Italian poplar is well worthy of more attention than it has hitherto received in this country, for it produces valuable timber in greater bulk in a short term of years than any other British-grown tree. Mr. Elwes [77] has recorded how thirty poplars of this variety, planted on cold clay in Gloucestershire, not worth 5s. an acre, were sold for £3 apiece at forty-eight years of age. He lays stress on the importance of giving this tree plenty of room at all stages of growth, planting them at 15 to 20 feet apart, for the timber is little worth unless the tree gets enough light to enable it to produce wood rapidly. This precept applies to every species of poplar.
The tallest black Italian poplar in Great Britain is probably one growing on the banks of the Tillingbourne, in Albury Park, Surrey, which in 1912 measured 150 feet high, with a girth of 15 feet 3 inches. There are many fine specimens in Scotland, notably one at Scone Palace, which in 1904 was 132 feet high, with a girth of 15 feet 4 inches. Another at Monzie, in Perthshire, measured at the same time, stood 125 feet high.
Turning now to the true black poplar (Populus nigra), we find that this species, a native of Midland England, but probably not of Scotland, has become established in the eastern United States, having been introduced there by British colonists. It has often been confused with the black Italian variety, but may easily be distinguished in this country by the large burrs on the trunk, by its earlier leafing, and by the young foliage being green, instead of reddish, as in the black Italian. The true black poplar also sheds its leaves much earlier in autumn than does the other. It is not a tree commonly planted in Scotland, but there are specimens ranging from 90 to 100 feet high [78] at Dalzell, Ross, and Cambusnethan, in Lanarkshire; at Auchentorlie, on the Clyde; and at Smeaton-Hepburn, in East Lothian.
The variety of this tree so well known as the Lombardy poplar forms a notable feature in the landscapes of Southern England, Central and Southern Europe, and a great part of Asia. As it can only be propagated by cuttings, it is believed that all the millions of Lombardy poplars spread over the continents of Europe and Asia originated with a single "sport" growing on the bank of the river Po early in the eighteenth century. Probably the first of its race was brought to England about 1750 by the third Duke of Argyll, and planted by him at Whitton, near Hounslow. This tree, which has now disappeared, was measured by Loudon before 1838 as 115 feet high.
WHITE POPLAR (Populus alba) In July
WHITE POPLAR (Populus alba) In December
One peculiarity of the Lombardy poplar I do not remember to have seen noticed by any writer on forestry. Other poplars of all sorts, including the black poplar whereof this is only a variety, mingle branches freely with their neighbours; but the Lombardy poplar is a regular Sainte-Nitouche, and will not suffer contact with any other tree, even one of its own race. A curious example of this may be seen in London. When the Buckingham Palace Hotel was built, somewhere about 1860, Queen Victoria desired that a screen of trees should be planted within the Palace enclosure to shut the hotel out of view. The Office of Works chose the Lombardy poplar, calculating that it would form a lofty, thick hedge. Not a bit of it! The trees died rather than touch each other; [79] they have been replaced times without number; but the Office of Works has never discerned the secret of their temperament, and continue their task of Sisyphus year after year, filling the gaps caused by death with trees of the same kind. Had a row of true planes been set there at first, the privacy of the Palace would have been secured long before this.
Despite this constant characteristic of the Lombardy poplar, which anybody may verify for himself by examining the fine groups of them near Maidenhead and Windsor, Selby committed himself to the extraordinary statement that this tree, "planted so as to form a hedge, and being cut even at a certain height and regularly trimmed, becomes a thick and verdant hedge." [11]
The asp (Populus tremula) is now generally spoken of by the adjectival form "aspen." Its ceaseless movement earned it the name of "quick-beam" in Anglo-Saxon, and the Lowland Scots name, "quakin' asp" (corrupted into "quakin' ash") has, so far, survived the operations of School Boards. Long may it do so! The same characteristic in this tree gave it the Gaelic name of crithean (creean) or criothach (creeagh), "the trembler," which may be recognised in such place-names as Creechan in Dumfriesshire and, perhaps, Crieff, in Perthshire. Although in bulk and stature one of the humbler members of the poplar family, the asp exhibits in an extreme form a peculiarity common to all the genus—namely, that of hanging the leaves vertically, instead of holding them [80] horizontally. The leaves are glandular on both surfaces, which may be either the effect of or the reason for their assuming a position protecting both surfaces from the direct rays of the sun. To secure this position, the petiole, or foot stalk, of each leaf, being cylindrical in most of its length, is suddenly flattened midway between the leaf and the twig, as if it had been pinched while soft. This causes the leaf to hang as described, and to quiver with the slightest breath of air.
The asp is a hardy mountaineer; its graceful foliage and eau-de-Nile bark saves many a Highland hillside from dreariness, but it has long ceased to have the economic importance it once had. By an Act of the English Parliament (4 Henry V. c. 3), a penalty of 100 shillings was imposed upon anyone who put aspen wood to any other purpose than the making of arrows. Mrs. Hemans has woven into verse the mediæval myth which taught men to reckon this pretty tree accursed:
Oh! a cause more deep,
More solemn far, the rustic doth assign
To the strange restlessness of those wan leaves.
The cross, he deems, the blessed cross whereon
The meek Redeemer bowed His head to death,
Was formed of aspen wood; and since that hour
Through all its race the pale tree hath sent down
A thrilling consciousness, a secret awe,
Making them tremulous, when not a breeze
Disturbs the airy thistle-down, or shakes
The light lines of the shining gossamer.
Gerard, writing in the sixteenth century, says, with scant gallantry, that the asp "may also be [81] called tremble after the French name, considering it is the matter whereof women's toongs were made, which seldom cease wagging."
LOMBARDY POPLAR In Summer
LOMBARDY POPLAR In Winter
Professor Sargent enumerates eleven species of poplar as indigenous to North America, some of which, such as the Balsam poplar (P. balsamifera), the Ontario poplar (P. candicans), and the Carolina poplar (P. angulata), have risen to large dimensions in British woodland; but to follow out these, and their constantly recurring hybrids, would far exceed the limits of this paper.
There are many Asiatic species also, one of which (P. euphratica) we are now taught to recognise as the "arabim" whereon the captive Jews hung their harps (Psalm cxxxvii. 2). The weeping willow, named by Linnæus babylonica, is not found in the valley of the Euphrates.
It is time that British planters should recognise the importance of the more vigorous species of poplar as rapid timber-producers, thriving in cold, wet ground where no other crop could be raised so successfully. A useful example is set in this matter by French cultivators, who plant more poplars than any other tree. Moreover, all the species are most easily propagated and handled in planting. They should be grown from cuttings; it is futile to attempt raising them from seed—a most uncertain process, and unsatisfactory when it succeeds, cutting-grown plants being far more vigorous than seedlings.
[82]
The Birch
Bentham and Hooker recognised only two species of birch as indigenous to the British Isles—namely, Betula alba, the common birch, and B. nana, an insignificant shrub which grows in the Scottish Highlands. Messrs. Elwes and Henry, however, in their great work give specific rank to each of the two forms of the common birch prevailing in this country. It is certainly strange that the difference between them has not received more attention from foresters, seeing that one is a far more valuable tree than the other. Whether they be permanent species or merely racial varieties matters not for practical purposes; but it matters much that the better kind be planted where conditions are favourable for it.
The commoner and less desirable of the two forms has been named B. pubescens, owing to the young shoots being clothed with down, sometimes so minute as to require a lens to show it. This and the habit of the tree are the only constant marks of distinction from the other form, which is named B. verrucosa, because the shoots, though shining and [83] perfectly free from down, are studded with minute verrucæ, or warts, easily discernible by the naked eye. I have found in southern Norway, where the two reputed species grow together, intermediate forms which are no doubt natural hybrids.
The two species are usually quite different in habit, the common birch (B. pubescens) never carrying the long pendulous branchlets which distinguish the silver birch (B. verrucosa). Moreover, the common birch does not usually attain the stature of the other, although Mr. Elwes mentions having measured one at Malborough 90 feet high, with a girth of 8 feet. This is the species which grows naturally over the greater part of Scotland, especially in the west and north. The distinctive downiness of the young twigs may have had its origin in the humid atmosphere and abundant rainfall of the regions where it most abounds. Geographically it enjoys a very wide range, extending farther north than any other tree—as far as latitude 71° near the North Cape—and reappearing in Iceland and southern Greenland, far within the limit of floating ice. Eastward it extends as far as Kamschatka, but it does not reach southward beyond the Alps, not being found in the Pyrenees or the Apennines, whereas the silver birch reaches down to Sicily.
Coming to the north-east of Scotland, to Strathspey, Deeside, and part of the basin of the Moray Firth, one finds a change in the aspect of the birch forest; for here, although the common birch still prevails on the wetter parts, the silver birch is dominant [84] on the drained land and hill sides. It is there that the lady of the woods displays her true grace and it is hard to say whether she is more lovely in summer, when she waves her long green tresses in the breeze, or in winter, when the slanting sunbeams glint on the snowy stem, and the drooping branchlets appear like fine tracery against the sky. This is the true weeping birch so highly prized by landscape gardeners, and this is the species that should always be chosen for planting, provided the land is well drained, for it cannot stand damp feet with the same impunity as its cousin. The general rule is not difficult to remember that, whereas the common or downy birch will grow on almost any soil that is not actual swamp, the silver or weeping birch is very impatient of stagnant moisture.
Beautiful as are the birch woods of Strathspey (travellers to the North must have been charmed with those on both sides of the railway near Lochinsch Station), it must be confessed that the silver birch does not attain its greatest perfection in Great Britain. Individual trees may be found to compare pretty well with those in Continental woods; but the general average is not so good. I have not seen the birch forests of the Baltic provinces and Central Russia; those who have done so speak enthusiastically of them; but it is from no want of loyalty to the Birks of Aberfeldy that I have to admit that their bark has not the sheen nor their growth the free grace of their kindred in French, German, and Scandinavian forests.
BIRCH (Betula alba verrucosa) In June
BIRCH (Betula alba verrucosa) In December
Inseparably associated as the birch is with Scottish [85] landscape, poets and painters have never wearied of honouring it. The late David MacWhirter got its beauty rather on the brain, and one turned rather tired of what became a mannerism in his work. Hamilton of Bangour never rang his quaintly iterative changes so tenderly as in his ballad, The Braes of Yarrow, the tragedy of a maiden with two lovers. The lovers fight, and one falls—
The comliest swain
That e'er pu'd birks on the braes o' Yarrow.
The survivor presses his court, trying in vain to persuade the girl to leave Tweedside and come to his home beside Yarrow.
Sweet smells the birk, green grows, green grows the grass—
Yellow on Yarrow's braes the gowan;
Fair hangs the apple frae the rock,
Sweet the wave of Yarrow flowin'.
"Flows Yarrow sweet?" she argues with him—
Flows Yarrow sweet? as sweet, as sweet flows Tweed;
As green its grass, its gowan as yellow;
As sweet smells on its braes the birk,
The apple frae its rock as mellow.
The late Professor Veitch laid finger on the only blot in this fair picture. Apples do not hang from rocks either in Tweedside or by Yarrow, but rowan berries do. It is a pity that Hamilton yielded so far to eighteenth century classicism as to introduce the conventional apple. The line would surely have run more smoothly—
"Fair hangs the rowan frae the rock."
[86]
But I have wandered away from the birch. Economically, this tree has hitherto been reckoned of indifferent value, though there is an inexhaustible demand for bobbins. Clogmakers, also, will make picturesque encampment among birches of suitable size, and pay a fair price for working up the stems.
Of the well-nigh imperishable bark no use is made in this country, except that chemists extract from it an antiseptic called pyrobetulin, used also in the preparation of glass for engraving. But Scandinavian farmers sheath their wooden houses with birch bark, which makes a durable, waterproof covering, with a beautiful silvery appearance very gratifying to eyes offended by the evil aspect of corrugated iron. In Russia, also, a fragrant oil is distilled from birch-wood, whence Russia leather derives its peculiar odour. Careful housewives should note that there is no kindling equal to birch bark, which blazes up almost as fiercely as celluloid.
Of late years, a new use has been found for birch, deserving attention from owners of land whereon this tree grows naturally. The small branches and spray are found serviceable in the preparation of steel plates, the price given at present being about 46s. a ton. The trees should be cut before the sap rises, else the bundles will lose weight in drying. In dealing with a birch wood for this purpose, the crop may be considered recurrent at short rotation; for numerous suckers arise from the roots after the tree is felled and grow very rapidly. It is to be [87] noted with satisfaction that the well-nigh omnivorous rabbit cannot digest the young growths of birch; at least, it does not devour them wholesale.
The birch is very impatient of the shade of other trees. In its turn, although its delicate foliage might not be supposed to stop much light, its shade is very injurious to all other deciduous trees except the beech; a quality which causes one to wonder that such an experienced observer as P. J. Selby should have recommended it as a nurse for oak. [12] It is liable to be disfigured by the morbid growths popularly known as "witch's brooms." Authorities differ as to the cause of these fascinated bundles of twigs, some attributing them to the action of a fungus, Exoascus betulinus, others to the irritation brought about by a gall-mite (Eriophes rudis) attacking the buds. Probably both are contributory agents.
The Gaelic for birch is beith (pronounced "bey"), and may be recognised in numberless Scottish place-names, such as Drumbae, Auchenvey, Largvey, etc. The derivative beitheach (pronounced "beyoch"), signifying a birch wood, appears as Beoch in Ayrshire, Galloway, and Dumfriesshire.
Of exotic birches suitable for cultivation in the United Kingdom, there is a very complete collection in Kew Gardens. Among the North American species the black or cherry birch (Betula lenta) probably produces the best timber, but the most ornamental is the paper birch (B. papyrifera). The Japanese (B. [88] maximowicsii) seems to promise better bulk than any other as a forest tree in this country.
WILLOW BY THE STREAM
[89]
The Willows
"I offered him my company to a willow-tree, either to make him a garland, as being forsaken, or to bind him up a rod, as being worthy to be whipped."—Much Ado About Nothing, Act ii. sc. i.
"Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Through the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot."
The Lady of Shallot.
A certain botanist of distinction being consulted by an amateur about some variety of willow exclaimed: "Pray, don't tempt me among the willows; that way lies madness!" They are, indeed, a most complex family, consisting of no fewer than one hundred and sixty recognised species, besides those chance hybrids which, being not only wind-fertilised, but diœcious (that is, the male and female inflorescence is borne on separate trees), they are so prone to produce. Bentham and Hooker admitted fifteen species as indigenous to the United Kingdom, ranging from Salix herbacea, dwarfest of British shrubs, humbly crouching on bleak mountain [90] crests and seldom rearing its fairy branchlets to a greater height than a couple of inches, to the massive white willow (S. alba), which may tower to the height of nearly 100 feet.
British foresters have not hitherto turned the capabilities of the better kinds of willow to such account as might be done, for, except in the osier industry and for the manufacture of cricket bats, willows are scarcely ever cultivated for profit. When they are planted at all they are generally shoved into some piece of sour, swampy ground, fit for nothing else; and the fact that they will actually flourish in such places is taken as evidence that they prefer them. But the better willows appreciate a kindly soil as much as any other tree, and it is only on wholesome, but moist, land that they develop their proper qualities.
By far the most valuable willow in the present condition of the timber market is the blue willow, which some botanists distinguish as a species under the name of Salix cœrulea, but which is more generally deemed to be a hybrid between the white willow (S. alba) and the crack willow (S. fragilis). It is easily distinguished from both its reputed ancestors; first, by its habit, which is far more erect than that of the others, all the branches ascending without any tendency to spread or droop; second, by its leaves, which are not nearly so downy as those of the white willow, and of thinner texture, so that, when one is held up against the light the tertiary venation may be seen through a lens to be translucent; and, third, [91] by the bark, which is quite different from the rugged covering of the crack willow, and much smoother than that of the white willow. The fissures or seams in the bark are straight and set close together, enabling one to distinguish the blue willow from all other kinds at all seasons. The general tone of the foliage is silvery blue, instead of the silvery grey of the white willow.
The peculiar value of this willow consists in its producing the only wood suitable for first-class cricket bats. Golf has threatened, but has not yet undermined, the supremacy of cricket; and so long as the English national game holds its own, so long will good samples of the blue willow command a high price. It was in the eastern counties of England that this tree originated, and it is thence that dealers continue exclusively to draw their supplies, being willing to pay what might be thought extravagant prices for the right article. Thus, Elwes records how, in January, 1912, eleven willows were sold in Hertfordshire at fourteen years of age for £81, or about 13s. per cubic foot. These trees had made amazingly rapid growth, ranging from 50 to 60 feet high; but the quality of the wood does not seem to deteriorate with age and bulk, for in 1888 a blue willow, fifty-three years old, was sold at Boreham, in Essex, and manufactured into 1179 cricket bats. This tree measured 101 feet high, with a girth of 16 feet 3 inches. From the same estate another blue willow was sold in 1911 for £70. The dimensions have not been recorded, but the purchaser estimated the price [92] of the serviceable wood at about £1 per cubic foot. Even more remarkable seems the experience communicated by Mr. J. Barker of Pishiobury, Sawbridgeworth, to the Gardeners' Chronicle in 1906. He states that a parcel of land was bought for £50 in 1889 and planted with willows, which were sold in 1905 for £2,000.
Such results as these have no parallel in British forestry; and it may be deemed strange that more attention has not been given to the cultivation of the blue willow. Even in Herts and Essex few of those who grow it for the market are at pains to clear the stems of branches to a greater height than 12 or 15 feet. There appears to be nothing exclusively in the dry climate of East Anglia essential to the development of good "bat" qualities; for Mr. J. A. Campbell of Ardluaine (to whom I owe thanks for some sets of this willow) has received a most favourable report on the wood of trees grown by him in the humid atmosphere of Lochgilphead. In short, the blue willow is as tolerant of conditions of soil and climate as any other native willow, and could probably be grown at a profit in any county of the United Kingdom where shelter from violent winds can be had; but, of course, extended sources of supply would naturally cause a fall in the present exorbitant prices.
The approved method of propagating the blue willow is by large "sets" from 10 to 20 feet long, cut from the branches of trees that have been felled. These have to be sharpened at the butt and firmly [93] set in holes 3 feet deep, formed by driving in and removing a stake. Like the poplar, the willow imperatively demands light, and to obtain a fine quality of timber, the growth must be rapid. Being so impatient of shade, these trees must not be subjected to planting in close canopy, as recommended for coniferous and other trees. The "sets," therefore, should be planted fully 30 feet apart; and to secure a clean hole, side buds must be rubbed off the saplings, and careful pruning applied in later years.
It must not be supposed that the supply of cricket bats exhausts the purposes to which the wood of the blue willow may be applied. This variety should be planted in preference to any other, because it exceeds all others in rapidity of growth, and produces timber of fine quality faster than any other tree that can be grown in the British Isles. But the white willow (S. alba), more commonly known as the Huntingdon willow, also yields a rapid return of light, tough wood, very durable, and suitable for flooring, couples, cart and waggon bodies. Dr. Henry measured two Huntingdon willows near Palnure, Kirkcudbright, in 1904, and found them respectively 86 feet high by 10 feet 8 inches in girth, and 82 feet by 12 feet 9 inches. But the largest willow of this species now growing in Scotland is probably one at Coodham, near Kilmarnock, which girthed 17 feet 1 inch in 1904.
Leaving aside the kinds of willow cultivated for osiers (a most profitable industry), the only other native species worthy of consideration as a timber tree is the crack willow (S. fragilis); so called because [94] of the fragility of the branchlets in spring. A remarkably vigorous variety of the species, popularly known as the Bedford willow, and scientifically as S. Russelliana, appears to have originated about the year 1800, probably as a hybrid. A large specimen growing in Messrs. Samson's nursery at Kilmarnock was blown down in 1911. It was 80 feet high and 16 feet in girth.
Both the crack willow and the Bedford willow may be easily distinguished from the white or Huntingdon willow by their rugged bark, seamed with broad and deep grooves, and by their foliage, which is green and shining, each leaf ending in a long point bent to one side. The timber is inferior in quality to that of the white and blue willows; nevertheless, it is recorded in Lowe's Agricultural Survey of Notts (p. 118) that a plantation of Bedford willows "yielded at eight years' growth poles which realised a net profit of £214 per acre." It is not unlikely, considering the confusion which prevails among species and varieties, that these were blue, not Bedford, willows.
The lugubrious associations with which poets have invested the willow probably may be traced to the English translation of Psalm cxxxvii. 2; but, as noted on page 81 , no willow grows on the banks of the Euphrates, and it was a species of poplar whereon the captive Jews hung their harps. Linnæus may be excused, in consideration of the difficulties of travel in the eighteenth century, for having named the weeping willow Salix babylonica, though that species is only to be found wild in China; but it is [95] an instance of the mischievous practice of one writer copying the statements of another that in Kirkby's Trees we read that the weeping willow "grows abundantly on the banks of the Euphrates and other parts of Asia, as in Palestine, and also in North Africa."
The name "willow" speaks to us of a time when our Anglo-Saxon forbears dwelt in wattled houses. They spoke of the tree as welig and also as widig (whence our "withy"), the root-meaning being pliancy. Another old English name for the tree was "sallow," which in the north has been shortened into "saugh," a term associated with one of the darkest episodes in the somewhat murky annals of the Stuart dynasty; for it was at Sauchieburn near Stirling that James, Duke of Rothesay, aged fifteen years, was brought by the rebel lords to do battle with his father James III. on 11th June, 1488. King James, flying from the field, was done to death; and, in contrition, his son wore an iron chain round his waist till he, too, fell as James IV. at Flodden, twenty-five years later.
The Gaelic for willow is saileach, whence innumerable place-names in Scotland and Ireland, such as Barnsallie, Barsalloch, Sallachy, Lisnasillagh, etc.
[96]
The Hornbeam
The hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) belongs to the birch family and the beech belongs to the oak family, so they are far from being nearly akin; nevertheless, the hornbeam and the beech have certain qualities singularly similar in the two species.
First, the hornbeam imitates the foliage of the beech so closely that when either of them is dressed as a hedge plant (a purpose for which both are peculiarly suitable) it requires close inspection to determine which tree it is. Second, except the elder, the beech and the hornbeam are the only shade-bearers among our indigenous deciduous hardwoods—that is, the only broad-leaved trees—that will flourish under the shade and drip of other forest growths, thereby proving most useful for under-planting. Third, as firewood there is none equal to either beech or hornbeam, both of them excelling all other woods in the amount of heat they discharge in combustion.
FRUIT OF HORNBEAM (Carpinus betulus)
With these three particulars the resemblance between these two trees ceases, for whereas the beech, under favourable conditions, soars aloft to a stature [97] of 130 or 140 feet, the hornbeam seldom exceeds half that height. Moreover, while the beech is distinguished among all our forest growths by its smoothly cylindrical trunk, the stem of the hornbeam is always fluted and ridged, often very deeply.
Of the eighteen species of Carpinus known to botanists, only one, the common hornbeam, is indigenous in the British Isles, and there only in the southern parts of England, Oxford and Norfolk being about its northern limit, corresponding roughly with that of the nightingale. But whereas the nightingale cannot be seduced into sojourn beyond its hereditary bounds, the hornbeam flourishes freely when planted in any part of the United Kingdom suitable for tree growth. On the Continent it has a very wide range, extending through Central and Northern Europe into Asia Minor, but it has not been found wild in Spain, Portugal, or Sicily.
As a timber producer its chief value in this country has almost gone since the substitution of coal for wood as fuel became general. In former times the trees were grown as pollards, and regularly cut for firewood, evidence of that industry being still to be seen in the condition of the hornbeams in Epping Forest and other places in Kent, Herts, and Essex. The timber, says Elwes, "is the hardest, heaviest, and toughest of our native woods"; but it is useless for outdoor work, being as perishable as beech when exposed to weather. It still competes with foreign woods in the piano maker's trade, its firm texture, resembling that of ivory or horn, rendering it excellent [98] for fine action work. But as the slow growth of the tree and the imports of foreign woods are prohibitive of any prospect of profit to the British planter, the only service to which the hornbeam can be usefully put in this country is the production of firewood and the formation of hedges.
Nor can the hornbeam claim high rank as an ornamental tree, though fine specimens may be seen in many English and a few Scottish parks. Elwes mentions Cobham Park, Kent, as containing hundreds of hornbeams from 70 to 80 feet high, and quotes Sir Hugh Beevor as authority for one 100 feet high and 9 feet 8 inches in girth at High Wycombe, Bucks. I have never seen a hornbeam of that size; the largest with which I have made personal acquaintance being one at Gordon Castle, which Loudon described as being 54 feet high in 1837. Sixty-seven years later it had added only 14 feet to its stature, Elwes having found it to be 68 feet high in 1904, with a girth of 8 feet.
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The Alder
Of the three species of alder indigenous to Europe, namely Alnus incana, A. cordata and A. glutinosa, only the last named succeeded in establishing itself in the British Isles after the retreat of the ice-field; though the other two grow readily enough when planted in this country.
"Alnus, the alder," wrote John Evelyn, "is of all other the most faithful lover of waterie and boggie places, and those most despis'd weeping parts or water-galls of forests." It has never been a popular tree, either with foresters, poets, or landscape gardeners, yet it has the merit of clothing ground which will not satisfy the wants of any other lofty growth, thriving in swamps too sour even for the willow. "Where do you put your brown tree?" is said to have been asked by one artist of the Georgian era of another; and the rounded outline and sombre foliage of a mature alder must have served many of the old school of landscape painters in their conventional compositions.
The alder neither contributes tender verdure to the gaiety of spring nor brilliant tints to the splendour [100] of autumn; dull rifle green is the livery donned in April, remaining unchanged till the frosts of late October. Nor does this melancholy tree gladden the waterside with any brightness of blossom; the male and female catkins, appearing before the leaves, are dull, brownish yellow; beautiful objects under a lens, but contributing little to cheer the wayfarer, save as being sure harbingers of summer days. These flowers are followed by cones, which are green at first, but, turning black when ripe, only serve to deepen the gloom. Nevertheless, an alder copse in February and early March has a quiet beauty all its own. The smooth twigs are glazed with a waxy secretion and the swelling buds are plum-coloured, which the level sun-rays light up into a charming purplish bloom. Many a time when in pursuit of spring salmon I have enjoyed the sight of a bevy of old blackcocks busy among the branches of the alders, whereof the buds and catkins provide them with provender during the hungriest months of the year.
There are about five-and-twenty known species of alder, all bearing a considerable family likeness, and none exceeding in stature our only native species, Alnus glutinosa. Of this, many specimens might be mentioned between 70 and 90 feet high, though it is often difficult or impossible to obtain right measurement owing to the trees growing beside rivers or lakes. The most remarkable alder wood known to me is at Kilmacurragh, in County Wicklow. In the old spacious days the ground it occupies was a deer park. The trees are ancient, but not very lofty, from 50 to [101] 60 feet high; but many of them have clean boles up to 30 or 40 feet and girth from 8 to 10 feet. One of them had a girth of 11 feet 4 inches in 1906. In the swampier parts of the wood, some of the trees have got bowed; their trunks present a curious appearance from being densely covered with pennyroyal (Cotyledon umbilicus). There can be little doubt that this grove is a fragment of the primæval Irish forest.
There are some very fine alders beside the Gade in Cassiobury Park, Herts, one of which Dr. Henry made out to be 85 feet high, with a girth of 11 feet 6 inches; but these dimensions were exceeded by an alder 90 feet high with a girth of 11 feet 4 inches at Betchworth Park, Surrey, and by one at Enville Park, Stourbridge, 87 feet high, with a girth of 8 feet 2 inches.
In Scotland the tallest measured by him was at Scone—66 feet high by 6 feet 3 inches in girth; but no doubt there are bigger alders than that north of the Tweed, though it might not be possible to match a shapely tree measured in 1904 at Churchill, Co. Armagh, which stood 94 feet high, girthing 6 feet 4 inches, and having a clean bole of 60 feet.
The aforesaid tree at Scone is of the cut-leaved variety, a sport which, originating in France, and being planted in De la Berlière's garden near Saint-Germain, says Loudon, became the parent of all that are now to be found. It is certainly more ornamental than the common form, the leaves being divided half-way to the midrib into three to six segments on each side.
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The alder is not rated high among us as a timber tree, though good boles are sometimes in request, for what precise purpose I cannot tell. Mr. Elwes states that he sold three hundred alders standing for £100, which he reckoned to be at the rate of 4d. or 5d. a cubic foot. This must be considered an excellent return from land that was fit for no other crop. Clogmakers take alder of suitable size as readily as birch, giving as much as £40 an acre for coppice, which will be fit for cutting again in twenty years. One of the most picturesque scenes in forestry is a summer encampment of clog-cutters.
In Scotland probably the demand for alder for making herring barrels would be steady and inexhaustible, were there any regularity in the supply; but in this, as in other British forest products, so much uncertainty is caused by the haphazard and capricious felling practised by landowners in general, that the trade derives its supplies of staves from abroad. For outdoor purposes, the timber is far too perishable under vicissitudes of wet and dry; but for piles under water it is most durable. Evelyn states, without quoting his authority, that the Rialto at Venice is founded upon alder piles. For three hundred years charcoal made from alder was more highly esteemed than that from any other wood for making gunpowder; but modern explosives have caused it to be in less request nowadays.
There may be some trout-fishers who have not learnt that an effective way of taking the objectionable glitter from a gut cast is to draw it two or three [103] times through an alder leaf. Evelyn says that such leaves afford great relief to footsore travellers if laid within the stocking.
In his Sylva Florifera (1823), Henry Phillips admits us to a glimpse into the domestic economy of our great-grandmothers, who had to contend with certain difficulties from which modern households are happily exempt. "The good housewife," he says, "is not unacquainted with a property in the leaves [of alder], with which she strews her chambers before sweeping, for, when fresh, they are covered with a glutinous liquor that entangles fleas like birds in birdlime."
The English name "alder" has been disguised by the addition of the d. It was alr in Anglo-Saxon, r taking the place of the Latin n in alnus, which is preserved in the French aune. In one form or another it exists in all Teutonic dialects; we, in Scotland, retain very closely the Anglo-Saxon sound when we speak of "eller," though we have allowed the intrusive d to slip into Elderslie, the paternal home of William Wallace. This tree has given rise to countless place-names; in England—Alresford on the Itchen, Allerton (eight or nine times), Allerdale, Ellerbeck, Ellerburn, Ellerton, and so on; in Scotland—Allershaw in Lanarkshire, Allerton in Cromarty, Allers near Glasgow, Allerbeck in Dumfriesshire, Ellerrigs, Argyllshire; Ellerslie, in several counties, etc. I incline to think that the frequent and puzzling name Elrig or Eldrig may be associated with alders.
In Gaelic the alder is called fearn, which appears [104] in a multitude of place-names, such as Balfern, Glenfarne, Farnoch, Fearn, Fernie, and Fernaig. The consonant f being liable in Gaelic to be silenced by aspiration, the descriptive name amhuinn-fhearn, alder river, has been worn down into Nairn, and probably some, at least, of the numerous streams called Earn or Erne derive their titles from a similar contraction.
Among the exotic species of alder I only know of one worth attention for ornamental purposes, to wit, the heart-leaved alder (A. cordata); which, being found indigenous only in Corsica and Southern Italy, might scarcely be expected to take kindly to our humid climate. It does so, however, growing as vigorously as our native alder, and proving somewhat more decorative. The leaves are of a shining, dark green with lighter undersides, and the cones are at least an inch long, carried erect.
The grey alder (A. incana) has nothing to recommend it; except, perhaps, to Norwegian anglers, who know how the fieldfares nest among its thickets in garrulous colonies. It is not easy to understand how the British Isles have missed having this species as a native, for it is very widely distributed over Europe from the shores of the Arctic Ocean on the north to Servia and the Apennines on the south. It is also spread widely over the northern United States and Canada.
TULIP TREE
[105]
The Tulip Tree
The tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) is descended from an extremely remote ancestry, and remains one of the stateliest denizens of the North American river valleys, ranging from 150 to 190 feet high. The form of its leaves is unique among those of forest trees, being lyrate, ending in two pointed or rounded lobes considerably longer than the midrib. Ruskin declared it to be the only leaf which did not display one form or other of a Gothic arch—round or pointed. These leaves turn a beautiful clear yellow in autumn, and in summer the flowers, in size and shape like those of a tulip, attract numbers of bees. If only they were a little more gaily painted, the tulip tree would be among the showiest of park trees; but the petals are of a dull greenish white, with a splash of orange at the base of the interior of each, where one can't see it—unless one happens to be a bee.
However, its flowers apart, a well-grown tulip tree is a beautiful object at all seasons, owing, in winter, to the tracery of its smooth, grey branches—in summer, to its rich, bright green foliage, and in autumn to the splendour of its decay.
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It was probably brought to England in the reign of Henry VIII. or Elizabeth by one of those botanists—Tradescant or another—who quietly pursued their useful labours while Christians were hurrying each other to the stake, and politicians were chopping off the heads of inconvenient opponents.
In lofty towers let Pallas take her rest,
Whilst shady groves of all things please us best.
In the following century Evelyn said "the tulip tree grows very well with the curious amongst us to a considerable stature. I wish we had more of them." Given deep, generous soil and suitable shelter, this fine tree might develop in England proportions equal to those it attains in its native forests, where, says Elwes, it reaches "a height of 160 to 190 feet, with a straight trunk 8 to 10 feet in diameter, clear of branches for 80 to 100 feet from the ground." But its requirements in soil and shelter are imperative; it is a greedy feeder, and its branches are too friable to stand violent winds. Meet conditions have been secured at Woolbeding, already mentioned as the site of the loftiest plane in Britain. The tulip tree there has reached a height of 105 feet, with a girth of 17 feet. Another, of equal height, but less girth, is reported from Strathfieldsaye, which I must have missed when I was there, for I have no note about it.
In Scotland, the largest tulip tree I have seen is one at the Hirsel, in Berwickshire. Loudon mentioned it in 1837 as being 100 years old and 20 feet in girth, but when I saw it last, some fifteen years [107] ago, it was failing in the upper storey, though it still had some vigorous foliage. It is said to bear flowers every year; though Lord Barrymore tells me that in his famous arboretum on Fota Island, Cork Harbour, the tulip tree grows well, 87 feet high and 11 feet 7 inches in girth, but never flowers. Probably, like the Oriental plane, it demands hotter summers than we can give it in the north and west. In the southern counties of England it blossoms abundantly, and occasionally ripens seed.
Tulip tree timber is not of the first quality. Professor Sargent describes it as light, soft, and brittle. Nevertheless, it is much used in America for interior work and boatbuilding, and is imported by English merchants under the name of yellow poplar or canary-wood. Mr. Elwes, who had a fine collection of different kinds of timber made into furniture and panels, says it closely resembles magnolia wood, which is not to be wondered at, seeing that the tulip tree belongs to the order Magnoliaceæ.
Few people plant tulip trees nowadays, more's the pity; for they are far more decorative than many of the conifers which have gone so far to thrust deciduous trees out of fashion. It grieved me some years ago to see a Spanish silver fir (Abies pinsapo), one of the least majestic of its family, planted as the memorial of a royal visit to a fine English demesne; it grieves me still when I reflect how little chance it has of thriving on a shaven lawn.
"Gives not the hawthorn-bush a sweeter shade
To shepherds looking on their silly sheep,
Than doth a rich-embroidered canopy
To kings that fear their subjects' treachery?
O, yes, it doth—a thousandfold it doth."
(Third Henry VI. act ii. sc. 5.)
MAY BLOSSOM (Cratægus oxyacantha)
The rose has long disputed with the lily her claim to rank as Queen of Beauty, nor is the rivalry likely to be decided in favour of either so long as human tastes differ. Howbeit, if the two claimants ever appeal to the arbitrament of war, the rose will have the advantage of big battalions, for her great clan far outnumbers that of the lilies and many of them are formidably armed. There would, indeed, be some mighty blanks in our fields and gardens if the great natural order of Rosaceæ were banned; for not only should we lose the enormous and ever-increasing variety of the rose itself and its hybrids, but the spiræas, the cinquefoils, the cotoneasters, the so-called laurels (which are not laurels at all, but evergreen plums), wherewith we deck our pleasure-grounds, would disappear also, and with [109] them the plums, cherries, peaches, apples, pears, strawberries, and raspberries would be among the exiles, for all these and many more are families in this vast order.
FRUIT OF HAWTHORN (Cratægus oxyacantha)
Yet would not the disappearance of any of them work such a change in British landscape, as it would suffer if we were to lose the hawthorn, which is also a member of the rose order. It is the most beautiful native flowering tree we possess, for the laburnum, the horse chestnut, and the catalpa must be written off as exotics, though, happily, they have proved most successful colonists.
Not long ago I was driving out from New York to visit Mr. Roosevelt in Long Island. My companion and cicerone was one who gained more than the common measure of esteem while he was American Ambassador in London. When I expressed to him warmly my admiration for the masses of Cornus florida which formed the undergrowth of the woods bordering our route, and which (it was in May) were displaying their snowy blossoms in endless drifts and wreaths: "Very beautiful," he said; "but I would rather have your British hawthorn blossom with its fragrance."
This was high testimony from one in whose country Professor Sargent has enumerated no fewer than one hundred and forty-three distinct American species of Cratægus or hawthorn, many of which produce beautiful flowers; but none of those which I have seen are equal to the single species indigenous to the British Isles—Cratægus oxyacantha. In saying [110] a single species, I am aware that later botanists have distinguished as a species a form found on the Continent and in the midland and south-eastern English counties; but Bentham and Hooker admitted this only as a variety.
In Scotland we always speak of hawthorn blossom, but in England you shall never hear that term, for there they call it May blossom, yet you may seldom find it in bloom till near the end of that month. In Brand's Antiquities (1777) it is stated that "it was an old custom in Suffolk in most of the farmhouses that any servant who could bring in a branch of hawthorn in full blossom on the 1st of May was entitled to a dish of cream for breakfast. This custom is now disused, not so much from the reluctance of the masters to give the reward, as from the inability of the servants to find the white thorn in flower." The reason for this is to be sought in a change, not in the flowering season, but in the calendar; the old style during the eighteenth century being twelve days in arrear of the new style, so that May Day was equivalent to what is now 12th May. It will be remembered that, while the new style was enacted in Scotland by James VI.'s Privy Council in 1600, it was not until 1751 that an Act of Parliament caused it to be adopted in England, which did the Suffolk peasants out of all chance of cream for breakfast.
One of the many admirable virtues of the hawthorn is its indifference to soil and situation. Give it light and free air, and it will flower as freely on the [111] shingle of a wind-swept beach, where it crouches along the stones to escape the blast, as it does in a fat English pasture, a villa garden, or a Highland glen. The most remarkable grove of ancient hawthorns known to me is to be seen in the Phœnix Park, Dublin. It is a sight never to be forgotten when these trees, many of them (speaking from recollection) 40 feet high, are laden in June with their snowy wreaths. There are many hawthorns of greater height in other districts, notably one at Lenchford, in Worcestershire, whereof the dimensions in 1875 were recorded in the Gardeners' Chronicle as 60 feet high and 9 feet in girth.
The hawthorn is a long-lived tree. It was not until after the middle of the nineteenth century that Maxwell's Thorn disappeared from the banks of the Dryfe in a flood. It was under this tree that, according to local tradition, John Lord Maxwell, the Warden, lay wounded after the fatal encounter with the Johnstones on Dryfe Sands, 6th December, 1593. Eight hundred of his men are said to have perished, and the old lord, "a tall man," says Spottiswoode (vol. ii. 446), "and heavy in armour, was in the chase overtaken and stricken from his horse." William Johnston of Kirkhill was his assailant; who, according to some accounts, contented himself with hewing off the Warden's hand, in order to claim the reward offered by his chief to any man who should bring it to him. As Maxwell lay bleeding under the thorn tree, a lady came on the scene—some say it was the lady of Lochwood herself, the Chief's wife, [112] others that it was the wife of James Johnston of Kirkton. Whichever it was, she belonged to the militant party of her sex, if it be true, as alleged, that she knocked out the Warden's brains with the tower keys that hung at her girdle. In justice to the dame it should be mentioned that a few nights previously Lord Maxwell had burnt down Lochwood Tower, declaring that "he would give the Lady Johnston light to set her hood!" Moreover, he had offered the gift of a farm to anyone who should bring him the head of the laird of Lochwood, who, being in arms against the Warden, was technically the King's rebel. Maxwell's Thorn, as aforesaid, ceased to exist sixty years ago, but a young tree was planted in its place, which doubtless will be venerated by generations unborn as the original.
The kindly nature of the hawthorn and the simple nature of its cultural requirements have caused everybody to be familiar with the beautiful red and pink, single and double, varieties which have been raised and widely distributed. There is a variety with scarlet berries which I have only seen in the park at Newton Don, near Kelso. Beautiful as are the common red haws upon which fieldfares, redwings, and other winter visitors mainly depend for provender, this scarlet fruited variety is a much more brilliant object at the dullest time of the year. The variety with yellow haws is no improvement on the type.
Phillips in his Sylva Florifera (1823) states that "a variety has been discovered in a hedge near [113] Bampton, Oxfordshire, which produces white berries." This variety, if it ever existed, appears to have been lost. He also commits himself to the statement that "the fruit of this tree are called haws, from whence the name hawthorn"; which proves that a man may be an excellent botanist and a bad etymologist. In Middle English "hawe" meant a hedge, and also ground enclosed by a hedge. It was in the latter sense that Chaucer wrote in the Canterbury Tales:
And eke there was a polkat [polecat] in his hawe.
The tree got the name of hawthorn, i.e. hedgethorn, because it has no rival as a hedge plant.
And this brings us to consider what is the economic value of the hawthorn. It has become indispensable for hedges, which are as inseparable from a foreigner's impressions of English landscape as poplars are from French country scenery, and as date palms are from that of Egypt.
Green fields of England! wheresoe'er
Across the watery waste we fare,
Your image in our hearts we bear,
Green fields of England, everywhere.
But the fields would not be so green, they would not indeed stamp themselves on the memory as fields at all, were it not for the hedges that mark them off. In Scotland hedges are not so universal, the preference being given to stone dykes, where the necessary material lies to hand, or, alas, to barbed wire, which, [114] effective though it be as a fence, prevails to vulgarise the fairest scenery. Dr. Walker states in his Essays of Natural History (1812) that Cromwell's soldiers first planted, or taught the Scots to plant hedges in East Lothian and Perthshire. They learnt the planting all right, but not, it would appear, the subsequent management; for, except in the Lothians, it is the exception to see hedges rightly tended. The plants are allowed to straggle and to be browsed bare below by cattle, when the gaps are repaired by running a wire through them. Far more admirable is the craft of the English hedger, who knows how to make a beautiful and durable fence by plashing and binding.
The timber of hawthorn possesses more merit than is usually assigned to it; in fact, there cannot be said that there is any market for it, owing, probably, to the rough state in which it is almost invariably grown. But it is hard and heavy, with a fine grain, taking a good polish. Some of the wood-cuts in back numbers of the Gardeners' Chronicle were engraved on hawthorn; but Mr. Elwes, who has experimented practically with every British wood, considers that boxwood is of superior texture.
In the good times of old, when men strove more earnestly to cut each other's throats than, as at the present day, to catch each other's votes, every Highland clan has a distinctive badge consisting of a sprig of some common plant whereby friend might be known from foe. The small sept of Ogilvie chose the hawthorn.
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No tree or plant has lent its name more freely to denominate places. The Norsemen are responsible for Thorn-ey on the left bank of the tidal Thames, to which the Saxons, forgetting that ey is good Norse for "island," extended the name pleonastically to Thorney Island, and then came Edward the Confessor to obliterate both names by building on the island the abbey and church—the West Minster.
Countless are the places called Thornton, Thornhill, Thornbury, etc., in England, all named from the hawthorn—the thorn of thorns; while in Scotland, besides romantic Hawthornden, and in Ireland, the Gaelic word sceach or scitheog (th silent) occurs in almost every parish in some form or other—Skeog, Skeagh, Skate, Drumskeog, Tullynaskeagh, etc.
A foreign relative of the hawthorn may be mentioned here as being more worthy of consideration as a timber tree, and, besides, being exceedingly ornamental, namely, Cotoneaster frigida. Most people are familiar with the genus Cotoneaster in the form of shrubs of modest stature, producing quantities of red berries; and in gardener's dictionaries, etc., one reads that this Himalayan species grows about 10 feet high. If it did no more than that, it would be well worth planting for the sake of its woolly cymes of white flowers in July and the extraordinary profusion of scarlet berries which follows them; yet, even so, it could not claim notice among forest trees. In fact, it promises to outstrip the hawthorn in height. Some of mine have reached a height of 40 feet already, at an age of fifty years, and if care is bestowed on [116] timely pruning in youth, the wood is straight, clean and very hard. It has not yet been put to any economic use, so far as known to me, but I have a notion it will prove fine material for the heads of golf clubs.
[117]
The Rowan and its Relatives
There is no group of trees whereof the scientific nomenclature has become so hopelessly confused as the Pomaceæ, a sub-order of the vast rose order. The group itself divides itself naturally into seven sub-groups or sections, which some botanists treat as independent species; but British foresters need to concern themselves with only five of these sections—namely (1) Sorbus, the rowan; (2) Aria, the whitebeam; (3) Hahnia, the wild service tree; (4) Pyrophorum, the pears; and (5) Malus, the apples.
Some people may feel impatient with these niceties of classification, and declare that popular names serve all useful purpose; but many of these trees are very beautiful, well deserving the attention of planters, who are sure to be disappointed in being served with the wrong species unless they are at the pains to know exactly what they order from nurserymen, and are able to identify the plants when they get them.
The rowan tree (Pyrus aucuparia) is of humble stature, seldom exceeding 40 feet; nevertheless, we should be losers if it disappeared from our woodlands, [118] not only because of its beauty and the delicious diet which it affords to birds, but because of the peculiar veneration with which, in primitive times, it became invested in Northern Europe. The Norsemen held it to be a holy tree, consecrated to Thor, and their faith in its protective virtues became deeply implanted in the folk-lore of our own country.
Rowan-tree and red thread
Gar the witches come ill-speed.
It has been suggested that the singular expression, "Aroint, thee, witch!" occurring nowhere in English literature except in Macbeth, Act 1, sc. 3, is a corruption of "A rountree, witch!" but the late Professor Skeat sternly refused to entertain that explanation. Anyhow, so long as belief in witchcraft endured in this country, a branch of rowan was esteemed a sure protection against evil spells. In many a Scottish byre a bunch of rowan may still be seen suspended, and a common feature in cottage garden plots consists of a couple of rowan saplings planted before the door, with their tops plaited together to form an arch, so that comers and goers shall thereby derive protection against witchcraft by passing under the tutelary boughs.
FLOWERS OF THE ROWAN (Pyrus aucuparia)
In Strathspey it used to be the custom to cause all sheep and lambs to pass through a hoop of rowan wood on the 1st of May, and flocks and herds were driven to the summer shieling with a rod of the same wood. In some parts of England the rowan is still called the "witchen." Evelyn wrote of it under [119] that name, and said that in his day (1620-1706) the tree was reputed so sacred in Wales "as that there is not a churchyard without one of them planted in it; so on a certain day in the year everybody religiously wears a cross made of the wood."
By the by, let no lover of woodland ever speak of a mountain ash when he means a rowan. That is a silly name, for the rowan has no affinity with the ash, and although it may be found growing in the Highlands at a height of more than 2,000 feet, yet it is just as much at home anywhere between that altitude and the seaboard. We need not be ashamed of having borrowed the name "rowan" from the Norsemen, for there is a strong Scandinavian strain in our island blood. The Swedes spell it ronn, the Norwegians rogn, and the Icelanders reynir.
The chief claim which the rowan has upon our affection is its autumnal beauty. If the birds would only suffer its scarlet berries to hang a little longer than is their wont, no British tree could match it in brilliancy of fall. It is widely distributed over northern and central Europe, and is established in Iceland, whither it was perhaps carried long ago by pious Norsemen, for it does not occur in America. Little use is now made of its timber, which is very hard, heavy, and tough; so much so that in old days it was reckoned as only second to the yew for bow-making. It is mentioned in the Act 8 Elizabeth c. x. as "witch-hazel," among the woods whereof every bowyer dwelling in London was to keep fifty bows ready in stock.
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Among the place-names into which the Gaelic name for the rowan—caorunn—enters may be mentioned Attachoirinn in Islay, Barwhirran in Wigtownshire, and Leachd a' chaorruin in Corrour Forest.
The rowan cannot be confounded with any other species of this family, nor with any of the numerous hybrids which have arisen therein, for it is easily distinguished by its pinnate leaves, consisting of eleven to fifteen leaflets set herring-bone fashion on a midrib about 6 inches long. Except the true service (Pyrus sorbus) all the other species carry entire leaves, lobed in some species, but never pinnate. The true service tree, though believed not to be indigenous to Great Britain, grows readily there, though it is not planted so often as it deserves to be, both on account of its beautiful and useful timber and of the excellent fruit which it bears profusely, qualities which cause it to be very extensively cultivated in France. It is also a highly ornamental tree, as those may testify who have visited Vevay in autumn and admired the brightness of fruit and foliage in the avenues of service trees planted there. I do not know of any specimens in Scotland, but there are several fine service trees from 45 to 65 feet high in English parks; none, however, remaining equal in stature to one at Melbury Court, Dorsetshire, which has now departed, but was recorded by Loudon as being 82 feet high in 1830, with a girth of 9 feet 9 inches. The fruit varies much in quality; the better flavoured kinds being highly esteemed by the French peasantry. Evelyn says, "It is not unpleasant; of which, with [121] new wine and honey, they make a conditum of admirable effect to corroborate the stomach." Those who wish to plant this tree had best go to a French nurseryman and order it under the name of Cormier or Sorbus domestica.
The wild service (P. torminalis) will attain a height of 70 or 80 feet if it is given a fair chance, which it seldom gets from us. Its chief recommendation is its handsome foliage, the leaves being deeply lobed. They turn a fine orange colour in autumn, but the fruit adds nothing to the display, being brown when ripe. For ornamental purposes the whitebeam (P. aria) is far preferable to the wild service, owing to the snowy whiteness of the young shoots and undersides of the leaves. The fruit, moreover, is bright red; but this is of the less moment, inasmuch as birds devour it so soon as it is ripe. By far the noblest of all the Sorbus group is the Himalayan Pyrus vestita (also known as Sorbus nepalensis). Its broadly oval, pointed leaves are very large, thickly clothed with white wool when young, remaining white on the undersides until late autumn, when they turn to a clear yellow. The clusters of white flowers are very woolly, and are followed by large round red fruits. It is an exceedingly handsome and stately tree, and ought to be better known in this country than it is at present; but much disappointment has been incurred through the vicious practice followed by nurserymen of grafting it high upon the rowan, a tree of much inferior bulk. The result is that the scion, flourishing vigorously for a few seasons, [122] outgrows the stock, which cannot carry up enough sap to supply the wants of the more robust species. It is pathetic to see the leaves endeavouring to unfold, but failing to do so. There is then nothing for it but to root the whole affair up, and procure seedlings, or, at least, plants grafted low on the British stock, which, if deeply planted, enable the scions to throw out roots of their own.
Leaving Sorbus—the rowans—let us glance at Malus—the apples; and among the fourteen species, all more or less distinguished by the loveliness of their blossom, confine our attention to the wild crab, parent of all our cultivated varieties. Of all the floral displays of British springtide, there is none more exquisite than an old crab in full flower, standing in a sea of blue hyacinths. It says little for our intelligence that, while we are ready to spend lavishly in the purchase of foreign trees and shrubs, many of very doubtful merit, none of us seem to think the crab-tree worth anything except as a stock for grafting orchard apples on.
Nevertheless, the crab has valuable qualities besides its beauty. "Fetch me a dozen crab-tree staves," shouts the porter of King Henry's palace, "and strong ones. I'll scratch your heads!" (K. Henry VIII., Act v. sc. 3). Those golfers who have passed their meridian surely remember that crab was reckoned the only material for club-heads in the old days of hard "gutties." But there was no great store of crab-trees in the land; so when golfers began to become like the sand of the sea for multitude the [123] supply ran out, and club-masters carved the heads out of beech. A tougher substitute has now been found in the American persimmon (Diospyros), but methinks our native crab would hold its own with any other wood if it were still to be had.
Probably the largest crab-tree in Scotland (if it still stands) is one at Kelloe, in Berwickshire, which Sir R. Christison measured in 1876, and found to be 50 feet high and 8 feet in girth.
The wild pear (Pyrus communis) is much more rare in Britain than the crab-tree, being found only in the southern English counties, and even there it is difficult to decide whether any pear tree is really wild or only a relic of cultivation. The timber of the pear, whether wild or cultivated, is very beautiful, and is one of the choicest for carved work; whereof a fine example may be seen among the panels in Windsor Castle.
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The Gean Tree, or Wild Cherry
In discoursing about the hawthorn, I assigned to it the first place for beauty of blossom among our native trees, but in holding that supremacy it has a dangerous rival in the gean, or wild cherry, which, to quote John Evelyn's eulogy, "will thrive into stately trees, beautified with blossoms of a surprising whiteness, greatly relieving the sedulous bees and attracting birds." In truth, the verdict upon the rivalry of the hawthorn and the gean must be "honours easy," for if the fragrance of the first turns the scale in its favour in spring, the gean scores heavily in autumn through the gorgeous hues of its fading foliage, no other British tree, if it be not the rowan, equalling it in sunset splendour. Nor is the flower of the gean without a fragrance—more delicate and less powerful than that of the hawthorn. Elwes tells how the late Mr. Foljambe, of Osberton, when old and quite blind, used to cause his son to lead him out among the cherry trees when they were in blossom, that he might enjoy their scent.
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Doubts have been expressed whether the gean tree can be claimed as truly indigenous, many writers (my friend Canon Ellacombe among others) accepting Pliny's statement (lib. xv. cap. 25) that the cherry was unknown in Italy till Lucullus introduced it from Asia Minor after his victory over Mithridates (B.C. 84), and that it was taken by the Romans into Britain. In support of this view may be cited the absence of any name for the cherry in old Gaelic, the modern word, sirist, being merely an adaptation of the Latin cerasus, just as an Siosalach—the Chisholm—is a rendering of the Norman name Cecil. The Scottish name "gean" does not help us, being borrowed from the French guigne. Nevertheless, Dr. Henry follows Bentham and Hooker in regarding the wild cherry as undoubtedly indigenous in parts of Great Britain.
Lucullus, indeed—proverbial for his love of good things—may well have brought to Italy some of the cultivated varieties of the cherry; but the wild tree seems to have established itself as far north as Bergen in Norway, in which province there exists a large wood purely of cherry trees; and Wilkomm reported in 1887 having found semi-fossil remains of the gean in Swedish peat mosses; wherefore let us give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and claim this pretty tree as a native of British soil. Anyhow, it is thoroughly at home in these islands, reproducing itself readily both by seed and suckers, wherever it gets a chance; and no tree should be made more welcome in our woodlands, both on account of its beauty and utility.
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Hitherto British foresters have treated the wild cherry with unmerited neglect. Nobody thinks of planting geans, except here and there for ornament; nor is there any regular market for the timber. Yet that is of high quality and very ornamental for indoor work, having a fine silky grain and a charming pinkish colour. Mr. Elwes, who has used it for panelling, says that when soaked in lime water it assumes a richer tint, resembling unstained mahogany. It has the merit of seasoning readily, and never warping.
The pews in Gibside Church, Northumberland, were made of cherry wood in 1812, and are reported by Mr. A. C. Forbes to be perfectly sound and well-fitting still. Wild cherry trees are seldom felled till they show signs of decay, and as they are not long-lived—a century being about the outside span of their vigorous life—the quality of the timber should not be estimated from trees more than sixty or seventy years old. The growth is rapid, and the tree may be drawn up in shelter to a great height; there is a specimen in Windsor Park, near the Bishopsgate, which was 93 feet high in 1904, with a girth of 9 feet 3 inches.
In the Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, Messrs. Elwes and Henry have a plate representing an extraordinary cherry tree growing in Savernake Forest, with a wild spread of branches and a bole, covered with enormous burrs, measuring 12 feet 7 inches in girth at 4 feet from the ground. A Scottish counterpart to the Savernake tree may be seen at Gribton, near Dumfries, which, though only 56 feet high, has [127] a girth of 12 feet 8 inches, with a branch spread of 70 feet. A massive gean tree at Mauldslie Castle, Lanarkshire, was 52 feet high in 1899, with a girth of 13 feet 2 inches. It is fast decaying, nor is the iron band with which its fork has been braced likely to prolong its existence beyond the natural term.
The wild cherry is the parent of all the cultivated varieties, many of which are derived from a high antiquity. Pliny enumerates eight varieties, including those with black and red fruits, and one which he describes as appearing half-ripe, which seems to indicate what we know as the bigarreau cherry. No doubt these varieties were of Asiatic origin, the Chinese and Persians having long preceded European nations in the craft of horticulture. The Rev. R. Walsh, writing in the Transactions of the Horticultural Society, 1826, described "an amber-coloured transparent cherry of a delicious flavour. It grows in the woods in the interior of Asia Minor, particularly on the banks of the Sakari—the ancient Sangarius. The trees attain gigantic size; they are ascended by perpendicular ladders suspended from the lowest branches. I measured the trunk of one; the circumference was 5 feet, and the height where the first branches issued 40 feet; from the summit of the highest branches was from 90 feet to 100 feet, and this immense tree was loaded with fruit."
Compare with this the produce of a single cherry tree during the year 1913 at Faourg, near Avenche, in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It took three men fifteen days to gather the fruit, which weighed in the [128] aggregate two tons. The fruit is of a small and red variety, used for making kirsch; and it was reckoned that the crop of this tree would produce 200 litres of the spirit, which, at 5 francs a litre, amounts to £40.
The scientific name for the gean is Prunus avium—the birds' plum; but what we mean when we speak of "bird cherry" is a very different, though nearly kindred, species—Prunus padus, a pretty native tree of small stature which is spread all over northern Europe and Asia. It is very beautiful when covered with its white flowers in long racemes—pity they last such a short time—but the little black fruits are of no use to any creature bigger than a pheasant. Anglers in Norwegian rivers are familiar with the white plumes of bird cherry, waving like fine lace-work from the grim cliffs overhanging many a green dal.
Lovely as the gean tree is when in full blossom, some of the double-flowering Japanese cherries are even more so, and they have this advantage, that the display is not nearly so fleeting. What may be the wild parent of these cultivated forms I am unable to say; but Mr. J. H. Veitch, writing from Yokohama, indicates that some, at least, are not cherries at all:
"The cherries in this neighbourhood are magnificent. Tinted photographs give a very complete idea of their beauty; one looks up and walks under a ceiling of the softest pink. At Mukojima a row of these cherries a mile long by the river bank, in some places faced by a row on the opposite side of the road, is a sight it will be difficult to forget. Cherries are, in fact, to be seen everywhere in and around Tokio, and it would be difficult to imagine anything more beautiful [129] for the few days they are in flower. The species is known scientifically as Prunus Mume; it is really an apricot." [13]
GEAN (Prunus avium)
In Bloom
By far the finest display of these cherries that I have seen is in the Arnold Arboretum, attached to Harvard University, Boston, U.S. There Professor Sargent and Mr. E. H. Wilson have got together what are probably the finest groups of these lovely trees outside Japan. The profusion of blossom, snowy white or rich pink, must be seen to be believed. Why is not more use made of them in the gardens of great country houses in our own country? They are perfectly hardy, but, as nurserymen usually supply them grafted on crab stocks, incessant vigilance is required during the young stages to prevent the stock reasserting itself and overcoming the scion.
Probably the reason why these exquisite forms of cherry and plum are not more often seen is to be found in the perverse habit which impels most people who have fine private pleasure grounds to spend the sweet o' the year in London. Having been asked by the wife of a great landowner to take counsel with their Scottish gardener about improving the pleasure grounds round their magnificent castle, and perceiving that the climate was peculiarly mild, the site facing the sea, yet sheltered, I suggested that he should plant some of the fine Himalayan rhododendrons, as it was just the place for them. His reply was resentful in tone. "The wur-r-rst of rhododendrons is that they will not flower when the family's at home." So tactless of the rhododendrons!
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The Walnut
The very name we have given it forbids us to claim the walnut as a native of the British Isles, for in Anglo-Saxon speech it was wealh knut, the foreign nut, just as they called the Celts of the West wealas, the foreigners, a name which has persisted to our times, as Wales. So, also, mediæval German writers termed France das Welsche Land, and, referring to the whole world, they described it as in allen Welschen und in Deutschen Reichen, "in all Welsh and German realms." It is not easy to fix the limits within which the walnut may be accounted indigenous, so widely has it been cultivated for its fruit; but it is certainly found as a wild tree over a great part of south-eastern Europe, through Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Persia, the Himalayas to Burmah, China, and possibly Japan.
More has been laid upon Roman shoulders in connection with their occupation of Britain than perhaps they should justly bear, but we may safely credit our conquerors with having introduced the walnut, which they held in very high esteem as providing a favourite article of food, and the nuts were easily [131] carried and planted. The name they gave it—Juglans, i.e. Jovis glans, "Jove's nut"—betokens the value at which they rated this tree. Pliny devotes a long chapter to the walnut, expressing doubt whether it was known in Italy during Cato's life (B.C. 234-149). He says that it was brought into Greece from Pontus (Asia Minor), thence to Italy, wherefore the fruit was called Pontic or Greek nuts. He also describes how these nuts were thrown at weddings, certainly a more formidable kind of missile than rice and confetti, as we now do use.
The walnut has adapted itself to the soil and climate of the British Isles in exactly the same measure as the Spanish chestnut—that is, it will thrive in all parts of the United Kingdom and grow to very large dimensions under reasonable conditions of shelter; but it will not produce fruit worth gathering in ordinary seasons north of the English Midlands. Its merit as a timber tree entitles it to far more attention from foresters than it now receives, for, indeed, it is one of the most valuable hardwoods that can be planted. The fruit was too precious to the Romans to allow the tree to be used for that purpose, but, wrote Juvenal, Annosam si forte nucem dejecerat Eurus—"if the east wind happened to uproot an aged walnut"—the timber was highly prized for furniture.
Howbeit, there are walnuts and walnuts. The tree, having been cultivated for its fruit from immemorial time, has developed a great number of varieties, producing large or thin-shelled nuts, which cannot [132] be trusted for the production of fine timber. Where that is the purpose, it is important to plant the wild type, for which the demand is not such as to encourage nurserymen to stock it. John Evelyn, nearly two hundred and fifty years ago, urged his fellow-countrymen to give more attention to the walnut, but he urged in vain.
"How would such publick plantations improve the glory and wealth of a nation! but where shall we find the spirits among our countrymen? Yes, I will adventure to instance in those plantations of Sir Richard Bidolph upon the downs near Letherhead in Surry; Sir Robert Clayton at Morden near Godstone, and so about Cassaulton [Casehorton], where many thousands of these trees do celebrate the industry of the owners, and will certainly reward it with infinite improvement, as I am assured they do in part already, and that very considerably; besides the ornament which they afford to those pleasant tracts."
It is curious to find Evelyn, who infused a fair proportion of scientific scepticism into his practical treatise, lending credence to some of the mythical virtues of the walnut. Thus he gravely writes that "the distillation of the leaves with honey and urine makes hair spring on bald heads."
In raising this tree from seed the walnuts offered for sale as food should be avoided, for these generally have been kiln-dried, and their vitality, as well as their flavour, thereby impaired or destroyed. Nuts should be selected from large trees of the best habit, laid in sand during the winter and sown in February. They are rather ticklish plants to handle in the nursery, owing to the long bare tap-root which they send down, and which should be shortened when the [133] seedlings are transplanted, as they should be at a year old. If fine timber be the object, the young trees when planted out should be stimulated to upward growth by the presence of other trees as nurses. A very slight spring frost suffices to destroy the young growth; but the walnut generally escapes that risk by being the latest of all our woodland trees, except the ash, to put forth leaves. I do not remember to have seen the young leaves appear so early as they did in the remarkable spring of 1914, when they were put forth before the end of April; the ash continuing bare that year till the very end of May.
Of the many fine walnut trees scattered over the midland and southern English counties, I have seen none equal in size to one figured in Elwes and Henry's great work (vol. ii., plate 74), a truly noble specimen growing at Barrington Park, Oxfordshire. In 1903 it was between 80 and 85 feet high, with a girth of 17 feet. The bole and branches are covered with burrs, indicating that the timber would make beautiful panelling and veneers.
The only notable walnuts which I can remember to have seen in Scotland are one at Gordon Castle, another at Cawdor, and a third at Blairdrummond. The first of these would have been a magnificent tree had it been subjected to forest discipline in youth, and so expended its vigour in height rather than breadth. It is only 60 feet high, with a girth of 10 feet, but it covers with its huge branches a space nearly 80 feet in diameter. The tree at Cawdor is about 65 feet high, with a girth of 15 feet 7 inches; [134] and that at Blairdrummond is the tallest of the three, with a girth of 13 feet. Such dimensions cannot compare with those which the walnut attains in Southern Europe. A writer in the Gardeners' Chronicle described one in the Baidar Valley, near Balaclava, which yields from 80,000 to 100,000 nuts annually, and belongs to five Tartar families, who divide the produce between them.
Still, there are so many fine examples of what this tree may become in Great Britain that one may well ask why the production of its timber has been so utterly neglected. Mahogany and other foreign woods have usurped its place in the cabinet trade; but we still import large supplies of walnut, not only for panelling, but for the stocks of army and sporting small arms. For that purpose it has no equal, owing to its lightness, strength, the nicety with which it can be cut to fit gunlocks, and because it never warps nor swells when exposed to wet. "During the last war," says Selby in 1842, "when most of the continental ports were shut against us, walnut timber rose to an enormous price, as we may collect from the fact of a single tree having been sold for £600; and as such prices offered temptation that few proprietors were able to resist, a great number of the finest walnuts growing in England were sacrificed at that period to supply the trade." [14] Some years ago the War Office authorities sought to extend their sources of supply by substituting one of the superb kinds of timber grown in our colonies; [135] but although twenty different woods were submitted and tested, none was found suitable except the American black walnut.
This (Juglans nigra) is a larger tree than the European species, growing to a height of 150 feet with a girth of 15 to 20 feet in the middle States of North America. It has now become very scarce, owing to reckless destruction of the forests; but there are some specimens in England already approaching the dimensions of those in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. For instance, there is one at the Mote, near Maidstone, over 100 feet high, with a girth of 12 feet 6 inches in 1905, and another in the public park at Twickenham, 98 feet high in the same year, with a girth of 14 feet 3 inches. Besides some lofty black walnuts of the ordinary type at Albury Park, Surrey, there is one very handsome tree on the terrace, near the house, distinguished as a variety under the title J. nigra alburyensis.
I do not know of any in Scotland, except a few hundreds which I raised from seed about ten years ago, and which are now planted out in mixture with the Japanese Cercidiphyllum. The only fault I find with them is that, while the young growth is as tender as that of the common walnut, it is earlier in starting, and therefore more liable to injury from spring frosts.
The timber of the black walnut is quite equal in quality and superior in beauty to that of the European species. The tree is sometimes confused with the kindred genus hickory (Carya), whereof there are [136] many fine specimens in Great Britain; but the two genera may be readily distinguished from each other by cutting across a twig. The pith of all species of walnut is neatly chambered, that of the hickories is solid.
BLACK WALNUT (Juglans nigra var. alburyensis)
At Albury Park, Surrey
"Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly."
It is rather curious that, dearly as Shakespeare loved the woodland and ready as he ever was to enrich his verse with references to trees and flowers, he never mentions the holly except in this song from As You Like It. This is the more remarkable because holly is more widely distributed over Britain than most other forest growths, and must have been far more abundant in the sixteenth century before the land was infested by rabbits to the extent it is now; for these accursed rodents make a clean sweep of holly seedlings and also destroy large trees by barking them.
It may be thought that the holly should be ranked as a shrub rather than as a forest tree; but when well grown it is fairly entitled to the superior rank, for there are many fine specimens in these islands upwards of 50 feet high. Dr. Henry measured one in 1909 near Ampthill, in Bedfordshire, 60 feet [138] high and ll½ feet in girth. But this tree has no single bole, for it divides into seven large stems at about 18 inches from the ground. A far more shapely specimen is one which Lord Kesteven measured at Doddington Hall, Lincoln, and found in 1907 to be about 50 feet high, with a girth of 9½ feet at breast height. Being very patient of shade, the holly is sometimes drawn up to still greater height than this; Mr. Elwes having found some at Russells, near Watford, crowded among beech trees and rising to 70 and 75 feet.
The most remarkable holly grove known to me is in the park of Gordon Castle, covering a steep bank overlooking what used to be the Bog o' Gicht, but now a fertile holm. It is not known whether these hollies are of natural growth or planted, but they are evidently of great age; indeed, they are mentioned as remarkable in a description of Gordon Castle written in 1760—154 years ago. There are about five hundred trees in the grove, irregularly scattered along the bank, fifty-four of them being crowded into the space of about a quarter of an acre. But alas! one may look in vain for seedlings which might ensure the perpetuation of this ancient grove; all that may spring up are greedily devoured by rabbits.
Talking of seedlings, the propagation of hollies from seed requires to be set about in light of the fact that the seed requires a year of repose before germinating. The readiest way, therefore, is to lay the berries in moist sand for twelve months, after which the seeds may be sown in a nursery bed, where they will soon show signs of life.
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The largest, though not the loftiest, holly I have ever seen is the remarkable tree at Fullarton House, near Ayr. It stands upon a shaven lawn, which is greatly to the detriment of its nourishment, and it has lost much of its height through decay of the upper branches. But it has a single hole of 8 feet, measuring at the narrowest part, 3 feet from the ground, 11 feet 3 inches in girth. The spread of branches is 189 feet in circumference.
Having been cultivated for centuries as a hedge and shrubbery plant, the holly has sported into a great variety of forms and colours, none of them, to my taste, the match of the wild type for beauty, and some of them mere ugly caricatures thereof. The best variegated forms are of ancient descent—namely Golden Queen and Silver Queen, which are quite as vigorous and bear fruit as freely as the type. These are both very beautiful; as to the other varieties, the world would be no loser if they were all extirpated, unless the quaint little hedgehog holly, described by Parkinson in 1640, were retained as a curiosity. To this doom, however, I certainly would not consign the yellow-berried holly, which gives a fine contrast with the common scarlet-berried kind, and is stated by Cole (writing in 1657) to have been found in a wild state near Wardour Castle. John Evelyn wrote in 1664 of a variety with white berries; Loudon also referred to this, and also to one with black berries; but I have neither seen these varieties nor met with anyone who had. It is doubtful whether both writers have not been misled by hearsay.
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Evelyn employed all the resources of typography to express his enthusiasm for this fine evergreen:—
"Above all the natural Greens which inrich our home-born store, there is non certainly to be compared to the Holly, insomuch as I have often wonder'd at our curiosity after foreign Plants and expensive difficulties, to the neglect of the culture of this vulgar but incomparable tree.... Is there under Heaven a more glorious and refreshing object of the kind than an impregnable Hedge of near three hundred foot in length, nine foot high, and five in diameter; which I can show in my poor Gardens at any time of the year, glitt'ring with its arm'd and vernish'd leaves? The taller Standards at orderly distances, blushing with their natural Coral. It mocks at the rudest assaults of the Weather, Beasts, or Hedge-breakers."
This hedge grew, not at Wotton, but at Sayes Court, Evelyn's other place near Deptford, which he leased to the Czar Peter the Great in 1697, and had occasion to repent having done so, for that eccentric monarch, in the intervals of his work at the dockyard, amused himself by causing his courtiers to trundle each other in wheelbarrows down a steep descent into the said hedge, which was seriously damaged thereby.
No tree is better adapted than the holly for making a hedge; but it does not always get the treatment necessary to produce the finest effect. I have never seen any to equal the holly hedges at Colinton House, in Mid-Lothian, which were planted between 1670 and 1680, and are now from 35 to 40 feet high, tapering upwards from a basal diameter of about 20 feet. The lower branches have rooted themselves freely, so that it would be difficult to create a more effective barrier of vegetation. The [141] total length of these hedges is 1,120 feet, having been formed originally with about 4,500 plants. Colonel Trotter's gardener, Mr. John Bruce, takes a just pride in tending them, clipping them annually at the end of March, so as to ensure a close young growth maturing before the winter frosts.
The proper season for planting hollies is May, after growth has started. If the operation is delayed till autumn, they make no new roots, and suffer so much from frost and cold winds that many of them never get established. This is one of those secrets which one has to find out for oneself, at the cost of many wasted seasons. Haud ignarus loquor. Although in generous soil the holly will make long annual shoots, it is very slow in forming wood, which may account for our neglect of it as a timber tree. But the wood is of very fine quality, being hard and white, excellent for turnery and for making mathematical instruments.
"We presume," says Phillips in Sylva Florifera (1823), "that many noble trees of holly would be seen in this country, but for the practice of cutting all the finest young plants to make coachmen's whips, thus leaving only the crooked branches or suckers to form shrubs." The demand for this purpose must have diminished with the spread of automobilism; but the ravages wrought on holly trees for Christmas decoration are deplorable, raiders finding a ready sale for their plunder in all the big towns. It is a gentle custom to "weave the holly round the Christmas hearth"; but it is desirable that the weavers [142] should observe some distinction between meum and tuum—pronouns which they seem to regard as synonymous when applied to holly.
Pliny repeats, without comment, the statement by Pythagoras that the flowers of holly turn water into ice, and, further, that if a man throws a staff of holly at a beast, and misses it, the staff will return to his hand. Here we seem to have a report of the use of the boomerang; but Parkinson, writing in the seventeenth century, expresses lofty disdain for such fables. "This," says he, "I here relate that you may understand the fond and vain conceit of those times, which I would to God we were not in these days tainted withal." The Scottish clans of Drummond and Maxwell of old bore the holly as their badge.
In Lowland Scots the word "hollen" preserves the original English form, which in Ancren Riwle (about 1230) is written "holin," being direct from the Anglo-Saxon "holen, holegn." Chaucer writes it "holm," a form which occurs in such place-names as Holmwood and Holmesdale in Surrey. It is also preserved in the name holm-oak, i.e. the ilex or evergreen oak, whereof the young leaves bear holly-like spines. It is an interesting feature in both these trees, as well as in the holly-leaved Osmanthus, that the leaves produced above the level of browsing animals are spineless, such defence being needless for the upper branches. This characteristic has been called in question by persons founding their observation upon cultivated varieties of the holly, some of which bear [143] none but spineless leaves, others none but spined ones. It will, however, be found to be the normal habit in wild hollies.
It is a hazardous thing for a Saisneach to dabble in Celtic etymology, yet will I venture to mention that the Gaelic for holly is cuileann, and may be recognised in such place-names as Cullen in Banffshire and Lanarkshire and (aspirated) Barhullion in Wigtownshire. Far seen Slieve Gullion, a cone of the Mountains of Mourne, in Armagh (1,893 feet), is popularly connected with the name of Cuileann, a worker in metals in the reign of Conchobar Mac-Nessa, King of Ulster; but it is written Sliebhe Cuilinn in the Irish Annals, which indicates Holly Mountain as the true meaning. From the same source we are able to interpret Cullen, Cullion, and Cullenach, the names of many Irish townlands, as derived from vanished hollies; and Cuileanntrach Castle, in Meath, destroyed by one Rory in 1155, was so called because of the hollies on the shore.
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Pea-flowered Trees
The enormous natural order of Leguminosæ or pea-flowered plants contains many of the loveliest flowering plants in the world, but among them there are but three which, attaining the stature of trees, contribute importantly to the beauty of British woodlands—namely, the common laburnum, the alpine laburnum, and the false acacia or locust tree.
PAGODA TREE (Sophora japonica)
In the Botanic Garden, Oxford
Every country child knows the laburnum, but it is not every planter who recognises that there are two distinct species, bearing a general resemblance to each other, but differing in the time of flowering and in other important respects. The species most usually planted is the common laburnum (L. vulgare), and of a truth it would be difficult to name any tree more delectable with its "dropping wells of fire." It is uncertain how early it was brought from Central Europe to Great Britain; Tradescant had it growing in 1596; but if "awburne," mentioned in an Irish Act of Edward IV. (cap. iv., 1464) among the four woods prescribed for the bow with which every Englishman in Ireland was to provide himself, means "laburnum," it follows that this tree must have been [145] in cultivation from very early times. Indeed, the botanist Matthiolus mentions it as being better even than the yew for bow-making; and we may recognise the word "awburne" in the old Lowland Scots name for the laburnum, "hoburn saugh," both being from the alternative Latin form, alburnus. Gerard called it the bean-trefoil.
There is but one precaution to be observed in planting laburnums—namely, that they should not be within reach of horses or cattle, for the seeds contain a powerful poison called cytisine. Some years ago, wishing to do wayfarers a service by enlivening a stretch of high road, I caused a row of laburnums to be planted on either side. The trees had attained some stature, when a Clydesdale mare belonging to the tenant of a field bordering the road suddenly died, her death being attributed to eating laburnum seeds, so the trees had to be uprooted. Neither leaves nor bark appear to contain the poison, judging from the avidity shown by rabbits in devouring them. No tree is so vulnerable at all ages by those detestable creatures as are the laburnum and the holly. The largest stems are liable to be barked by them in hard weather. Some writers have copied Pliny in stating that bees will not visit the flowers of laburnum; but Pliny cannot have been writing from personal observation, for modern bees, at least, show no aversion to the yellow blossoms.
The common laburnum seldom exceeds 30 feet in height. The largest I have seen stands in the laundry yard of Alnwick Castle, over 40 feet high, [146] wide-spreading, with a double stem measuring over 11 feet in girth near the ground. When Loudon measured it in 1835 the girth was only 6 feet 11 inches. It is a magnificent sight when in bloom. The timber of laburnum, though now greatly neglected in favour of foreign woods, is of admirable quality for cabinet work, being of a dark olive tint, and taking a fine polish. Seeing that the laburnum is perfectly hardy in our climate and grows rapidly in any well-drained soil, it seems a pity that the fine material it produces is not more commonly used.
FLOWER OF LABURNUM
The alpine laburnum (L. alpinum) goes by the name of Scottish laburnum in the nursery trade. Like the common laburnum, it is a native of Central Europe, being, probably, merely the mountain form of the other, to which it bears a strong general resemblance. The readiest means of distinguishing between the two species consists in the foliage and young shoots. In the common laburnum the leaf stalks, young shoots, and under sides of the leaves are thickly clothed with a smooth, silky pubescence, whereas in the alpine species these parts are quite bare, which causes the tree when in leaf to appear of a deeper green than the other. But the important difference for planters is that the alpine laburnum blossoms a fortnight or so later than the common laburnum, thereby prolonging the display of these charming trees. Elwes describes the flowers of the alpine laburnum as being paler in colour than those of the other species; but according to my own observation they are of the richer gold. There are [147] some fine specimens in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, verging upon 100 years old, about 40 feet high, and now past their prime. The timber is of the same fine quality as that of the common laburnum.
Some beautiful hybrids have been reared between these two species, and planters cannot be too strongly recommended to use them. The variety known as L. watereri bears flower-tassels 15 to 18 inches long. As it is propagated by grafting on the common species, care should be taken not to allow the stock to overcome the scion, root suckers and stem spray being rigidly suppressed.
Another curious hybrid is L. adami, which originated nearly a hundred years ago in a French nursery through engrafting Cytisus purpureus on a laburnum stem, with the result that this graft-hybrid produces yellow flowers on some branches and violet ones on others.
Mr. Gerald Loder has secured a charming effect at Wakehurst Place, Sussex, by planting wistaria to grow with laburnum, the flower racemes being similar in size and shape, but respectively of the complementary colours, yellow and violet.
In writing of a beautiful tree as the false Acacia, no reflection upon its integrity is implied in the epithet. The Robinia is so called because Englishmen have chosen to call it an acacia, which it is not, any more than it is a locust tree, as the Americans speak of it. Its scientific title is Robinia pseudacacia, commemorating Jean Robin, who first reared it in France in 1601 from seeds sent to him from North [148] America, where it is very widely spread and much valued for the durability of its timber.
William Cobbett (1762-1835) conceived an extravagant idea of its merits, and predicted that it would supersede all British trees, including the oak; but this expectation has fallen far short of fulfilment. Among many other landowners who were induced to act on the faith of it, Lord Folkestone, a fellow-Radical of Cobbett's, planted 13,000 or 14,000 locusts at Coleshill Park, Berkshire, in 1824; but of these only very few remain now, none of them over 60 feet high. The fact is, the Robinia loves more sun than it gets in most parts of our islands and a hotter soil. This renders it unsuitable for planting in Scotland, especially in the humid west. There are, indeed, a few large specimens north of the Tweed, such as one at Cordale House, Dumbartonshire, 64 feet high by 7 feet in girth; another at Mauldslie Castle, Lanarkshire, 60 feet high by 8 feet 7 inches in girth; and, most northerly of all, one at Gordon Castle, which in 1904 measured 56 feet high by 9 feet in girth. But, as a rule, it is only to be found in good form in the sunnier shires; besides, notwithstanding the strength of its timber when felled, the growing boughs are exceedingly brittle, which makes the tree unsuitable for exposure to high winds.
ROBINIA PSEUDACACIA
At Winchester
On the sandy soil of parts of Surrey, especially about St. George's Hill, the locust thrives well, reproducing itself freely from self-sown seed, and forming very lovely objects when covered with fragrant white blossoms in June. Even in such parts of England [149] where it does best, it is not profitable to let it stand longer than, say, twenty or thirty years, when it makes admirable fencing and gate-posts, which are almost imperishable. At a greater age the trunk becomes coarse and deeply furrowed, often becoming rotten towards the centre. Elwes mentions a locust tree at Frogmore, near Windsor, as the largest in Britain, which he found in 1908 to be 88 feet high by 14 feet 7 inches in girth. One about the same height at Bowood, Lord Lansdowne's place in Wiltshire, was slightly taller, but girthed only 8½ feet.
In France and Italy the locusts thrive as vigorously as in their native continent, and are exceedingly beautiful during the flowering season. They also make very effective hedges, being regularly cut over, when they send up long and strong shoots armed with murderous thorns.
Few trees stand the drought, heat, and smoke of London as well as the Robinia, which carries its verdure unchanged long after the limes and elms have become seared and unsightly. Many a time, when Parliament continued sitting through and after the dog days, have I refreshed my eyes by gazing upon a fine Robinia which stood at the corner of the late Lord Sefton's house in Belgrave Square. But that tree is no more, for, when the house changed hands after its former owner's death, and was put into the hands of builders and decorators, they felled my friendly Robinia.
There are three species of Robinia seldom planted in this country—namely, R. hispida, R. neo-mexicana, [150] and R. viscosa, all with beautiful pink or rose-coloured flowers. Of these, the first-named, a native of Carolina, is the most desirable, but it is even more brittle than the locust or false acacia. Its blossoms are so exquisite as to entitle the tree to the advantage of being trained on a wall.
There are two other trees of the peaflower order which one would fain see more frequently planted in the sunnier districts of Great Britain, namely the Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum) and the white-flowered Sophora (S. japonica). I happen to be writing within a couple of hundred yards of the finest Judas tree known to me—at Twyford Lodge, near Winchester. It is 35 feet high, and in these early days of May presents a sight which cannot easily be forgotten. The branches, still leafless, are thickly set with blossom; flowers even break out from the old bark on the stem, and the effect of the whole is a dome of soft vieux rose (see Frontispiece ). It is a native of southern Europe, but agrees perfectly with the climate of England, except in northerly districts which are scant of sun, where it should receive the protection of a wall to encourage the formation of flower buds. The Judas tree (so named from the fond belief that the false Apostle hanged himself thereon) is seldom to be seen in our pleasure-grounds, though it has often been planted there; the reason for this being that it is of slow growth in its early stages, and gets smothered with ranker things, often of less merit.
FLOWER OF ROBINIA PSEUDACACIA
The Pagoda tree (Sophora japonica) is a native of [151] China, where from immemorial time it has been used in medicine, its flowers, seeds and bark being powerfully purgative. Its blossoms appear in August and September, varying in hue from white to yellow, with a tinge of purple. Those which I have seen bear cream-coloured flowers in long, loose panicles, contrasting finely with the dark, pinnate foliage. The tallest specimens I have seen are at Syon House, about 70 feet high. There is also a very large one within the Tilt Yard of Arundel Castle, and Elwes measured one at Cobham Park, Kent, which was 85 feet high in 1905. At page 144 is shown a fine Pagoda tree in the Botanic Garden at Oxford. I do not remember to have seen any specimens in Scotland. Probably the late flowering habit of the tree would not suit the northern kingdom.
[152]
The Elder
In the humid atmosphere of the west there is no more inveterate forest growth than the elder or, as we call it in Scotland, the bourtree (Sambucus nigra), which, springing from seeds which birds, having stuffed themselves with the sweet berries, distribute far and wide, shoots up with amazing rapidity, indifferent as to sun or shade, for it grows happily under dense forest canopy, although it is only in the open that it makes full display of its great discs of cream-coloured flowers.
From the earliest times there have been two schools of opinion about the elder. Pliny put faith in decoction of its leaves as a febrifuge, and in his day malaria was a terrible scourge in Italy. In 1644 appeared a book entirely devoted to its virtues—The Anatomie of the Elder, translated from the Latin of Dr. Martin Blockwich by C. de Iryngio; and thirty years later John Evelyn burst into a coruscation of italic type in praise of this humble tree.
"If the Medicinal properties of the Leaves, Bark, Berries, &c., were thoroughly known, I cannot tell what our Country-man could aile for which he might not fetch a Remedy from every Hedge, either [153] for Sickness or Wound. The inner Barke of Elder, apply'd to any burning, takes out the fire immediately. That, or in season the Buds, boyl'd in Water-grewel for a Break-fast, has effected wonders in the Fever; and the decoction is admirable to asswage Inflammations and telrous humors, and especially the Scorbut. But an Extract or Theriaca may be compos'd of the Berries, which is not only efficacious to eradicate this Epidemical inconvenience, and greatly to assist Longevity (so famous is the story of Næander), but is a kind of Catholicon against all infirmities; and of the same Berries is made an incomparable Spirit which, drunk by itself or mingled with Wine, is not only an excellent drink, but admirable in the Dropsy.... The Oyntment made with the young buds and leaves in May with Butter, is most soveraign for Aches, shrunk Sinews, Hemorrhoids, etc."
And so on and so on, much in the strain of modern advertisement of patent medicines. The boot is on the other leg now, for although hot elder-berry wine glows comfortably in memories of boyhood, I know not where I might now get a glass thereof, were I to perish for want of it. [15] Thoughtful housewives still provide elder flower water on the toilet tables of their guests, and methinks the ointment may be found in some conservative nurseries.
Contemporary with mediæval esteem of the elder was the belief that it was accursed because it was the tree whereon Judas hanged himself. We know, of course, that in Southern Europe the beautiful Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum) is stained by that imputation, but Sir John Mandeville (fourteenth century) assured his countrymen that he had been shown at Jerusalem the identical "Tree of Eldre" on which [154] the traitor ended his career. The chief reason for hesitating to accept Mandeville's evidence is that he never, or hardly ever, told the truth except by accident. Shakespeare, however, entertained the belief, for in Love's Labour's Lost he makes Biron say to Holofernes, "Judas was hanged on an elder," and science has lent assent to the rural fancy which gave the name Jew's Ears to the flabby black fungus that makes the elder its peculiar host by calling it Hirneola auricula-Judæ.
The pith which bulks so largely in the young growth of elder ceases to increase after the second year, and becomes compressed, and the wood that forms round it is exceedingly hard. In old times it was much in request for making pipes and other musical instruments. Pliny has preserved a quaint bit of folk-lore about it. He says the shepherds believe "that the most sonorous horns are made of an elder growing where it has never heard a cock crow." In our day we put the wood to no use whatever, unless, in the West of England, butchers still use it for skewering meat, which it was supposed to guard from taint. But—
No sound shall creak through the solemn pines,
The ocean shall lose its roar,
The wild horse cease to skim the plain,
The alpine peaks be level again,
The eagle forget to soar,
before our boys forget the simple craft that turns whistles and popguns out of elder shoots. For this, and certain other qualities, the elder claims a permanent [155] place in our affection. It never winces or complains under the harshest phases of our climate, and it forgets its melancholy at midsummer, when an old bourtree, 30 feet high or so, set with scores of creamy saucers, is a really beautiful object.
ELDER (Sambucus nigra) In June
ELDER (Sambucus nigra) In December
The elder has given names to many places in our land. In the Cornish dialect of Celtic, now extinct, it was called scau and scauan, and is preserved in Tresco, Boscawen, Penscauan, etc. In old Celtic it was trom, genitive truim, whence, as we learn from the Book of Armagh, the town Trim, in Meath, was formerly Ath-truim, the elder ford. Galtrim, in the same county, appears in the annals as Cala-truim, the meadow of the elder. Trimmer, Trummer, and Trummery are Irish place-names, all perpetuating the memory of tromaire, an elder wood. The Truim, a principal tributary of the Spey, probably was originally Amhuinn Truim, the elder river. In the Scottish lowlands we find Bourtriehill, Bourtriebush, etc., while in England it is difficult to distinguish "elder" in composition from "alder." Skeat suggests the two words are of identical origin, and in each the d is intrusive. Elderfield, a parish in Worcestershire, Ellerby and Ellerton in Yorkshire bear a pretty clear stamp.
[156]
The Hazel
To admit the hazel to rank among forest trees may seem like magnifying a molehill into a mountain; but it was a growth so important to the primitive community, as the only native tree contributing to winter provender, that it would be ungrateful to omit it. I was greatly impressed by this fact when, many years ago, we were exploring "crannogs," or lake dwellings, in the south-west of Scotland, in all of which nut-shells were found in quantity.
One instance was particularly remarkable. Dirskelvin Loch, a small sheet of water in Old Luce Parish, contained a very large crannog, built, as we roughly calculated, with between 2,000 and 3,000 trees. The loch having been drained away, we proceeded to exfoliate the crannog. In going along what had been the north-east margin of the vanished loch, I found it deeply covered with hazel-nut shells—many, many cartloads of them. Evidently they were kitchen waste from the crannog, drifted to that quarter before the prevailing south-west wind.
If the reader does not consider that the food it [157] produces justifies admission of the hazel among forest trees, let him meet me at Merton Parish Church, on Tweedside, turn off the main road to the left at Clint Mains, and, as we travel towards Bemersyde, he shall see in the road fence on his right hand a row of hazels which it would be a misuse of terms to style bushes. Speaking from recollection, they stand about 25 feet high, with single stems that must girth not less than 18 inches to 2 feet. The fact is, the hazel does not often get a chance of attaining its full stature, being commonly cut for copse or treated as undergrowth.
He, however, who aims at growing hazel timber need not waste time in educating our British Corylus avellana, but plant the Turkish hazel, C. colurna, which is perfectly hardy in our climate. It is represented by very few specimens in these islands, albeit it was grown in England as "the filbeard of Constantinople" so long ago as 1665. The finest trees of this species are at Syon House, Brentford, the tallest of which was 75 feet high in 1904, with a girth of 6 feet 9 inches, and a clean bole of 30 feet. The timber is said to have a beautiful texture, pinkish white, and sometimes grained like bird's-eye maple. French cabinetmakers import it under the name of noisetier.
Returning to our native hazel, we no longer depend upon its fruit to sustain us through the winter, though large quantities of the cultivated varieties, filbert and cob-nut, are still grown in Kent for the market. Of the wood, it can only be said that it produces excellent walking-sticks, and has no equal [158] in hurdle-making. Modern anglers have no use for it, preferring greenheart and split cane, though of old it was considered a sine qua non for rod-making. Thus the author of The Boke of Saint Albans prescribes:
"Ye that woll be crafty in anglynge, ye must fyrste lerne to make your harnays, that is to wyte your rodde.... And how ye shall make your rodde crafty here I shall teche you. Ye shall kytte betwene Myghelmas and Candylmas a fayr staffe of a fadome and an halfe longe, and arme grete, of hasyll, willowe, or aspe."
The prescription goes on for drying, straightening, and boring out the middle of the staff, and then—
"In the same season take a fayr yerde of grene hasyll and beth hym evyn and streyghte, and let it drye with the staffe, and whan they ben drye make the yerde mete into the hole in the staffe, unto halfe the length of the staffe.... And thus shall ye make you a rodde soo prevy that ye may walke therewyth, and there shall noo man wyte where abowte ye goo."
Seeing that the staff was to be "a fadome and an halfe longe" (9 feet), and as thick as his arm, the wayfarer's progress might not be so "prevy" as is set forth if water bailiffs were on the lookout!
AILANTHUS GLANDULOSA
[159]
The Ailanto
In many southern parts of the British Isles Ailanthus glandulosa has attained forest stature; but it seems to require more sunshine than it can receive in the average Scottish summer. Loudon, indeed, mentions one at Dunrobin, in Sutherland, which was 43 feet high about eighty years ago; but I have found no trace of that tree in the woods there. There used to be one at Syon 100 feet high, but this has been dead for some years. Elwes and Henry have recorded several in the home counties measuring from 70 to 80 feet in height. Dr. Henry found it wild only in the mountains of Northern China. Elsewhere in China it is cultivated to support a certain species of silk-worm (Attacus cynthia); also a drug is prepared from the root bark; but its timber is regarded as fit only for firing, although in this country it has been found serviceable by wheelwrights. It is said to resemble ash, but is of inferior toughness and elasticity. [16] He, therefore, would be acting very unwisely who, having land suitable for ash, should devote it to growing Ailanthus. Indeed the tree, [160] though handsome and hardy, would hardly deserve attention from British planters, were it not for its admirable fitness for street planting. Except the plane, no forest growth adapts itself so generously to the arid heat, the drought and noxious air of London. For this purpose, it is important that, as the Ailanthus is diœcious, only female trees should be planted; the males exhaling a disagreeable rammish odour. I have never been in Northern China, but I cannot conceive that the splendid pinnate foliage of this tree can be more luxuriant in its native forest than it is in a few of the driest, dustiest London thoroughfares.
The habit of the tree in this country tends to forking, probably because the leader is apt to be nipped by late frost; wherefore, to secure a shapely specimen, timely use of the knife is necessary; which attention, to judge from the trees I have seen, is very seldom paid to it.
[161]
The Pines
Except the birch, the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is more widely distributed over northern Europe than any other species of tree, and it shows more indifference than any other to variations of climate. While in Eastern Siberia it sustains without flinching a temperature of 40° below zero (Fahr.), it thrives in Southern Spain under a summer heat of 95°. It seems as much at home in the sun-baked region of Southern France as it is in the perennially humid atmosphere and cool soil of Western Scotland and Ireland.
Yet there are limits to its cosmopolitan endurance. Not long ago I spent a profitable day in the Arnold Arboretum at Boston, Massachusetts, under the guidance of its presiding genius, Professor C. S. Sargent. After wandering for hours amid the luxuriant vegetation of that magnificent park, we stopped beside a mangy, stunted conifer, and he asked me whether I recognised it. I did not; but guessed at hazard that it was the Japanese Pinus parviflora. I was surprised to be told that this was the best that could be done in that country with our own Scots pine. [162] From causes difficult to define, probably similar to those which prohibit the growth of our common ivy in the Eastern United States, this tree resists all attempts to make it at home in that atmosphere.
SCOTS PINE WOOD
It may seem strange that this tree should be known as the Scots pine, having regard to its enormous geographical range and to the insignificant area which it occupies in Scotland as compared with the vast forests in Russia, Scandinavia, and other countries. Its scientific title, Pinus sylvestris—the forest pine—would appear more appropriate. But it has received its English name because, although at one time it was spread as a native over all parts of the British Isles, it is now only to be found in a truly wild state in the fragments of old forest remaining in Strathspey, Deeside, and here and there in the counties of Inverness and Perth. From England probably it had entirely disappeared when, in the seventeenth century, certain landowners succeeded in reintroducing it; and now it has attained splendid proportions in Surrey and other southern counties, and spreads freely by its winged seeds wherever these fall on unoccupied lands. Were it not for deer, sheep, and rabbits, most of our dry moors and heathland would be covered with pine forest up to the thousand feet level. Howbeit, most of the moorland in the United Kingdom is the reverse of dry. Except in Eastern Scotland and the Surrey uplands, it is usually clad with a dense coat of wet peat, reeking with humic acid and inimical to tree growth of any kind. One of the darkest enigmas of natural science is presented in the remains of pine [163] forest buried under such a dismal treeless expanse as the Moor of Rannoch, and on Highland hills up to and beyond 2000 feet altitude, far higher than any tree can exist now. The explanation seems most likely to be arrived at in the direction indicated by certain symptoms of the alternation of periods of greater and less rainfall—periods comprising thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years. Trees, it has been suggested, might grow and reproduce themselves at high altitudes during the drier cycles; but when the rainfall and atmospheric humidity increased beyond a certain degree, the soil would become covered with moss, seedlings would be smothered or never start, and humic acid would render the ground unfit for any growth except heather and moorland herbs.
Diligent collectors and enterprising nurserymen have ransacked the remotest forests to furnish British woodlands with profitable timber-producers and British pleasure-grounds with ornamental trees; yet among all the scores of exotic conifers which have taken kindly to our ocean-girt land, the Scots pine, in my judgment, need fear no rival in beauty after reaching maturity.
It is not a little remarkable, considering how well adapted our moist climate is for evergreen growth, that the Scots pine and the juniper should be the only two conifers indigenous to Britain since the glacial age. (The yew used to be classed as coniferous, but has now been removed to a separate order.) The Norway spruce, as shown by remains in pre-glacial [164] deposits in Norfolk, once flourished in our land; but it has never recovered a footing there since the severance of Britain from the Continent.
No tree shows a greater difference than Scots pine in the quality of its timber at different stages of growth. Unlike larch, which yields useful and durable wood from a very early age, Scots pine is very soft and perishable until the tree approaches eighty years old. It is true that young deals and posts may be rendered serviceable by boiling in creosote; but it is not until the tree reaches maturity that the timber becomes valuable, without that treatment, for anything except pit-props.
In 1783 Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon, sold a great breadth of the pine forest of Glenmore to an English merchant, who took twenty-two years to fell it. The logs were floated down the Spey, and built at Speymouth into forty-seven ships of an aggregate burthen of 19,000 tons. When Mr. Osborne, the purchaser of the timber, finished his work in 1806, he sent a memorial plank to the Duke, which now stands in the entrance hall of Gordon Castle. It measures 5 feet 5 inches in width at the butt end, and 4 feet 4 inches at the top, and is of a rich dark brown colour. The top of this magnificent tree lies where it was cut off more than one hundred years ago, on the hill above Glenmore Lodge, 1400 feet above the sea, and is still hard and sound, 3 feet in diameter where it was cut off. Now, had that been part of a tree, say, fifty years old, frost and wet would have rotted it to the core in ten years or less; but the [165] snows and rains of a century have made little impression on the bones of this giant. Mr. Elwes was shown a tree in the King's Forest of Ballochbuie, on Deeside, which had been cut up after lying for seventy years where it fell, yet the timber was quite sound.
Age apart, the value of Scots deal varies much according to the manner in which it is grown. It is not the most picturesque pines that yield the finest timber; for the result of growing singly or in scattered groups is a spreading branchy habit, causing coarse, knotty wood. Enormous quantities of Scots pine from Scandinavia and pinaster from France, twenty to thirty-five years old, are imported into Great Britain for pit-props. These might be just as well grown in the British Isles, to the great advantage of rural employment; but British foresters are only now beginning to understand the economic management of timber crops. The great majority of woodlands in these islands have been ruined by over-thinning. Welsh mineowners decline to use the knotty British-grown pines so long as they can get clean-grown French timber.
Happily, a better understanding of the principles of economic forestry is being arrived at in this country, so that more satisfactory results may be expected in the future. Scots pine should be grown in close canopy—that is, with a continuous cover of foliage throughout the wood—until the trees are seventy or eighty years old. By that time long, clean boles will have been formed, and the forest may be dealt with [166] according to the views of the owner, whether his object be profit or beauty; for, unlike the oak, the Scots pine may be isolated from his fellows after reaching maturity without suffering in constitution.
The mildness and humidity of the British climate are unfavourable to the production of the best quality of deal, promoting, as they do, over-rapid growth and, in consequence, wide annual rings in the stem. The forester's object should be to check this by growing the trees so close that increase of trunk diameter may be retarded, and the annual rings crowded into small space until the trees are near maturity. That is the secret of the superior quality and durability of Russian and Scandinavian deals over all but the finest British pine.
FLOWER AND FRUIT OF SCOTS PINE
Amateurs in landscape object to the scientific treatment of pine forest, complaining that it creates a tiresome monotony. It is quite true that a plantation of Scots pines of middle age is not an interesting subject of contemplation, except to foresters. Nevertheless, it is half-way to what may become one of the most impressive scenes in nature. The most beautiful tract of Scots pine forest I have ever seen is that which clothes the slopes of the Wishart Burn, near Gordon Castle. This was planted about 180 to 190 years ago, and it is evident that the trees have gone through strict discipline of close company in early life, for their trunks are lofty, perfectly clean and even, carrying their girth well up to the branches at 50 or 60 feet from the ground. The tallest tree measured by Mr. Elwes in this wood seven years ago was about [167] 117 feet high, with a girth at breast height of 1 inch short of 11 feet. He estimated that it contained 345 cubic feet of timber. Many of the trees in this wood have been felled; but there remain about sixty to the acre—say, 6000 cubic feet per acre. They would be easily saleable standing at 6d. a foot, or £150 per acre.
As for landscape beauty, it would be difficult to imagine a fairer woodland scene than is composed by this company of aged pines. They do not stand so close now as to prevent one "seeing the wood for the trees"; the sun rays penetrate freely among the stately stems, which have that peculiar bloom of pearly rose that distinguishes the bark of old Scots pine. Aloft, the light flashes on the brighter hue of ruddy boughs supporting the massive foliage; below, the undulating ground, steep and rocky in places, is clothed with bilberry, fern, and other lowly growth. There is nothing gloomy or dreary in the scene, which he who visits it will not readily forget.
In Gaelic the name for the pine is giuthas (pronounced "gewuss," with a hard g). As is usual in the case of native trees, this word may be identified in many place-names both in Scotland and Ireland; albeit, sometimes pretty well disguised in modern orthography. Guisachan and Kingussie may be recognised pretty easily, the latter being cinn giuthasaich—"at the end or head of the pine wood"; but it requires some smattering of Gaelic speech to avoid the ornithological suggestion conveyed in the name Loch Goosie, in Kirkcudbright, and to interpret it correctly as "the loch of the pine wood."
[168]
I have remarked above that a mature Scots pine has no rival in beauty in the genus, and indeed the charming outline, blue-green foliage, ruddy branches and roseate grey trunk of a well-grown Scot of 150 years' growth can admit no superior in comeliness; but, on second thoughts, I must admit that it has a dangerous competitor in the Monterey pine (P. radiata syn. insignis). Native of an extremely limited range on the Californian coast, the first seedlings were raised in England in 1833. There are now several specimens recorded as over 100 feet in height. In rapidity of growth it excels all other pines, at least in the moist climate of the British Isles. One which I planted in 1884 at Monreith was blown down in 1911, and was found to be 61 feet 6 inches in height, with a girth of 5 feet 4 inches, certainly a remarkable growth in 27 years. If the timber were of a quality proportioned to the rapidity with which it is produced, the Monterey pine would indeed be a valuable tree, but our experience of it in this country differs in no respect from Sargent's report, viz. "Wood light, soft, not strong, brittle, close-grained." If it were grown in sufficient quantity it might prove good for pulping, but it is of no other economic value. Moreover, this pine is only suitable for the milder parts of the United Kingdom—the south and west coasts of Great Britain and the whole of Ireland. Almost the only exception known to me is a tree at Keir, in Perthshire, which in 1905 was about 70 feet high, with a girth of 11 feet. This must be an individual of exceptional hardihood, for in most inland districts, [169] except in Ireland, the Monterey pine has succumbed to frost. In maritime districts it is a most desirable tree, affording splendid shelter and gladdening the eye with its rich foliage of deep but brilliant green and rugged, massive trunk.
To describe, however briefly, all the exotic pines that have been successfully grown in the British Isles would fill a volume in itself. I cannot do more or better than refer the reader who desires the fullest information about them to the great work of Elwes and Henry wherein all particulars are given of about fifty different species. Yet I cannot refrain from mentioning one European species which I regard as qualified in large measure to supplant the Scots pine as a commercial asset in British woodland. I refer to the Corsican pine (P. laricio) and its varieties which, despite the insular title popularly given to the tree, cover a range extending from southern France and Spain to the Caucasus. Among these varieties, late authorities include the Austrian pine (P. austriaca), which, if it be botanically identical with the Corsican, is of very inferior merit for British planters. In extreme exposure it forms good shelter, but its habit is coarse and roughly branching, very different from the fine columnar growth of the Corsican. Moreover, there is this singular distinction between the two trees—one of no slight importance to foresters in our rodent-ridden land—that whereas hares and rabbits greedily devour young Austrian pines, they never touch the Corsicans; at least I have never known them injure one of tens of thousands which I [170] have planted, though I have heard of newly-planted trees being attacked elsewhere under extreme stress of hard weather.
Dr. Henry has given a very full description of the pine forests of Corsica, [17] whence it appears that, owing to the excess of sapwood, the timber is of little value till the trees are 200 to 300 years old, at which age the trunks average only 3 feet in diameter. A forest tree which develops so slowly is not likely to find much favour with British foresters; and the fact that this pine grows faster in our islands than on its native mountains certainly does not lead one to expect a high quality of timber. I have, however, cut poles of Corsican pine thirty years old to support the galvanised roof of a hayshed. They averaged 8 inches in diameter at 5 feet from the ground, and were undoubtedly larger and finer than Scots pine of the same age growing among them, which I should never dream of using for such a purpose; but, as the shed has only been standing for three or four years, it is too early to regard this as a test. The merits of this pine already ascertained in this country are resistance to wind exposure, straight and rapid growth, and immunity from damage by ground game. These qualities render it most valuable for planting mixed with other trees, for which purpose I consider it superior to Scots pine. It requires, however, more considerate nursery treatment, for its root system is straggling; and planting out should be delayed till the middle of April and carried on till [171] the middle of May. Observing this rule, I have found the percentage of loss after planting to be trifling, certainly not greater than with Scots pine; but the results are not so satisfactory in southern England on hot soils. The Corsican pine, however, demands all the light it can get, being extremely impatient of shade, whether overhead or alongside.
The great expectations formed about the Weymouth pine (Pinus strobus) when it was brought to England early in the eighteenth century have not been fulfilled. Known as the white pine of the North American lumber trade, it received its British designation from the extent to which it was planted by Lord Weymouth at Longleat. It is true that many fine specimens exist in several parts of these islands, notably that which was blown down in 1875 near Tortworth in Gloucestershire, measuring 122 feet high with 46 feet of clean bole; but as a forest tree it has never taken high rank with us, perhaps because, generally grown as a specimen, it has not been subjected to forest treatment, and the quality of the timber is ruined by the uprush of a number of competing tops. It was this habit that disfigured a Weymouth pine at Dunkeld which I measured in 1902 and found to be 13 feet 3 inches in girth at 4 feet from the ground, the clean bole being about 30 feet. I think this tree has since been blown down.
Far superior to the Weymouth pine in erect habit is the Western White pine (P. monticola), which, in other respects, resembles the other very closely. This would be a most desirable tree for use as well as ornament, [172] but that it has proved susceptible to attacks of the rust-fungus (Peridermium strobi), an organism which requires to pass alternate generations on Ribes (currant). A number of fine P. monticola in the famous woods of Murthly, some of which were over 80 feet high in 1906, have perished under the agency of this parasite. On the west coast, however, this fungus does not seem to have made its appearance. Of two trees of this species which I planted in 1876, believing them to be Swiss stone pines (P. cembra), one is now a straight, shapely tree 57 feet high, with a girth of 5 feet 4 inches at 5 feet from the ground; and both have produced plenty of seed whence a large number of seedlings have been planted out.
No notice of the Pines, however fragmentary and superficial, could be justified if it did not include a reference to the Pinaster or Cluster Pine (Pinus maritima). British tourists on their journey to or from Biarritz, Pau, etc., can scarcely fail to have noticed the immense plantations of this tree through which the railway runs between Bayonne and Bordeaux. For nearly 100 miles the woodland is well-nigh continuous, consisting almost exclusively of this species, and covering an area of nearly two million acres "perhaps" says Mr. Elwes, "the most extensive forest ever created by the hand of man." Estimating the capital sunk in planting, road-making, etc., since 1855 at upwards of £2,000,000, M. Huffel put its value in 1904 at £18,000,000, the annual revenue from timber, turpentine and resin being then more than half a million sterling—equal to a [173] rent of about 7s. an acre. In a wild state, the landes thus occupied were practically worthless for agriculture.
Although the pinaster is a native of the Mediterranean region, it agrees admirably with the soil and climate of the British Isles, thrusting its boughs out in the teeth of severe wind exposure, growing to great height and bulk and ripening abundant seed. Yet it is a despised tree with us, few landowners being at pains to plant it now, although a considerable number seem to have been planted about the end of the eighteenth century and early in the nineteenth.
[174]
The Silver Firs
While the wide range of the English language over the globe is of considerable advantage to commerce, and possibly to some other interests, it is the source of some perplexity when, as in treating of natural history or botany, precise terms have to be employed. Thus in the United Kingdom most people know exactly what tree is meant by the silver fir; but in the United States, with a population well on to double that of the British Isles, the silver fir is understood to mean quite a different species—namely, Abies venusta, a native of California, not suitable for forestry purposes in this country. In like manner, though there is no true cedar indigenous to America, there are half-a-dozen trees there known as red cedar, white cedar, and so forth. English, being a living language, is still fluid; meanings shift with changes of environment; to secure precision, therefore, science must have recourse to classical Greek and Latin, which, being dead languages, change no more.
The group of evergreen conifers, then, collectively known as silver firs, consists of about thirty species [175] comprised in the genus Abies; and these are most easily recognised by the position of the mature cones, which stand erect on the branches, whereas in the other group of true firs, the spruces (Picea), they are pendulous in all except two or three Asiatic species. Another mark of distinction is the circular base of the needle or leaf, which, when it falls or is pulled from the branch, leaves a perfectly circular scar; while in the spruces the leaves are set upon little pegs which remain on the twig when the leaves fall. The grey or silvery bands on the under side of the leaf, although it is from these that the tree is called the silver fir, are not an exclusive badge of the genus; for some of the other firs, notably the Manchurian spruce, display similar colouring.
The tree known in this country as the silver fir par excellence (Abies pectinata) is the loftiest European tree. Probably the extreme height had been attained by one grown in a Bosnian virgin forest, measured by Mr. Elwes after it had fallen, "over 180 feet long, whose decayed top must have been at least 15 or 20 feet more."
The silver fir is not a native of Britain, having been introduced about the beginning of the seventeenth century. Its range extends over southern and central Europe, from the Pyrenees on the west to the borders of Wallachia on the east. Nevertheless, it has found a congenial home in these islands, where, if it had ever received scientific handling, it would have been far more highly esteemed for its timber than it now is. Such handling we have never given it; the silver [176] fir has been used indiscriminately in mixed plantation, where, outstripping every other tree in stature, it loses its leader, and sends up a number of heads which get battered by the wind, becoming ragged and unsightly.
Now if these noble firs, instead of being scattered among trees of inferior height, were planted in close forest, so as to be drawn up with clean boles to a single leader, they would protect each other from the gale. Then might be seen something of the true character of the silver fir as it is developed in such forests as that of the Vosges, in Eastern France, where a tract fifty miles long is clad principally with this species, or in the Jura, where a forest of silver fir 10,600 acres in extent yields annually 170 cubic feet of timber per acre felled. British foresters and wood merchants set a low value on such timber as the silver fir produces in this country; and small blame to them, because, grown as we are in the habit of growing it, branchy and full of great knots, it is almost worthless; but in some districts of Europe where silver forest is well managed and felled in rotation, the deals are more sought after and command a readier market than spruce. The thinnings make excellent pitwood, and although, like spruce, the timber is not naturally durable enough for outdoor purposes, it can be made so by creosote treatment.
SILVER FIRS (Abies pectinata)
The silver fir sows itself very freely in places where the ground herbage is not so rank as to choke the young plants; but to allow natural reproduction a fair chance, ground game must be rigorously excluded, [177] for deer, hares, and rabbits seem to regard this delicacy in much the same light as human beings do asparagus. This tree—Abies pectinata (I must resort to Latin to distinguish it from the other European, Asiatic, and American silvers) differs from every other member of the genus (so far as my observation goes) in being a shade-bearer; that is, it will grow under the shade and drip of deciduous trees, so dense as to be fatal to the health, and generally to the life, of every other conifer except the juniper. This renders it of almost unique utility for under-planting, the beech being its only rival for that purpose. It is true that the Douglas fir and the giant Thuja both stand a considerable amount of side shade, but the silver fir thrives under conditions of overhead drip which the others cannot suffer. One may read in books on forestry that the Norway spruce is patient of overhead shade; I can only say that, though I have sought diligently for an instance of its doing so, and have seen many thousands of spruce planted in faith of this misleading advice, I have never found a case where the attempt has succeeded.
In planting silver firs it is important to take advantage of their power of bearing shade, for the young trees are very susceptible of injury by late frost, from which older and taller woodland will protect them. It is remarkable how long and patiently the young silvers so treated will wait for head-room—marking time, as it were, till the older crop is cleared away, when they will go ahead and occupy the ground.
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The silver fir is more exacting in the matter of climate than in that of soil. The great forest of the Vosges is chiefly on silicious ground; but that of the Jura, which is even finer, grows on limestone. The great silver firs at Rosneath, probably the oldest in the United Kingdom, stand near the sea level in deep sandy soil. They are certainly over 200 years old, the largest being about 110 feet high and 22 feet 7 inches in girth. These trees are very massive, and branch into great heads owing to their not having been grown under conditions of close forest. The only rival in bulk to them is to be found at Ardkinglass, on Loch Fyne, about 120 feet high, and estimated to contain over 1,000 cubic feet of timber.
In many places on the south and east coasts the silver fir does not thrive. It requires an abundant rainfall and a moist atmosphere, which probably accounts for its inability to stand the climate of the Eastern United States. There are, however, some fine specimens in Sussex (at Cowdray there is, or was a few years ago, a silver fir over 130 feet high, with a clean bole of 90 feet), and at Alnwick, in Northumberland; but at Novar, so famous for coniferous trees, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson has given up planting it owing to its inability to resist the attacks of aphis. This seems to indicate a constitution impaired by climatic influence, for insect parasites, though they certainly hasten the death of a weakly subject, are not likely to prevail over a thoroughly vigorous one. In Western Scotland, where, as in Ireland, the silver fir makes grand growth, aphides [179] swarm immediately upon any tree that has been debilitated by late frost or other injury. On the other hand, the Caucasian silver fir (Abies nordmanniana), which thrives splendidly in many parts of Britain where the common silver cannot be grown, frequently succumbs in the west to the attacks of aphis. At Benmore, on the Holy Loch, about 2,000 acres were planted about forty years ago with different kinds of conifers. I have examined the lists of the species planted, and find that by far the largest proportion consisted of this Caucasian fir. The forest remains, a splendid monument to its designer's enterprise; but hardly a Caucasian fir is to be found in it. The prevailing species are Douglas fir and giant Thuja.
Dr. Stewart M'Dougall has made some useful research, leading him to identify the silver fir aphis with Chermes abietis, the spruce louse which, as explained when treating of the larch, migrates to the larch and produces parthenogenic generations thereon. Dr. M'Dougall traces the silver fir louse to the same parentage. It follows from this that the spruce is a dangerous neighbour to silver firs.
Less serious, because not hurtful to the general health of the tree, is the "witch's broom" which forms upon the silver fir, sometimes greatly disfiguring it. This is caused, or at all events accompanied by, a fungus (Æcidium elatinum), which passes one phase of its existence upon certain humble herbs of the Pink family, such as the mouse-ear chickweed and sandwort.
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For purposes of timber probably the common (A. pectinata) and the Caucasian silver fir (A. nordmanniana) are the pick of the genus, but there are also many other species of singular beauty. Their beauty, indeed, especially in a young state, has proved somewhat of a snare, inducing people to plant them in gardens and pleasure-grounds where they soon outgrow their environment, and, being isolated from their kind, are apt to send up many leaders and so forfeit their true character. Several years ago I was staying in a country house in the south of England, where a royal personage was paying a visit. It was arranged that the said personage should plant a memorial tree; a site was selected on a close-shaven lawn, and I could not but deplore the tree chosen for the honour. It was perhaps the least majestic of all the silver tribe, namely, the Spanish fir (A. pinsapo), a species which seldom responds freely to the conditions provided in this country, and, when it does so, is of gloomy appearance.
The largest silver fir in the world is the North American (A. grandis), which in a young state might easily be mistaken for A. pectinata, but soon exhibits its true nationality by the extraordinary rapidity of its growth. It races upwards at the rate of three feet a year, and, distancing all surrounding growth, suffers the penalty inevitable in our stormy climate, unless it should be provided with shelter from a sufficient company of its peers. At the Avondale School of Forestry A. grandis is reported to be less liable to injury from spring frost than the common [181] silver fir. No doubt there are spaces in the wilder parts of this island where this grand tree might be grown into splendid forest, but as an isolated specimen it can never develop its true dimensions, which are out of all proportion to our native woodland. The timber is neither strong nor durable; indeed, of the nine species of North American silver firs, Professor Sargent reports favourably in this respect upon one only, Abies nobilis to wit, a tree of which, personally, I have formed a very high opinion for the climate of the northern and western parts of the United Kingdom. It has suffered in reputation with many experienced planters, owing to a liability to lose its leader when it outgrows its surroundings, as it very speedily does; but, as in the case of the common silver fir, that is the consequence of bad forestry; if A. nobilis were planted in masses, the trees would protect each other. No forester can look unmoved at the group at Murthly in Perthshire, several of which are well over 100 feet high. This fir is also exceedingly ornamental in a young state, some of the seedlings from every sowing having foliage with a lovely glaucous bloom. A. magnifica and A. amabilis are not easily distinguished from A. nobilis in a young state, until cones are produced. They are beautiful, but comparatively useless trees, and there are no specimens in this country approaching the dimensions already attained here by A. nobilis.
Of the Asiatic silvers I will mention but two, both from the Himalayas. Abies pindrow, a beautiful tree of columnar growth and fine glossy foliage, has proved [182] quite hardy in Britain. The finest specimen I have seen is at Gordon Castle, Banffshire, about 70 feet high and a picture of health. A. webbiana is a tree of wider spread than A. pindrow, and excels all other silvers in its splendid foliage, two broad white bands on the under sides of the large needles thoroughly justifying the epithet "silver." When the boughs are set with great violet-blue cones this tree is indeed a beautiful object. Individuals of this species vary a good deal in their endurance of British climate, at least in the west. Its tendency to early growth renders it very vulnerable by spring frosts, and when it has been debilitated by the destruction of the young growth, it falls a prey to the attacks of aphis.
[183]
The Spruce Firs
When a British forester talks of a spruce fir he may be understood to refer to Picea excelsa, commonly known as the Norway spruce, although in fact much of the Norwegian spruce forest is composed of the Siberian spruce (P. obovata), a species closely resembling the other, but incapable of thriving in the moist and relatively mild climate of Great Britain.
The so-called Norway spruce is not a native of the British Isles, its natural range extending from the Pyrenees on the south to Scandinavia on the north, and eastward through the Carpathian Mountains to Western Russia; but, next to the Scots pine and larch, it is the conifer most commonly seen in British woodland, and, where undergrowth is not too rank, it may reproduce itself from self-sown seed. It has, indeed, been far too extensively planted with us, probably owing to its cheapness and easiness to handle. It is only to be found well developed in inland districts, such as the valley of the Tay and Deeside, where it forms really fine forest, and where noble specimens may be seen.
[184]
At Blair Atholl there was a grand spruce blown down in 1893, measuring 142 feet in height and containing about 420 cubic feet of timber. There are still many lofty spruces in the woodland about Dunkeld and Dupplin, containing well-grown, clean timber, and Messrs. Elwes and Henry have recorded a number of trees in various parts of the United Kingdom from 130 to 150 feet high. As a rule, however, in this country spruce, even when the requisite shelter has been secured, is not grown under sufficiently strict forest conditions to produce the best deals; it is commonly raised in mixed plantations, wherein, being patient of side shade, it retains its branches, a habit that renders the timber coarse and full of knots.
Probably the most successful result from a plantation of pure spruce in Scotland was that obtained on the estate of Durris, on Deeside, where the trees on 400 acres were sold standing at 60 years old, the average number of spruce per acre being 560. As the average contents per tree were 10 cubic feet, and the price realised was 5d. per foot, the value amounted to £116 per acre.
DOUGLAS FIRS (Pseudotsuga douglasii)
Planted at Taymount in 1860
It would be vain to expect any such return from spruce planted in such situations as are frequently given to it. In a seaboard exposure it is worse than useless, for no tree becomes more unsightly than a spruce under the influence of salt-laden winds. For such situations, if spruce be grown of any kind, there are other species likely to give better results. I shall name two of these presently, but, first, it may be mentioned that the genus Picea consists of two distinct [185] groups—first, the true spruces, distinguished by having four-sided needles; second, the Omorika spruces, which have flat, two-sided needles. Inasmuch as some species of the second group have silvery undersides to the needles, they are apt to be mistaken for some kind of Abies, or silver fir. Here, again, the needle serves to distinguish between them, for, as aforesaid, in the spruce family the needles are set on little peg-like projections on the twig, whereas in the silver firs there is no such projection, but each needle when pulled off leaves a circular scar.
There are probably upwards of twenty species of true spruce, including the Norway spruce. Some of them well deserve attention from the arboriculturist, being exceedingly ornamental, such as the Himalayan Morinda (P. smithiana), first raised from seed at Hopetoun House, Linlithgowshire, in 1818, and now flourishing in various parts of the United Kingdom at a height of 70 to 80 feet, with handsome pendulous branchlets.
About Waterer's glaucous variety of the Colorado spruce (P. pungens), there is current an amusing account of its introduction to this country some five-and-twenty years ago. The late Mr. Anthony Waterer was an enthusiast in his calling as a nurseryman. A traveller came to him one day with a bag of seed which he said came off the bluest fir he had ever seen. "How much do you want for the bag?" asked Anthony. "Two hundred pounds," was the reply. "Oh! go along with you," exclaimed Anthony, "d'ye think I'm made of guineas?" The man departed, but left [186] Anthony with his mouth watering (no pun intended) for the blue fir. He sent after the traveller, paid him his price, and sold thousands of the seedlings at half a guinea apiece. I cannot vouch for the truth of detail in this narrative, but the tenour thereof is quite in accord with Mr. Waterer's enterprise in his business.
Beautiful as some of these true spruces are, it is not among them that the forester need look for a substitute for the Norway spruce; but there are two at least in the other group which bid fair to oust it from its undeserved predominance in our woodlands. The first of these is the Sitka spruce, formerly known as the Menzies spruce, and still appearing in some trade catalogues as Abies menziesii, though now recognised by botanists only as Picea sitchensis. This grand tree, which in Oregon has been known to tower to the height of between 200 and 300 feet, has proved to be admirably suited for forestry purposes in the United Kingdom. It is a moisture lover, thriving in soil too wet and sour for any other conifer, and as it grows right down to the coast in Northern California and Alaska, it does not share the dislike of the Norway spruce for the breath of the ocean. This spruce, having been introduced to this country in 1831 by David Douglas, has been long enough with us to prove its quality, and there are many in the three kingdoms 100 feet high and upwards. Probably the largest in these islands is one at Castle Menzies, in Perthshire, which in 1904 measured 110 feet high and 13 feet 2 inches in girth at a height of 5 feet, having been [187] planted in 1846. The timber is suitable for similar purposes to those served by Norway spruce; but the strong tendency of this tree to side-branching makes it essential that it should be grown close in pure forest in order to produce clean deals.
CONES OF NORWAY SPRUCE (Picea excelsa)
The other tree in the Omorika group which probably has a commercial future in this country is the Manchurian spruce, Picea ajanensis or jezoensis. I do not know that this tree is stocked by nurserymen in this country, but seed can be obtained from Continental merchants, and I am induced to speak favourably of it from the behaviour of about one hundred plants which I put out about twelve years ago. In the nursery it bears so close a resemblance to the Sitka spruce that it is difficult to distinguish between the two species until the plants are three or four years old; but after that age they differ markedly in foliage and habit of growth, the Manchurian spruce being less inclined to branch outwards than the Sitka and has no tendency to the characteristic of dropping its needles which is apt to disfigure the American species. In the forests of Yezo (the northern island of Japan) this spruce is reported as growing to a height of 150-200 feet. Its growth with me is extremely vigorous, and it seems to enjoy a maritime climate, which the Norway spruce does not. Like all the spruces, this tree is well adapted for the manufacture of wood pulp and celluloid.
I cannot part from the spruce family without going back to the square-needled group in order to commend the Caucasian spruce (Picea orientalis) as [188] an ornamental tree. The slowness of its growth compared with that of the Sitka, Manchurian, and Norwegian spruces may be thought detrimental to its value to British planters for profit; but the grace of its outline, and the fine, rich green of its shining foliage render it one of the choicest of conifers. In the Caucasus it rises to a height of 180 feet, with a girth of 12 feet; and in the British Isles, whither it was first brought in 1839, there are many specimens between 60 and 80 feet high.
The name "spruce" has an interesting origin, about which some controversy has been waged. From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century Spruce occurs in English literature as an alternative form of Pruce—that is, Prussia. The Prussians were then distinguished among the nations as great dandies. The chronicler Hall, in describing the splendid attire of some of Henry VIII.'s courtiers, observes that "they were appareyled after the fashion of Prussia or Spruce." Hence "spruce" came to be a synonym for "smart, finely dressed"; and some etymologists have argued that the spruce fir means the Prussian fir; but this has been shown to be an error. The tree takes its name from the sprouts, called sprossen in German, whence is distilled the essence of spruce, used in brewing sprossen-bier or spruce beer. So the tree came to be termed in German sprossen-fichte, translated into English spruce-fir, though we do not brew spruce beer. Therefore the name does really come to us from Prussia, though not in the manner supposed by the older etymologists.
[189]
This digression into etymology brings to mind another word connected with the spruce fir, namely "deal," which owns to one of the most remarkable etymologies in our language. Although it has not been traced to its original root, it exists in all branches of Teutonic speech, always in the sense of a share or division. It also occurs in Gaelic as dal, signifying a portion of land, as Dalnaspidal—the land portion of the hospital; Dalrymple (dal chruim puil, the farm of the crooked pool—on the Doon), and so on. The Anglo-Saxon dæl meant a portion, a share; whence we use the word in phrases such as "a deal of cards," "a great deal," [18] and have applied it to express the planks into which a tree is "divided," or sawn up. From a Scandinavian source we get another form of the word "dale," meaning a valley, as Tweeddale, Annandale, etc.; for in Norway one dale or valley is "divided" from another by mountains.
"The cedar stoops not to the base shrub's foot,
But low shrubs wither at the cedar's foot."
Shakespeare's Lucrece, 664.
The frequency with which Shakespeare mentions the cedar can only be explained as the action of a far-ranging intellect, beholding things through the eyes of travellers, and weaving hearsay into vivid imagery. He had, indeed, scriptural authority for assigning to the cedar royal pre-eminence among trees.
"Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches.... The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him; the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches, nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in beauty.... So that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied him." (Ezekiel, xxxi., 3, 8, 9.)
But Shakespeare himself never set eyes upon a cedar: for Evelyn, writing fifty years after his death, could but deplore that there were no cedars in England—"I conceive," says he, "from our want of industry." He says that he had raised seedlings, perhaps from the first cones brought to this country. [191] Howbeit, once this noble tree was established with us, it throve amain, and it is now as familiar an adjunct to English manor houses as the yew is to churchyards.
In Scotland it is not so often seen, more's the pity, for the fine specimens at Hopetoun House, Biel, Moncrieff House, Dupplin, and Mount Stuart, ranging from 64 to 88 feet high, with girths of from 13 to 23 feet, testify to its acceptance of northerly conditions. The largest cedar recorded by Elwes is a splendid specimen at Pains Hill, near Cobham, which in 1905 measured 115 feet high, with a girth of 26 feet 5 inches. Like most of its kind in Great Britain, this tree, having been planted for ornament, has been allowed room to throw out mighty side branches; but the cedar can be made to develop lofty, clean boles if grown in close canopy, such as one at Petworth, in Sussex, which in 1905 was 125 feet high, 14½ feet in girth, with a straight trunk clear of branches to a height of 80 feet, save for one small branch that has grown out at 56 feet from the ground.
Having regard to the fine quality of the timber, it is to be regretted that more attention has not been given to growing cedars under forest conditions. The nearest approach that I have seen to this treatment is in the fine cedar avenue at Dropmore, Bucks, where a large number of trees, close planted about seventy years ago, have grown straight and fair to a height of as many feet.
A few years ago, when the Duke of Northumberland was having some trees felled on Solomon's Hill [192] in Albury Park, a lofty cedar, whereof he had never suspected the existence, was revealed. Forest discipline had cleared the magnificent bole of branches to a height of fifty feet, and fifty more must be added as the probable height of the tree, which, owing to the nature of the ground, cannot be accurately ascertained.
In regard to the timber, the value whereof for building caused the Israelitish Kings to levy such severe tribute from the forest of Lebanon, what is produced in the humid atmosphere of the British Isles is not so hard and durable as that grown in the Orient; but it is extremely suitable for panelling and other indoor work, being of a delicate pinkish hue, fine in grain, and beautifully figured. There is no regular market for it in Britain, but the opportunity not infrequently occurs of securing the trunk of blown trees, and ought not to be lost. If one goes into the market to buy cedar wood, what is likely to be supplied is not coniferous wood at all, but that of Cedrela odorata, a West Indian tree belonging to the natural order Meliaceæ. On the other hand, the scented wood used for pencils comes from the so-called pencil cedar, which is not a cedar, but a juniper—Juniperus virginiana—a tree of columnar habit and slow growth, perfectly hardy in this country, and very ornamental.
The late Sir Joseph Hooker visited the cedar grove on Mount Lebanon in 1864, and found about 400 old trees producing plenty of seed, by which the forest would soon regenerate itself if the ground were [193] protected from goats, which devour every seedling. Besides this grove at the head of the Kedisha Valley there are four others in the Lebanon district, the largest of which, at Baruk, was reported in 1903 by Dr. A. E. Day as containing many young trees; but the older trees were being recklessly hacked for fuel and house timbers. Besides the Lebanon groves, which are specially interesting from their connection with biblical history and the prodigious age of some of the trees, there are extensive forests of Cedrus libani in the Taurus Mountains, where the winter is very severe.
In Britain this tree responds to excess of moisture by growing far more rapidly than in its native forests; and, notwithstanding that exaggerated views are entertained about the age of certain specimens, it seems certain that it never will attain with us anything approaching the age of the patriarchs of Lebanon. Assuming that none were planted in Britain before the middle of the seventeenth century, and that very many have died, showing all the signs of senile decay, we cannot calculate on a duration of life exceeding 250 years, or rather more than the normal life span of the beech and ash.
Fifteen years ago or so I was appointed to represent the Privy Council on a Committee formed to take over the Chelsea Physic Garden from the Apothecaries Company. One of the first problems that presented itself was how to deal with an aged cedar of Lebanon that stood in the grounds. Probably it was one of the oldest in Great Britain, for it was one of those mentioned by Sir Hans Sloane in 1685 [194] as having been planted in the Physic Garden, but the dwellers in Chelsea had conceived a fabulous estimate of its age, and, although it was stone dead, the mere whisper of the need for removing it sent a wave of indignation through the neighbourhood. Howbeit, the dead tree was an eyesore and a harbour for wood-lice and other pests, so it had to go. It was felled and taken away; but in deference to popular feeling this was done under cloud of night!
The cedar of Mount Atlas (C. atlantica) was pronounced by Sir Joseph Hooker to be, like the Indian deodar (C. deodara), really no more than a geographical and climatic variety of the cedar of Lebanon; but whereas the difference in habit and appearance is well marked and constant, modern classifiers have assigned each of the three specific rank. For the British planter the distinction between them is of considerable importance. The Mount Atlas cedar, which forms great forests in the mountain ranges of Morocco and Algeria at high altitudes, is far more erect in growth, and has less tendency to wide branching, than the cedar of Lebanon. The glaucous variety, with foliage of a charming silvery bloom, is one of the loveliest conifers that can be planted, provided it is raised from seed; but nothing except disappointment is prepared for those whom nurserymen supply with plants raised from cuttings or grafts, which are invariably lacking in the graceful carriage and erect habit which distinguish this species among all other cedars. There is the less excuse for propagation by these means, inasmuch as the Atlantic cedar ripens [195] its cones in our country as freely as the Lebanon cedar, and seed gathered from glaucous parents will produce a considerable proportion of seedlings with the hereditary tint.
The cedar of Mount Atlas was not introduced to England until about 1845, but there are already many handsome specimens, measuring 50 to 80 feet high. The tallest I have seen in Scotland is at Smeaton-Hepburn, in East Lothian, which was 69 feet high and 6½ feet in girth in 1902.
The deodar, C. deodara, may be distinguished at a glance from either of the other forms of cedar by the graceful drooping of the young growth. A native of the Western Himalayas, at altitudes from 4,000 to 10,000 feet, it has not adapted itself very successfully to our mild, restless winters and cool summers, the very reverse of its native climate. It grows in its own country to an immense size, 150 to 250 feet high, and as much as 35 feet in girth, with long clean boles. Elwes records how a fallen deodar lay for at least one hundred years in one of the leased forests of the North-West before it was cut up, when it sufficed for 460 railway sleepers, narrow gauge.
Deodar seed was first sown in Britain in 1831, at Melville in Fife and Dropmore in Bucks. Ten years later large quantities were raised and planted in the New Forest, but so many of these died without apparent cause between the ages of forty and fifty years that their cultivation there has been discontinued. Similar results have been experienced elsewhere, so it does not seem that this tree, however [196] desirable as an ornamental species, can ever be of importance for forestry in the United Kingdom. Moreover, it is not so hardy as the other two cedars, many having succumbed in all parts of the country during the severe winter of 1860-61. There are, however, many fine specimens in the southern counties of England and in Ireland, ranging from 75 to 85 feet high. In Scotland, Elwes has recorded nothing taller than a tree at Smeaton-Hepburn, which measured 55 feet high in 1902. There are several of about the same height at Galloway House in Wigtownshire.
On the whole, the best species of cedar for planting in this country, whether for timber or ornament, is the cedar of Mount Atlas.
LARCH IN SPRING
[197]
The Larch
The European larch was known in England fully one hundred years before it arrived in Scotland, having been introduced into Southern Britain early in the seventeenth century. But it was long before this tree was grown except for ornament and by those curious in exotics; it was John Evelyn who first drew attention to the value of its timber, upon which he reported very favourably after seeing it in Continental forests. Writing in 1678, he refers to one growing near Chelmsford, "arriv'd to a flourishing and ample tree, [which] does sufficiently reproach our negligence and want of industry"—for not planting more larches.
The introduction into Scotland of the larch, the most valuable of all European conifers, was delayed a full century after the tree had become known to English planters. When it did come, it opened a new era in the forestry of that country; and, if credit may be given to local traditions, its coming was not devoid of romance.
Among the other resources of the northern realm, which had been sorely exhausted during three centuries [198] of war with England, Scottish woodland, once so rich and extensive, had well-nigh disappeared, and so bare was the country that when Dr. Johnson made his tour in 1773 he declared that in the whole of it he only saw three trees big enough to hang a man upon. [19] Nevertheless, after the Legislative Union in 1707, landowners very generally set about planting on their estates, none of them more diligently than James, second Duke of Atholl, who received from a neighbour returning from the Continent the present of a few seedling trees which he had brought in his portmanteau from the Tyrol. It is said that these were given to the gardener, who tried to grow them in a greenhouse. Having languished under such unsuitable conditions, the plants were thrown out upon the rubbish heap, where two of them, reviving in the free Highland air, took root and grew vigorously.
The date of this incident is variously given between the years 1727 and 1738; anyhow, there the pair of "Mother Larches" stood, close to the west end of Dunkeld Cathedral, until 1909, when the larger of them was destroyed by lightning, after attaining the age of 170 years or thereby. It measured 102 feet high, with a girth of 15 feet 1 inch at 5 feet from the ground, and contained about 530 cubic feet of splendid timber.
The Duke of Atholl was so well pleased with the growth and appearance of these two trees, and of three others of the same age, which, I believe, are still standing at Blair, that before his death in 1764 he had [199] wholly altered the appearance of the landscape by planting many square miles of hillside with larch. His example was followed by other landowners, so that during the nineteenth century larch was planted in greater quantity than any other tree, except perhaps Scots pine, for it was found that, owing to the durable character of the wood even in trees from ten to twenty years old, the thinnings of a larch plantation were serviceable and readily saleable.
Unfortunately, it became the practice to plant larch and Norway spruce in mixture. No more mischievous combination could have been devised, owing to a peculiarity in the life history of the spruce-gall aphis (Chermes abietis), a plant louse which bores into the buds of young spruce and lays eggs therein, causing the tree to throw out a cone-like gall from the site of the puncture. This gall is the nursery whence issues a swarm of sexual and sexless aphides. The sexless form has wings, and, alighting on a larch, speedily lays numerous eggs, which in turn are hatched into minute sexless lice, each with a coat of white down, easily detected as snowy dots on the foliage. In a few weeks these creatures acquire wings, and, despite their sexlessness, lay fertile eggs, successive swarms being produced till the fall of the leaf. Feeding by suction of the juices in the leaves, these creatures seriously, often fatally, reduce the vitality of the tree, the foliage appearing as if blighted by frost.
It must be admitted that this diagnosis of the life-history of the spruce and larch louse is to some extent [200] tentative. It is true that no instance is recorded of the male Chermes being found on the larch, and it is also true that, as stated by Elwes, larches are often infested with Chermes where there are no spruces near. [20] But it is well known that many, if not all, of the Aphidæ multiply by parthenogenesis (that is, without the intervention of the male), and although it has not yet been ascertained that this can be continued for more than four years, [21] that is a period quite long enough to allow of the swarms inflicting deadly injury to any tree not in the most robust health.
Now, whereas larch and spruce may often be found growing together in natural woods on the continent of Europe, it may be asked why the result of planting them together in British woods should be attended with such evil consequences. The explanation is to be found in the climatic conditions to which the larch is exposed in these islands. Naturally a mountain tree, in regions where a high summer temperature, long and strong sunshine, with little rainfall, but with much subterranean moisture from melting snow, promote vigorous growth, to be followed by total rest during severe winter weather, the larch meets in Britain with the reverse of these conditions—namely, a cool, cloudy, generally wet, summer, and an open and still wetter winter. The wonder is that the tree can adapt itself to the change as well as it does; there can be no doubt that its constitution does [201] not remain so well able to resist attack by insect or fungoid parasite. Nature, which is ever as solicitous to provide for the perpetuation of what we consider ignoble vermin as she is for that of more admirable forms of life, has adapted the spruce-gall for a dual existence upon two species of tree growing in company; but she has also endowed these trees with a constitution vigorous enough not to suffer materially from the presence of the parasite. When that constitution becomes impaired by unnatural conditions of climate and environment, the parasite gets the upper hand, just as lice multiply upon a diseased bird or mammal. In the case of the larch, the mischief does not end with the aphides.
Another enemy lies in wait for the tree that has been weakened by loss of its sap. A minute fungus (Dasicypha calycina), gaining access by its spores through any lesion of the bark, causes that incurable ill known as larch canker, which has now become so generally spread through British woodlands as to cause many landowners to give up planting larch at all. In this case, also, we have a parasite which may be found on larches in their native forests, but which the inherent vigour of the trees keeps in check. That this is the true and only reason for the excessive prevalence of larch canker in this country, causing incalculable pecuniary loss to many owners of woodland, is shown by the behaviour of the Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis). The fungus may easily be found upon this species; but so great is the vigour of the young trees that the fungus exists, and no more. [202] The tree repels the inroads of mycelium into its tissues affording the invader foothold merely as a harmless guest.
Serious doubts are entertained as to whether the Japanese larch will prove as valuable a tree commercially as the European species; it has not been grown long enough in Britain to prove its quality as a timber producer. But the extraordinary rapidity and vigour of its growth in early years, its beauty and the readiness with which it takes hold when planted out, have induced many people to discard European larch in favour of this Asiatic species. Travellers in Japan report that the larches of that country never attain the bulk and stature of European larches; but it does not follow from this that they may not do so in this country. The holm-oak, more commonly known as ilex, is a native of the hot and dry Mediterranean region, yet what is probably the tallest specimen in the world is growing in the moist atmosphere of County Wicklow. So with the horse chestnut, only to be found wild in a few spots in Macedonia and Asia Minor, lands which can show none to equal the noble trees of this species at Bushey and elsewhere throughout the British Isles.
Meanwhile, the lesson of our experience is that we must still treat the European larch as a foreigner of great distinction. Let it never be exposed to contact with the Norway spruce, a useful tree in its way, but, commercially, not half the value of larch. Let it not be planted as a pure crop, but let it be mixed with other trees, as it is usually found in a wild state. [203] There is no better companion for it than the beech, none, indeed, equal to that beneficent tree, owing to the manner in which it screens the soil from evaporation and radiation, and refreshes it with an abundant annual leaf fall. Finally, let the utmost care be bestowed upon the critical operation of planting; see that in removal from the nursery the roots are not suffered to get dry, as they often become when sent to a distance by rail; and let these roots be fairly spread in the pit dug for them, instead of being rammed in a bunch into a mere notch in the ground, as is too often done. It is worth much effort to retain such a desirable denizen of our woodlands in health and vigour.
Attention has been drawn within the last few years to the Western Larch (L. occidentalis) of North America, a tree which Douglas found in British Columbia in 1826, and mistook for Larix europæa. It has now, however, been recognised as a distinct species, the mightiest of the genus, reaching a height of 180, perhaps 200 feet. [22] In habit and outline it is very different from the European larch, still more so from the Japanese species, for the side branches, though horizontal, are short, which gives the tree a fine columnar habit. Owing to the great height of the trees in Montana and British Columbia, and to the cones opening and scattering the seed as soon as ripe, it is difficult to collect a supply of seed, which can only be done from trees in September. Dr. Henry visited Montana in the autumn of 1906 on [204] purpose to obtain a supply. Unluckily, very few cones were formed that year; but a good supply was obtained in 1907, whereof I was given some. It germinated freely; the seedlings grew as rampantly as those of Japanese larch, forming beautifully rooted plants; I cleared the hardwood off three acres of good land, and planted it with 12,000 western larch, fine rooted plants, in the spring of 1910. The result has been discouraging; about 50 per cent. died outright, and by the end of 1914 the remainder have made poor growth. On the other hand, a dozen seedlings which Mr. Elwes sent me, raised from seed in 1904, and planted on moist but well-drained bottom land, have grown fast and well, being now 14 to 18 feet high. Evidently this tree, like the Sitka spruce, requires moist deep land; the other place, though far from being poor, was not wet enough for it.
There are three specimens of the western larch at Kew, one being 34 years planted and about 35 feet high; but the soil of Kew is too dry to nourish without much coddling a tree whereof all reports go to show that it demands so much moisture at its roots as would be fatal to the European and Japanese species. Sheltered valleys on the western side of Great Britain seem to be the likeliest environment for the development of this most valuable timber tree, and probably nearly all parts of Ireland.
[205]
The Yew
What the ash was to the Scots of old, the yew (Taxus baccata) was to the English; for while the ash furnished staves for the national weapon, the pike, which the Scots learnt to handle from their Flemish allies, the most powerful longbows were fashioned of yew, and it was as archers that the English excelled all other infantry until gunpowder came into general use. Even long after the smoke and stench of "villainous saltpetre" had altered the conditions of battle, much attention was given to archery in the English army. Despite the many Acts of Parliament enjoining the planting of yews, the supply had run short before Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, so that in 1571 it was enacted that bow-staves should be imported from the Continent (13 Eliz., c. xiv.).
Apart from military association, the yew is a tree of gloom, taking the place in British churchyards which the cypress, "like Death's lean lifted forefinger," occupies in Eastern cemeteries. Tennyson was least likely of poets to miss the significance of this tree's melancholy; at first he could [206] recognise in it nothing else but that and its changelessness:
Old yew, which graspest at the stones
That name the underlying dead,
Thy fibres net the dreamless head,
Thy roots are wrapt about the bones.
Oh not for thee the glow, the bloom,
Who changest not in any gale!
Nor branding summer suns avail
To touch thy thousand years of gloom.
Shakespeare received a similar impression:
But straight they told me they would bind me here
Unto the body of a dismal yew.
Sir Walter Scott applied the self-same epithet:
But here 'twixt rock and river grew
A dismal grove of sable yew.
Seem'd that the trees their shadows cast
The earth that nourished them to blast;
For never knew that swarthy grove
The verdant hue that fairies love;
Nor wilding green, nor woodland flower,
Arose within its baleful bower.
The dark and sable earth receives
Its only carpet from the leaves.
FRUIT OF YEW (Taxus baccata)
Anyone who has stood on a summer noon within one or other of the two remarkable yew woods on Lord Radnor's property near Salisbury cannot fail to recognise the truth of this picture in every detail. The sense of gloom and envious shade in those "swarthy groves" must oppress him who enters it. They are known respectively as "the Great Yews" [207] and "the Little Yews," the former being of the greater extent—about 80 acres—but the largest trees are growing in the Little Yews. Although these two woods are almost certainly of natural origin, traces of replanting may be recognised here and there by the regular lines in which some of the great trees are disposed, telling of a time when the timber was in request for bow-making.
Tennyson came to realise that the yew really responds in its own fashion to the summons of spring as briskly as any rose or lily, and that a sparrow cannot alight upon it in April without disturbing a puff of pollen:
Old warder of these buried bones,
And answering now my random stroke
With fruitful cloud and living smoke,
Dark yew, that graspest at the stones
And dippest toward the dreamless head,
To thee, too, comes the golden hour
When flower is feeling after flower.
Surely there is nothing more delightful in English verse than the delicate phrase in which Tennyson touches upon some of the less obvious workings of nature.
Evelyn observes regretfully in the seventeenth century: "Since the use of bows is laid aside amongst us, the propagation of the eugh is likewise quite forborn; but the neglect of it is to be deplored." Howbeit, on the whole, one cannot regret that this sombre tree is less often planted than it was when the Kings of England were striving desperately to retain their [208] rich lands in France. The yew requires two or three centuries to acquire dignity. Such venerable ruins as the great yew in the churchyard of Leeds, in Kent, measuring 32 feet in girth at 3½ feet from the ground, command admiration akin to awe from creatures whose span is but three-score years and ten. So do the yews on Merrow Down, near Guildford, reputed to have marked the Pilgrims' Way to Canterbury; and the yews of Borrodale and Inch Lonaig, on Loch Lomond, we cherish as traces of the primæval forest. But for decorative work, for sheltering hedges in garden and pleasure ground, let us take some more lightsome evergreen from the wealth of choice that the enterprise of collectors has furnished us withal. The Lawson cypress, the giant thuja, the so-called Albert spruce, and many others, are of far nobler growth than the yew and equally patient of the shears, if clipped they have to be. True, they are foreigners, but so are the Spanish and horse-chestnuts, the silver fir, the sycamore, the English elm, and many other growths which have become integral parts of our home landscape; assuredly our forbears would not have hesitated to plant better things than yews if they had been given the chance. That they did plant what they had may be seen from the note made by Giraldus Cambrensis when he visited Ireland in the year 1184:
"Here the yew with its bitter sap is far more abundant than in all the other countries where we have been, but chiefly in old graveyards; and of these trees you may see plenty planted of old in these sacred places by the hands of holy men who did what they could to honour and adorn them."
THE EARL OF RADNOR IN HIS YEW GROVE NEAR DOWNTON, WILTS
[209]
Given elbow room, the yew takes liberal advantage of it, and is apt to spread to a breadth equal to or greater than its height. A singular departure from this habit was made by a seedling found in 1767 on the hills near Florence Court, in County Fermanagh, which grew in a strictly fastigiate or columnar form, and became the progenitor (by cuttings) of what is now known in all temperate parts of the globe as the Irish yew.
Geologically the yew is of immense antiquity in this island; indeed, it grew in what is now the island of Britain before that was severed from the Continent, as is proved by its remains in the forest bed underlying the glacial drift on the coast of Norfolk, where its fruits, identical with those of the present time, have been recognised lying among the bones of elephant, rhinoceros, and four species of bear. A closely kindred form of yew, with somewhat smaller seeds, has been found in the German coal-fields, showing that the type has existed from an incalculably distant period, before the formation of the chalk. Botanically, therefore, the yew must be regarded as contemporary with such archaic types of vegetation as the Gingko, the Umbrella pine (Sciadopytis), the Cycads, and the Horsetails.
Of the age of individual trees exaggerated estimates have been formed and statements devoid of evidence made. Thus a fine yew at Yew Park, Clontarf, near Dublin, is confidently shown to visitors as that under which Brian Boruimh, King of Ireland, died on Good Friday, A.D. 1014. Very likely he [210] breathed his last under a yew tree growing on that spot; but it is incredible that this should be the identical tree, for although it has a wide spread of branches, the trunk only measures 12 feet in girth. Compare this with the recorded increase of a yew at Ankerwyke, near Staines, which in 1822 girthed 27 feet 8 inches, and in 1877 had increased to 30 feet 5 inches, and it is clear that the Clontarf tradition cannot be seriously entertained.
It would grievously wound the feelings of a townman of Chichester to express any lack of confidence in the tradition which affirms that the yews in Kinglye Bottom, near that town, were growing there when the Norsemen landed among them a thousand years ago; but listen to Dr. Lowe's chilly analysis of the grounds for that belief. "Had it been said that yews were there, the statement would have been accurate; but that 'the yews,' meaning those still existing, were then in being, is too large a demand on our credulity, as there is no tree at that place which exceeds 15.4 feet in girth, or possibly about five hundred years in age." [23] In like manner the belief that Montrose rested under the fine yew at Abercairney, in Perthshire, must be dismissed, for it only girths 10 feet 7 inches, indicating an age of about 200 years; whereas to have afforded effective shelter in the year 1640 it ought by this time to be at least 370 years old.
The usual indication of age by annual rings of [211] growth cannot be trusted in the case of the yew, owing to a peculiarity in its habit of growth. Injury to a main branch often causes all that part of the stem with which it is connected to die under the bark right down to the ground, the injury being repaired by a rush of young shoots from the living bark; and these, if they get head room, grow vigorously and ultimately become welded together. This process vitiates the record of annual rings, and although it is a means of rejuvenescence which no doubt prolongs the life of the tree, it would not be safe to assume that there is any yew in the British Isles more than five hundred years old. Dr. John Lowe was at great pains to collect evidence on this matter, and failed to obtain documentary proof of any yew exceeding 250 years of age.
The practice of planting yews in churchyards helps to account for the extravagant statements about the age of certain trees. Generation after generation has become familiar with seeing a yew beside the parish church; the date of the building of the church being accurately known, it comes to be assumed that church and tree are coeval. Dr. Lowe gives a case in point of two churches in contiguous parishes in Kent, each of which has a large yew in the churchyard reckoned to be the same age as the church. One of these yews measures 16 feet in girth, the other 17 feet; but as one of the churches dates back to the eleventh century, and the other only to the fourteenth, the tradition about the trees would have one yew to be three hundred years older than [212] the other, although only differing in girth by one foot. [24]
The poisonous properties of the yew are pretty generally known; in fact, Pliny says that the adjective toxicus, poisonous, was once written taxicus from taxus, the yew. But in the English Encyclopædia is the mischievous statement—"It is now well known that the fruit of the yew may be eaten with impunity." It is quite true that the pulp surrounding the seed, with its sweet but sickly taste, does not possess the poisonous properties of the foliage and young bark; but the seed itself is deadly, numerous fatal cases having been recorded as the result of swallowing it. On the whole, therefore, it is best to give children nice chocolates on condition that they leave the pretty yew berries alone.
A yew bearing yellow berries originated at Glasnevin about 100 years ago and has been pretty extensively propagated in Ireland, but I have never happened to see it in fruit, though I have a clear recollection of the weird yew avenue at Glasnevin.
The Irish or Florence Court yew, described above, found high favour with garden designers seventy or eighty years ago, owing to its fastigiate habit; but, at best, it is a funereal object, and a more cheerful effect may be obtained by planting Incense Cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), Lawson Cypress or Pencil Cedar (Juniperus virginiana).
Dr. Prior, in his excellent work on the Popular Names of British Plants (1879), argued confidently [213] that the names "yew" and "ivy" were but different forms of the same word; but the late Professor Skeat declined to admit that there was any connection between them. It is an elusive element in English place-names; Yeovil in Somerset being assigned to a totally different origin. Yeoford, in Devon, has been variously written Uford and Yewford, and may possibly be named from a yew tree, and so may Uffculme in the same county. The Gaelic iubhar (pronounced "yure") is more easily recognised in the suffix -ure or -nure to many Irish and Scottish place-names. For instance, Gortinure, near Londonderry, is written Gort-an-iubhair in the Annals of the Four Masters; Glenure in Argyll and Palnure in Galloway are respectively the glen and stream (pol) of the yews. The word is more closely disguised in Newry, County Down; but that name is explained in the aforesaid Annals as derived from a yew planted by St. Patrick himself, whence the monastery founded there was called Iubhar-cinn-trachta, the yew near high tide-mark. The name was shortened into an-Iubharach, whence the transition was easy to Newry. In Galloway, Palnure is the stream of the yews, and in Ayrshire Dunure is the fort of the yew-tree.
[214]
The Cypress and its Kin
Among all the green things that clothe this wonderful globe—that globe which man strives so desperately to unclothe that he may pile upon it leagues of bricks and mortar, defile it with the smoke of myriad furnaces, burrow in it in pursuit of pelf to pay for still more bricks, mortar and furnaces—among these green things, I say, no group bears the badge of clanship more openly than the Cypresses (Cupressineæ), a branch of the great order of Conifers. It contains but a single species indigenous to the British Isles, namely, the common juniper (Juniperus communis), which cannot aspire to rank among forest trees. Agriculture and mineral industry have extirpated it in many districts where it once abounded; but it is still a characteristic feature in the landscape on some of the English chalk downs, in East Anglia, the Scottish Highlands, western Ireland, and other places where it has been allowed to survive. Near Capenoch, in Dumfriesshire, there remains a broad hillside thickly covered with juniper, which seems to have been the chief growth there from immemorial time.
MONTEREY CYPRESS (Cupressus macrocarpa)
[215]
Tenderly as we should regard the juniper as a legacy from a bygone age, reminiscent of a scenery now no more, it has no qualities to recommend it for planting where it does not naturally grow, but the cypress group to which it belongs contains many foreign species which are capable of being turned to great advantage by British foresters. Although this group has been classified by botanists under a number of distinct genera, whereof the nomenclature has been repeatedly changed in a manner perplexing to ordinary persons, one valuable quality distinguishes all of them, namely, the durability of the timber they produce. It is recorded that the doors of the original basilica of St. Peter at Rome, erected in the fourth century, were of Mediterranean cypress (C. sempervirens), and that they were perfectly sound when that building was destroyed to make way for the present church in the sixteenth century.
It is not possible to trace to its source the association of this tree with human mortality. That it was so associated in Pagan civilisation may be seen from Horace's pathetic poem:
Neque harum quas colis arborum
Te præter invisas cupressus
Ulla brevem dominum sequetur. [25]
The Mediterranean cypress is only hardy in the mildest parts of the United Kingdom, and is therefore [216] not suitable for general planting; [26] but it has many relatives worthy of earnest attention from our foresters. About forty years ago the late Mr. Peter Lawson, of the Goldenacre Nurseries, Edinburgh, told me he expected that the American Thuja lobbi (as it was then called) was destined to surpass all other conifers for British planting. The name of this tree has been repeatedly changed; perhaps it is most commonly known as Thuja gigantea; but the Kew authorities have decreed of late that its right name is T. plicata. In British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington, where it is of more commercial importance than any other tree, except the Douglas fir, it is known as Red Cedar; which does not help much towards identification, as it is quite distinct from any true cedar. In its native forests it soars to a stature of 200 feet; and, although not brought to this country until 1853, has already reached a height of 100 feet in some places. The most striking example known to me of its behaviour under forest treatment in this country is at Benmore, on the Holy Loch, where about 2,000 acres were planted in successive seasons, 1871-78, and consist now chiefly of this Thuja and Douglas Fir. It is a tree most easily raised from seed, which it produces freely in this country, and it is most easily handled in the nursery. About twelve years ago I raised about 70,000 from [217] 15s. worth of seed; but the bulk of these, having been planted on low-lying, damp ground, succumbed to severe spring frost; while the remainder, planted on higher dry ground, now average 20 feet high. Of the timber, Professor Sargent, the leading authority on North American forestry, reports: "The wood is very valuable; it is light, soft, easily worked, and so durable in contact with the ground or when exposed to the elements, that no one has ever known it long enough to see it decay." Mr. Elwes has given a remarkable photograph of a western hemlock spruce (Tsuga mertensiana) at least one hundred years old, growing astride of an enormous trunk of Thuja, which is still quite hard and sound (Trees of Great Britain, vol. i., plate 59). I feel convinced that when the fine qualities of this tree are better known, it will largely replace European larch in our woodlands.
DECIDUOUS CYPRESS (Taxodium distichum) At Syon
Of the true cypresses there are four North American species likely to prove of high value in the United Kingdom; but in regard to them, it is of the highest importance to use only plants raised from seed. Unluckily, they all strike readily from cuttings, and many of us have formed a poor opinion of these trees from being supplied with plants propagated in that manner, which never can develop their true character, but grow into unwieldy, branchy bushes. Lawson's cypress (Cupressus lawsoniana) has specially suffered in esteem from this cause; but when reared from seed, which is an easy process, it makes fine forest stock, provided attention is paid to removing superfluous leaders till the young trees are 7 or 8 feet high.
[218]
Sargent states that this cypress (which is named after Mr. Peter Lawson, who first raised it from seed in this country in 1854) often reaches a height of 200 feet, with a girth of 36 feet. It agrees thoroughly with British conditions of soil and climate; there are many in various parts of the United Kingdom from 60 to 70 feet high. The timber is of finer quality than that of Thuja, and equally durable; but in Professor Sargent's opinion the Nootka Sound cypress (C. nootkatensis) is a more valuable tree, though slower in growth and inferior in bulk to the Lawson. While the Lawson cypress agrees with a considerable amount of moisture in the soil, provided the drainage is good, the Nootka cypress seems to do best on soil too poor and dry for the other. Both species are impatient of overhead shade and extreme wind exposure, but both are perfectly hardy and very beautiful when grown in reasonable shelter from storms.
Most rapid in growth of all the cypress tribe is the Monterey cypress (C. macrocarpa), but it can only be recommended for mild districts near the sea. It will not stand the frost in most inland districts, but those which I have growing within a mile or two of the coast came unhurt through the long and terrible frost of January and February, 1895, when the mercury fell below zero. This tree is remarkable by reason of its being found native only in two places, both in California, at Monterey, and on the island of Guadalupe. In neither place does it extend much beyond an area of three square miles. In maritime [219] districts of the United Kingdom it grows most vigorously, and ripens seed freely, forming a splendid shelter for other trees. But its branch growth is so luxuriant as to be apt to outstrip the root system; wherefore, to prevent young plants getting swung by sea winds, it is well to shorten the branches till the trees are well established.
The Monterey cypress is of a beautiful bright green, and forms a lovely hedge, for which purpose it may be propagated to any extent by cuttings; but for forest purposes seedlings should invariably be used. Mr. Elwes pronounces the timber "to be so coarse and knotty as compared with that of other cypresses, that it is not likely to be of any economic value"; but that is owing to the manner in which it is usually grown in this country, as isolated specimens, which encourages a rampant growth of side branches. Reared in close canopy, it develops fine clean boles, and Proffessor Sargent reports the timber as being "heavy, hard, strong, very durable, close grained." It is indeed surprising how wood of that weight and quality can be so rapidly produced. In its own country, exposed to the full blast of Pacific gales, it appears never to exceed 60 or 70 feet in height; but there are already in the United Kingdom many taller than that, though the seeds were not brought to this country till 1838. Probably the largest Monterey cypress in England is one at Lamorran in Cornwall, which in 1905 gave a height of 86 feet, and a girth of 12½ feet.
No notice of the Cupressineæ, however succinct, [220] would be complete without mention of what is called in North America the incense cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), though it is of small account as a timber producer. Of all the group it lends itself most conspicuously to landscape effect, retaining its close, columnar figure quite independently of shears or side shade and distinguished by its rich, velvety, dark green foliage. It was not brought to Britain till 1853, yet there are with us many specimens over 60 feet high. Again let me warn those desiring to see the true character of this fine tree to have nothing to do with plants reared from cuttings.
The same applies to an Asiatic member of this group, namely, the Hinoki cypress (C. obtusa), so highly prized by the Japanese for its beautiful, satiny timber. It grows to a height of 100 feet in Japan, where it is much planted, being indigenous in the central and southern parts of the main island. It was brought to England in 1861. I have raised a quantity from seed, and it has proved quite hardy; but its growth is not nearly so free as that of the above-named American species, and it cannot be said that it is likely to be a profitable forest growth with us. It is, however, a very pretty tree in its youth.
[221]
The Wellingtonia and the Redwood
In the vegetable world stature and bulk afford no index to longevity. The lofty pine may be but a stripling in years compared with the lowly lichen that clings like paint to the rock at its foot. One may be able to calculate pretty nearly the age of yonder massive oak; yet before the acorn whence it sprang had ripened, the primrose in its shade may have brightened many springtides with its blossoms.
Howbeit there are certain forest growths that go on adding indefinitely to their bulk during such vast spaces of time as almost to stagger the imagination. The man who can contemplate unmoved a tree, still growing vigorously, which was flourishing when Aaron's rod budded before Pharaoh must be of sterner stuff than most of us; yet such trees may be seen, if the German botanist Mayr's estimate be correct of the age of the largest Wellingtonia which he measured. This giant at 13 feet above the ground was 99 feet in circumference, 11 yards in diameter, and showed [222] 4250 rings of annual growth. Even if Sir Joseph Hooker's cautious view be adopted that this species of tree may make two rings of growth in each year, that carries one back to a time centuries before our country became a province of the Roman Empire.
When seeds of this giant tree were first brought to England by Mr. J. D. Matthew in 1853, we Britons named it Wellingtonia in pious memory of the Iron Duke, who had breathed his last in the previous year, and that is still the name it goes by popularly with us. Americans, not less patriotically, called it Washingtonia; but we are now bidden by botanists to speak of it as Sequoia, a genus of conifers composed of only two species. Sequoia gigantea, then, is the mightiest of evergreens, for although the other species, the Redwood (S. sempervirens), may exceed it in stature, ranging to a height of 340 feet, it does not build up such an enormous trunk. The largest Redwood measured by Dr. Mayr in 1885 was 308 feet high, but not more than 46 feet in girth at 6½ feet from the ground. Its bole was clear of branches to a height of 230 feet. It may enable readers to realise these vast dimensions if they bear in mind that Messrs. Elwes and Henry have not found a tree of any kind in the British Isles 150 feet high, except the great black Italian poplar at Albury Park, and here and there a larch and spruce reaching to that stature.
Sixty years' experience has proved to British planters that, given suitably generous soil and adequate shelter, the Wellingtonia can be grown in these [223] islands as successfully as in its native district, to wit, the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada of California between the altitudes of 5,000 and 8,500 feet. Indeed, there is no reason to doubt that, in sheltered glens and river valleys, it is capable of attaining in the Old World dimensions as great as those it has reached in the New. Owing to the ease with which they can be raised from seed, Wellingtonias have been very widely distributed through British and Irish counties, and there are already many of 100 feet and upwards in height—an astonishing growth for less than half a century. Thus a Wellingtonia at Fonthill, which is known to have been raised from seed in 1861, was 102 feet high in 1906, with a girth of 17 feet, being then only 45 years old. This tree stands in a favourably sheltered hollow, and so does one of the tallest I have seen in this country, namely, one at Albury Park, which stands on the brink of the lucid Tillingbourne. This tree, planted in 1857, was 54 feet high in 1879, and 97 feet in 1913.
It is obvious that, under ordinary conditions, the Wellingtonia in this country must outstrip all surrounding trees of other sorts, and suffer from wind exposure, unless planted in close forest of its own kind. It must be confessed that he would be ill-advised who should devote good land to such a crop, for the timber of Wellingtonia, though very durable, is weak, coarse, and quite unsaleable in the European market. Unhappily, the inferiority of the timber has not protected the trees from the reckless destruction of the beautiful forest by lumberers. Huge trees [224] have been felled which, in falling, have smashed many others; fires have been frequent, and it is not unlikely that this, the mightiest of all green things of the earth, would have been exterminated ere this, but for protective State legislation. "Big Tree wood," says Professor Jepson, "has extraordinary durability, fallen logs in the forest having remained sound for several centuries. It is used for posts, farm-buildings, shingles, raisin-trays, and for stakes in vineyards. It seems unfortunate that timber of such magnificent proportions cannot be applied to larger purposes than grape-vine stakes." [27] Professor Jepson undertook a census of the remaining forest; from the list published in his Silva of California it appears that there are still scattered groves over an area of some 38,000 acres, although in one of these groves there are only six trees left, while some others contain no more than from 30 to 150. In twenty-two groves, however, the trees were so numerous that they were not counted.
Seeing that British planters must not look for any profit from the timber which is so liberally produced by the Wellingtonia, there remain only its decorative qualities to recommend it. These are considerable, provided right advantage be taken of them. Isolated specimens in sheltered places grow into majestic objects with broadly buttressed trunks and dense green curtains of leafage; but perhaps the most impressive effects are obtained by setting Wellingtonia in formal avenues. Such an avenue [225] was planted by the late Mr. Walter of Bearwood at Wellington College in 1869. This avenue is 1,200 yards long and 25 yards broad; the trees were planted 54 feet apart, and as they now average 80 feet high, and are clothed with verdure from the ground to the summit, the effect is very stately and impressive.
Turning now to the other species in this genus—the Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), we have a tree equalling, or even excelling, the Wellingtonia in height, and greatly its superior both in beauty and economic value. Originally this splendid tree occupied a far more extensive area in California and Oregon than the Wellingtonia; but lumberers have swept away great tracts of forest. In one respect the Redwood resists extermination better than any other of its kin, being almost, if not quite, unique among conifers (the yew being no longer classed as a conifer) in sending up suckers profusely, which secures natural regeneration after the parent trees have been felled.
The Redwood Park in California is a tract of forest 3,800 acres in extent which the State Legislature secured at a price of 250,000 dollars in order to preserve the forest in perpetuity.
"It is," says Mr. Elwes in The Trees of Great Britain, "the most impressive of all forests, being remarkable not only for the immense size of the trees, but also for their extraordinary density on the ground. A single acre has yielded 100,000 cubic feet of merchantable timber. [28] ... I saw a stand close to Smith River where the trees were of enormous size and of incredible density on the ground. One tree measured 51 feet in girth."
[226]
The Redwood was first introduced to Great Britain about 1847, and has proved fairly hardy if protected from frost in the seedling stage. It is, however, impatient of wind exposure, and seldom displays its best qualities unless planted in close forest. In suitable environment this tree develops into one of the most beautiful trees imaginable, owing to its stately habit, deeply fissured bark of a rich russet hue, and luxuriant, glossy foliage.
Three Redwoods were planted in a glen at Cuffnells, near Lyndhurst, in 1855; these measured in 1906 from 98 to 105 feet high, with girths from 10 to 15 feet. This shows an average annual increase of height of 2 feet over a period of fifty years, which is far in excess of any other tree grown in the British Isles, not excepting the Wellingtonia. The consequence is that, as the Redwood has nowhere been planted in extensive masses, the leaders are peculiarly liable to be destroyed by high cold winds. Moreover, the quality of the timber produced in Great Britain cannot be rightly estimated until the trees shall have been subjected to close forest treatment, for in isolated specimens the texture of the wood is spoilt by excessive width between the annual rings.
Having regard to the value of Redwood timber exported from America, and the rapidity with which it is developed, this species is well worth attention from any person or corporation planting on a large scale in a sufficiently humid climate, for it is to be noted that it is very impatient of drought. The Redwood Belt, extending from Sonoma County to [227] Del Norte County, enjoys an average annual rainfall of 50 inches. Much less than that will serve the tree in the British Isles, owing to the sun being far less powerful over here than it is in California. Propagation is done from suckers, for, as is the case with some other trees—the English elm, for instance—the production of fertile seed is diminished or disappears with the acquirement of the suckering habit.
It has been claimed for the Redwood that it is the tallest growth in the world; but Australians dispute its title to that distinction on behalf of Eucalyptus amygdalina. The data for a verdict are as follows: In 1896 Professor Sargent measured a Redwood felled on the Eel River, and found it to be 340 feet high and 31 feet 3 inches in girth at 6½ feet from the ground. The rings of annual growth numbered 662. On the other hand, the height of two fallen eucalyptus have been recorded as 420 and 471 feet (the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral is 404 feet high); but Mr. Malden, Director of Sydney Botanic Garden, has declined to receive these measurements as trustworthy. It is very much to be desired that the truth should be ascertained before it be too late.
Not far in kin from the Redwood is the Western Hemlock (Tsuga albertiana), not to be confused (as it often has been by nurserymen and planters) with the Canadian Hemlock (T. canadensis), which is a tree of very inferior beauty and merit to the other. The Western Hemlock forms splendid forests in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon, attaining its greatest dimensions near the sea-coast, where [228] Professor Sargent has recorded specimens 200 feet high and 20 or 30 feet in girth. Introduced to Great Britain by Jeffrey in 1851, it has proved itself contented with our climate, and is certainly one of the loveliest of exotic conifers. There are now many specimens in the United Kingdom measuring from 70 to 100 feet high. It is frost-hardy; but, to develop its true grace, must have shelter from wind exposure. Sargent reports very favourably of the timber, which is said to be disliked by rats and mice; but it does not seem to have been imported into Europe. Seed is plentifully produced, wherefore there is no excuse for the nefarious trick of reproduction by cuttings.
GINGKO BILOBA
[229]
The Gingko
The Gingko or Maidenhair-tree (Gingko biloba) is among the most interesting of trees, owing to its being, like the Araucaria, a survival of the vegetation prevailing when the aspect of our globe was very different from that which it bears now. Both Gingko and Araucaria were classed as conifers by the older botanists; but certain archaic features in each have been recognised as justifying their rearrangement in two separate natural orders.
The gingko has not been found anywhere in a wild state, and owes its preservation from an extremely remote past to the care which the Chinese have always shown to preserve part of the natural forest round their temples. It is in such situations that it is now found in China, Corea, and Japan; but Dr. Henry suggests that it may not improbably exist in the unexplored forests of central China.
The true affinity of this strange tree is with the ferns and cycads, dominant orders in the Mesozoic world. It is, however, a true phanerogam or flowering plant, the male and female flowers being born on separate trees. The fruit and leaves found in the [230] Lias clay at Ardtun, in the Isle of Mull, have been pronounced indistinguishable from those of the existing species. [29] What a vast chasm of time divides us from the summers when these fruit and leaves were produced! Since they fell our land has been ploughed and scarred by the land ice of successive glacial periods, each enduring for unnumbered thousands of years; yet these fragile relics, drifting into clefts and crannies and overlaid by the clay which the ice ground out of the rocks, have survived the rocks themselves. And now the climate of these islands has been tempered again, so that the gingko finds a congenial home in our pleasure grounds.
It is a very beautiful tree, provided it is raised from seed, or, at least, propagated by layers. Unluckily, planters are very apt to be supplied with young trees reared from cuttings, which never turn out well, for seed is seldom produced in this country, owing to the different sexes not being planted together, and the rapidity with which imported seeds lose their vitality. The foliage is unlike that of any other tree grown in Great Britain, the leathery, light green, fan-shaped leaves suggesting the design of a gigantic maidenhair fern, whence it used to be known botanically [231] as Salisburia adiantifolia. The foliage turns a beautiful clear yellow in autumn.
The first European botanist to mention the gingko was Kæmpfer, who found it in Japan in 1690, but it was not introduced to England until more than sixty years later. In Scotland it does not seem to have been often planted, though it is quite hardy in the milder districts. The only considerable specimen I have seen north of the Tweed was one 40 or 50 feet high on the banks of the Ayr at Auchincruive. This was blown down some years ago, but when I saw it last it was growing vigorously from the stool.
There are many fine gingkos in England. The finest known to me are at The Grove, near Watford, 68 feet high, with a girth of 8 feet 5 inches in 1904 (see plate at page 228 ). One at Panshanger, in the same county, of which I did not measure the height, was reported to be 70 feet, and I found the girth to be 8 feet. Both of these are most graceful, vigorous trees, but they must yield in stature to one at Melbury House, near Dorchester, which has reached a height of more than 80 feet. No tree-lover who has seen such fine examples as these can fail to regret that more frequent use has not been made of the gingko in ornamental planting. That is its proper function with us, for the timber is of no more than mediocre quality.
Many fine gingkos may be seen in the Loire valley, at Geneva, and in northern Italy; but nowhere have I been so much impressed with their decorative qualities as in the beautiful city of Washington, [232] where they have been planted in a long avenue along one of the principal streets. True, they have not yet attained a great stature—from 30 to 40 feet are the tallest—but their verdure is most refreshing in that sun-baked capital, and it is easy to imagine what they may become at their present free rate of growth.
The gingko is particularly well suited for a town atmosphere. In the most malodorous part of evil-smelling Brentford, close to a brewery and opposite a huge gaswork, stands the wreck of a fine one. Jammed in between grimy buildings, it has lost its top, but each spring it still hangs out its fairy leafage over the dingy thoroughfare.
AVENUE OF ARAUCARIA IMBRICATA
[233]
The Araucaria
Very different in habit and appearance from the lightsome gingko is the araucaria or puzzle monkey, but, like the former, it is a survival of the vegetation that flourished in the carboniferous era, when it had to compete with giant ferns, cycads, and horse-tails, and attained its utmost development in the Jurassic landscape. Of the ten known species of araucaria, all indigenous only in the southern hemisphere, only one is hardy in Great Britain—A. imbricata—which forms forests on the mountains of southern Chile.
This tree was first brought to England in 1795 by Archibald Menzies, who, visiting Chile with Captain Vancouver, sowed some araucaria nuts on board ship and brought home six live seedlings. It was not till 1844, however, that any fresh supply of seeds reached this country, when William Lobb, collecting for the firm of Veitch, secured a large quantity. The quaint character of the tree, the readiness with which the seeds germinated, and its thorough adaptation to British soil and climate soon caused it to be widely distributed, so that at this day there is [234] no tree with which people are more familiar than the puzzle monkey. At the same time, there is no tree which has suffered so much from injudicious planting among inappropriate surroundings. It is a creature demanding broad light and free, pure air; and I know of no more dismal object in the world of plants than an araucaria stuck down in front of a suburban villa, stifled with smoky deposit, retaining a despairing grip of life, whereof the only visible sign is the green tips of its poor blackened branches. It is treatment such as this which has caused the araucaria to lose favour with British planters. To realise what this tree is capable of in our hands, one has but to visit the Earl of Stair's grounds at Castle-Kennedy and stroll down a wide grassy avenue, two hundred yards in length, bordered on either side by araucarias over 50 feet high (see plate at page 232 ).
Effective in a different fashion must be the araucaria grove at Beauport, Sussex, which I have not seen. Here a number of these trees were planted about fifty years ago, and allowed to grow in forest canopy, the inner ones clearing their boles naturally. The largest of these, measured by Dr. Henry in 1904, was 74 feet high, with a girth of 7 feet 9 inches.
ARAUCARIA IMBRICATA Male Flower
ARAUCARIA IMBRICATA Female Flower
Again another effect. On the west shore of Loch Fyne, united to the mainland by a narrow neck of shingle, is Barmore Island, a grassy, rocky pile, treeless save for a solitary araucaria which some freakish hand has planted many years ago high on the northern slope. The impression received from this lonely foreigner is very enduring. (Let me not be misunderstood. [235] I do not mean the physical impression, which would be distinctly disagreeable; but the mental one, which is most pleasing.)
Araucaria timber is said to be like good deal, but smoother and heavier. Like most primitive types of vegetation, the trees are of separate sexes, though exceptionally a tree may be found bearing male and female flowers. The male inflorescence is like a large, brown, pendant catkin, 4 or 5 inches long; the huge female cones take two years to ripen, when they open, and each discharges 200 or 300 large seeds, 1 to 1½ inch long. These seeds are freely produced in nearly all parts of Britain; self-sown seedlings spring up where the undergrowth permits them; and as an article of food the kernels are not to be despised when cooked as chestnuts.
The araucaria is one of many South Chilian plants which relish the climate of western Britain and Ireland. The character of climate in these widely-separated regions is curiously similar, though from diametrically opposite causes. In Chile abundant moisture arises from the afflux of a cold ocean current upon a warm coast; in the British Isles a warm ocean current flows upon the colder land.
GLASGOW: PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS BY ROBERT MACLEHOSE AND CO. LTD.
FOOTNOTES:
[25] With all the trees that thou hast tended,
Thy brief concern is well-nigh ended,
Except the cypress—that may wave
Its hateful symbol o'er thy grave.
(Horace, Odes, ii. 14.)
[26] At Monreith I have many trees thirty feet high and more, raised from seed gathered at Fiesole, near Florence, in 1878; but young plants raised from seed gathered at Gravosa, in Dalmatia, in 1907, were all killed by frost, indicating that the cypress has acquired a hardier constitution in Tuscany than those growing on the hot limestone of Dalmatia.
[27] Silva of California, p. 145.
[28] Professor Jepson states that "stands of 125,000 to 150,000 feet, board measure, to the acre, are not uncommon," op. cit. p. 151.
[29] It is nowhere truly wild, and is a relic of a very ancient flora. Geological evidence shows that it is the last survivor of an ancient family, which flourished during Secondary times, and can even be traced back to the Primary rocks. In Mezozoic times this genus played an important part in the arborescent flora of north-temperate regions. Fossil remains, almost identical with the present existing species, have been found, not only in this country and North America, but also in Greenland.—A Naturalist in Western China, by E. H. Wilson, ii. 45.
Transcriber's Note
Hyphenation has been standardised.
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| Larch |
In the Beijing Olympics Britain did particularly well in swimming and cycling but in other sports less well. Louis Smith won a Bronze medal, but was our only medal winner in which sport? | Trees: A Woodland Notebook, by Herbert Maxwell
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The Project Gutenberg EBook of Trees. A Woodland Notebook, by Herbert Maxwell This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license Title: Trees. A Woodland Notebook Containing Observations on Certain British and Exotic Trees Author: Herbert Maxwell Release Date: June 8, 2012 [EBook #39946] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TREES. A WOODLAND NOTEBOOK *** Produced by Chris Curnow and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
A WOODLAND NOTEBOOK
ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY MR. HENRY IRVING AND OTHERS
Right Hon. SIR HERBERT MAXWELL
BT., F.R.S., LL.D. (Glasgow), D.C.L. (Durham)
Sit here by me, where the most beaten track
Runs through the forest—hundreds of huge oaks,
Gnarled, older than the thrones of Europe. Look,
What breadth, height, strength—torrents of eddying bark!
Some hollow-hearted from exceeding age
(That never be thy lot nor mine!)—and some
Pillaring a leaf-sky on their monstrous boles,
Sound at the core as we.
Tennyson's The Foresters, iii. 1.
[v]
To the Reader
The following chapters, which have their origin in papers originally contributed to the Scotsman, are designed to meet, and possibly to stimulate, that interest in British woodland resources which has so greatly increased within recent years. The author's aim has not been to present either a scientific botanical treatise or a manual of technical forestry; he has attempted to describe the leading characteristics of the forest growths indigenous to the United Kingdom, and to indicate those exotic species which have proved, or are likely to prove, best adapted to the British climate, whether as economic or purely decorative subjects.
There has been in the past—there prevails to a considerable extent in the present—confusion among British planters between the two branches of wood-craft—silviculture and arboriculture. Silviculture or forestry—the science of managing woodland to produce serviceable timber—has been so grossly neglected in the United Kingdom that its cardinal principles have had to be learnt afresh. Accustomed to rely upon foreign imports for our timber supply, we [vi] came to look upon woodland as a luxury, useful in so far as it provides shelter from storm, cover for game and foxes, and ornament to the landscape, but of negligible commercial value. Of this result the titles of the associations formed for the promotion and study of wood-craft are very significant; they are not styled Forestry Societies or Silvicultural Societies, but Royal Arboricultural Societies. Ever since the days of Tradescant and John Evelyn, British planters have excelled in arboriculture—the skilful rearing and tending of choice trees and their disposal singly or in groves for the decoration of parks and pleasure-grounds. Now, however, that the world's consumption of timber has overtaken, and bids fair soon to overtax, the supply, attention is being directed to the extent of forest capabilities in the United Kingdom. The development of these resources can be accomplished only through systematic forestry, as prescribed in the science of silviculture. We are the only considerable nation in Europe whose Government neglects forestry as a source of revenue; we have, consequently, immense leeway to make up. Timber of every description is a crop of long rotation, exceeding, in some cases far exceeding, the average duration of human life. One generation has to plant trees for the advantage of its successors; but it is just that kind of long-range altruism which chiefly distinguishes civilised from barbarous nations.
[vii]
Let me not be interpreted as underrating the value of the work done by arboriculturists. By the enterprise of our leading nurserymen, the intrepidity and zeal of their collectors, and the eagerness of landowners to embellish their estates, a vast experimental stage has been accomplished, enabling one to form a fair estimate of the adaptability of different exotic trees to the climate of the British Isles. The results of this experimental period have been summed up recently in the great work of Mr. Elwes and Dr. Henry, who have devoted many years of strenuous labour to examining the conditions of tree growth in all four Continents, and recording the behaviour of different species when planted in this country. The extent and thoroughness of their survey, and the critical experience they have brought to bear upon the subject, give a special value to their testimony to the work of British arboriculturists. "After having seen the trees of every country in Europe, of nearly all the States of North America, of Canada, Japan, China, West Siberia and Chile, we confidently assert that these islands contain a greater number of fine trees from the temperate regions of the world than any other country." [1]
It was high time that, in the material interest of the community, endeavour should be made to establish an organised forest industry in the United [viii] Kingdom. The Government, after many years of reiterated enquiry and hesitation, have at last taken the first steps in the establishment of State forest. At present, these steps have not carried the matter very far; but great bodies get slowly under way; as one may not judge the speed of an Atlantic liner by the rate at which she leaves the harbour, so we should exercise patience during the initial stages of what we hope may prove a great enterprise.
The newly formed Forestry Departments of the English, Scottish, and Irish Boards of Agriculture have the results of experimental planting by arboriculturists to guide them in their choice of species. The opinion is sometimes expressed that British forests should be composed of indigenous species, on the principle that Nature has indicated which species are best adapted to our soil and climate. This is to overlook the part played by chance in determining what trees and herbs should form the vegetation of these islands. When the ice-mantle was slowly being withdrawn, after grinding down the mountains to mere stumps of their pristine stature and strewing the plains with glacial débris, seeds wafted by winds and waves or borne by birds found a footing, and those for which the conditions of soil and climate then prevailing were suitable, established themselves most readily and formed the staple vegetation. But those conditions have greatly altered since that far-off time; vegetation itself is [ix] a main agent in changing the character of the surface soil, adapting it to support growths of a different character to those which first took possession thereof. It is, therefore, no derogation to the admirable qualities of our native oak, ash, and pine that it has been found to our advantage to cultivate such exotic species as larch, spruce, sweet chestnut, and sycamore. Among the vast variety of foreign forest trees introduced to this country during the nineteenth century, it is almost certain that some will prove of great economic value when submitted to scientific treatment.
I have endeavoured in these pages to recapitulate in a convenient form what has been ascertained by experiment of the behaviour of foreign trees under British conditions, relying, not blindly, upon the conclusions arrived at by masters of the craft, as corroborated or checked by personal observation of a practical and somewhat sedulous nature, extending over youth, manhood, and old age.
Among those to whom I owe cordial thanks for providing negatives and other material for illustration are the Duke of Northumberland, the Earl of Radnor, the Hon. Hew H. Dalrymple, Professor William Somerville and Mr. Gerald Loder.
HERBERT MAXWELL.
[1]
The Oak
The literature of the oak far exceeds in volume that of any other tree, and there is abundant evidence to prove that from earliest times it was regarded not only with esteem for its timber, but with religious reverence. Popular names of trees are uncertain guides; the revisers of the Old Testament express a doubt whether the tree under which Jacob buried the strange gods which he took from his household (Genesis xxxv. 4) was really an oak, as it is rendered in the authorised version, or a terebinth; but there seems to be no question about the tree Homer had in his mind when he describes Zeus as giving his oracles from the oaks of Dodona (Odyssey, xiv. 328), for the Greeks held the oak sacred to their premier deity.
Pliny (A.D. 23-79), writing about a thousand years later than Homer, describes in detail the religious honour paid to the oak in Britain, and asserts that the Druids, as children of the oak, were so called from the Greek name for that tree, i.e. δρυς. We are able to check his statements in one particular from our own experience. He says that the Druids held the [2] mistletoe as the most sacred of plants, provided it grew upon an oak, which it did very rarely. It is still so seldom to be seen on that tree that, although I have been on the lookout for an instance for many years, both in England and in Continental oak forests, I have never yet found one. Mr. Elwes, indeed, gives a list of twenty-three oaks in England reputed as bearing mistletoe; but he has only succeeded in verifying two of these by personal inspection. [2]
That the early Celtic inhabitants of the British Isles set as high a value upon the timber of the oak as they did upon its mystic attributes, must be patent to any one who has explored their ancient lake dwellings. The framework of these artificial islands was made of massive oak beams morticed together; these remain as hard and sound as the day they were laid down in the water; while every other kind of wood used in the interior of the structure—ash, alder, pine, etc.—has been reduced to the consistency of soft cheese. Moreover, these people anticipated the Admiralty in using oak for shipbuilding. All the many canoes which have been discovered in connection with these islands (five were found in Dowalton Loch alone) have been "dug-outs" fashioned from trunks of oak thirty or forty feet long. If other and more easily worked timber was ever employed for this purpose, it has failed to withstand the tooth of time.
PEDUNCULATE OAK
The application of iron to shipbuilding and architecture has done much to dethrone the oak from its [3] former pre-eminence, nor does its timber command the high prices of a hundred years ago. But it has no rival for dignity and durability, and very few equals in beauty, for domestic architecture and public buildings. Moreover, signs are not wanting that the supply of pitch pine and other cheap foreign substitutes for British oak is not inexhaustible; consumption is increasing hand over hand, and natural forests are being stripped far faster than they can be regenerated. British oak, therefore, though it is under temporary commercial eclipse, can never fail of producing timber of the very highest quality, and, owing to its long span of vigorous life, the tree may be left standing in the forest for centuries without deteriorating.
Those who desire a quick return from their woodland will hardly be encouraged to plant oak from such a far-sighted consideration; but forestry must always be a business of deferred profits. If ash be esteemed commercially mature at seventy years, larch and Scots pine at eighty or ninety, oak cannot be reckoned ready for the axe at less age than one hundred and twenty, and it continues to improve up to two hundred years.
Even allowing for the fall in value of oak timber and bark in recent years, high prices may still be obtained for fine trees, whereof there would have been far more in Britain at this day but for the excessive drain upon our woodland resources for the Navy during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In 1877 Messrs. Groom, of Hereford, paid £200 for a huge oak felled at Tyberton Park in Herefordshire. [4] This grand tree stood 130 feet high, with a girth of 22 feet 8 inches at 5 feet from the ground. It was felled after being struck by lightning and badly damaged; but for which mishap the purchasers estimated its value would have been £300.
In Kyre Park, Worcestershire, there still stood in 1907 an oak 113 feet high, with a straight trunk of 90 feet, for which the owner had declined an offer of £100 a few years previously.
In certain parts of England, chiefly in the eastern counties, the timber of some oaks is found to have assumed a rich brown hue, instead of the normal pale fawn. The cause of this is obscure; some botanists consider it to be produced by a fungoid growth; others, that it is the combined effect of age and soil; but, whatever be the agent, the result is to enhance enormously the market value of such trees. American cabinetmakers first created a demand for it, as much as 10s. a cubic foot being readily obtained for the best quality. Unfortunately, brown oak has not yet been recognised as occurring north of the Trent.
Botanists are not agreed whether the oaks of Great Britain consist of a single species or of two. There are certainly two distinct races, as was recognised by Linnæus 150 years ago, when he classified them, probably correctly, as sub-species-the durmast or sessile-flowered oak (Quercus robur sessiliflora) and the pedunculate oak (Q. robur pedunculata). Roughly speaking, the native oaks of the eastern and southern parts of Great Britain are of the pedunculate race; those of the western parts and of Ireland are of the [5] sessile-flowered type; but I have examined the old oaks in the Forest of Arden, Warwickshire, and found them to be durmast, while young trees, planted to replace blown ones, were all of the pedunculate kind. In the beautiful park of Knole, near Sevenoaks, there are hundreds of fine indigenous oaks, all pedunculate; but a splendid avenue, planted apparently 180 or 200 years ago, has been laid through them, and these trees are all durmast. I do not know of any place where the contrast between the two species may be so easily studied.
When grown in moderate shelter, the two kinds may be readily distinguished from each other by their habit of growth. Owing to the terminal bud on every shoot of the durmast oak being the strongest, the stem and branches are much straighter than those of the pedunculate oak, which puts its strength into lateral buds, giving the boughs that twisted, gnarled appearance so characteristic of much English woodland. In exposed situations, however, this distinction cannot be relied on, and one must examine the leaves and fruit as tests.
The durmast oak bears sessile flowers—that is, without foot stalks; the acorns, therefore, sit close to the shoot on which they are borne. On the other hand, the leaves are carried on footstalks clear of the twig. In the pedunculate oak these features are reversed, the flowers and acorns being stalked and the leaves stalkless. The leaves, also, which are more irregular in shape than those of the durmast, clasp the twig more or less closely with auricles or lobes. [6] The durmast never has these auricles, but the other features mentioned are liable to be modified, when recourse must be had to a less uncertain detail, easily distinguished through an ordinary lens. The back of a mature leaf of the pedunculate oak is perfectly smooth, without a trace of down or pubescence; that of the durmast invariably carries some fine down, at least in the angles of the leaf-nerves.
It may seem that these differences are of no more than botanical interest; but they carry an important significance to the forester. The timber of the two species being of equal quality, it is of course desirable to plant that kind which produces the straightest timber. Undoubtedly in this respect the durmast far surpasses the other. Unfortunately, owing to the durmast oak bearing acorns far less frequently than the pedunculate oak, British nurserymen have stocked the latter almost to the exclusion of the durmast, seed of which can only be obtained in favourable seasons, often at an interval of several years. Nevertheless, the superiority of the durmast, especially for Scotland and the north of England, is so great, that it is worth taking pains to secure it.
SESSILE OAK
The native oaks of the English lake district and of the shores of Loch Lomond are all of the durmast variety; when opportunity occurs of obtaining seed from these it should not be allowed to slip. Even in the south, durmast oak has proved its superiority to the other. Besides being far the handsomer tree, with richer foliage, it is generally immune from the attacks of that curse of English woodland, the caterpillar [7] of the little moth, Tortrix viridana. "I have seen," says the Hon. Gerald Lascelles, Deputy Surveyor of the New Forest, "I have seen a sessile oak standing out in brilliant foliage when every other oak in the wood around was as bare of leaf as in winter."
Most writers on forestry follow one another in describing durmast oak as suiting dry soils and pedunculate oak as preferring rich and moist soil. That is quite at variance with my observation. If the soil of Surrey, where the native oak is pedunculate, be compared with that of the English lake district and the west generally, where the durmast is indigenous, there can be little question which is the moister. The fact is the durmast, being the more vigorous tree, is able to thrive in a soil too dry and poor to support the pedunculate oak.
One word of counsel to planters on soil tending to dryness—never plant oak forest pure, but let beech be mixed with the oaks. The importance of this is well known to German foresters, who call beech the doctor of the forest. Its dense foliage prevents undue evaporation under parching winds and scorching sun, and its heavy leaf-fall in autumn creates the best kind of forest soil.
No clearer example can be given of the failure of ancient oaks, not from extreme age, but from the parching of the soil, than is presented in Sherwood Forest. The giant trunks that stand there singly or in scattered groups once supported a far loftier dome of foliage than they do now. The branches have died [8] back through the vigour of the tree being sapped by excessive evaporation from the ground, consequent on the loss of forest canopy and undergrowth. Within Lord Manvers's park of Thoresby, formed long ago by enclosing part of the Forest, oaks of the same age as those outside stand in close company with the fostering beech, and clothed with dense foliage to the very end of the branches. How often has one heard a forester, when a great oak goes "stag-headed," explain this as the result of the roots getting down to unsuitable subsoil; whereas the true reason is that an oak cannot fulfil his allotted span of years except when grown in close company of other trees.
As might be expected, the oak, as monarch of the primæval British forest, has contributed names to countless places, both in Celtic and Saxon speech; besides a few in Norman French, whereof Chenies, a parish in Bucks, may serve as an example. The Saxon ac, still current in the north, but supplanted in the south by the broader "oak," is easily detected in such names as Acton, Aikton, Ackworth, Akenham, in England; Aikrig, Aikenhead (sometimes disguised by an intrusive t as Aitkenhead) and Aiket, which is a contraction of the Saxon ac widu, oak-wood. Oakham, Oakford, Oakenshaw, Oakley, etc., speak for themselves. In old Gaelic the oak was daur, in modern Gaelic the genitive dara or darach is used, but in Manx and Welsh it remains dar. Deer, Darroch and Darra are Scottish place-names retaining respectively the old and new form of the word, the latter often appearing in composition, as in Kildarroch, i.e. [9] coill darach, oak-wood. Still commoner is the derivative doire, originally daire (pronounced "derry"), signifying primarily an oak-wood, but later applied to woods in general. Hence the large class of names like Derry, Dirriemore, Derrynabrock, Derrynahinch, etc. St. Columba founded his monastery at a place called Daire-Calgaich in the year 546. Adamnan, writing a hundred years or so later, glossed this name Roboretum Calgachi, Calgach's oak-wood. After this it became Derry-Columkille, the oak-wood of Colum of the Churches, until finally James VI. and I. granted a charter thereof to a London company of traders, and the place became, and remains, known as Londonderry.
The mightiest oak I have seen of late years, at all events the oak which impressed me most forcibly with its mightiness, is one of the pedunculate kind near the mansion-house of Panshanger, Lord Desborough's place in Herts. It is figured in Strutt's Sylva Britannica; when he measured it in 1822 the girth was 19 feet at 3 feet from the ground, and its cubic contents were estimated at 1,000 feet. Elwes measured it in 1905 and found the girth to be 21 feet 4 inches at 5 feet. Following him in 1913, but without being aware of his measurement, I made the girth to be 21 feet 6 inches. This tree, however, is not likely to increase much in girth, unless it grows burrs, for it is stag-headed and past its prime. In this fine park of Panshanger I found two or three other oaks with a circumference of 21 feet, but none so impressive and majestic as the one aforesaid.
[10]
"The oak," writes Mr. Elwes, "rarely attains in Scotland the size and vigour so commonly met with in England." [3] To that I make reply—"Give us time!" Scotland, her resources drained by three hundred years of all but incessant war which she had to wage in order to win and maintain her independence, became and remained a byword for poverty among the nations. Almost every shred of her woodland, once so vast, had been consumed before the end of the seventeenth century, so that Dr. Johnson was but drawing his bow a trifle too far when he vowed that in all his Scottish travel he had only seen two trees big enough to hang a man on. Practically no oaks were planted in Scotland until many years after the Union of Parliaments in 1707 had inaugurated an era of peace and security for north country lairds. "Give us time!" I repeat, and we shall produce oaks in Scotland that no English magnate would be ashamed to have in his park. Probably the tallest, if not the bulkiest oak that I have seen north of the Tweed, stands close to the mansion house of Blairdrummond in Perthshire. Elwes made it 118 feet high in 1906, with a girth of 17 feet at 5 feet from the ground and a clean bole of 24 feet.
Irish woodland suffered as disastrously as Scottish from reckless felling, but there can be no doubt about the size and quality of the oaks that grew in Ireland in the past. The roof timbers of Westminster Hall were grown in Shillelagh Forest, Co. Wicklow. These trees, no doubt, were of the sessile-flowered race, but [11] the forest has entirely disappeared; and the great oak-wood at Abbeyleix, in Queen's County, is composed of pedunculate oaks.
Besides our British oak, there are between two and three hundred distinct species of Quercus in the Old and New Worlds, many of which are very beautiful trees, but not one whereof the timber approaches that of Quercus robur in quality. The foreign oak most commonly seen in these islands is the Turkey Oak (Q. cerris, Linn.), a native of southern Europe and Asia Minor, which grows to an immense size; it is invaluable as a shelter for more valuable growths, especially in maritime exposure, but for little else, as its timber, though very heavy, is said to be perishable, and certainly produces an excess of sap wood. "We shall say little," wrote John Evelyn, "of the Cerris or Ægilops, goodly to look on, but for little else." [4]
The ilex, or holm oak (Quercus ilex) is another tree which nobody need think of planting for profit, seeing that it produces timber of little value except for firing; nevertheless, it is one of the most ornamental trees that can be grown. Planted in the open, and given some attention in its youth to keep it to a single leader, it develops into a stately-domed mass of evergreen foliage, quite distinct in character from any other tree that flourishes in the British Isles. It would be sombre, did the leaves not glitter delightfully in sunlight; and in cloudy weather the wind sweeps up their white undersides and sets them all a-twinkle.
[12]
Although a native of the Mediterranean region, it adapts itself thoroughly to our climate, being perfectly hardy in all but the coldest parts of our country, and ripening its acorns plentifully in districts near the coast. Indeed, it is doubtful whether in its native region many loftier specimens can be found than one at Rossanagh, in County Wicklow, which, when I saw it in 1905, was 80 feet high. The tallest recorded by Mr. Elwes stands in the garden of the Hotel Hassler at Naples, measuring, in 1910, 90 feet high and 12½ feet in girth.
We commonly follow Roman usage in calling this tree "ilex," nor is it easy to understand why Linnæus appropriated this name for the holly, because Pliny plainly distinguishes between them, writing of the holly as "aquifolium." In English vernacular this oak was known as the holm oak, which is a corruption of hollen oak—i.e. the holly-like oak, because it is evergreen and the leaves of young plants are spined, though not so strongly as those of the holly.
Pliny has a great deal to say about this tree. He tells us that in the Vatican of Rome there was in his day an ilex older than the city, bearing a brazen plate inscribed with Etruscan characters, showing that it had been sacred of old. He also states that at Tivoli there were three holm oaks flourishing which were growing when Tivoli (Tibur) was founded centuries before Rome. Now, considering that Rome was founded about B.C. 750, and Pliny died about A.D. 115, it appears that the traditional age attributed to certain trees in his day was as liberal as it remains in [13] ours. It would not be rash, however, to venerate the splendid ilexes in the grounds of the Villa Pamfili and the Villa Borghese at Rome as lineal descendants of the trees that Pliny loved.
In suitable districts near the sea the ilex is invaluable as shelter. Once established, it stands the roughest buffeting of storms without disfigurement. I am writing these notes within a hundred yards of an ilex at Ardgowan, on the Clyde. It is about 50 feet high, and stands isolated on a bare lawn, exposed to all the fury of tempests that come roaring up the firth, twisting its boughs in the most violent manner. Yet these are so tough as never to be broken, and the tree remains a model of symmetry and grace.
At Holkham, in Norfolk, there is a large grove of ilex, called the Obelisk Wood, the like of which for extent is not to be seen, I think, elsewhere. At Tregothnan, in Cornwall, also an immense number of ilexes have been planted in a long avenue beside the sea. It is remarkable—unique, probably—but it is not an arrangement to be recommended for displaying the peculiar beauty of the trees, which consists in their massive foliage. The branches meet overhead, and as you drive along under them the effect is gloomy.
Very near of kin to the ilex is the cork oak (Q. suber), which grows all through the Spanish Peninsula and the Mediterranean region, except in those parts where limestone or chalk forms the soil. Of all the oak family, this comparatively humble member is of [14] most importance to civilised life, for no efficient substitute has been devised for cork in some of the uses to which it is put. The annual consumption must be enormous; it is wonderful how the supply is maintained. Having no qualities to recommend it to the landscape gardener, the cork oak is only fit for growth in this country as a curiosity, and there only in the eastern and southern English counties. In the midland and northern districts it may exist, but cannot rightly thrive.
Many hybrids have been reared from the ilex. One of the choicest is Turner's oak (Q. Turneri), said to have originated in the Holloway Down Nursery, Essex, in 1795, as a cross between the ilex and the common English oak. It is of moderate stature, not greatly exceeding 50 feet, and is semi-evergreen, retaining its leaves, which are of a bright, rather light green, till February. The Lucombe oak (Q. Lucombeana) is also sub-evergreen, a hybrid between the ilex and the Turkey oak (Q. cerris), but is a much loftier tree than Turner's oak; the foliage inclines in colour to the ilex, but the leaves approach those of the Turkey oak in form, the under surfaces being clothed with white down. This variety was raised about 1765 by William Lucombe, of Exeter.
Another remarkable hybrid, apparently between Q. ilex and Q. cerris, is the Fulham oak, of which the finest example I have seen in Scotland grows on the banks of the Ayr, in the grounds of Auchencruive.
Although these hybrid oaks ripen acorns, they cannot be relied on to produce exact counterparts of [15] their parents, the offspring of cross-bred seeds always tending to revert to one or other type in the cross.
Of the forty-seven North American species of oak enumerated by Sargent, none is to be desired by reason of the quality of its timber, which in every instance is inferior to that of our native species; but three, at least, have proved their value in this country as highly decorative trees, owing to the rich tints of the foliage in autumn. These are the red oak (Q. rubra), the scarlet oak (Q. coccinea) and the pin oak (Q. palustris). These are all trees of great stature, the pin oak having already exceeded 100 feet in height in England, presenting a gorgeous display when its leaves turn scarlet in the fall. In Scotland, however, the summer is not always warm enough to produce these fine colours; in wet, cold seasons the foliage remains green till the early frost blights it into brown.
Among oaks of the Old World, the Hungarian oak (Q. conferta syn. pannonica) and the Algerian oak (Q. mirbeckii) are the most ornamental, and have proved amenable to British conditions. As a curiosity, a sheltered corner may be found for the Japanese Quercus acuta, a small evergreen tree with large laurel-like leaves, quite hardy, but apt to be broken by snow. In the absence of flowers or acorns, it would puzzle anyone to identify this tree as a member of the great clan of oaks.
[16]
The Beech
Among all the trees of British woodland none excels the beech in grace, vigour, and hardihood. It is not indigenous to Scotland; indeed, it is only in recent years that it has been recognised as a true native of southern Britain, its remains having been identified in post-tertiary beds at Southampton, Cromer, and some other places in East Anglia. Previous to that discovery, botanists had accepted Julius Caesar's assurance that the tree he called "fagus" did not grow in Britain (Bellum Gallicum, v. 12). But popular names for plants are never to be relied on, and although it is certain that Pliny (Nat. Hist. xvi. 6) described the beech under the name "fagus," it seems equally clear that Virgil (Georgics, ii. 71) applied it to the sweet chestnut. The confusion arose, no doubt, from the application of a Greek word signifying food to two species of tree very different from each other, but each producing edible fruit.
Although the beech (Fagus sylvatica, Linn.) cannot be reckoned as an aboriginal native of Scotland, it is long since it received letters of naturalisation in [17] that country, and has taken so kindly to the northern soil and climate that it may no longer be considered an alien. Indeed, it is in Scotland that the mightiest beech in the United Kingdom, perhaps in the world, is to be seen; not the loftiest, but one containing the largest amount of timber. This is the famous tree at Newbattle Abbey, near Dalkeith. Eighty years ago the indefatigable John Loudon measured it, and found it to be 88 feet high. In 1906 the equally indefatigable Mr. H. J. Elwes took its dimensions, and ascertained them to be as follows:
7
½
Truly an amazing edifice of sound timber; how long has it taken in the building? Normally, the beech is not long-lived compared with the oak, the yew, the Corsican pine, and some other trees grown in British woodland. Its "expectation of life" does not exceed 200 years. When it gets near that age it sometimes dies in a night, so to speak, expiring suddenly while apparently in full vigour. At other times it gets stag-headed, a sure sign of flagging vitality, and becomes infested with parasites, especially the felted beech-scale (Cryptococcus fagi), which administer the coup de grâce.
[18]
But the Newbattle beech is probably much more than 200 years old. Mr. Elwes estimates its age at 300 years. It has adopted a plan for prolonging its existence by allowing its great branches to droop to the ground, where seven of them have taken root, whence they have sprung up afresh and form a perfect grove still maintaining connection with the parent tree. Some of these subsidiary trees are already forty feet high and five feet in girth; and if, as is possible, they continue to contribute to the nourishment of their parent, the life of the original stem may be prolonged indefinitely.
There are at least three other beeches in Scotland taller than the Newbattle monster—namely, at Hopetoun House, at Blairdrummond, and at Methven Castle; but all of these must yield the palm to the Queen Beech at Ashridge Park, Hertfordshire. Mr. Elwes measured this tree in 1903, and "made it as nearly as possible to be 135 feet high (certainly over 130), and this is the greatest height I know any deciduous tree, except the elm, to have attained in Great Britain. Its girth was 12 feet 3 inches, and its bole straight and branchless for about 80 feet, so that its contents must be about 400 cubic feet to the first limb." [5] It may be noted in passing that elsewhere in his book Mr. Elwes has recorded certain deciduous trees even taller than the Queen Beech. For instance, on page 365 he mentions larches at Croft Castle, Herefordshire, 150 feet high; on page 873 [19] he records having measured an ash at Cobham Hall, Kent, 143 feet high, and on page 1820 the height of the black Italian poplar at Albury Park, Surrey, is estimated at 150 feet.
QUEEN BEECH AT ASHRIDGE
Reproduced by permission from The Gardeners' Chronicle
Beech timber is not held in high repute in the United Kingdom generally, being hard, brittle and perishable under weather exposure, although it is extremely durable under water. I have examined some of the beechen logs which were laid to strengthen the foundations of Winchester Cathedral in the extremely wet peat and shifty gravel which seam the site. For seven hundred years these logs have lain in the ground, faithfully fulfilling the function assigned to them of supporting the Lady Chapel erected by Bishop Godfrey de Lucy in the last few years of his life (he died in 1204), yet they are still perfectly hard and sound, having acquired with age a peculiar wan pearly hue.
In the north we reckon beechen slabs to be the best material for drain-tile soles in wet land. The timber is put to higher purpose in Buckinghamshire, where the extensive beech forests about High Wycombe and Newport Pagnell afford one of the few examples of systematic wood-craft in England. The trees are regularly grown and felled in rotation to supply the chairmaking industry, clean timber commanding, as it stands, a price of 1s. to 1s. 6d. a cubic foot. It has been asserted that the very name Buckingham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon boc, a beech; but it appears in the Winchester Chronicle as Buccingaham, which indicates its origin in a [20] family named Buccing, descended from an ancestor or chief called Bucca, the Buck. Howbeit, we are incessantly, though unconsciously, using the Anglo-Saxon boc, for it was smooth tablets or panels of beech that formed the primitive "book." In like manner crept in the term "leaves" of a book, because the foliage of papyrus preceded paper, which is the same word.
The beech is distinguished for three qualities beyond every other native of British woodland. First, by its abundant leaf-fall it promotes the formation of forest humus—the rich vegetable soil so essential to vigorous tree growth—more speedily and effectively than any other tree. Secondly, it bears shade better than any other broad-leaved tree; indeed, the only trees of any kind that approach it in this respect are the hornbeam and the silver fir. These two qualities make the beech best of all trees for under-planting; for, while the young beeches nourish the older trees by their leaf-fall and by checking evaporation from the soil, they are themselves preparing as a successional crop for the time when the old trees are ripe for felling. The third distinguishing quality of the beech is its unrivalled merit as firewood. None other throws out so much heat or burns so steadily; though it is a curious fact that the hornbeam, belonging to a different genus from the beech, mimics it in its foliage, is nearly as patient of overhead shade, produces timber closely resembling that of beech in appearance and quality, and, as fuel, yields very nearly as much heat.
[21]
Besides the felted beech louse, Cryptococcus fagi, referred to above, the beech is liable to be attacked when young by the deadly fungus Nectria ditissima. The trees affected should be felled and burnt so soon as the canker characteristic of that plague manifests itself, for they never can recover. The singular disease called "beech-snap," which causes the stem to break off abruptly at 15 or 20 feet from the ground, is attributable to the fungus Polyporus adustus, though Nectria is generally present also on the trees affected.
The common beech has sported into many varieties. Those most commonly planted are the purple and copper beeches, which are far from being the same, as many people seem to think they are. A well-grown purple beech, such as that near the south-west corner of Osterley House, Isleworth (to name one out of very many fine specimens which exist in the United Kingdom), is a truly magnificent object, the rich, but subdued, depth of colour showing in charming contrast with other foliage, yet so soft as never to jar with it. This variety is said to have originated in a forest in the canton of Zurich, where, according to the legend, five brothers fought, three of whom fell, and from the soil where each lay grew a purple-leaved beech.
As for the copper beech, had I the chance of stopping the supply, I should not hesitate to do so, for the foliage, as I think, has a disagreeable metallic hue that consorts well with nothing else. Before purchasing young purple beeches, it is prudent to visit the nursery when they are in leaf, or you may [22] be served with copper beeches, and not discover the mistake till it is too late. The mast or seed of both purple and copper beeches yield a large proportion of seedlings in the parental livery; but no beech, green or purple, bears mast till it is at least forty years old.
The fern-leafed beech is no improvement on the type, and grows with the ungraceful pose of a grafted plant; but the weeping beech, which also has to be propagated by grafts, sometimes develops into an object of great beauty.
Of three or four exotic species of beech in the Northern Hemisphere there is but one, the American beech (F. ferruginea), which would be a gain to ornamental planting in the British Isles. Our own beech has a pretty bark, but that of the American species outshines it as silver does pewter. Unluckily, like many other growths of the Eastern States, it fails utterly to accommodate itself to the British climate. Visitors to Boston, Massachusetts, should not fail to see the group of beeches in the Arnold Arboretum at Brookline.
THE CHAIRMAKER, BUCKINGHAM BEECH WOODS
There are seventeen species of beech native of South America and Australasia. These have now been classified as a distinct genus, Nothofagus, that is, southern beech. Two of them appear to agree with British soil and climate, namely, the evergreen N. betuloides, whereof I have no experience, and the deciduous N. obliqua, of which two seedlings, raised from seed brought from Chile by Mr. Elwes in 1902, were sent me from Kew in 1906 to experiment on their [23] hardiness. These have grown vigorously, having endured 20° of frost without wincing, and are now [1914] about 20 feet high; but, owing to their leafing fully a fortnight earlier than our native beech, they are more apt to be seared by late frost. In its native country this species equals our own beech in stature and bulk, its timber being largely used for railway sleepers, building, etc. Moreover, judging from the very few young plants in this country, it is an exceedingly ornamental tree. Of the other southern species, six are large evergreen trees, natives of Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania, not capable of enduring the British climate, except, perhaps, in the mildest districts of the south and west.
There are still, I believe, among the loyal subjects of King George V. persons who profess to be Jacobites, as there are undoubtedly thousands who cherish the memory of Prince Charles Edward as a precious national heritage. For these, the beeches that droop over the swift-running Arkaig at Lochiel's place of Achnacarry must have a mournful significance. In the spring of 1745, Donald Cameron of Lochiel, already advanced in years, was busy, in common with many other Scottish lairds, in developing the resources of his estates by draining, reclaiming, and planting trees. The union of the English and Scottish Legislatures had brought peace and security to the northern kingdom such as it had not known since the death of Alexander III. in 1286, and landowners felt encouraged for the first time to apply themselves to useful enterprise.
[24]
Suddenly Prince Charlie landed at Borrodale on 28th July, and summoned Lochiel and the other Highland chiefs to his standard. Lochiel, well knowing the hopelessness of the enterprise, started to obey the summons, thoroughly determined to dissuade the Prince from going forward with it. His brother, John Cameron of Fassifern, begged him not to meet the Prince. "For," said he, "I know you far better than you know yourself, and if the Prince once sets eyes upon you, he will make you do what he pleases." Fassifern was but too just in his forecast. It happened exactly as he had said. Lochiel at first flatly refused to bring out his clan; but in the end yielded to the Prince's persuasion, returned home, marshalled fourteen hundred men, and took part in all the phases of that hare-brained campaign, till he was carried off the field of Culloden severely wounded.
During Lochiel's absence a quantity of young beech trees had arrived at Achnacarry from the south to his order. They were heeled in a long row beside the river, awaiting his instructions. But the chief "came back to Lochaber no more." He lingered a couple of years in exile, his estates forfeited, his person proclaimed, and he died in 1748. The beeches were never removed from the trench where they had been set to await his return. They have grown up in a rank of silvery stems, so closely serried that between some of them a man's body may not pass. Winds of winter wail a coronach among the bare boughs; in summer the leafy branches stoop low upon the hurrying water; at the sunniest noontide there reigns [25] deep gloom under that crowded grove. No more pathetic memorial could be designed for a lost cause and for him whom men spoke of as "the gentle Lochiel."
[26]
The Spanish Chestnut
The sweet or Spanish chestnut (Castanea sativa, Miller) cannot be reckoned indigenous to the British Isles, nor is there any evidence in support of the common belief that it was introduced during the Roman occupation. It is, however, far from improbable that the Roman colonists sowed some of the fruit which they imported as food, and, finding that the young trees took kindly to our soil and climate, continued to cultivate them.
SPANISH CHESTNUT In Winter
SPANISH CHESTNUT In Summer
Chestnuts, now as then, form an important part of the winter diet of country folk in Italy and Spain, being ground into flour, whence excellent cakes and pottage are made. British housewives regard them only as a luxury, and large quantities are imported into this country annually; but chestnuts are as nutritive and wholesome as they are palatable, and there are few more appetising odours than that wafted from the charcoal stove of the itinerant vendor of chestnuts, a familiar figure in London streets so soon as chill October draws to a close. I may confess to having partaken, under cloud of night, of this wayside delicacy; nor do I care [27] how soon the opportunity presents itself of repeating the treat.
Chestnuts ripen well and regularly in the southern English counties, though they are considerably smaller than those imported from the Continent. In Scotland we seldom have enough summer heat to bring them to maturity. The summers of 1911 and 1914, indeed, were long enough and hot enough to ripen them; but even so the nuts were so small that there was more patience than profit in collecting them.
Even though we cannot actually trace the introduction of this noble tree to our Roman conquerors, there is proof in Anglo-Saxon literature that it was known in England before the Norman conquest, for it receives mention by an early writer as the "cisten" or "cyst-beam," "cisten" being but a form of the Latin castanea. Chaucer (1340-1400) is the earliest English poet to mention it, the list of trees wherein he includes it being a very interesting one as showing the nature of English woodland in the fourteenth century.
As oke, firre, birche, aspe, elder, elme, poplere,
Willow, holm, [6] plane, [7] boxe, chesten, laure,
Maple, thorne, beche, awe, hasel, whipultre, [8]
How they were felde shall not be tolde by me.
The right English name is, therefore, "chesten"; modern usage has added "nut," which is as irrational as it would be to speak of a "hazel-nut" to indicate a hazel or a "fircone" to indicate a fir.
Shakespeare, of course, was quite familiar both with the tree and its fruit. Thus one of the witches in Macbeth:
A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap,
And mounched and mounched and mounched.
"Give me," quoth I.
"Aroint thee, witch!" the rump-fed ronyon cries.
Moreover, the chestnut had been long enough established in England to have its name borrowed to denote a rich shade of russet. So in As You Like It:
Rosalind. I' faith, his hair is of a good colour.
Celia. An excellent colour; your chestnut was ever the only colour.
The Spanish chestnut is essentially a southern growth, being found wild only in Southern Europe, Algeria, Asia Minor, and Northern Persia. It is remarkable, therefore, that it should thrive so well in the British Isles, even in the northern part thereof; for although, as aforesaid, it is shy of fruiting in Scotland, it grows to enormous proportions in that country.
Probably the tallest chestnut north of the Tweed is one at Yester, in East Lothian, which in 1908 measured 112 feet high by 18 feet 8 inches in girth. Next to it comes a fine tree at Marchmont, in Berwickshire, 102 feet high by 14½ in girth, with a clear bole of 32 feet. Still further north, there is a huge fellow at Castle Leod, in Ross-shire, which, though only 76 feet high, girths no less than 21 feet 4 inches at 5 feet from the ground.
[29]
The finest chestnut I have seen anywhere is in the woodland of Thoresby Park, near Nottingham, being within the bounds of the ancient Sherwood Forest. In 1904 it was 110 feet high, with a straight bole quite clear of branches for 70 feet. Its cubic contents in timber were estimated at 300 feet. Loudon measured this tree in 1837 and found it to be 70 feet high, with a girth of only 11 feet at 1 foot from the ground. Its girth at that height is now over 17 feet. It is impossible to imagine a more perfect specimen of the species than this beautiful tree. It was planted about the year 1730, and is, therefore, now, say, 180 years old. Planters may accept a lesson from this tree, which has been drawn up to its fine stature by being grown in close forest among beeches, some of which, of the same height as itself, have been cleared away to show its fine proportions. Without such discipline, it might have expended its vigour in building up an enormously swollen trunk, instead of towering to its present height.
This tendency towards breadth instead of height may be seen in countless places, both in England and Scotland. The Trysting Tree at Bemersyde, the massive pair in Mr. Wallace's garden at Lochryan, and the great chestnut at Myres Castle, in Fife (19 feet 9 inches in girth), are examples in point. At Deepdene, in Surrey, there stands a tree of this character, the clear bole being only 8 feet high, but girthing 26½ feet at the narrowest part. Near to it is one of nobler proportions—90 feet high, with a girth of 21 feet 5 inches.
[30]
There is one characteristic of the chestnut which, while it adds much to the beauty of the grove, certainly detracts from the value of the timber. Just as one may see in a Gothic cloister how the architect, wearying of straight columns, introduces here and there a twisted one, so the trunk of the chestnut often grows in a regularly spiral manner.
Economically and commercially, the timber of Spanish chestnut, up to a certain age, is no whit inferior to that of the oak—superior, indeed, in its young stages, owing to its producing less sap wood. Chestnut palings, gates, etc., are the most durable that can be made of any British-grown wood. In 1907 Lord Ducie exhibited at the Gloucestershire Agricultural Show some fencing posts made from chestnuts which he planted in 1855 and felled in 1885. These posts remained perfectly sound after exposure to wind and weather for two and twenty years.
Not only in durability, but in other qualities, the timber of chestnut is fully equal to that of oak, which it closely resembles; and, as it grows much faster and to a larger size than the oak, it would soon drive its rival out of the market, but for its greater liability to one grave defect, namely, "ring-shake." This is the name given to a splitting of the wood along one of the concentric annual rings, thereby ruining the log for the sawing of planks. The cause of this internal rupture is obscure, but the injury takes place in chestnuts over seventy years of age more commonly than in any other tree, and, as it cannot be [31] detected until the tree is felled, merchants are very shy of offering for a standing lot.
As a coppice tree, the Spanish chestnut has no equal in this country; the rotation of the crop is far shorter than that of oak, the poles are more durable, and a steady demand has been created for an admirable form of paling made up of split chestnut staves, set closely together upright and bound with wire. This kind of fence, however, ought not to be used in any fox-hunting country, for high-couraged hounds, attempting to climb it, get impaled on the sharp tops and frightfully injured.
"Chestnut," it is well known, is uncomplimentary slang for a worn-out anecdote. They told me in Philadelphia that the phrase had its source in a theatre in Walnut Street, one of the principal thoroughfares of that city. This theatre was built in rivalry of an older one in Chestnut Street: its répertoire lacked originality, and patrons of the other house, when they recognised jokes they had heard and situations they had seen there, used to hail the players with the cry—"A chestnut! a chestnut!" And this explanation may serve as well as another. In this connection I may be permitted to put on record a bon mot by a well-known member of the present Radical Government. We had been dining, a small party, in the House of Commons, shortly after the late Sir M. Grant Duff had published the third volume of his reminiscences, which, it may be remembered, contained many anecdotes not told for the first time. One of the ladies of our party expressed a wish to see [32] Westminster Hall, and, having been conducted thither, asked me what the fine roof was made of. "It is of oak," I replied; "some people used to think it was of chestnuts, but I don't suppose there were enough chestnuts in England to furnish a roof like that in the reign of Richard." "No," observed Mr. ——, "Grant Duff had not published his third volume!"
"Oh it's hame and it's hame, at hame I fain would be,
Hame, lads, hame in the north countrie;
Oh the oak and the ash and the bonny ivy tree,
They a' nourish best in the north countrie."
The bard who was responsible for this ancient jingle assigned that precedence to the oak which common sentiment has always accorded to it as the monarch of British woodland. Economically, also, the oak held the first place so long as Britannia ruled the waves from wooden walls, but in this ironclad era our Admiralty has little use for oak timber, and there is now no broad-leaved or "hardwood" tree that can be cultivated so profitably as the ash. Indeed it is hardly doubtful that this is the only species of tree, willows, poplars and certain conifers excepted, which a young man may plant with reasonable expectation of receiving any pecuniary profit during his lifetime. The properties which ensure to the ash (Fraxinus excelsior) this superiority to all rivals are its hardihood, the matchless quality of its timber for many purposes, and its market value from a very early age.
[34]
First, as to its hardihood. No British tree, not even the oak, is so wary of starting into growth before all risk of late spring frost is past. Tennyson, the very Virgil among British bards for keen observation of nature, has embalmed this characteristic in a beautiful passage in The Princess:
Why lingereth she to clothe herself in love?
Delaying, as the tender ash delays
To clothe herself when all the woods are green.
Once, and once only, do I remember the prudent ash to have been caught, namely, in 1897, when after a month of deceptive warmth, the mercury fell to 10° Fahrenheit on the 22nd May. Twenty-two degrees of frost within a month of the summer solstice! No wonder the young ash foliage, which had been lured into precocious growth, was shrivelled and blackened as by fire. And that, not only in the north, but in Herts and Hants, as I had occasion to note when trout-fishing in these southern counties. Even the beech and hawthorn fared no better, but their leaves were seared brown instead of black.
Then as to wind exposure, what tree can compare with the ash for length and strength of anchorage against the gale? It is astonishing to what distance it sends its tough roots, whether they run through free soil or wind themselves into the crevices of limestone rock. This far-ranging habit renders it the worst of all neighbours to a garden, and no ash tree should be suffered to grow within fifty yards of ground where herbs or fruit are cultivated.
MANNA ASH (Fraxinus ornus)
[35]
For toughness and strength the timber of ash has no equal, even among foreign woods; and it is always in request at a good price for waggon-building, implement-making, and other purposes. Moreover, British ash, properly grown, is more highly esteemed than ash imported from other countries. Unfortunately, owing to our neglect of systematic and economic forestry, as distinct from arboriculture and the management of game covert, ash is very seldom to be seen grown under proper conditions in the United Kingdom. It should be grown in woods sufficiently close to draw the stems up to such a height as will ensure a good length of clean bole. Standing in the open or in hedgerows, it sends out huge side branches which destroy the quality of the timber.
In consequence of our misuse of this tree, which ought to be the most valuable of all assets to British forestry, good ash timber has become exceedingly scarce; although undoubtedly there are an immense number of excellent stems in most parts of the country, which, if landowners generally understood their own interest and the true welfare of their woodland, would be felled and sold before they reached an unmanageable size.
In one respect the ash possesses a merit superior to any other hardwood tree, except, as aforesaid, willow and poplar, in that it reaches commercial maturity soonest. Grown under forest conditions in good, well-drained soil, it is most fit for the market at from fifty to seventy years of age. But, as it is readily saleable from twenty years old upwards, an [36] ash plantation may be reckoned on bringing in some revenue from thinnings long before the main crop is ripe for the axe. For instance, I was lately offered a very good price for ash poles averaging nine inches in diameter for the manufacture of billiard cues. The regular supply is drawn from Switzerland; but could most easily be furnished from British woodland if the necessary care were bestowed upon the saplings. The trees should not be allowed to stand after attaining eighty years of growth; for the timber, even if it continued sound, hardens after that age, and, losing much of its characteristic elasticity, does not command such a good price.
Homer says that the spear of Achilles had an ashen shaft, and all true Scots should hold the ash in special honour, forasmuch as of yore it furnished staves for their national weapon, the pike. It was from the long ashen pike-shafts of Randolph Moray's handful of Scots that de Clifford's cavalry recoiled on the Eve of St. John, 1314, after thrice attempting to break that bristling fence of steel; it was through the staunchness of his pikemen that next day, on the slopes of Bannockburn, Edward Bruce was able to bear the brunt of attack by the English columns, hurl them into unutterable ruin among the Milton bogs, and so set seal, once for all, to Scottish independence and freedom.
It was probably owing to the high value that the Scots had learnt to set upon ash timber, both for military and domestic use, that this tree was more commonly planted than any other in compliance with the statute of James II. (fourteenth Parliament, [37] cap. 80), requiring every landowner to cause his tenants to plant and maintain trees in number proportioned to the extent of their holdings. This was in 1424; in 1573 it was re-enacted, along with "sindrie louabil and gud Acts," by 6 James vi. c. 84; whereof the effect may still be traced in the landscape of many parts of Scotland in the shape of old ash trees standing round farmhouses and other homesteads. Often, where two or more farms have been thrown into one, the trees remain long after the disused buildings have been removed.
Belief in the medicinal virtues of the ash was very general in early times, probably derived from the Orient, where the manna ash (F. ornus) abounds. Yet Pliny, who recognised the difference between the two species, not only recommended extract of the common ash as a draught to cure snake-bites and as superior to any other remedy when applied to ulcers, but solemnly affirms that he has himself proved that if ash leaves are laid in a circle round a snake and a fire, the snake will crawl into the fire rather than touch the leaves. Even sage John Evelyn recommended ash extract to cure deafness, toothache and other ailments, and, later still, Gilbert White of Selborne describes the superstitious practice of passing sickly children through the stems of ash-trees, split for that purpose, in the belief that, if the clefts grew together again after the wedges were removed, the patients would recover. For household purposes, ash provides excellent firewood, which burns as well green as dry.
[38]
The tallest ash measured by Mr. H. J. Elwes in 1907, stood 146 feet high, and was 12 feet 7 inches in girth 5 feet from the ground. This fine tree is growing with many others of about equal height in Lord Darnley's park at Cobham, in Kent. The tallest ash recorded in Scotland was one at Mount Stuart, in the Island of Bute, stated to have been 134 feet high in 1879; but this has now disappeared. The loftiest certified by Messrs. Elwes and Henry as still standing is a great tree at Dalswinton, in Dumfriesshire, which, in 1904, stood 110 feet high, with a girth of only 8 feet 3 inches. Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn, however, claims to have one at Smeaton Hepburn measuring 124 feet in height and 11 feet in girth in 1908.
Weeping ashes have rather gone out of vogue, but they are very pretty things if the sport is grafted on a sufficiently high stem and the stock be not suffered to outgrow the graft, as it will do if not attended to. By far the most successful example of this kind of freak tree is the one at Elvaston Castle, near Derby, 98 feet high with branches hanging to a length of 60 or 70 feet, a truly remarkable object, and beautiful withal, as may be seen from the fine plate in Messrs. Elwes and Henry's book. Although its requirement of a deep, cool and generous soil render the ash unsuitable for London conditions, yet there are a few handsome weeping ashes in that city, notably one at the south-west corner of Bedford Square.
Like all our indigenous trees, the ash has impressed itself upon our place-names. Ashby, Ashton, Ashridge, [39] Ascot—the map of England is peppered freely with such names; that of Scotland more sparsely, owing to the preponderance of Gaelic in the topography. The Gael employed several forms of his name for the ash, namely, fuinnse, fuinnsean, and fuinnseog (pronounced funsha, funshan, and funshog), whence many names in southern and western Ireland such as Funcheon, a river in Cork, Funshin, and Funshinagh several times in Connaught. But the initial consonant soon dropped off, and in northern Ireland and among the Scottish Gaels the word became uinnse (inshy) preserved in the name Inshaw Hill (Wigtownshire), Killyminshaw (Dumfriesshire), etc.; or uinnseog (inshog), recognisable in Inshock (Forfar), Inshaig (Argyll), Inshog (Nairn), Drumnaminshoch and Knockninshock (Kirkcudbright). The plural uinnsean (inshan) has assumed a very grotesque form in Wigtownshire, where there are two farms twenty miles apart named Inshanks.
Liability to disease is an important consideration in regard to forest trees, and the ash has the merit of being remarkably free from ailments. The worst malady from which it is liable to suffer seriously is known as ash canker, whereby the timber is rendered worthless except for firing. Happily it does not seem very contagious; for I have known badly cankered trees standing for twenty years and more without imparting the disease to their healthy neighbours. The late Dr. Masters attributed the mischief to the work of the larva of a small moth (Tinea curtisella). That creature may start the injury, but [40] it is certainly taken up and aggravated by the fungoid organism Nectria ditissima. Although, as aforesaid, the disease does not appear to be readily communicable to healthy trees, it is not advisable to leave the unsightly invalids standing. The sooner they are cut down and burnt the better.
There are between fifty and sixty exotic species of ash, but among them there is only one known to me as specially desirable for ornamental planting, namely, the Manna Ash (Fraxinus ornus), producing a profusion of creamy-white plumes of blossom in June. This pretty tree is the source of the manna of commerce, a sweet and mildly laxative substance obtained by tapping the stem in late summer and allowing the sap which flows from the wound to coagulate.
Manna of various sorts is collected from many different kinds of plant; that which supported the Israelites in the desert is supposed to have been an exudation from the tamarisk; but Sicilian manna is the only kind that is recognised as an article of European trade. In Sicily the manna ash is planted in frassinetti or ash-yards, grown for eight years and regularly tapped, till the main stem is exhausted, when it is cut down, and a fresh growth is allowed to spring from the root. The active principle in manna is mannite, a hexatomic alcohol, chemically expressed as C6H8(OH)6. The manna ash is not often seen in this country; those specimens which are of any size are invariably grafted plants; but a stock is easily raised from seed, which Continental nurserymen [41] readily supply. In Dalmatia and Montenegro, where this tree abounds, drivers stick the flowers thereof in the harness of their horses to keep off flies, which dislike the peculiar odour. A Chinese species (F. mariesii) is near of kin to F. ornus, and is said to bear flowers of superior beauty to that tree; but of this I can only write from hearsay.
[42]
The Linden Tree or Lime
When we speak of a lime tree we conform to a corrupt usage, for the right English name is "line" or "linden tree," linden being the adjectival form of the Anglo-Saxon "lind," just as "asp" and "oak" give the adjectives "aspen" and "oaken." The late Professor Skeat, foremost authority in English etymology, observed that "the change from 'line' to 'lime' does not seem to be older than about A.D. 1700"; but he overlooked the use of the modern form by John Evelyn, who, in his Sylva (1664), writes always of "the lime tree or linden," showing that the change had taken place between his day and Shakespeare's.
Prospero. ... Say, my spirit,
How fares the King and his?
Ariel. Confin'd together
In the same fashion as you gave in charge;
Just as you left them, sir; all prisoners
In the line grove which weather-fends your cell.
(Tempest, Act v. sc. 1.)
The root meaning of the word is "smooth," referring to the texture of the timber, which caused it of old [43] to be in great request for making shields, so that in Anglo-Saxon lind meant a shield, as well as being the name of the tree.
COMMON LIME (Tilia vulgaris)
It is strange that Tennyson, so sensitive to delicacy of sound, should have used the modern form in his frequent mention of the tree. Only one instance comes to mind of his preferring the more musical dissyllable. When Amphion set the forest dancing—
The Linden broke her ranks and rent
The woodbine wreaths that bind her,
And down the middle—buzz! she went,
With all her bees behind her.
The limes form a somewhat perplexing family, inasmuch as, of the score or so of species recognised by botanists, several cannot be reputed as more than hybrids or sports. The only species claimed as indigenous to Britain is the small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata), and even about this botanists are not of a certain mind. For instance, the joint authors of The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland have formed different opinions, Dr. Henry considering it to be "a native of England, ranging from Cumberland southward," while Mr. Elwes fails to reconcile this with the facts that no fossil remains of this tree have been identified in the British Isles, and that he has never been able to find, or to find anybody else who has found, a self-sown seedling.
There are many fine specimens of the small-leaved lime in England, ranging from 80 to 110 feet high; but it has never been known to attain the dimensions of the common lime (T. europæa), which, although it [44] is an exotic species, has made itself thoroughly at home between the Straits of Dover and the Moray Firth, and is the tree which those who do not scrupulously discriminate regard as the lime tree par excellence.
It would require much space to mention all the notable limes in our country, for they were very extensively planted 200 or 300 years ago, and, being long-lived, many of them have grown to great size. Mr. Elwes gives the palm to the lime grove at Ashridge, Lord Brownlow's fine park in Hertfordshire. These trees were planted in 1660, and average 120 feet in height and 10 feet in girth. They have been grown in a close row, only 12 to 15 feet apart, and have thereby escaped the defects to which limes are so prone as ornamental trees—namely, spreading to ungainly breadth instead of rising to height, and covering their trunks with an unsightly mass of brush.
FLOWER OF THE LINDEN TREE (Tilia europæa)
At Knole Park, in Kent, advantage has been taken of this spreading habit to allow the formation of a very remarkable grove. The parent tree was described by Loudon as covering a quarter of an acre in 1820; the boughs have drooped so as to root themselves, and have risen again, forming trees 80 and 90 feet high, which in their turn have repeated the process, forming a second circle of trees 20 to 40 feet high, and these again are engaged in forming a third concentric circle, the total diameter of the grove, all connected with the central stem, being 36 yards. The great lime at Gordon Castle, known as the Duchess's Tree, has behaved in a similar way; but, [45] as the supplementary growths have not been trained into trees as at Knole, the whole forms a dense thicket, impenetrable save where a passage has been kept clear to the interior. A tree of this description covers almost enough ground, if not for a small holding, at least for an allotment, for the total circumference of this mass of branches is 480 feet or 160 yards.
It is as an avenue tree that the lime is seen at its best, disputing pre-eminence for that purpose with the beech. Moreover, although the beech must be accounted the more beautiful tree, its rival has advantage over it in the delicious fragrance of its blossom, which is produced in great profusion, powerfully attractive to bees. Strange to say, although the fragrant flowers are of a pale yellowish, greenish white, the honey extracted from them is deep brown, darker than heather honey, and of inferior flavour.
Fine avenues of limes are innumerable in Britain, many of them being over 200 years old. At Newhouse Park, Devon, Mr. Elwes describes a remarkable one, which was planted about 200 years ago as an approach to a house which never was built. The rows are only 20 feet apart, and the trees, which are only 10 feet apart in the rows, have risen to an immense height, averaging over 120 feet.
Among other notable lime avenues may be noted those at Stratton Park, Hants (Lord Northbrook's); Cassiobury, Herts (Lord Essex's), said to have been planted by Le Notre, the designer of the gardens at Versailles; at Braxted Park, Essex (Mr. Du Cane's), composed of three rows on each side; at Wollaton [46] Hall, Notts, and Birdsall, Yorks (both places belonging to Lord Middleton). In all these avenues the trees range from 120 to 130 feet high; but none can compete in length with an avenue planted at Clumber by the Duke of Newcastle in 1840, which is only 200 yards short of two miles long. Unfortunately, these trees were planted far too wide apart in the rows, 31 feet from tree to tree, and, having been afterwards neglected in the matter of training, have squandered their luxuriance in bushy growth. To form a fine avenue timely pruning is indispensable.
The lime, being more tolerant than the beech of drought, parching heat and a smoky atmosphere, thrives vigorously in towns of moderate size, and also in large cities where the chief fuel is not coal. The well-known thoroughfare, Unter-den-Linden, in Berlin, corresponds to the Mall in London. I have not identified the species with which it is planted; certainly of late years they have been planting in Berlin a natural hybrid known as the smooth-leaved lime (T. euchlora), which has the merit of keeping its glossy foliage later in autumn than the common lime. The trees in Unter-den-Linden are remarkable neither for size nor vigour, but they provide grateful shade and verdure in summer.
WEEPING WHITE LIME (Tilia petiolaris)
At Wakehurst Place
The atmosphere of Berlin is certainly not so hurtful to tree growth as that of London, where poplars, planes, ailanthus, and acacia (Robinia) are practically the only forest trees that can do battle successfully with the parching heat and stifling fogs of that city; conditions which the limes that used [47] to stand in the Mall resented by casting their foliage in disgust before August was sped. The limes in the Cathedral close of Winchester afford an example of felicitous association of foliage with noble architecture. Perhaps there is a remembrance of them in Tennyson's Gardeners' Daughter:—
Over many a range
Of waning lime the gray cathedral towers,
Across a hazy glimmer of the west,
Reveal'd their shining windows.
The smooth white timber of lime was once in much more request than it is now. Pliny praises it as worm-proof and useful, describing how the inner bark was woven into ropes, as it now is into bast for the mats with which gardeners protect their frames from frost. These mats are chiefly made in and exported from Russia. Lime timber, being less liable to split than other woods, was the favourite material for wood-carving; indeed, Evelyn writes of it as being used exclusively in their work:—
"Because of its colour and easy working, and that it is not subject to split, architects make with it models for their designed buildings; and the carvers in wood use it, not only for small figures, but for large statues and entire histories in bass and high relieve; witness, beside several more, the festoons, fruitages, and other sculptures of admirable invention and performance to be seen about the choir of St. Paul's and other churches, Royal Palaces, and noble houses in city and country; all of them the works and invention of our Lysippus, Mr. [Grinling] Gibbons, comparable, and for aught appears equal, to anything of the antients. Having had the honour (for so I account it) to be the first who recommended this great artist to His Majesty Charles II., I mention it on this occasion with much satisfaction."
[48]
It is owing to the neglect of British planters and the consequent irregularity of the home timber trade that this fine timber has been ousted from its former pre-eminence by imports of other kinds.
In writing of the common lime, I have used the scientific name, Tilia europæa as conferred on it by Linnæus, rather than the more recent title of T. vulgaris. There seems a special reason for retaining the old name, inasmuch as Linnæus considered his own family name was derived from the linden tree.
ENGLISH ELM (Ulmus campestris)
[49]
The Elms
It is a matter of doubtful argument how many species go to compose the genus Elm—Ulmus—owing to the uncertainty of distinguishing true permanent species from varieties and natural hybrids. Foremost botanists have differed widely on the question; for whereas Bentham and Hooker recognised in 1887 only two true species growing naturally in the United Kingdom, Elwes and Henry describe five native species, besides nine varieties of the wych elm, as many of the English elm, and no fewer than thirteen varieties of Ulmus nitens, a species hitherto classed as a form of the English elm.
The distribution of the elm family is somewhat peculiar, extending all the way from Japan, through Northern China and Europe to North America, but not crossing to the Western States; nor is any species to be found south of the temperate zone, except in the mountain ranges of Southern Mexico. Of all the cities of the New World, Boston reminds the British traveller more vividly of home scenes than any other, by reason of the massive English elms which enrich the landscape. Pity it is that we cannot [50] return the compliment by planting the beautiful white elm (Ulmus Americana), the glory of Washington city, for it does not take kindly to our island climate.
The elm with which we are most familiar in the North is the wych elm (U. montana), easily to be distinguished from the English elm by the fact that it throws up no suckers from the root, whereas the English elm hardly ever ripens seed, and propagates itself entirely by suckers which it sends out as colonists to an astonishing distance—50 yards and more. There are exceedingly few authentic records of the English elm ripening seed in Great Britain; on the other hand, the wych elm sometimes produces a prodigious crop. In the spring of 1909 this tree presented a curious appearance. The foregoing summer had been a very warm one, stimulating the wych elm to such extraordinary efforts at reproduction that, before the leaves appeared, the trees seemed to be covered with fresh young foliage, which was really the crowded leaf-like seed vessels. In June these leaf-like membranes had become dry scales, each acting as parachute to a single seed, so that, under a hot sun and a high wind, the air was full of them—so full that they actually choked the eave-gutters of my house. Each of these little monoplanes carried the potentiality of a majestic forest tree; given a suitable resting-place, any one of these minute seeds might develop into an elm like those at Darnaway, in Morayshire, which in 1882 were 95 feet high, with clean boles up to 24 feet. So great was the exhaustion following upon the [51] abnormal seed crop of 1909 that some of my elms were crippled by it, and two or three died outright. [9]
WYCH ELM (Ulmus montana)
To produce well-shaped wych elms, timely pruning is essential, followed by close forest treatment, for no other tree spreads more wildly and wantonly, and unless means are taken to keep a single leader on each, the result will be very different from those lordly examples which stood, not many years ago, on the banks of the White Cart at Pollok, four of which were figured by Strutt in his Sylva Britannica in 1824. The largest of these measured in that year 85 feet in height and 11 feet 10 inches in girth, and contained 669 cubic feet of timber. Two of this group were blown down in the great gale of 22nd December, 1894, and the remaining pair were felled in 1905, being respectively 90 and 96 feet high. The age of these giants was shown by the annual rings to be about 300 years.
The weeping elms which one sometimes sees in gardens is a variety which originated in a Perthshire nursery about one hundred years ago. It is very ornamental, though it never attains much height, being perfectly flat-topped. As it can only be propagated by grafts, a sharp lookout must be kept to prevent the stock outgrowing the scion.
The wych elm is indigenous over the whole of the northern part of Great Britain, the largest recorded being at Studley Royal, in Yorkshire—105 feet high and 23 feet in girth at 5 feet up in 1905. As an [52] element of the primæval Scottish forest, the wych elm must have been held in high esteem, judging from the number of Gaelic place-names commemorating it. The old Gaelic name for it was leam, plural leaman (pronounced "lam" and "lamman"). Ptolemy's Leamanonius lacus is now Loch Lomond, the lake of elms, out of which flows the Leven, which is the more modern aspirated form leamhan (pronounced "lavan"); and we find the same association of names in eastern Scotland, where the Lomond Hills overlook the town of Leven. The Lennox district was formerly written Levenax, which is the adjectival form leamhnach (lavnah), an elm wood. The rivers Lune and Leven in Lancashire (Ptolemy's Alauna), the Leven in Cumberland, and the Laune at Killarney all seem to indicate the former existence of elm woods on their banks. In the name Carlaverock is probably preserved another derivative—caer leamhraich, the fort among the elms.
It was long supposed that the English elm (U. campestris) was not indigenous to England, seeing that it never propagates itself in these islands by seed. Its presence was explained by the convenient device of attributing its introduction to the Romans; but there is not a shred of evidence in support of this conjecture. The elm of Italy is quite a distinct species, according to Elwes and Henry, a fact with which Shakespeare, though familiar with "Warwickshire weeds" (as elms are called near Stratford-on-Avon), may not have been acquainted when he made Adriana plead with him she believed to be her husband:
Come, I will fasten on this sleeve of thine;
Thou art an elm, my husband, I a vine;
Whose weakness, married to thy stronger state,
Makes me with thy strength to communicate.
The English elm, however, grows luxuriantly in Spain, and ripens seed abundantly there, the tradition being current that it was introduced from England to the Royal Park at Aranjuez when Philip II. was laying out that demesne. Dr. Henry, however, considers it not improbable that this tree is truly indigenous in Spain, and that it is certainly so in the southern counties of England, where, as aforesaid, it reproduces itself only by suckers. Other examples are not wanting of certain plants yielding to climatic conditions, by resorting to reproduction by suckers and ceasing to produce seed.
Perhaps the most striking display of the true English elm to be found anywhere is the magnificent quadruple avenue known as the Long Walk, at Windsor. Many of these are 120 feet high and 15 feet in girth. The avenue leads from the Castle gates to the statue in the park, a distance of two miles and three-quarters. Taller individual elms may be seen elsewhere, as in the grounds of King's College, Cambridge (130 feet), Boreham House, in Essex (132 feet), and Northampton Court, Gloucestershire (150 feet by 20 feet in girth). The last-named tree, by the way, may no longer be seen, for it was blown down in 1895, but there can be no doubt about its dimensions, which were accurately ascertained as it lay on the ground. It was probably the champion of that [54] particular species in England; but it was inferior in bulk to the great elm which stood in the grounds of Magdalen College, Oxford, until it was blown down in April, 1911, pronounced by Mr. Elwes to be "the largest elm I have ever seen and the largest tree of any kind in Great Britain." [10] Mr. Elwes carefully measured the fallen giant, finding it to be 142 feet high, 27 feet in girth, and containing 2787 cubic feet of timber. He and Dr. Henry pronounce it to have belonged to the variety or sub-species classed as the smooth-leaved Huntingdon or Chichester elm (U. vegeta, Lindley), although in this case no suckers had been produced, which the Huntingdon elm usually sends up in profusion.
It is usually stated in forestry manuals that the English elm is not suited for Scottish conditions. My own experience is directly opposed to that view, for, having some score or so of these trees now about 110 years old to compare with wych elms planted at the same time, the English species exceeds the other in height and equals it in bulk. Two English elms at Loudon Castle, in Ayrshire, were measured in 1908, and were found respectively to be 107 feet by 15 feet 4 inches and 105 feet by 16 feet 4 inches.
THE GREAT ELM AT MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD
I have found, however, that by far the shapeliest and best elm for Scottish planting is the smooth-leaved elm, formerly, and probably correctly, considered to be merely a permanent variety of the English elm (U. campestris), but now distinguished as a species under the title of Ulmus nitens. It certainly [55] resists violent winds better than the English elm, being therefore preferable for sea exposure. Moreover, its timber is esteemed more highly than that of other elms, being remarkably tough. Dr. Henry has distinguished a variety of this elm as Italica—the Mediterranean elm—which is the kind used by Tuscan vine-dressers to train their vines on.
The smooth-leaved elm is of less sprawling habit than the wych elm, but occasionally it takes advantage of space to spread out of all measure. Of this there is an example at Sharpham, near Totnes, where a tree of this species has covered the space of a quarter of an acre, some of its side branches being 104 feet long. The total height was between 80 and 90 feet in 1906, in which year it was figured in the Gardeners' Chronicle as a wych elm. Mr. Elwes, however, pronounces it to be of the smooth-leaved kind. On the other hand, the Cornish elm, which is a variety of U. nitens, is usually of columnar habit.
The Sycamore and other Maples
"Put forth thy leaf, thou lofty plane,
East wind and frost are safely gone;
While zephyr mild and balmy rain
The summer comes serenely on."
A north countryman, reading Clough's beautiful lines, is pretty sure to apply them to the wrong tree, because, when a Scots forester speaks of a plane tree, he is understood to mean what in the south is called a sycamore. But even that is a misnomer, the true sycamore, mentioned in Holy Writ, being a fig-tree (Ficus sycamorus).
SYCAMORE (Acer pseudo-platanus)
In Summer
The sycamore and the plane are quite distinct, belonging to separate natural orders, the sycamore being a maple (Aceraceæ), the largest of all the maples, and the plane constituting a single group in the order Platanaceæ. The confusion of names has arisen from the success with which the sycamore masquerades as a plane, imitating its foliage and aping it in its habit of shedding the bark in thin flakes. Botanists have given recognition to this peculiarity by the scientific title they have conferred on the sycamore, viz. Acer pseudo-platanus, or the false plane. But in [57] its flower and fruit the sycamore cannot disguise its true affinity. Its flowers are arranged in triplets on long hanging scapes, of a yellowish green, only requiring a dash of brighter hue to render the sycamore one of the loveliest objects in the spring woodland. The flowers are followed by fruits which stamp the tree unmistakably as a maple. The seed-vessels are composed of what in botany are termed samaræ or keys, each containing a large seed or two. These samaræ are attached to each other in pairs, and, as each carries a beautifully-formed membranous wing, the result is a pair of wings to each pair of seed-vessels, securing wide distribution of the seeds by autumnal winds. On the other hand, the flowers of the true plane (Platanus) are very minute, and the fruit consists of a mass of thin seeds set among closely-pressed hairs and bristles, forming a hard, perfectly round ball nearly an inch in diameter. These balls, from two to six on each fruiting stalk, hang conspicuously on the branches all winter, until the dry March winds burst them and allow the seeds to float away.
Neither sycamore nor plane are natives of the United Kingdom. The plane, though it excels all other trees for planting in smoky towns like London, does not take kindly to the cooler atmosphere of Scotland and northern England. Not so the sycamore, which, although naturally a product of the mountain ranges of Central and Southern Europe, nowhere flourishes more freely and sows itself more abundantly than in North Britain. Indeed, it is a conspicuous [58] instance of the careless prodigality of Nature how thickly every bare spot in a wood becomes covered with seedling sycamores, not one in a million of which have the faintest chance of surviving two or three seasons.
The life period of the sycamore is a long one, probably three times that of the beech and equal to that of the oak. At Truns, in the Swiss Oberland, a great sycamore, already in ruin, was destroyed by a storm in 1870. As it was under this tree that the Grey League, originators of the canton of Grisons, took the oath in 1424, it can scarcely have been less than 600 years old when it ceased to exist. Mr. Elwes gives the dimensions of another mighty sycamore in Switzerland, growing at an elevation of more than 4000 feet in the canton of Unterwalden, which must be coeval with the tree of the Grey League. It measures 29 feet in circumference at 5 feet from the ground. We cannot quite equal that in Scotland, although in that country and northern England there are some enormous sycamores. Behind the Birnam Hotel stand two very large trees, an oak and a sycamore. The oak, lesser of the two, is shown to visitors as the last survivor of that forest whereof it was said
Macbeth shall never vanquished be
Until great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him.
SYCAMORE
In Winter
The other is a giant sycamore, reported in Hunter's Woods and Forests of Perthshire (1883) to be one thousand years old, which, of course, is impossible. I measured the girth of this great tree in 1903, and [59] made it 19 feet 8 inches at 5 feet from the ground. It was not until long after that I found that Hunter had given exactly the same measurement twenty years earlier. This girth is exceeded by one at Castle Menzies, which, in 1904, gave 20 feet 4 inches. The loftiest sycamore reported in Scotland is also in Perthshire, at Blair Drummond. This tree Dr. Henry ascertained to be 108 feet high, with a girth of 10 feet.
At Kippenross, also in Perthshire, there remain fragments of a sycamore destroyed by lightning in 1860. It was known in the seventeenth century as "the Muckle Tree o' Kippenross," and was estimated in 1821 to contain 875 cubic feet of timber.
It would be vain to attempt within reasonable limits of space to give a catalogue of the notable sycamores in Great Britain. Most of the finest specimens are in Scotland; for no tree can be planted in our northern land with greater security of success; it fears neither severe frost nor reasonable wind exposure; but it insists upon well-drained soil. In damp, low-lying ground it may appear to flourish; but in such a situation it is sure to prove "boss" (to use a term in Scottish forestry) or hollow at the heart when ready for the axe. In England there are many sycamores of 100 feet and upwards; but this tree has become much more closely identified with the landscape of the northern counties than with that of the south.
As a forest tree, the sycamore has been treated with unmerited neglect by British planters; though it is not singular in that respect, so improvidently have [60] we accustomed ourselves to rely upon foreign supplies. We ought to bestow more care upon our sycamores, because not only is it a tree that rapidly re-establishes itself by seed and is practically immune from disease, but it produces timber which, when of sufficient size, commands a higher price than any other British-grown wood. That size is not less than 18 inches quarter girth, representing sixty to eighty years' growth, and from that size up to any dimensions, provided that the bole is straight, clean-grown and free of knots. The main purpose for which such stems are in demand is for making large rollers used in calico and wallpaper printing, in washing machines and cotton dyeing. A few years ago I was shown a single sycamore growing at Makerstoun on Tweedside for which the owner had been offered, and refused, £50. The wood is also in good request for railway carriage panelling, furniture, dairy utensils, etc.
FRUIT OF SYCAMORE (Acer pseudo-platanus)
As an ornamental tree it must be owned that the sycamore does not take high rank, owing to the monotonous tone assumed by its massive foliage after the flush of spring has passed. Nor does it usually compound for this by splendour of autumnal colour, as so many of the maple family do. Indeed, this is one of the qualities of its near kindred which the sycamore has discarded in order, it would almost seem, to simulate the plane more perfectly and to justify its appellation of "the false plane"; for the foliage of the plane falls like that of the sycamore without any dying brilliancy. It is true, however, that old sycamores, when sheltered from sea winds, [61] do sometimes assume bright tones of yellow and orange in autumn. At Keir, in Perthshire, a row of aged trees of this species surprised me by their brilliancy in November, 1913.
Although, as I have said, the sycamore is remarkably free from disease and from serious fungoid or insect attacks, it is the host of a parasitic fungus which seldom fails to make its presence apparent, though without perceptibly affecting the growth or health of the tree. Readers must be very familiar with the circular black spots which appear on the leaves about midsummer and continue till they fall. It is not a few leaves or a few trees here and there that are so affected, but all the leaves on large trees and on every tree in the wood. The difficulty is to find a leaf without these black spots; so that people have come to regard them as part of the regular colour scheme of the foliage. Nevertheless, each of these blots is a colony of the parasitic fungus, Rhytisma, whereof the life-history is still subject for investigation. It is not evident how the colonies are regularly distributed, each clear of the other, all over the leaves of a lofty tree, nor how, seeing that they fall to the ground with the leaves in autumn, the fungus manages to get access in the following summer to the loftiest branches. It is lucky that, being so widely distributed and existing in such incalculable numbers, these colonies do not appreciably interfere with the natural functions of the sycamore.
The only native species of maple in Britain is the Field Maple (Acer campestre), which does not extend [62] naturally into either Scotland or Ireland, though it grows freely in both these countries when planted in either of these countries. It is a very ancient element in the woodland of south Britain, its remains having been identified in pre-glacial beds in Suffolk. It has no qualities to recommend it for ornamental planting, and the timber, once highly prized by British cabinetmakers, has been ousted from the home-market by imported foreign woods. When the Rev. William Gilpin, author of a well-known work on Forest Scenery, died in 1804, he was buried, it is said, at the foot of a field maple growing in his own churchyard at Boldre, in the New Forest. Strutt gave a figure of this tree which he described as the largest of the species in England; but he gives the height as only 45 feet, whereas Elwes records several from 60 to 70 feet high.
A far more desirable tree than the field maple is the Norway maple (A. platanoides, Linn.). The title "Norway" no more indicates its natural range than the term "Scots" does that of Pinus sylvestris, for this maple is found in most European countries and as far east as Persia and the Caucasus. It is a beautiful tree, especially in autumn, when its foliage takes on brilliant red and yellow hues; but it requires attention during the first twenty or thirty years of growth, in order to check its disposition to a straggling branchy habit. If that be stopped by timely pruning, the Norway maple grows straight and free, attaining, under favourable conditions, a height of 80 to 90 feet. Its timber has not the ornamental character of that [63] of field maple, but is said to be of similar quality to that of sycamore. The petioles or leaf-stalks of this species contain a milky juice, whereby the tree may be distinguished from all other members of the genus.
Now, whereas botanists enumerate no fewer than one hundred and ten species of maple, natives of Europe, Asia and America, it would be impossible within the limits of this modest volume to discuss even the most desirable of the genus. Among the North American species there are several that grow to splendid dimensions in their native forest. One of the most distinct is the red maple (A. rubrum), a beautiful object in spring when it bears flowers profusely, which, in some varieties, are of a charming red colour. There are a few specimens in England of the well-known sugar maple (A. saccharum), but it seldom thrives in this country, though it has been frequently tried since its introduction, according to Loudon, in 1735.
[64]
The Plane
Among Scottish foresters the name "plane-tree" has come to signify the sycamore; but the sycamore is a kind of maple, whereas the term "plane" is rightly appropriated to Platanus, whereof there are four species, constituting the natural order of Platanaceæ. Of these four species, three are natives of North America; and forasmuch as none of them has proved amenable to cultivation in Europe, they may be dismissed with the remark that one of them, the button-wood (P. occidentalis), attains enormous proportions in its native forests, rising to a height of 170 feet, and with a girth (recorded by Michaux) of 47 feet.
The fourth species (P. orientalis) ranks among the noblest hardwoods of temperate Europe and Asia. Clear among memories of many sylvan scenes stand a pair of giant planes on the flank of Mount Olympus, in the leafless branches of which on a bright January morning a pair of white-tailed eagles monopolised the attention which I was intended by my Turkish host to devote to woodcocks in the copse below. Those who have sailed along the Dalmatian coast [65] will doubtless remember the harbour of Gravosa, and the solitary plane that casts such a grateful shade across the quay. But one need not go to the Continent for giant planes. In our day it is one of the trees most commonly planted in the southern counties for shade and ornament, and has no equal for the smoke-laden atmosphere of London. It may be that it was one of Evelyn's seedlings that Bishop Gunning planted in his Garden at Ely between 1674 and 1684. This tree in 1903 was 104 feet high, with a girth of 20½ feet. Messrs. Elwes and Henry give a photograph of it in their Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, and consider it to be the largest specimen in our islands of the cut-leaved variety.
Turner, writing in 1562, mentions "two very young trees" growing in England, which indicates the middle of the sixteenth century as the period of its introduction. A hundred years later, Evelyn says he has raised from seed—
"Platanus, that so beautiful and precious tree so doated on by Xerxes that Ælian and other authors tell us he made halt and stop'd his prodigious army of seventeen hundred thousand soldiers to admire the pulchritude and procerity of one of these goodly trees, and became so fond of it that he cover'd it with gold gemms, necklaces, scarfs and bracelets, and infinite riches."
The maple-leaved variety, usually known as the London plane, is the sort most commonly planted in England, and rightly so, for it is more vigorous than the other. Probably the tallest in England grows at Woolbeding, in Sussex; it was 110 feet high in 1903, with a girth of 10 feet, and a clean bole of 30 feet. It [66] would be needless to enumerate the fine planes in and near London; one has only to look at the groups beside the Admiralty and in Berkeley Square to realise how it thrives in an atmosphere pernicious to nearly all other forest growths. Fifty or sixty years hence the avenue of planes planted not long since along the Mall will be one of the sights of Europe. The skilful way in which they are being trained each to a single leader gives them a stiff, ungraceful appearance at present; but this treatment is a bit of true arboriculture, carried out in the teeth of bitter criticism. "Bairns and fules shouldna see things half dune."
It is the absence of the conditions specially favourable to the growth of the plane in London and the south that makes it unsuitable for planting in the North of England and in Scotland. It is native to a region of scorching summers; in London the sun's heat is reflected from buildings and streets in a manner most acceptable to it. It will stand any amount of frost it may encounter in Scotland; but it pines for want of summer heat, witness the unhappy condition of those which have been planted experimentally along the west end of Princes Street, Edinburgh. I do not know of a single plane of more than mediocre stature north of the Tweed.
The plane is nearly as late in leafing as the ash and the walnut, thereby escaping the cruel frosts so characteristic of British spring; but unlike the ash, it retains its foliage into very late autumn. Pliny described an evergreen plane growing in Crete; but [67] after the botanist Tournefort (1656-1708) had searched the island in vain for it, this was relegated to the category of myths. Howbeit, tardy justice was done to Pliny as the prince of field naturalists, when in 1865 Captain Spratt, R.N., was shown two young plane trees, retaining their leaves throughout the winter, which had sprung from the root of a very large tree that had been felled. He also heard of two others.
The Oriental plane has not been long enough established with us to give an estimate of its longevity in Britain. In the Mediterranean region it attains a vast age. Only a hollow stump remains of one at Vostiza, in the Gulf of Lepanto, which in 1842 was about 130 feet high and 37 feet 4 inches in girth, and was believed to be the tree described by Pausanias when writing his description of Greece in the second century after Christ. Neither have we learnt to make much use of the timber so plentifully produced by the plane, though it is said to be second to none for the bodies of carriages.
In antiquity of descent the plane tree has few, if any, superiors among broad-leaved trees, its remains having been recovered from the Cretaceous beds of North America, besides numerous species recovered from Miocene and Tertiary strata, in Northern Europe, whence they were expelled when that region became icebound.
The London planes have been accused of being chief agents in inflicting influenza, bronchitis and catarrh upon the inhabitants of the metropolis. It [68] has been seriously affirmed that when the seed-vessels of the plane break up in dry spring weather, the air is filled with minute spicules which act as an irritant upon human throats and noses. It may be so; but before condemning the trees, without which London would indeed be desolate, it would be well to ascertain first whether the ailments referred to are more prevalent in London during the months when the plane tree is shedding its dry fruit than they are at other times of the year; and second, whether they are more prevalent in London, where there is wealth of planes, than they are in cities where there are no planes, as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle, etc. Unless this can be shown to be the case, it is difficult to reconcile the fact that London has the lowest death-rate among the cities of the United Kingdom with any mischief arising from the luxuriance of these beautiful trees.
HORSE CHESTNUT (Æsculus hippocastanum) IN BLOOM
[69]
The Horse Chestnut
In one respect the horse chestnut (Æsculus hippocastanum) may be reckoned among the most remarkable trees of British woodland, inasmuch as, although it has been found in a wild state only here and there among the mountains of Greece and Albania, where it enjoys a climate widely dissimilar from that of Western Europe, it has a constitution so cosmopolitan as to become thoroughly at home in all parts of our country. It thrives as vigorously on the dry chalk soil of Hertfordshire as on the soaked hillsides of Perthshire, and, given reasonable shelter from violent winds, produces its magnificent foliage and flowers as freely near sea level as it does at Invercauld in Aberdeenshire, where there is, or was not long ago, a fair specimen growing at an elevation of 1,110 feet, not far short of the practical limit of tree growth in Scotland. In 1864 this horse chestnut was 8 feet 7 inches in girth, and was believed to have been planted in the year 1687; therefore, if it still stands, it is now 226 years old.
Another sign of the adaptability of the horse chestnut to British environment is the freedom with [70] which it ripens its large fruit and reproduces itself from self-sown seed wherever it gets a chance. The facility with which it does so has caused this tree to be deemed indigenous in many parts of Europe and Asia where it certainly is not a native, but where it has been planted originally on account of its beauty. Further confusion has arisen from the botanists Linnæus and De Candolle having failed to distinguish the Indian horse chestnut (Æ. indica) from the Greek species, and having assigned Northern Asia as the native region of the latter.
It would not be difficult to mention many individual horse chestnuts in the British Isles exceeding 100 feet in height; probably this tree, if subjected to forest conditions, would grow far loftier than that; but, as it is usually planted exclusively for ornament, it is most often found standing isolated, thereby receiving encouragement to develop enormous side branches and to grow in breadth and bulk rather than in height. Such is the character of a great horse chestnut standing in a group near Moncrieff House, Perthshire. In 1883 this tree measured no less than 19 feet in girth at 5 feet from the ground; but at 10 feet it divides into three huge limbs, each girthing 10 feet, and covers a space nearly 100 yards in circumference. The soil in this district is cool and the climate humid, very different from the conditions at Ashridge in Hertfordshire, where the soil is chalky and hot; yet there is in that fine park a horse chestnut even more massive than the Moncrieff House specimen, being about 80 feet high, and measuring 20 [71] feet in girth. Probably the loftiest horse chestnut in Britain, perhaps in the world, is one at Petworth, in Sussex, which, having been drawn up in close forest, now measures between 115 and 120 feet in height.
It is a pity that this noble tree does not more often receive encouragement to upward growth, seeing that if the surrounding trees are cleared away judiciously, that is not too suddenly, after the horse chestnut has reached a good height, it then feathers down in the most charming manner. It is very seldom that, without discipline of this kind, it will put its energy into height, and attain the fine proportions of a specimen at Biel, in East Lothian. In 1884 this grand tree, probably the loftiest in Scotland, measured 102 feet in height, with a clean bole of 40 feet. It is worth any amount of trouble to secure this character in the horse chestnut, which is an inveterate spreader if allowed licence; and the tendency may be checked by knocking side buds off the stem in the sapling stage, and timely pruning as the tree goes on to maturity.
As an avenue tree, the horse chestnut has few, if any, superiors. Perhaps the finest examples in Scotland of this manner of planting it are to be seen at Gilmerton, in East Lothian, and Drummond Castle, in Perthshire; while in England the splendid double avenue at Bushey Park, Middlesex, has long been famous, "Chestnut Sunday" being a noted festival for Londoners when the trees are in full bloom. The horse chestnut, however, is not a long-lived tree, and cannot be reckoned upon to survive beyond 250 [72] years. The Bushey Park chestnuts are failing fast, many having died already and been replaced by saplings.
Talking of avenues, it is worth while to note a calamity described by Mr. Hutchison of Carlowrie in the Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society for 1884. He states there that in 1867 an avenue of horse chestnuts was planted as an approach to the cemetery of Wimborne, Dorsetshire, the trees being set 25 feet apart in the rows. In 1875 it was thought to improve the avenue by planting yews in the intervals between the chestnuts, which had this unfortunate result, that the chestnuts, which had previously thriven finely, all pined away and died.
It is on record that the horse chestnut was first brought to France in 1615, and probably found its way into England about the same time. It seems that it was expected to rank with walnuts and Spanish chestnuts as a fruit tree, a notion which was speedily dispelled. John Evelyn, however, with a right taste for sylvan beauty, early discerned its decorative merit, writing about it in 1663 as follows:
"In the meantime I wish we did more universally propagate the horse chestnut, which being increased from layers, grows into a goodly standard, and bears a glorious flower, even in our cold country. This tree is now all the mode for the avenues to their country places in France."
Travellers in that fair land will remember with pleasure the fine use still made of this tree beside some of the high roads. Between Tours and Blois the wayside has been planted with a chestnut unknown [73] to Evelyn, for it did not exist anywhere in his day. This is the red horse chestnut (Æsculus carnea), which seems to have originated in Germany about the beginning of the nineteenth century, and is believed to be a hybrid between Æ. hippocastanum and the North American shrub Æ. pavia. It is a most beautiful tree, the flowers being of a delightful shade of bright carmine. We are told not to expect it to attain the stature of the common horse chestnut, so it would be well, in designing an avenue, not to mix the red and the white with a view to matching them in height; but the red hybrid has already risen to 50 feet high at Barton in Sussex, and I entertain an idea that this tree may develop into larger proportions than is expected of it, when planted in good soil and favouring shelter. At all events, some which I planted about thirty years ago are now quite as large as common horse chestnuts of the same age.
Mr. Elwes recommends the horse chestnut for planting in towns, remarking that "next to the plane it is one of the best trees we have for this purpose, and does not seem to suffer much from smoke." I regret that I am unable to endorse this view. It is true that in towns of moderate size, and in country villages, horse chestnuts may be planted with excellent effect. I know of few more charming sights than is presented by the group of these trees in the high street of Esher when they are in flower; but in London horse chestnuts prove a lamentable failure. Living as I used to do in the neighbourhood of Sloane Street, it was a distress to me each year to watch the [74] stunted, round-headed chestnuts in the gardens at the lower part of that thoroughfare, and in Eaton Square, unfolding their delicate fingers only to have them parched and blackened by the ruthless drought and dirt of the Metropolis.
As a timber producer, the horse chestnut cannot be assigned high rank. There is no lack of quantity, for the tree increases very rapidly in bulk, but in quality the wood is soft, weak, and very perishable. Moreover, it is almost useless as fuel, and probably the only economic purpose to which it could be applied profitably is the production of wood-pulp and celluloid.
The true meaning of the prefix "horse," by which this tree is distinguished from the true or Spanish chestnut, has been the subject of much discussion. Apparently it was not applied in the sense of "coarse, large," as in the terms horse-radish, horse-mushroom, etc., for the Turkish name for it is at kastan, signifying horse-chestnut; and this was explained in a letter written by the Flemish Dr. Quackleben to Matthiolus in 1557 (many years before the tree was known in Britain), explaining the use of the fruit as a specific against broken wind in horses.
ASPEN TREE (Populus tremula)
"Hard by a poplar shook alway,
All silver green with gnarled bark;
For leagues no other tree did mark
The level waste, the rounding gray."
There is much confusion among the different species of poplar, but it is clear that in these verses Tennyson had in view our native abele or grey poplar (Populus canescens), a native of Great Britain, often mistaken for the white poplar (P. alba), which nearly resembles the grey, and has been planted in this country, but is probably an exotic. The poet's epithet "silver green" admirably describes the foliage of the grey poplar, for some of the shoots bear green leaves, others white ones, others again green leaves on the lower part and white on the upper.
Of all known species of poplar, thirty or so in number, the abele produces the choicest timber, much in request by carriage-builders, who sometimes pay as much as 2s. 6d. a cubic foot for well-grown logs. It is excellent timber for flooring bedrooms, being [76] less inflammable than any other British-grown wood except larch. It is, therefore, characteristic of British neglect of woodland resources that this tree is hardly ever planted, though it is most easily propagated from suckers or cuttings, and attains an immense size long before an oak could reach maturity.
The abele is more common in Scotland than in England, and many large trees might be mentioned in the North. It would be difficult, however, to find any to surpass two growing at Mauldslie Castle, in Clydesdale, one of which in 1911 measured 100 feet high and 21 feet 3 inches in girth, the other 117 feet by 16 feet 5 inches. It should be noted that the girth of both was taken at between 2 and 3 feet from the ground, instead of 5 feet, which is the proper height for measurement.
Next in economic importance to the grey poplar stands what is popularly known in this country as the black Italian poplar (P. serotina), which is not Italian in any sense, but a hybrid originating in France (where it is called peuplier suisse) between an American species and the true black poplar (P. nigra). This confusion of names is all the more perplexing because the upright variety of the true black poplar goes by the name of Lombardy poplar. However, one must use the names most generally recognised among woodmen, and the black Italian poplar is well worthy of more attention than it has hitherto received in this country, for it produces valuable timber in greater bulk in a short term of years than any other British-grown tree. Mr. Elwes [77] has recorded how thirty poplars of this variety, planted on cold clay in Gloucestershire, not worth 5s. an acre, were sold for £3 apiece at forty-eight years of age. He lays stress on the importance of giving this tree plenty of room at all stages of growth, planting them at 15 to 20 feet apart, for the timber is little worth unless the tree gets enough light to enable it to produce wood rapidly. This precept applies to every species of poplar.
The tallest black Italian poplar in Great Britain is probably one growing on the banks of the Tillingbourne, in Albury Park, Surrey, which in 1912 measured 150 feet high, with a girth of 15 feet 3 inches. There are many fine specimens in Scotland, notably one at Scone Palace, which in 1904 was 132 feet high, with a girth of 15 feet 4 inches. Another at Monzie, in Perthshire, measured at the same time, stood 125 feet high.
Turning now to the true black poplar (Populus nigra), we find that this species, a native of Midland England, but probably not of Scotland, has become established in the eastern United States, having been introduced there by British colonists. It has often been confused with the black Italian variety, but may easily be distinguished in this country by the large burrs on the trunk, by its earlier leafing, and by the young foliage being green, instead of reddish, as in the black Italian. The true black poplar also sheds its leaves much earlier in autumn than does the other. It is not a tree commonly planted in Scotland, but there are specimens ranging from 90 to 100 feet high [78] at Dalzell, Ross, and Cambusnethan, in Lanarkshire; at Auchentorlie, on the Clyde; and at Smeaton-Hepburn, in East Lothian.
The variety of this tree so well known as the Lombardy poplar forms a notable feature in the landscapes of Southern England, Central and Southern Europe, and a great part of Asia. As it can only be propagated by cuttings, it is believed that all the millions of Lombardy poplars spread over the continents of Europe and Asia originated with a single "sport" growing on the bank of the river Po early in the eighteenth century. Probably the first of its race was brought to England about 1750 by the third Duke of Argyll, and planted by him at Whitton, near Hounslow. This tree, which has now disappeared, was measured by Loudon before 1838 as 115 feet high.
WHITE POPLAR (Populus alba) In July
WHITE POPLAR (Populus alba) In December
One peculiarity of the Lombardy poplar I do not remember to have seen noticed by any writer on forestry. Other poplars of all sorts, including the black poplar whereof this is only a variety, mingle branches freely with their neighbours; but the Lombardy poplar is a regular Sainte-Nitouche, and will not suffer contact with any other tree, even one of its own race. A curious example of this may be seen in London. When the Buckingham Palace Hotel was built, somewhere about 1860, Queen Victoria desired that a screen of trees should be planted within the Palace enclosure to shut the hotel out of view. The Office of Works chose the Lombardy poplar, calculating that it would form a lofty, thick hedge. Not a bit of it! The trees died rather than touch each other; [79] they have been replaced times without number; but the Office of Works has never discerned the secret of their temperament, and continue their task of Sisyphus year after year, filling the gaps caused by death with trees of the same kind. Had a row of true planes been set there at first, the privacy of the Palace would have been secured long before this.
Despite this constant characteristic of the Lombardy poplar, which anybody may verify for himself by examining the fine groups of them near Maidenhead and Windsor, Selby committed himself to the extraordinary statement that this tree, "planted so as to form a hedge, and being cut even at a certain height and regularly trimmed, becomes a thick and verdant hedge." [11]
The asp (Populus tremula) is now generally spoken of by the adjectival form "aspen." Its ceaseless movement earned it the name of "quick-beam" in Anglo-Saxon, and the Lowland Scots name, "quakin' asp" (corrupted into "quakin' ash") has, so far, survived the operations of School Boards. Long may it do so! The same characteristic in this tree gave it the Gaelic name of crithean (creean) or criothach (creeagh), "the trembler," which may be recognised in such place-names as Creechan in Dumfriesshire and, perhaps, Crieff, in Perthshire. Although in bulk and stature one of the humbler members of the poplar family, the asp exhibits in an extreme form a peculiarity common to all the genus—namely, that of hanging the leaves vertically, instead of holding them [80] horizontally. The leaves are glandular on both surfaces, which may be either the effect of or the reason for their assuming a position protecting both surfaces from the direct rays of the sun. To secure this position, the petiole, or foot stalk, of each leaf, being cylindrical in most of its length, is suddenly flattened midway between the leaf and the twig, as if it had been pinched while soft. This causes the leaf to hang as described, and to quiver with the slightest breath of air.
The asp is a hardy mountaineer; its graceful foliage and eau-de-Nile bark saves many a Highland hillside from dreariness, but it has long ceased to have the economic importance it once had. By an Act of the English Parliament (4 Henry V. c. 3), a penalty of 100 shillings was imposed upon anyone who put aspen wood to any other purpose than the making of arrows. Mrs. Hemans has woven into verse the mediæval myth which taught men to reckon this pretty tree accursed:
Oh! a cause more deep,
More solemn far, the rustic doth assign
To the strange restlessness of those wan leaves.
The cross, he deems, the blessed cross whereon
The meek Redeemer bowed His head to death,
Was formed of aspen wood; and since that hour
Through all its race the pale tree hath sent down
A thrilling consciousness, a secret awe,
Making them tremulous, when not a breeze
Disturbs the airy thistle-down, or shakes
The light lines of the shining gossamer.
Gerard, writing in the sixteenth century, says, with scant gallantry, that the asp "may also be [81] called tremble after the French name, considering it is the matter whereof women's toongs were made, which seldom cease wagging."
LOMBARDY POPLAR In Summer
LOMBARDY POPLAR In Winter
Professor Sargent enumerates eleven species of poplar as indigenous to North America, some of which, such as the Balsam poplar (P. balsamifera), the Ontario poplar (P. candicans), and the Carolina poplar (P. angulata), have risen to large dimensions in British woodland; but to follow out these, and their constantly recurring hybrids, would far exceed the limits of this paper.
There are many Asiatic species also, one of which (P. euphratica) we are now taught to recognise as the "arabim" whereon the captive Jews hung their harps (Psalm cxxxvii. 2). The weeping willow, named by Linnæus babylonica, is not found in the valley of the Euphrates.
It is time that British planters should recognise the importance of the more vigorous species of poplar as rapid timber-producers, thriving in cold, wet ground where no other crop could be raised so successfully. A useful example is set in this matter by French cultivators, who plant more poplars than any other tree. Moreover, all the species are most easily propagated and handled in planting. They should be grown from cuttings; it is futile to attempt raising them from seed—a most uncertain process, and unsatisfactory when it succeeds, cutting-grown plants being far more vigorous than seedlings.
[82]
The Birch
Bentham and Hooker recognised only two species of birch as indigenous to the British Isles—namely, Betula alba, the common birch, and B. nana, an insignificant shrub which grows in the Scottish Highlands. Messrs. Elwes and Henry, however, in their great work give specific rank to each of the two forms of the common birch prevailing in this country. It is certainly strange that the difference between them has not received more attention from foresters, seeing that one is a far more valuable tree than the other. Whether they be permanent species or merely racial varieties matters not for practical purposes; but it matters much that the better kind be planted where conditions are favourable for it.
The commoner and less desirable of the two forms has been named B. pubescens, owing to the young shoots being clothed with down, sometimes so minute as to require a lens to show it. This and the habit of the tree are the only constant marks of distinction from the other form, which is named B. verrucosa, because the shoots, though shining and [83] perfectly free from down, are studded with minute verrucæ, or warts, easily discernible by the naked eye. I have found in southern Norway, where the two reputed species grow together, intermediate forms which are no doubt natural hybrids.
The two species are usually quite different in habit, the common birch (B. pubescens) never carrying the long pendulous branchlets which distinguish the silver birch (B. verrucosa). Moreover, the common birch does not usually attain the stature of the other, although Mr. Elwes mentions having measured one at Malborough 90 feet high, with a girth of 8 feet. This is the species which grows naturally over the greater part of Scotland, especially in the west and north. The distinctive downiness of the young twigs may have had its origin in the humid atmosphere and abundant rainfall of the regions where it most abounds. Geographically it enjoys a very wide range, extending farther north than any other tree—as far as latitude 71° near the North Cape—and reappearing in Iceland and southern Greenland, far within the limit of floating ice. Eastward it extends as far as Kamschatka, but it does not reach southward beyond the Alps, not being found in the Pyrenees or the Apennines, whereas the silver birch reaches down to Sicily.
Coming to the north-east of Scotland, to Strathspey, Deeside, and part of the basin of the Moray Firth, one finds a change in the aspect of the birch forest; for here, although the common birch still prevails on the wetter parts, the silver birch is dominant [84] on the drained land and hill sides. It is there that the lady of the woods displays her true grace and it is hard to say whether she is more lovely in summer, when she waves her long green tresses in the breeze, or in winter, when the slanting sunbeams glint on the snowy stem, and the drooping branchlets appear like fine tracery against the sky. This is the true weeping birch so highly prized by landscape gardeners, and this is the species that should always be chosen for planting, provided the land is well drained, for it cannot stand damp feet with the same impunity as its cousin. The general rule is not difficult to remember that, whereas the common or downy birch will grow on almost any soil that is not actual swamp, the silver or weeping birch is very impatient of stagnant moisture.
Beautiful as are the birch woods of Strathspey (travellers to the North must have been charmed with those on both sides of the railway near Lochinsch Station), it must be confessed that the silver birch does not attain its greatest perfection in Great Britain. Individual trees may be found to compare pretty well with those in Continental woods; but the general average is not so good. I have not seen the birch forests of the Baltic provinces and Central Russia; those who have done so speak enthusiastically of them; but it is from no want of loyalty to the Birks of Aberfeldy that I have to admit that their bark has not the sheen nor their growth the free grace of their kindred in French, German, and Scandinavian forests.
BIRCH (Betula alba verrucosa) In June
BIRCH (Betula alba verrucosa) In December
Inseparably associated as the birch is with Scottish [85] landscape, poets and painters have never wearied of honouring it. The late David MacWhirter got its beauty rather on the brain, and one turned rather tired of what became a mannerism in his work. Hamilton of Bangour never rang his quaintly iterative changes so tenderly as in his ballad, The Braes of Yarrow, the tragedy of a maiden with two lovers. The lovers fight, and one falls—
The comliest swain
That e'er pu'd birks on the braes o' Yarrow.
The survivor presses his court, trying in vain to persuade the girl to leave Tweedside and come to his home beside Yarrow.
Sweet smells the birk, green grows, green grows the grass—
Yellow on Yarrow's braes the gowan;
Fair hangs the apple frae the rock,
Sweet the wave of Yarrow flowin'.
"Flows Yarrow sweet?" she argues with him—
Flows Yarrow sweet? as sweet, as sweet flows Tweed;
As green its grass, its gowan as yellow;
As sweet smells on its braes the birk,
The apple frae its rock as mellow.
The late Professor Veitch laid finger on the only blot in this fair picture. Apples do not hang from rocks either in Tweedside or by Yarrow, but rowan berries do. It is a pity that Hamilton yielded so far to eighteenth century classicism as to introduce the conventional apple. The line would surely have run more smoothly—
"Fair hangs the rowan frae the rock."
[86]
But I have wandered away from the birch. Economically, this tree has hitherto been reckoned of indifferent value, though there is an inexhaustible demand for bobbins. Clogmakers, also, will make picturesque encampment among birches of suitable size, and pay a fair price for working up the stems.
Of the well-nigh imperishable bark no use is made in this country, except that chemists extract from it an antiseptic called pyrobetulin, used also in the preparation of glass for engraving. But Scandinavian farmers sheath their wooden houses with birch bark, which makes a durable, waterproof covering, with a beautiful silvery appearance very gratifying to eyes offended by the evil aspect of corrugated iron. In Russia, also, a fragrant oil is distilled from birch-wood, whence Russia leather derives its peculiar odour. Careful housewives should note that there is no kindling equal to birch bark, which blazes up almost as fiercely as celluloid.
Of late years, a new use has been found for birch, deserving attention from owners of land whereon this tree grows naturally. The small branches and spray are found serviceable in the preparation of steel plates, the price given at present being about 46s. a ton. The trees should be cut before the sap rises, else the bundles will lose weight in drying. In dealing with a birch wood for this purpose, the crop may be considered recurrent at short rotation; for numerous suckers arise from the roots after the tree is felled and grow very rapidly. It is to be [87] noted with satisfaction that the well-nigh omnivorous rabbit cannot digest the young growths of birch; at least, it does not devour them wholesale.
The birch is very impatient of the shade of other trees. In its turn, although its delicate foliage might not be supposed to stop much light, its shade is very injurious to all other deciduous trees except the beech; a quality which causes one to wonder that such an experienced observer as P. J. Selby should have recommended it as a nurse for oak. [12] It is liable to be disfigured by the morbid growths popularly known as "witch's brooms." Authorities differ as to the cause of these fascinated bundles of twigs, some attributing them to the action of a fungus, Exoascus betulinus, others to the irritation brought about by a gall-mite (Eriophes rudis) attacking the buds. Probably both are contributory agents.
The Gaelic for birch is beith (pronounced "bey"), and may be recognised in numberless Scottish place-names, such as Drumbae, Auchenvey, Largvey, etc. The derivative beitheach (pronounced "beyoch"), signifying a birch wood, appears as Beoch in Ayrshire, Galloway, and Dumfriesshire.
Of exotic birches suitable for cultivation in the United Kingdom, there is a very complete collection in Kew Gardens. Among the North American species the black or cherry birch (Betula lenta) probably produces the best timber, but the most ornamental is the paper birch (B. papyrifera). The Japanese (B. [88] maximowicsii) seems to promise better bulk than any other as a forest tree in this country.
WILLOW BY THE STREAM
[89]
The Willows
"I offered him my company to a willow-tree, either to make him a garland, as being forsaken, or to bind him up a rod, as being worthy to be whipped."—Much Ado About Nothing, Act ii. sc. i.
"Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Through the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot."
The Lady of Shallot.
A certain botanist of distinction being consulted by an amateur about some variety of willow exclaimed: "Pray, don't tempt me among the willows; that way lies madness!" They are, indeed, a most complex family, consisting of no fewer than one hundred and sixty recognised species, besides those chance hybrids which, being not only wind-fertilised, but diœcious (that is, the male and female inflorescence is borne on separate trees), they are so prone to produce. Bentham and Hooker admitted fifteen species as indigenous to the United Kingdom, ranging from Salix herbacea, dwarfest of British shrubs, humbly crouching on bleak mountain [90] crests and seldom rearing its fairy branchlets to a greater height than a couple of inches, to the massive white willow (S. alba), which may tower to the height of nearly 100 feet.
British foresters have not hitherto turned the capabilities of the better kinds of willow to such account as might be done, for, except in the osier industry and for the manufacture of cricket bats, willows are scarcely ever cultivated for profit. When they are planted at all they are generally shoved into some piece of sour, swampy ground, fit for nothing else; and the fact that they will actually flourish in such places is taken as evidence that they prefer them. But the better willows appreciate a kindly soil as much as any other tree, and it is only on wholesome, but moist, land that they develop their proper qualities.
By far the most valuable willow in the present condition of the timber market is the blue willow, which some botanists distinguish as a species under the name of Salix cœrulea, but which is more generally deemed to be a hybrid between the white willow (S. alba) and the crack willow (S. fragilis). It is easily distinguished from both its reputed ancestors; first, by its habit, which is far more erect than that of the others, all the branches ascending without any tendency to spread or droop; second, by its leaves, which are not nearly so downy as those of the white willow, and of thinner texture, so that, when one is held up against the light the tertiary venation may be seen through a lens to be translucent; and, third, [91] by the bark, which is quite different from the rugged covering of the crack willow, and much smoother than that of the white willow. The fissures or seams in the bark are straight and set close together, enabling one to distinguish the blue willow from all other kinds at all seasons. The general tone of the foliage is silvery blue, instead of the silvery grey of the white willow.
The peculiar value of this willow consists in its producing the only wood suitable for first-class cricket bats. Golf has threatened, but has not yet undermined, the supremacy of cricket; and so long as the English national game holds its own, so long will good samples of the blue willow command a high price. It was in the eastern counties of England that this tree originated, and it is thence that dealers continue exclusively to draw their supplies, being willing to pay what might be thought extravagant prices for the right article. Thus, Elwes records how, in January, 1912, eleven willows were sold in Hertfordshire at fourteen years of age for £81, or about 13s. per cubic foot. These trees had made amazingly rapid growth, ranging from 50 to 60 feet high; but the quality of the wood does not seem to deteriorate with age and bulk, for in 1888 a blue willow, fifty-three years old, was sold at Boreham, in Essex, and manufactured into 1179 cricket bats. This tree measured 101 feet high, with a girth of 16 feet 3 inches. From the same estate another blue willow was sold in 1911 for £70. The dimensions have not been recorded, but the purchaser estimated the price [92] of the serviceable wood at about £1 per cubic foot. Even more remarkable seems the experience communicated by Mr. J. Barker of Pishiobury, Sawbridgeworth, to the Gardeners' Chronicle in 1906. He states that a parcel of land was bought for £50 in 1889 and planted with willows, which were sold in 1905 for £2,000.
Such results as these have no parallel in British forestry; and it may be deemed strange that more attention has not been given to the cultivation of the blue willow. Even in Herts and Essex few of those who grow it for the market are at pains to clear the stems of branches to a greater height than 12 or 15 feet. There appears to be nothing exclusively in the dry climate of East Anglia essential to the development of good "bat" qualities; for Mr. J. A. Campbell of Ardluaine (to whom I owe thanks for some sets of this willow) has received a most favourable report on the wood of trees grown by him in the humid atmosphere of Lochgilphead. In short, the blue willow is as tolerant of conditions of soil and climate as any other native willow, and could probably be grown at a profit in any county of the United Kingdom where shelter from violent winds can be had; but, of course, extended sources of supply would naturally cause a fall in the present exorbitant prices.
The approved method of propagating the blue willow is by large "sets" from 10 to 20 feet long, cut from the branches of trees that have been felled. These have to be sharpened at the butt and firmly [93] set in holes 3 feet deep, formed by driving in and removing a stake. Like the poplar, the willow imperatively demands light, and to obtain a fine quality of timber, the growth must be rapid. Being so impatient of shade, these trees must not be subjected to planting in close canopy, as recommended for coniferous and other trees. The "sets," therefore, should be planted fully 30 feet apart; and to secure a clean hole, side buds must be rubbed off the saplings, and careful pruning applied in later years.
It must not be supposed that the supply of cricket bats exhausts the purposes to which the wood of the blue willow may be applied. This variety should be planted in preference to any other, because it exceeds all others in rapidity of growth, and produces timber of fine quality faster than any other tree that can be grown in the British Isles. But the white willow (S. alba), more commonly known as the Huntingdon willow, also yields a rapid return of light, tough wood, very durable, and suitable for flooring, couples, cart and waggon bodies. Dr. Henry measured two Huntingdon willows near Palnure, Kirkcudbright, in 1904, and found them respectively 86 feet high by 10 feet 8 inches in girth, and 82 feet by 12 feet 9 inches. But the largest willow of this species now growing in Scotland is probably one at Coodham, near Kilmarnock, which girthed 17 feet 1 inch in 1904.
Leaving aside the kinds of willow cultivated for osiers (a most profitable industry), the only other native species worthy of consideration as a timber tree is the crack willow (S. fragilis); so called because [94] of the fragility of the branchlets in spring. A remarkably vigorous variety of the species, popularly known as the Bedford willow, and scientifically as S. Russelliana, appears to have originated about the year 1800, probably as a hybrid. A large specimen growing in Messrs. Samson's nursery at Kilmarnock was blown down in 1911. It was 80 feet high and 16 feet in girth.
Both the crack willow and the Bedford willow may be easily distinguished from the white or Huntingdon willow by their rugged bark, seamed with broad and deep grooves, and by their foliage, which is green and shining, each leaf ending in a long point bent to one side. The timber is inferior in quality to that of the white and blue willows; nevertheless, it is recorded in Lowe's Agricultural Survey of Notts (p. 118) that a plantation of Bedford willows "yielded at eight years' growth poles which realised a net profit of £214 per acre." It is not unlikely, considering the confusion which prevails among species and varieties, that these were blue, not Bedford, willows.
The lugubrious associations with which poets have invested the willow probably may be traced to the English translation of Psalm cxxxvii. 2; but, as noted on page 81 , no willow grows on the banks of the Euphrates, and it was a species of poplar whereon the captive Jews hung their harps. Linnæus may be excused, in consideration of the difficulties of travel in the eighteenth century, for having named the weeping willow Salix babylonica, though that species is only to be found wild in China; but it is [95] an instance of the mischievous practice of one writer copying the statements of another that in Kirkby's Trees we read that the weeping willow "grows abundantly on the banks of the Euphrates and other parts of Asia, as in Palestine, and also in North Africa."
The name "willow" speaks to us of a time when our Anglo-Saxon forbears dwelt in wattled houses. They spoke of the tree as welig and also as widig (whence our "withy"), the root-meaning being pliancy. Another old English name for the tree was "sallow," which in the north has been shortened into "saugh," a term associated with one of the darkest episodes in the somewhat murky annals of the Stuart dynasty; for it was at Sauchieburn near Stirling that James, Duke of Rothesay, aged fifteen years, was brought by the rebel lords to do battle with his father James III. on 11th June, 1488. King James, flying from the field, was done to death; and, in contrition, his son wore an iron chain round his waist till he, too, fell as James IV. at Flodden, twenty-five years later.
The Gaelic for willow is saileach, whence innumerable place-names in Scotland and Ireland, such as Barnsallie, Barsalloch, Sallachy, Lisnasillagh, etc.
[96]
The Hornbeam
The hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) belongs to the birch family and the beech belongs to the oak family, so they are far from being nearly akin; nevertheless, the hornbeam and the beech have certain qualities singularly similar in the two species.
First, the hornbeam imitates the foliage of the beech so closely that when either of them is dressed as a hedge plant (a purpose for which both are peculiarly suitable) it requires close inspection to determine which tree it is. Second, except the elder, the beech and the hornbeam are the only shade-bearers among our indigenous deciduous hardwoods—that is, the only broad-leaved trees—that will flourish under the shade and drip of other forest growths, thereby proving most useful for under-planting. Third, as firewood there is none equal to either beech or hornbeam, both of them excelling all other woods in the amount of heat they discharge in combustion.
FRUIT OF HORNBEAM (Carpinus betulus)
With these three particulars the resemblance between these two trees ceases, for whereas the beech, under favourable conditions, soars aloft to a stature [97] of 130 or 140 feet, the hornbeam seldom exceeds half that height. Moreover, while the beech is distinguished among all our forest growths by its smoothly cylindrical trunk, the stem of the hornbeam is always fluted and ridged, often very deeply.
Of the eighteen species of Carpinus known to botanists, only one, the common hornbeam, is indigenous in the British Isles, and there only in the southern parts of England, Oxford and Norfolk being about its northern limit, corresponding roughly with that of the nightingale. But whereas the nightingale cannot be seduced into sojourn beyond its hereditary bounds, the hornbeam flourishes freely when planted in any part of the United Kingdom suitable for tree growth. On the Continent it has a very wide range, extending through Central and Northern Europe into Asia Minor, but it has not been found wild in Spain, Portugal, or Sicily.
As a timber producer its chief value in this country has almost gone since the substitution of coal for wood as fuel became general. In former times the trees were grown as pollards, and regularly cut for firewood, evidence of that industry being still to be seen in the condition of the hornbeams in Epping Forest and other places in Kent, Herts, and Essex. The timber, says Elwes, "is the hardest, heaviest, and toughest of our native woods"; but it is useless for outdoor work, being as perishable as beech when exposed to weather. It still competes with foreign woods in the piano maker's trade, its firm texture, resembling that of ivory or horn, rendering it excellent [98] for fine action work. But as the slow growth of the tree and the imports of foreign woods are prohibitive of any prospect of profit to the British planter, the only service to which the hornbeam can be usefully put in this country is the production of firewood and the formation of hedges.
Nor can the hornbeam claim high rank as an ornamental tree, though fine specimens may be seen in many English and a few Scottish parks. Elwes mentions Cobham Park, Kent, as containing hundreds of hornbeams from 70 to 80 feet high, and quotes Sir Hugh Beevor as authority for one 100 feet high and 9 feet 8 inches in girth at High Wycombe, Bucks. I have never seen a hornbeam of that size; the largest with which I have made personal acquaintance being one at Gordon Castle, which Loudon described as being 54 feet high in 1837. Sixty-seven years later it had added only 14 feet to its stature, Elwes having found it to be 68 feet high in 1904, with a girth of 8 feet.
[99]
The Alder
Of the three species of alder indigenous to Europe, namely Alnus incana, A. cordata and A. glutinosa, only the last named succeeded in establishing itself in the British Isles after the retreat of the ice-field; though the other two grow readily enough when planted in this country.
"Alnus, the alder," wrote John Evelyn, "is of all other the most faithful lover of waterie and boggie places, and those most despis'd weeping parts or water-galls of forests." It has never been a popular tree, either with foresters, poets, or landscape gardeners, yet it has the merit of clothing ground which will not satisfy the wants of any other lofty growth, thriving in swamps too sour even for the willow. "Where do you put your brown tree?" is said to have been asked by one artist of the Georgian era of another; and the rounded outline and sombre foliage of a mature alder must have served many of the old school of landscape painters in their conventional compositions.
The alder neither contributes tender verdure to the gaiety of spring nor brilliant tints to the splendour [100] of autumn; dull rifle green is the livery donned in April, remaining unchanged till the frosts of late October. Nor does this melancholy tree gladden the waterside with any brightness of blossom; the male and female catkins, appearing before the leaves, are dull, brownish yellow; beautiful objects under a lens, but contributing little to cheer the wayfarer, save as being sure harbingers of summer days. These flowers are followed by cones, which are green at first, but, turning black when ripe, only serve to deepen the gloom. Nevertheless, an alder copse in February and early March has a quiet beauty all its own. The smooth twigs are glazed with a waxy secretion and the swelling buds are plum-coloured, which the level sun-rays light up into a charming purplish bloom. Many a time when in pursuit of spring salmon I have enjoyed the sight of a bevy of old blackcocks busy among the branches of the alders, whereof the buds and catkins provide them with provender during the hungriest months of the year.
There are about five-and-twenty known species of alder, all bearing a considerable family likeness, and none exceeding in stature our only native species, Alnus glutinosa. Of this, many specimens might be mentioned between 70 and 90 feet high, though it is often difficult or impossible to obtain right measurement owing to the trees growing beside rivers or lakes. The most remarkable alder wood known to me is at Kilmacurragh, in County Wicklow. In the old spacious days the ground it occupies was a deer park. The trees are ancient, but not very lofty, from 50 to [101] 60 feet high; but many of them have clean boles up to 30 or 40 feet and girth from 8 to 10 feet. One of them had a girth of 11 feet 4 inches in 1906. In the swampier parts of the wood, some of the trees have got bowed; their trunks present a curious appearance from being densely covered with pennyroyal (Cotyledon umbilicus). There can be little doubt that this grove is a fragment of the primæval Irish forest.
There are some very fine alders beside the Gade in Cassiobury Park, Herts, one of which Dr. Henry made out to be 85 feet high, with a girth of 11 feet 6 inches; but these dimensions were exceeded by an alder 90 feet high with a girth of 11 feet 4 inches at Betchworth Park, Surrey, and by one at Enville Park, Stourbridge, 87 feet high, with a girth of 8 feet 2 inches.
In Scotland the tallest measured by him was at Scone—66 feet high by 6 feet 3 inches in girth; but no doubt there are bigger alders than that north of the Tweed, though it might not be possible to match a shapely tree measured in 1904 at Churchill, Co. Armagh, which stood 94 feet high, girthing 6 feet 4 inches, and having a clean bole of 60 feet.
The aforesaid tree at Scone is of the cut-leaved variety, a sport which, originating in France, and being planted in De la Berlière's garden near Saint-Germain, says Loudon, became the parent of all that are now to be found. It is certainly more ornamental than the common form, the leaves being divided half-way to the midrib into three to six segments on each side.
[102]
The alder is not rated high among us as a timber tree, though good boles are sometimes in request, for what precise purpose I cannot tell. Mr. Elwes states that he sold three hundred alders standing for £100, which he reckoned to be at the rate of 4d. or 5d. a cubic foot. This must be considered an excellent return from land that was fit for no other crop. Clogmakers take alder of suitable size as readily as birch, giving as much as £40 an acre for coppice, which will be fit for cutting again in twenty years. One of the most picturesque scenes in forestry is a summer encampment of clog-cutters.
In Scotland probably the demand for alder for making herring barrels would be steady and inexhaustible, were there any regularity in the supply; but in this, as in other British forest products, so much uncertainty is caused by the haphazard and capricious felling practised by landowners in general, that the trade derives its supplies of staves from abroad. For outdoor purposes, the timber is far too perishable under vicissitudes of wet and dry; but for piles under water it is most durable. Evelyn states, without quoting his authority, that the Rialto at Venice is founded upon alder piles. For three hundred years charcoal made from alder was more highly esteemed than that from any other wood for making gunpowder; but modern explosives have caused it to be in less request nowadays.
There may be some trout-fishers who have not learnt that an effective way of taking the objectionable glitter from a gut cast is to draw it two or three [103] times through an alder leaf. Evelyn says that such leaves afford great relief to footsore travellers if laid within the stocking.
In his Sylva Florifera (1823), Henry Phillips admits us to a glimpse into the domestic economy of our great-grandmothers, who had to contend with certain difficulties from which modern households are happily exempt. "The good housewife," he says, "is not unacquainted with a property in the leaves [of alder], with which she strews her chambers before sweeping, for, when fresh, they are covered with a glutinous liquor that entangles fleas like birds in birdlime."
The English name "alder" has been disguised by the addition of the d. It was alr in Anglo-Saxon, r taking the place of the Latin n in alnus, which is preserved in the French aune. In one form or another it exists in all Teutonic dialects; we, in Scotland, retain very closely the Anglo-Saxon sound when we speak of "eller," though we have allowed the intrusive d to slip into Elderslie, the paternal home of William Wallace. This tree has given rise to countless place-names; in England—Alresford on the Itchen, Allerton (eight or nine times), Allerdale, Ellerbeck, Ellerburn, Ellerton, and so on; in Scotland—Allershaw in Lanarkshire, Allerton in Cromarty, Allers near Glasgow, Allerbeck in Dumfriesshire, Ellerrigs, Argyllshire; Ellerslie, in several counties, etc. I incline to think that the frequent and puzzling name Elrig or Eldrig may be associated with alders.
In Gaelic the alder is called fearn, which appears [104] in a multitude of place-names, such as Balfern, Glenfarne, Farnoch, Fearn, Fernie, and Fernaig. The consonant f being liable in Gaelic to be silenced by aspiration, the descriptive name amhuinn-fhearn, alder river, has been worn down into Nairn, and probably some, at least, of the numerous streams called Earn or Erne derive their titles from a similar contraction.
Among the exotic species of alder I only know of one worth attention for ornamental purposes, to wit, the heart-leaved alder (A. cordata); which, being found indigenous only in Corsica and Southern Italy, might scarcely be expected to take kindly to our humid climate. It does so, however, growing as vigorously as our native alder, and proving somewhat more decorative. The leaves are of a shining, dark green with lighter undersides, and the cones are at least an inch long, carried erect.
The grey alder (A. incana) has nothing to recommend it; except, perhaps, to Norwegian anglers, who know how the fieldfares nest among its thickets in garrulous colonies. It is not easy to understand how the British Isles have missed having this species as a native, for it is very widely distributed over Europe from the shores of the Arctic Ocean on the north to Servia and the Apennines on the south. It is also spread widely over the northern United States and Canada.
TULIP TREE
[105]
The Tulip Tree
The tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) is descended from an extremely remote ancestry, and remains one of the stateliest denizens of the North American river valleys, ranging from 150 to 190 feet high. The form of its leaves is unique among those of forest trees, being lyrate, ending in two pointed or rounded lobes considerably longer than the midrib. Ruskin declared it to be the only leaf which did not display one form or other of a Gothic arch—round or pointed. These leaves turn a beautiful clear yellow in autumn, and in summer the flowers, in size and shape like those of a tulip, attract numbers of bees. If only they were a little more gaily painted, the tulip tree would be among the showiest of park trees; but the petals are of a dull greenish white, with a splash of orange at the base of the interior of each, where one can't see it—unless one happens to be a bee.
However, its flowers apart, a well-grown tulip tree is a beautiful object at all seasons, owing, in winter, to the tracery of its smooth, grey branches—in summer, to its rich, bright green foliage, and in autumn to the splendour of its decay.
[106]
It was probably brought to England in the reign of Henry VIII. or Elizabeth by one of those botanists—Tradescant or another—who quietly pursued their useful labours while Christians were hurrying each other to the stake, and politicians were chopping off the heads of inconvenient opponents.
In lofty towers let Pallas take her rest,
Whilst shady groves of all things please us best.
In the following century Evelyn said "the tulip tree grows very well with the curious amongst us to a considerable stature. I wish we had more of them." Given deep, generous soil and suitable shelter, this fine tree might develop in England proportions equal to those it attains in its native forests, where, says Elwes, it reaches "a height of 160 to 190 feet, with a straight trunk 8 to 10 feet in diameter, clear of branches for 80 to 100 feet from the ground." But its requirements in soil and shelter are imperative; it is a greedy feeder, and its branches are too friable to stand violent winds. Meet conditions have been secured at Woolbeding, already mentioned as the site of the loftiest plane in Britain. The tulip tree there has reached a height of 105 feet, with a girth of 17 feet. Another, of equal height, but less girth, is reported from Strathfieldsaye, which I must have missed when I was there, for I have no note about it.
In Scotland, the largest tulip tree I have seen is one at the Hirsel, in Berwickshire. Loudon mentioned it in 1837 as being 100 years old and 20 feet in girth, but when I saw it last, some fifteen years [107] ago, it was failing in the upper storey, though it still had some vigorous foliage. It is said to bear flowers every year; though Lord Barrymore tells me that in his famous arboretum on Fota Island, Cork Harbour, the tulip tree grows well, 87 feet high and 11 feet 7 inches in girth, but never flowers. Probably, like the Oriental plane, it demands hotter summers than we can give it in the north and west. In the southern counties of England it blossoms abundantly, and occasionally ripens seed.
Tulip tree timber is not of the first quality. Professor Sargent describes it as light, soft, and brittle. Nevertheless, it is much used in America for interior work and boatbuilding, and is imported by English merchants under the name of yellow poplar or canary-wood. Mr. Elwes, who had a fine collection of different kinds of timber made into furniture and panels, says it closely resembles magnolia wood, which is not to be wondered at, seeing that the tulip tree belongs to the order Magnoliaceæ.
Few people plant tulip trees nowadays, more's the pity; for they are far more decorative than many of the conifers which have gone so far to thrust deciduous trees out of fashion. It grieved me some years ago to see a Spanish silver fir (Abies pinsapo), one of the least majestic of its family, planted as the memorial of a royal visit to a fine English demesne; it grieves me still when I reflect how little chance it has of thriving on a shaven lawn.
"Gives not the hawthorn-bush a sweeter shade
To shepherds looking on their silly sheep,
Than doth a rich-embroidered canopy
To kings that fear their subjects' treachery?
O, yes, it doth—a thousandfold it doth."
(Third Henry VI. act ii. sc. 5.)
MAY BLOSSOM (Cratægus oxyacantha)
The rose has long disputed with the lily her claim to rank as Queen of Beauty, nor is the rivalry likely to be decided in favour of either so long as human tastes differ. Howbeit, if the two claimants ever appeal to the arbitrament of war, the rose will have the advantage of big battalions, for her great clan far outnumbers that of the lilies and many of them are formidably armed. There would, indeed, be some mighty blanks in our fields and gardens if the great natural order of Rosaceæ were banned; for not only should we lose the enormous and ever-increasing variety of the rose itself and its hybrids, but the spiræas, the cinquefoils, the cotoneasters, the so-called laurels (which are not laurels at all, but evergreen plums), wherewith we deck our pleasure-grounds, would disappear also, and with [109] them the plums, cherries, peaches, apples, pears, strawberries, and raspberries would be among the exiles, for all these and many more are families in this vast order.
FRUIT OF HAWTHORN (Cratægus oxyacantha)
Yet would not the disappearance of any of them work such a change in British landscape, as it would suffer if we were to lose the hawthorn, which is also a member of the rose order. It is the most beautiful native flowering tree we possess, for the laburnum, the horse chestnut, and the catalpa must be written off as exotics, though, happily, they have proved most successful colonists.
Not long ago I was driving out from New York to visit Mr. Roosevelt in Long Island. My companion and cicerone was one who gained more than the common measure of esteem while he was American Ambassador in London. When I expressed to him warmly my admiration for the masses of Cornus florida which formed the undergrowth of the woods bordering our route, and which (it was in May) were displaying their snowy blossoms in endless drifts and wreaths: "Very beautiful," he said; "but I would rather have your British hawthorn blossom with its fragrance."
This was high testimony from one in whose country Professor Sargent has enumerated no fewer than one hundred and forty-three distinct American species of Cratægus or hawthorn, many of which produce beautiful flowers; but none of those which I have seen are equal to the single species indigenous to the British Isles—Cratægus oxyacantha. In saying [110] a single species, I am aware that later botanists have distinguished as a species a form found on the Continent and in the midland and south-eastern English counties; but Bentham and Hooker admitted this only as a variety.
In Scotland we always speak of hawthorn blossom, but in England you shall never hear that term, for there they call it May blossom, yet you may seldom find it in bloom till near the end of that month. In Brand's Antiquities (1777) it is stated that "it was an old custom in Suffolk in most of the farmhouses that any servant who could bring in a branch of hawthorn in full blossom on the 1st of May was entitled to a dish of cream for breakfast. This custom is now disused, not so much from the reluctance of the masters to give the reward, as from the inability of the servants to find the white thorn in flower." The reason for this is to be sought in a change, not in the flowering season, but in the calendar; the old style during the eighteenth century being twelve days in arrear of the new style, so that May Day was equivalent to what is now 12th May. It will be remembered that, while the new style was enacted in Scotland by James VI.'s Privy Council in 1600, it was not until 1751 that an Act of Parliament caused it to be adopted in England, which did the Suffolk peasants out of all chance of cream for breakfast.
One of the many admirable virtues of the hawthorn is its indifference to soil and situation. Give it light and free air, and it will flower as freely on the [111] shingle of a wind-swept beach, where it crouches along the stones to escape the blast, as it does in a fat English pasture, a villa garden, or a Highland glen. The most remarkable grove of ancient hawthorns known to me is to be seen in the Phœnix Park, Dublin. It is a sight never to be forgotten when these trees, many of them (speaking from recollection) 40 feet high, are laden in June with their snowy wreaths. There are many hawthorns of greater height in other districts, notably one at Lenchford, in Worcestershire, whereof the dimensions in 1875 were recorded in the Gardeners' Chronicle as 60 feet high and 9 feet in girth.
The hawthorn is a long-lived tree. It was not until after the middle of the nineteenth century that Maxwell's Thorn disappeared from the banks of the Dryfe in a flood. It was under this tree that, according to local tradition, John Lord Maxwell, the Warden, lay wounded after the fatal encounter with the Johnstones on Dryfe Sands, 6th December, 1593. Eight hundred of his men are said to have perished, and the old lord, "a tall man," says Spottiswoode (vol. ii. 446), "and heavy in armour, was in the chase overtaken and stricken from his horse." William Johnston of Kirkhill was his assailant; who, according to some accounts, contented himself with hewing off the Warden's hand, in order to claim the reward offered by his chief to any man who should bring it to him. As Maxwell lay bleeding under the thorn tree, a lady came on the scene—some say it was the lady of Lochwood herself, the Chief's wife, [112] others that it was the wife of James Johnston of Kirkton. Whichever it was, she belonged to the militant party of her sex, if it be true, as alleged, that she knocked out the Warden's brains with the tower keys that hung at her girdle. In justice to the dame it should be mentioned that a few nights previously Lord Maxwell had burnt down Lochwood Tower, declaring that "he would give the Lady Johnston light to set her hood!" Moreover, he had offered the gift of a farm to anyone who should bring him the head of the laird of Lochwood, who, being in arms against the Warden, was technically the King's rebel. Maxwell's Thorn, as aforesaid, ceased to exist sixty years ago, but a young tree was planted in its place, which doubtless will be venerated by generations unborn as the original.
The kindly nature of the hawthorn and the simple nature of its cultural requirements have caused everybody to be familiar with the beautiful red and pink, single and double, varieties which have been raised and widely distributed. There is a variety with scarlet berries which I have only seen in the park at Newton Don, near Kelso. Beautiful as are the common red haws upon which fieldfares, redwings, and other winter visitors mainly depend for provender, this scarlet fruited variety is a much more brilliant object at the dullest time of the year. The variety with yellow haws is no improvement on the type.
Phillips in his Sylva Florifera (1823) states that "a variety has been discovered in a hedge near [113] Bampton, Oxfordshire, which produces white berries." This variety, if it ever existed, appears to have been lost. He also commits himself to the statement that "the fruit of this tree are called haws, from whence the name hawthorn"; which proves that a man may be an excellent botanist and a bad etymologist. In Middle English "hawe" meant a hedge, and also ground enclosed by a hedge. It was in the latter sense that Chaucer wrote in the Canterbury Tales:
And eke there was a polkat [polecat] in his hawe.
The tree got the name of hawthorn, i.e. hedgethorn, because it has no rival as a hedge plant.
And this brings us to consider what is the economic value of the hawthorn. It has become indispensable for hedges, which are as inseparable from a foreigner's impressions of English landscape as poplars are from French country scenery, and as date palms are from that of Egypt.
Green fields of England! wheresoe'er
Across the watery waste we fare,
Your image in our hearts we bear,
Green fields of England, everywhere.
But the fields would not be so green, they would not indeed stamp themselves on the memory as fields at all, were it not for the hedges that mark them off. In Scotland hedges are not so universal, the preference being given to stone dykes, where the necessary material lies to hand, or, alas, to barbed wire, which, [114] effective though it be as a fence, prevails to vulgarise the fairest scenery. Dr. Walker states in his Essays of Natural History (1812) that Cromwell's soldiers first planted, or taught the Scots to plant hedges in East Lothian and Perthshire. They learnt the planting all right, but not, it would appear, the subsequent management; for, except in the Lothians, it is the exception to see hedges rightly tended. The plants are allowed to straggle and to be browsed bare below by cattle, when the gaps are repaired by running a wire through them. Far more admirable is the craft of the English hedger, who knows how to make a beautiful and durable fence by plashing and binding.
The timber of hawthorn possesses more merit than is usually assigned to it; in fact, there cannot be said that there is any market for it, owing, probably, to the rough state in which it is almost invariably grown. But it is hard and heavy, with a fine grain, taking a good polish. Some of the wood-cuts in back numbers of the Gardeners' Chronicle were engraved on hawthorn; but Mr. Elwes, who has experimented practically with every British wood, considers that boxwood is of superior texture.
In the good times of old, when men strove more earnestly to cut each other's throats than, as at the present day, to catch each other's votes, every Highland clan has a distinctive badge consisting of a sprig of some common plant whereby friend might be known from foe. The small sept of Ogilvie chose the hawthorn.
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No tree or plant has lent its name more freely to denominate places. The Norsemen are responsible for Thorn-ey on the left bank of the tidal Thames, to which the Saxons, forgetting that ey is good Norse for "island," extended the name pleonastically to Thorney Island, and then came Edward the Confessor to obliterate both names by building on the island the abbey and church—the West Minster.
Countless are the places called Thornton, Thornhill, Thornbury, etc., in England, all named from the hawthorn—the thorn of thorns; while in Scotland, besides romantic Hawthornden, and in Ireland, the Gaelic word sceach or scitheog (th silent) occurs in almost every parish in some form or other—Skeog, Skeagh, Skate, Drumskeog, Tullynaskeagh, etc.
A foreign relative of the hawthorn may be mentioned here as being more worthy of consideration as a timber tree, and, besides, being exceedingly ornamental, namely, Cotoneaster frigida. Most people are familiar with the genus Cotoneaster in the form of shrubs of modest stature, producing quantities of red berries; and in gardener's dictionaries, etc., one reads that this Himalayan species grows about 10 feet high. If it did no more than that, it would be well worth planting for the sake of its woolly cymes of white flowers in July and the extraordinary profusion of scarlet berries which follows them; yet, even so, it could not claim notice among forest trees. In fact, it promises to outstrip the hawthorn in height. Some of mine have reached a height of 40 feet already, at an age of fifty years, and if care is bestowed on [116] timely pruning in youth, the wood is straight, clean and very hard. It has not yet been put to any economic use, so far as known to me, but I have a notion it will prove fine material for the heads of golf clubs.
[117]
The Rowan and its Relatives
There is no group of trees whereof the scientific nomenclature has become so hopelessly confused as the Pomaceæ, a sub-order of the vast rose order. The group itself divides itself naturally into seven sub-groups or sections, which some botanists treat as independent species; but British foresters need to concern themselves with only five of these sections—namely (1) Sorbus, the rowan; (2) Aria, the whitebeam; (3) Hahnia, the wild service tree; (4) Pyrophorum, the pears; and (5) Malus, the apples.
Some people may feel impatient with these niceties of classification, and declare that popular names serve all useful purpose; but many of these trees are very beautiful, well deserving the attention of planters, who are sure to be disappointed in being served with the wrong species unless they are at the pains to know exactly what they order from nurserymen, and are able to identify the plants when they get them.
The rowan tree (Pyrus aucuparia) is of humble stature, seldom exceeding 40 feet; nevertheless, we should be losers if it disappeared from our woodlands, [118] not only because of its beauty and the delicious diet which it affords to birds, but because of the peculiar veneration with which, in primitive times, it became invested in Northern Europe. The Norsemen held it to be a holy tree, consecrated to Thor, and their faith in its protective virtues became deeply implanted in the folk-lore of our own country.
Rowan-tree and red thread
Gar the witches come ill-speed.
It has been suggested that the singular expression, "Aroint, thee, witch!" occurring nowhere in English literature except in Macbeth, Act 1, sc. 3, is a corruption of "A rountree, witch!" but the late Professor Skeat sternly refused to entertain that explanation. Anyhow, so long as belief in witchcraft endured in this country, a branch of rowan was esteemed a sure protection against evil spells. In many a Scottish byre a bunch of rowan may still be seen suspended, and a common feature in cottage garden plots consists of a couple of rowan saplings planted before the door, with their tops plaited together to form an arch, so that comers and goers shall thereby derive protection against witchcraft by passing under the tutelary boughs.
FLOWERS OF THE ROWAN (Pyrus aucuparia)
In Strathspey it used to be the custom to cause all sheep and lambs to pass through a hoop of rowan wood on the 1st of May, and flocks and herds were driven to the summer shieling with a rod of the same wood. In some parts of England the rowan is still called the "witchen." Evelyn wrote of it under [119] that name, and said that in his day (1620-1706) the tree was reputed so sacred in Wales "as that there is not a churchyard without one of them planted in it; so on a certain day in the year everybody religiously wears a cross made of the wood."
By the by, let no lover of woodland ever speak of a mountain ash when he means a rowan. That is a silly name, for the rowan has no affinity with the ash, and although it may be found growing in the Highlands at a height of more than 2,000 feet, yet it is just as much at home anywhere between that altitude and the seaboard. We need not be ashamed of having borrowed the name "rowan" from the Norsemen, for there is a strong Scandinavian strain in our island blood. The Swedes spell it ronn, the Norwegians rogn, and the Icelanders reynir.
The chief claim which the rowan has upon our affection is its autumnal beauty. If the birds would only suffer its scarlet berries to hang a little longer than is their wont, no British tree could match it in brilliancy of fall. It is widely distributed over northern and central Europe, and is established in Iceland, whither it was perhaps carried long ago by pious Norsemen, for it does not occur in America. Little use is now made of its timber, which is very hard, heavy, and tough; so much so that in old days it was reckoned as only second to the yew for bow-making. It is mentioned in the Act 8 Elizabeth c. x. as "witch-hazel," among the woods whereof every bowyer dwelling in London was to keep fifty bows ready in stock.
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Among the place-names into which the Gaelic name for the rowan—caorunn—enters may be mentioned Attachoirinn in Islay, Barwhirran in Wigtownshire, and Leachd a' chaorruin in Corrour Forest.
The rowan cannot be confounded with any other species of this family, nor with any of the numerous hybrids which have arisen therein, for it is easily distinguished by its pinnate leaves, consisting of eleven to fifteen leaflets set herring-bone fashion on a midrib about 6 inches long. Except the true service (Pyrus sorbus) all the other species carry entire leaves, lobed in some species, but never pinnate. The true service tree, though believed not to be indigenous to Great Britain, grows readily there, though it is not planted so often as it deserves to be, both on account of its beautiful and useful timber and of the excellent fruit which it bears profusely, qualities which cause it to be very extensively cultivated in France. It is also a highly ornamental tree, as those may testify who have visited Vevay in autumn and admired the brightness of fruit and foliage in the avenues of service trees planted there. I do not know of any specimens in Scotland, but there are several fine service trees from 45 to 65 feet high in English parks; none, however, remaining equal in stature to one at Melbury Court, Dorsetshire, which has now departed, but was recorded by Loudon as being 82 feet high in 1830, with a girth of 9 feet 9 inches. The fruit varies much in quality; the better flavoured kinds being highly esteemed by the French peasantry. Evelyn says, "It is not unpleasant; of which, with [121] new wine and honey, they make a conditum of admirable effect to corroborate the stomach." Those who wish to plant this tree had best go to a French nurseryman and order it under the name of Cormier or Sorbus domestica.
The wild service (P. torminalis) will attain a height of 70 or 80 feet if it is given a fair chance, which it seldom gets from us. Its chief recommendation is its handsome foliage, the leaves being deeply lobed. They turn a fine orange colour in autumn, but the fruit adds nothing to the display, being brown when ripe. For ornamental purposes the whitebeam (P. aria) is far preferable to the wild service, owing to the snowy whiteness of the young shoots and undersides of the leaves. The fruit, moreover, is bright red; but this is of the less moment, inasmuch as birds devour it so soon as it is ripe. By far the noblest of all the Sorbus group is the Himalayan Pyrus vestita (also known as Sorbus nepalensis). Its broadly oval, pointed leaves are very large, thickly clothed with white wool when young, remaining white on the undersides until late autumn, when they turn to a clear yellow. The clusters of white flowers are very woolly, and are followed by large round red fruits. It is an exceedingly handsome and stately tree, and ought to be better known in this country than it is at present; but much disappointment has been incurred through the vicious practice followed by nurserymen of grafting it high upon the rowan, a tree of much inferior bulk. The result is that the scion, flourishing vigorously for a few seasons, [122] outgrows the stock, which cannot carry up enough sap to supply the wants of the more robust species. It is pathetic to see the leaves endeavouring to unfold, but failing to do so. There is then nothing for it but to root the whole affair up, and procure seedlings, or, at least, plants grafted low on the British stock, which, if deeply planted, enable the scions to throw out roots of their own.
Leaving Sorbus—the rowans—let us glance at Malus—the apples; and among the fourteen species, all more or less distinguished by the loveliness of their blossom, confine our attention to the wild crab, parent of all our cultivated varieties. Of all the floral displays of British springtide, there is none more exquisite than an old crab in full flower, standing in a sea of blue hyacinths. It says little for our intelligence that, while we are ready to spend lavishly in the purchase of foreign trees and shrubs, many of very doubtful merit, none of us seem to think the crab-tree worth anything except as a stock for grafting orchard apples on.
Nevertheless, the crab has valuable qualities besides its beauty. "Fetch me a dozen crab-tree staves," shouts the porter of King Henry's palace, "and strong ones. I'll scratch your heads!" (K. Henry VIII., Act v. sc. 3). Those golfers who have passed their meridian surely remember that crab was reckoned the only material for club-heads in the old days of hard "gutties." But there was no great store of crab-trees in the land; so when golfers began to become like the sand of the sea for multitude the [123] supply ran out, and club-masters carved the heads out of beech. A tougher substitute has now been found in the American persimmon (Diospyros), but methinks our native crab would hold its own with any other wood if it were still to be had.
Probably the largest crab-tree in Scotland (if it still stands) is one at Kelloe, in Berwickshire, which Sir R. Christison measured in 1876, and found to be 50 feet high and 8 feet in girth.
The wild pear (Pyrus communis) is much more rare in Britain than the crab-tree, being found only in the southern English counties, and even there it is difficult to decide whether any pear tree is really wild or only a relic of cultivation. The timber of the pear, whether wild or cultivated, is very beautiful, and is one of the choicest for carved work; whereof a fine example may be seen among the panels in Windsor Castle.
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The Gean Tree, or Wild Cherry
In discoursing about the hawthorn, I assigned to it the first place for beauty of blossom among our native trees, but in holding that supremacy it has a dangerous rival in the gean, or wild cherry, which, to quote John Evelyn's eulogy, "will thrive into stately trees, beautified with blossoms of a surprising whiteness, greatly relieving the sedulous bees and attracting birds." In truth, the verdict upon the rivalry of the hawthorn and the gean must be "honours easy," for if the fragrance of the first turns the scale in its favour in spring, the gean scores heavily in autumn through the gorgeous hues of its fading foliage, no other British tree, if it be not the rowan, equalling it in sunset splendour. Nor is the flower of the gean without a fragrance—more delicate and less powerful than that of the hawthorn. Elwes tells how the late Mr. Foljambe, of Osberton, when old and quite blind, used to cause his son to lead him out among the cherry trees when they were in blossom, that he might enjoy their scent.
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Doubts have been expressed whether the gean tree can be claimed as truly indigenous, many writers (my friend Canon Ellacombe among others) accepting Pliny's statement (lib. xv. cap. 25) that the cherry was unknown in Italy till Lucullus introduced it from Asia Minor after his victory over Mithridates (B.C. 84), and that it was taken by the Romans into Britain. In support of this view may be cited the absence of any name for the cherry in old Gaelic, the modern word, sirist, being merely an adaptation of the Latin cerasus, just as an Siosalach—the Chisholm—is a rendering of the Norman name Cecil. The Scottish name "gean" does not help us, being borrowed from the French guigne. Nevertheless, Dr. Henry follows Bentham and Hooker in regarding the wild cherry as undoubtedly indigenous in parts of Great Britain.
Lucullus, indeed—proverbial for his love of good things—may well have brought to Italy some of the cultivated varieties of the cherry; but the wild tree seems to have established itself as far north as Bergen in Norway, in which province there exists a large wood purely of cherry trees; and Wilkomm reported in 1887 having found semi-fossil remains of the gean in Swedish peat mosses; wherefore let us give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and claim this pretty tree as a native of British soil. Anyhow, it is thoroughly at home in these islands, reproducing itself readily both by seed and suckers, wherever it gets a chance; and no tree should be made more welcome in our woodlands, both on account of its beauty and utility.
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Hitherto British foresters have treated the wild cherry with unmerited neglect. Nobody thinks of planting geans, except here and there for ornament; nor is there any regular market for the timber. Yet that is of high quality and very ornamental for indoor work, having a fine silky grain and a charming pinkish colour. Mr. Elwes, who has used it for panelling, says that when soaked in lime water it assumes a richer tint, resembling unstained mahogany. It has the merit of seasoning readily, and never warping.
The pews in Gibside Church, Northumberland, were made of cherry wood in 1812, and are reported by Mr. A. C. Forbes to be perfectly sound and well-fitting still. Wild cherry trees are seldom felled till they show signs of decay, and as they are not long-lived—a century being about the outside span of their vigorous life—the quality of the timber should not be estimated from trees more than sixty or seventy years old. The growth is rapid, and the tree may be drawn up in shelter to a great height; there is a specimen in Windsor Park, near the Bishopsgate, which was 93 feet high in 1904, with a girth of 9 feet 3 inches.
In the Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, Messrs. Elwes and Henry have a plate representing an extraordinary cherry tree growing in Savernake Forest, with a wild spread of branches and a bole, covered with enormous burrs, measuring 12 feet 7 inches in girth at 4 feet from the ground. A Scottish counterpart to the Savernake tree may be seen at Gribton, near Dumfries, which, though only 56 feet high, has [127] a girth of 12 feet 8 inches, with a branch spread of 70 feet. A massive gean tree at Mauldslie Castle, Lanarkshire, was 52 feet high in 1899, with a girth of 13 feet 2 inches. It is fast decaying, nor is the iron band with which its fork has been braced likely to prolong its existence beyond the natural term.
The wild cherry is the parent of all the cultivated varieties, many of which are derived from a high antiquity. Pliny enumerates eight varieties, including those with black and red fruits, and one which he describes as appearing half-ripe, which seems to indicate what we know as the bigarreau cherry. No doubt these varieties were of Asiatic origin, the Chinese and Persians having long preceded European nations in the craft of horticulture. The Rev. R. Walsh, writing in the Transactions of the Horticultural Society, 1826, described "an amber-coloured transparent cherry of a delicious flavour. It grows in the woods in the interior of Asia Minor, particularly on the banks of the Sakari—the ancient Sangarius. The trees attain gigantic size; they are ascended by perpendicular ladders suspended from the lowest branches. I measured the trunk of one; the circumference was 5 feet, and the height where the first branches issued 40 feet; from the summit of the highest branches was from 90 feet to 100 feet, and this immense tree was loaded with fruit."
Compare with this the produce of a single cherry tree during the year 1913 at Faourg, near Avenche, in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It took three men fifteen days to gather the fruit, which weighed in the [128] aggregate two tons. The fruit is of a small and red variety, used for making kirsch; and it was reckoned that the crop of this tree would produce 200 litres of the spirit, which, at 5 francs a litre, amounts to £40.
The scientific name for the gean is Prunus avium—the birds' plum; but what we mean when we speak of "bird cherry" is a very different, though nearly kindred, species—Prunus padus, a pretty native tree of small stature which is spread all over northern Europe and Asia. It is very beautiful when covered with its white flowers in long racemes—pity they last such a short time—but the little black fruits are of no use to any creature bigger than a pheasant. Anglers in Norwegian rivers are familiar with the white plumes of bird cherry, waving like fine lace-work from the grim cliffs overhanging many a green dal.
Lovely as the gean tree is when in full blossom, some of the double-flowering Japanese cherries are even more so, and they have this advantage, that the display is not nearly so fleeting. What may be the wild parent of these cultivated forms I am unable to say; but Mr. J. H. Veitch, writing from Yokohama, indicates that some, at least, are not cherries at all:
"The cherries in this neighbourhood are magnificent. Tinted photographs give a very complete idea of their beauty; one looks up and walks under a ceiling of the softest pink. At Mukojima a row of these cherries a mile long by the river bank, in some places faced by a row on the opposite side of the road, is a sight it will be difficult to forget. Cherries are, in fact, to be seen everywhere in and around Tokio, and it would be difficult to imagine anything more beautiful [129] for the few days they are in flower. The species is known scientifically as Prunus Mume; it is really an apricot." [13]
GEAN (Prunus avium)
In Bloom
By far the finest display of these cherries that I have seen is in the Arnold Arboretum, attached to Harvard University, Boston, U.S. There Professor Sargent and Mr. E. H. Wilson have got together what are probably the finest groups of these lovely trees outside Japan. The profusion of blossom, snowy white or rich pink, must be seen to be believed. Why is not more use made of them in the gardens of great country houses in our own country? They are perfectly hardy, but, as nurserymen usually supply them grafted on crab stocks, incessant vigilance is required during the young stages to prevent the stock reasserting itself and overcoming the scion.
Probably the reason why these exquisite forms of cherry and plum are not more often seen is to be found in the perverse habit which impels most people who have fine private pleasure grounds to spend the sweet o' the year in London. Having been asked by the wife of a great landowner to take counsel with their Scottish gardener about improving the pleasure grounds round their magnificent castle, and perceiving that the climate was peculiarly mild, the site facing the sea, yet sheltered, I suggested that he should plant some of the fine Himalayan rhododendrons, as it was just the place for them. His reply was resentful in tone. "The wur-r-rst of rhododendrons is that they will not flower when the family's at home." So tactless of the rhododendrons!
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The Walnut
The very name we have given it forbids us to claim the walnut as a native of the British Isles, for in Anglo-Saxon speech it was wealh knut, the foreign nut, just as they called the Celts of the West wealas, the foreigners, a name which has persisted to our times, as Wales. So, also, mediæval German writers termed France das Welsche Land, and, referring to the whole world, they described it as in allen Welschen und in Deutschen Reichen, "in all Welsh and German realms." It is not easy to fix the limits within which the walnut may be accounted indigenous, so widely has it been cultivated for its fruit; but it is certainly found as a wild tree over a great part of south-eastern Europe, through Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Persia, the Himalayas to Burmah, China, and possibly Japan.
More has been laid upon Roman shoulders in connection with their occupation of Britain than perhaps they should justly bear, but we may safely credit our conquerors with having introduced the walnut, which they held in very high esteem as providing a favourite article of food, and the nuts were easily [131] carried and planted. The name they gave it—Juglans, i.e. Jovis glans, "Jove's nut"—betokens the value at which they rated this tree. Pliny devotes a long chapter to the walnut, expressing doubt whether it was known in Italy during Cato's life (B.C. 234-149). He says that it was brought into Greece from Pontus (Asia Minor), thence to Italy, wherefore the fruit was called Pontic or Greek nuts. He also describes how these nuts were thrown at weddings, certainly a more formidable kind of missile than rice and confetti, as we now do use.
The walnut has adapted itself to the soil and climate of the British Isles in exactly the same measure as the Spanish chestnut—that is, it will thrive in all parts of the United Kingdom and grow to very large dimensions under reasonable conditions of shelter; but it will not produce fruit worth gathering in ordinary seasons north of the English Midlands. Its merit as a timber tree entitles it to far more attention from foresters than it now receives, for, indeed, it is one of the most valuable hardwoods that can be planted. The fruit was too precious to the Romans to allow the tree to be used for that purpose, but, wrote Juvenal, Annosam si forte nucem dejecerat Eurus—"if the east wind happened to uproot an aged walnut"—the timber was highly prized for furniture.
Howbeit, there are walnuts and walnuts. The tree, having been cultivated for its fruit from immemorial time, has developed a great number of varieties, producing large or thin-shelled nuts, which cannot [132] be trusted for the production of fine timber. Where that is the purpose, it is important to plant the wild type, for which the demand is not such as to encourage nurserymen to stock it. John Evelyn, nearly two hundred and fifty years ago, urged his fellow-countrymen to give more attention to the walnut, but he urged in vain.
"How would such publick plantations improve the glory and wealth of a nation! but where shall we find the spirits among our countrymen? Yes, I will adventure to instance in those plantations of Sir Richard Bidolph upon the downs near Letherhead in Surry; Sir Robert Clayton at Morden near Godstone, and so about Cassaulton [Casehorton], where many thousands of these trees do celebrate the industry of the owners, and will certainly reward it with infinite improvement, as I am assured they do in part already, and that very considerably; besides the ornament which they afford to those pleasant tracts."
It is curious to find Evelyn, who infused a fair proportion of scientific scepticism into his practical treatise, lending credence to some of the mythical virtues of the walnut. Thus he gravely writes that "the distillation of the leaves with honey and urine makes hair spring on bald heads."
In raising this tree from seed the walnuts offered for sale as food should be avoided, for these generally have been kiln-dried, and their vitality, as well as their flavour, thereby impaired or destroyed. Nuts should be selected from large trees of the best habit, laid in sand during the winter and sown in February. They are rather ticklish plants to handle in the nursery, owing to the long bare tap-root which they send down, and which should be shortened when the [133] seedlings are transplanted, as they should be at a year old. If fine timber be the object, the young trees when planted out should be stimulated to upward growth by the presence of other trees as nurses. A very slight spring frost suffices to destroy the young growth; but the walnut generally escapes that risk by being the latest of all our woodland trees, except the ash, to put forth leaves. I do not remember to have seen the young leaves appear so early as they did in the remarkable spring of 1914, when they were put forth before the end of April; the ash continuing bare that year till the very end of May.
Of the many fine walnut trees scattered over the midland and southern English counties, I have seen none equal in size to one figured in Elwes and Henry's great work (vol. ii., plate 74), a truly noble specimen growing at Barrington Park, Oxfordshire. In 1903 it was between 80 and 85 feet high, with a girth of 17 feet. The bole and branches are covered with burrs, indicating that the timber would make beautiful panelling and veneers.
The only notable walnuts which I can remember to have seen in Scotland are one at Gordon Castle, another at Cawdor, and a third at Blairdrummond. The first of these would have been a magnificent tree had it been subjected to forest discipline in youth, and so expended its vigour in height rather than breadth. It is only 60 feet high, with a girth of 10 feet, but it covers with its huge branches a space nearly 80 feet in diameter. The tree at Cawdor is about 65 feet high, with a girth of 15 feet 7 inches; [134] and that at Blairdrummond is the tallest of the three, with a girth of 13 feet. Such dimensions cannot compare with those which the walnut attains in Southern Europe. A writer in the Gardeners' Chronicle described one in the Baidar Valley, near Balaclava, which yields from 80,000 to 100,000 nuts annually, and belongs to five Tartar families, who divide the produce between them.
Still, there are so many fine examples of what this tree may become in Great Britain that one may well ask why the production of its timber has been so utterly neglected. Mahogany and other foreign woods have usurped its place in the cabinet trade; but we still import large supplies of walnut, not only for panelling, but for the stocks of army and sporting small arms. For that purpose it has no equal, owing to its lightness, strength, the nicety with which it can be cut to fit gunlocks, and because it never warps nor swells when exposed to wet. "During the last war," says Selby in 1842, "when most of the continental ports were shut against us, walnut timber rose to an enormous price, as we may collect from the fact of a single tree having been sold for £600; and as such prices offered temptation that few proprietors were able to resist, a great number of the finest walnuts growing in England were sacrificed at that period to supply the trade." [14] Some years ago the War Office authorities sought to extend their sources of supply by substituting one of the superb kinds of timber grown in our colonies; [135] but although twenty different woods were submitted and tested, none was found suitable except the American black walnut.
This (Juglans nigra) is a larger tree than the European species, growing to a height of 150 feet with a girth of 15 to 20 feet in the middle States of North America. It has now become very scarce, owing to reckless destruction of the forests; but there are some specimens in England already approaching the dimensions of those in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. For instance, there is one at the Mote, near Maidstone, over 100 feet high, with a girth of 12 feet 6 inches in 1905, and another in the public park at Twickenham, 98 feet high in the same year, with a girth of 14 feet 3 inches. Besides some lofty black walnuts of the ordinary type at Albury Park, Surrey, there is one very handsome tree on the terrace, near the house, distinguished as a variety under the title J. nigra alburyensis.
I do not know of any in Scotland, except a few hundreds which I raised from seed about ten years ago, and which are now planted out in mixture with the Japanese Cercidiphyllum. The only fault I find with them is that, while the young growth is as tender as that of the common walnut, it is earlier in starting, and therefore more liable to injury from spring frosts.
The timber of the black walnut is quite equal in quality and superior in beauty to that of the European species. The tree is sometimes confused with the kindred genus hickory (Carya), whereof there are [136] many fine specimens in Great Britain; but the two genera may be readily distinguished from each other by cutting across a twig. The pith of all species of walnut is neatly chambered, that of the hickories is solid.
BLACK WALNUT (Juglans nigra var. alburyensis)
At Albury Park, Surrey
"Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then heigh-ho, the holly!
This life is most jolly."
It is rather curious that, dearly as Shakespeare loved the woodland and ready as he ever was to enrich his verse with references to trees and flowers, he never mentions the holly except in this song from As You Like It. This is the more remarkable because holly is more widely distributed over Britain than most other forest growths, and must have been far more abundant in the sixteenth century before the land was infested by rabbits to the extent it is now; for these accursed rodents make a clean sweep of holly seedlings and also destroy large trees by barking them.
It may be thought that the holly should be ranked as a shrub rather than as a forest tree; but when well grown it is fairly entitled to the superior rank, for there are many fine specimens in these islands upwards of 50 feet high. Dr. Henry measured one in 1909 near Ampthill, in Bedfordshire, 60 feet [138] high and ll½ feet in girth. But this tree has no single bole, for it divides into seven large stems at about 18 inches from the ground. A far more shapely specimen is one which Lord Kesteven measured at Doddington Hall, Lincoln, and found in 1907 to be about 50 feet high, with a girth of 9½ feet at breast height. Being very patient of shade, the holly is sometimes drawn up to still greater height than this; Mr. Elwes having found some at Russells, near Watford, crowded among beech trees and rising to 70 and 75 feet.
The most remarkable holly grove known to me is in the park of Gordon Castle, covering a steep bank overlooking what used to be the Bog o' Gicht, but now a fertile holm. It is not known whether these hollies are of natural growth or planted, but they are evidently of great age; indeed, they are mentioned as remarkable in a description of Gordon Castle written in 1760—154 years ago. There are about five hundred trees in the grove, irregularly scattered along the bank, fifty-four of them being crowded into the space of about a quarter of an acre. But alas! one may look in vain for seedlings which might ensure the perpetuation of this ancient grove; all that may spring up are greedily devoured by rabbits.
Talking of seedlings, the propagation of hollies from seed requires to be set about in light of the fact that the seed requires a year of repose before germinating. The readiest way, therefore, is to lay the berries in moist sand for twelve months, after which the seeds may be sown in a nursery bed, where they will soon show signs of life.
[139]
The largest, though not the loftiest, holly I have ever seen is the remarkable tree at Fullarton House, near Ayr. It stands upon a shaven lawn, which is greatly to the detriment of its nourishment, and it has lost much of its height through decay of the upper branches. But it has a single hole of 8 feet, measuring at the narrowest part, 3 feet from the ground, 11 feet 3 inches in girth. The spread of branches is 189 feet in circumference.
Having been cultivated for centuries as a hedge and shrubbery plant, the holly has sported into a great variety of forms and colours, none of them, to my taste, the match of the wild type for beauty, and some of them mere ugly caricatures thereof. The best variegated forms are of ancient descent—namely Golden Queen and Silver Queen, which are quite as vigorous and bear fruit as freely as the type. These are both very beautiful; as to the other varieties, the world would be no loser if they were all extirpated, unless the quaint little hedgehog holly, described by Parkinson in 1640, were retained as a curiosity. To this doom, however, I certainly would not consign the yellow-berried holly, which gives a fine contrast with the common scarlet-berried kind, and is stated by Cole (writing in 1657) to have been found in a wild state near Wardour Castle. John Evelyn wrote in 1664 of a variety with white berries; Loudon also referred to this, and also to one with black berries; but I have neither seen these varieties nor met with anyone who had. It is doubtful whether both writers have not been misled by hearsay.
[140]
Evelyn employed all the resources of typography to express his enthusiasm for this fine evergreen:—
"Above all the natural Greens which inrich our home-born store, there is non certainly to be compared to the Holly, insomuch as I have often wonder'd at our curiosity after foreign Plants and expensive difficulties, to the neglect of the culture of this vulgar but incomparable tree.... Is there under Heaven a more glorious and refreshing object of the kind than an impregnable Hedge of near three hundred foot in length, nine foot high, and five in diameter; which I can show in my poor Gardens at any time of the year, glitt'ring with its arm'd and vernish'd leaves? The taller Standards at orderly distances, blushing with their natural Coral. It mocks at the rudest assaults of the Weather, Beasts, or Hedge-breakers."
This hedge grew, not at Wotton, but at Sayes Court, Evelyn's other place near Deptford, which he leased to the Czar Peter the Great in 1697, and had occasion to repent having done so, for that eccentric monarch, in the intervals of his work at the dockyard, amused himself by causing his courtiers to trundle each other in wheelbarrows down a steep descent into the said hedge, which was seriously damaged thereby.
No tree is better adapted than the holly for making a hedge; but it does not always get the treatment necessary to produce the finest effect. I have never seen any to equal the holly hedges at Colinton House, in Mid-Lothian, which were planted between 1670 and 1680, and are now from 35 to 40 feet high, tapering upwards from a basal diameter of about 20 feet. The lower branches have rooted themselves freely, so that it would be difficult to create a more effective barrier of vegetation. The [141] total length of these hedges is 1,120 feet, having been formed originally with about 4,500 plants. Colonel Trotter's gardener, Mr. John Bruce, takes a just pride in tending them, clipping them annually at the end of March, so as to ensure a close young growth maturing before the winter frosts.
The proper season for planting hollies is May, after growth has started. If the operation is delayed till autumn, they make no new roots, and suffer so much from frost and cold winds that many of them never get established. This is one of those secrets which one has to find out for oneself, at the cost of many wasted seasons. Haud ignarus loquor. Although in generous soil the holly will make long annual shoots, it is very slow in forming wood, which may account for our neglect of it as a timber tree. But the wood is of very fine quality, being hard and white, excellent for turnery and for making mathematical instruments.
"We presume," says Phillips in Sylva Florifera (1823), "that many noble trees of holly would be seen in this country, but for the practice of cutting all the finest young plants to make coachmen's whips, thus leaving only the crooked branches or suckers to form shrubs." The demand for this purpose must have diminished with the spread of automobilism; but the ravages wrought on holly trees for Christmas decoration are deplorable, raiders finding a ready sale for their plunder in all the big towns. It is a gentle custom to "weave the holly round the Christmas hearth"; but it is desirable that the weavers [142] should observe some distinction between meum and tuum—pronouns which they seem to regard as synonymous when applied to holly.
Pliny repeats, without comment, the statement by Pythagoras that the flowers of holly turn water into ice, and, further, that if a man throws a staff of holly at a beast, and misses it, the staff will return to his hand. Here we seem to have a report of the use of the boomerang; but Parkinson, writing in the seventeenth century, expresses lofty disdain for such fables. "This," says he, "I here relate that you may understand the fond and vain conceit of those times, which I would to God we were not in these days tainted withal." The Scottish clans of Drummond and Maxwell of old bore the holly as their badge.
In Lowland Scots the word "hollen" preserves the original English form, which in Ancren Riwle (about 1230) is written "holin," being direct from the Anglo-Saxon "holen, holegn." Chaucer writes it "holm," a form which occurs in such place-names as Holmwood and Holmesdale in Surrey. It is also preserved in the name holm-oak, i.e. the ilex or evergreen oak, whereof the young leaves bear holly-like spines. It is an interesting feature in both these trees, as well as in the holly-leaved Osmanthus, that the leaves produced above the level of browsing animals are spineless, such defence being needless for the upper branches. This characteristic has been called in question by persons founding their observation upon cultivated varieties of the holly, some of which bear [143] none but spineless leaves, others none but spined ones. It will, however, be found to be the normal habit in wild hollies.
It is a hazardous thing for a Saisneach to dabble in Celtic etymology, yet will I venture to mention that the Gaelic for holly is cuileann, and may be recognised in such place-names as Cullen in Banffshire and Lanarkshire and (aspirated) Barhullion in Wigtownshire. Far seen Slieve Gullion, a cone of the Mountains of Mourne, in Armagh (1,893 feet), is popularly connected with the name of Cuileann, a worker in metals in the reign of Conchobar Mac-Nessa, King of Ulster; but it is written Sliebhe Cuilinn in the Irish Annals, which indicates Holly Mountain as the true meaning. From the same source we are able to interpret Cullen, Cullion, and Cullenach, the names of many Irish townlands, as derived from vanished hollies; and Cuileanntrach Castle, in Meath, destroyed by one Rory in 1155, was so called because of the hollies on the shore.
[144]
Pea-flowered Trees
The enormous natural order of Leguminosæ or pea-flowered plants contains many of the loveliest flowering plants in the world, but among them there are but three which, attaining the stature of trees, contribute importantly to the beauty of British woodlands—namely, the common laburnum, the alpine laburnum, and the false acacia or locust tree.
PAGODA TREE (Sophora japonica)
In the Botanic Garden, Oxford
Every country child knows the laburnum, but it is not every planter who recognises that there are two distinct species, bearing a general resemblance to each other, but differing in the time of flowering and in other important respects. The species most usually planted is the common laburnum (L. vulgare), and of a truth it would be difficult to name any tree more delectable with its "dropping wells of fire." It is uncertain how early it was brought from Central Europe to Great Britain; Tradescant had it growing in 1596; but if "awburne," mentioned in an Irish Act of Edward IV. (cap. iv., 1464) among the four woods prescribed for the bow with which every Englishman in Ireland was to provide himself, means "laburnum," it follows that this tree must have been [145] in cultivation from very early times. Indeed, the botanist Matthiolus mentions it as being better even than the yew for bow-making; and we may recognise the word "awburne" in the old Lowland Scots name for the laburnum, "hoburn saugh," both being from the alternative Latin form, alburnus. Gerard called it the bean-trefoil.
There is but one precaution to be observed in planting laburnums—namely, that they should not be within reach of horses or cattle, for the seeds contain a powerful poison called cytisine. Some years ago, wishing to do wayfarers a service by enlivening a stretch of high road, I caused a row of laburnums to be planted on either side. The trees had attained some stature, when a Clydesdale mare belonging to the tenant of a field bordering the road suddenly died, her death being attributed to eating laburnum seeds, so the trees had to be uprooted. Neither leaves nor bark appear to contain the poison, judging from the avidity shown by rabbits in devouring them. No tree is so vulnerable at all ages by those detestable creatures as are the laburnum and the holly. The largest stems are liable to be barked by them in hard weather. Some writers have copied Pliny in stating that bees will not visit the flowers of laburnum; but Pliny cannot have been writing from personal observation, for modern bees, at least, show no aversion to the yellow blossoms.
The common laburnum seldom exceeds 30 feet in height. The largest I have seen stands in the laundry yard of Alnwick Castle, over 40 feet high, [146] wide-spreading, with a double stem measuring over 11 feet in girth near the ground. When Loudon measured it in 1835 the girth was only 6 feet 11 inches. It is a magnificent sight when in bloom. The timber of laburnum, though now greatly neglected in favour of foreign woods, is of admirable quality for cabinet work, being of a dark olive tint, and taking a fine polish. Seeing that the laburnum is perfectly hardy in our climate and grows rapidly in any well-drained soil, it seems a pity that the fine material it produces is not more commonly used.
FLOWER OF LABURNUM
The alpine laburnum (L. alpinum) goes by the name of Scottish laburnum in the nursery trade. Like the common laburnum, it is a native of Central Europe, being, probably, merely the mountain form of the other, to which it bears a strong general resemblance. The readiest means of distinguishing between the two species consists in the foliage and young shoots. In the common laburnum the leaf stalks, young shoots, and under sides of the leaves are thickly clothed with a smooth, silky pubescence, whereas in the alpine species these parts are quite bare, which causes the tree when in leaf to appear of a deeper green than the other. But the important difference for planters is that the alpine laburnum blossoms a fortnight or so later than the common laburnum, thereby prolonging the display of these charming trees. Elwes describes the flowers of the alpine laburnum as being paler in colour than those of the other species; but according to my own observation they are of the richer gold. There are [147] some fine specimens in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, verging upon 100 years old, about 40 feet high, and now past their prime. The timber is of the same fine quality as that of the common laburnum.
Some beautiful hybrids have been reared between these two species, and planters cannot be too strongly recommended to use them. The variety known as L. watereri bears flower-tassels 15 to 18 inches long. As it is propagated by grafting on the common species, care should be taken not to allow the stock to overcome the scion, root suckers and stem spray being rigidly suppressed.
Another curious hybrid is L. adami, which originated nearly a hundred years ago in a French nursery through engrafting Cytisus purpureus on a laburnum stem, with the result that this graft-hybrid produces yellow flowers on some branches and violet ones on others.
Mr. Gerald Loder has secured a charming effect at Wakehurst Place, Sussex, by planting wistaria to grow with laburnum, the flower racemes being similar in size and shape, but respectively of the complementary colours, yellow and violet.
In writing of a beautiful tree as the false Acacia, no reflection upon its integrity is implied in the epithet. The Robinia is so called because Englishmen have chosen to call it an acacia, which it is not, any more than it is a locust tree, as the Americans speak of it. Its scientific title is Robinia pseudacacia, commemorating Jean Robin, who first reared it in France in 1601 from seeds sent to him from North [148] America, where it is very widely spread and much valued for the durability of its timber.
William Cobbett (1762-1835) conceived an extravagant idea of its merits, and predicted that it would supersede all British trees, including the oak; but this expectation has fallen far short of fulfilment. Among many other landowners who were induced to act on the faith of it, Lord Folkestone, a fellow-Radical of Cobbett's, planted 13,000 or 14,000 locusts at Coleshill Park, Berkshire, in 1824; but of these only very few remain now, none of them over 60 feet high. The fact is, the Robinia loves more sun than it gets in most parts of our islands and a hotter soil. This renders it unsuitable for planting in Scotland, especially in the humid west. There are, indeed, a few large specimens north of the Tweed, such as one at Cordale House, Dumbartonshire, 64 feet high by 7 feet in girth; another at Mauldslie Castle, Lanarkshire, 60 feet high by 8 feet 7 inches in girth; and, most northerly of all, one at Gordon Castle, which in 1904 measured 56 feet high by 9 feet in girth. But, as a rule, it is only to be found in good form in the sunnier shires; besides, notwithstanding the strength of its timber when felled, the growing boughs are exceedingly brittle, which makes the tree unsuitable for exposure to high winds.
ROBINIA PSEUDACACIA
At Winchester
On the sandy soil of parts of Surrey, especially about St. George's Hill, the locust thrives well, reproducing itself freely from self-sown seed, and forming very lovely objects when covered with fragrant white blossoms in June. Even in such parts of England [149] where it does best, it is not profitable to let it stand longer than, say, twenty or thirty years, when it makes admirable fencing and gate-posts, which are almost imperishable. At a greater age the trunk becomes coarse and deeply furrowed, often becoming rotten towards the centre. Elwes mentions a locust tree at Frogmore, near Windsor, as the largest in Britain, which he found in 1908 to be 88 feet high by 14 feet 7 inches in girth. One about the same height at Bowood, Lord Lansdowne's place in Wiltshire, was slightly taller, but girthed only 8½ feet.
In France and Italy the locusts thrive as vigorously as in their native continent, and are exceedingly beautiful during the flowering season. They also make very effective hedges, being regularly cut over, when they send up long and strong shoots armed with murderous thorns.
Few trees stand the drought, heat, and smoke of London as well as the Robinia, which carries its verdure unchanged long after the limes and elms have become seared and unsightly. Many a time, when Parliament continued sitting through and after the dog days, have I refreshed my eyes by gazing upon a fine Robinia which stood at the corner of the late Lord Sefton's house in Belgrave Square. But that tree is no more, for, when the house changed hands after its former owner's death, and was put into the hands of builders and decorators, they felled my friendly Robinia.
There are three species of Robinia seldom planted in this country—namely, R. hispida, R. neo-mexicana, [150] and R. viscosa, all with beautiful pink or rose-coloured flowers. Of these, the first-named, a native of Carolina, is the most desirable, but it is even more brittle than the locust or false acacia. Its blossoms are so exquisite as to entitle the tree to the advantage of being trained on a wall.
There are two other trees of the peaflower order which one would fain see more frequently planted in the sunnier districts of Great Britain, namely the Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum) and the white-flowered Sophora (S. japonica). I happen to be writing within a couple of hundred yards of the finest Judas tree known to me—at Twyford Lodge, near Winchester. It is 35 feet high, and in these early days of May presents a sight which cannot easily be forgotten. The branches, still leafless, are thickly set with blossom; flowers even break out from the old bark on the stem, and the effect of the whole is a dome of soft vieux rose (see Frontispiece ). It is a native of southern Europe, but agrees perfectly with the climate of England, except in northerly districts which are scant of sun, where it should receive the protection of a wall to encourage the formation of flower buds. The Judas tree (so named from the fond belief that the false Apostle hanged himself thereon) is seldom to be seen in our pleasure-grounds, though it has often been planted there; the reason for this being that it is of slow growth in its early stages, and gets smothered with ranker things, often of less merit.
FLOWER OF ROBINIA PSEUDACACIA
The Pagoda tree (Sophora japonica) is a native of [151] China, where from immemorial time it has been used in medicine, its flowers, seeds and bark being powerfully purgative. Its blossoms appear in August and September, varying in hue from white to yellow, with a tinge of purple. Those which I have seen bear cream-coloured flowers in long, loose panicles, contrasting finely with the dark, pinnate foliage. The tallest specimens I have seen are at Syon House, about 70 feet high. There is also a very large one within the Tilt Yard of Arundel Castle, and Elwes measured one at Cobham Park, Kent, which was 85 feet high in 1905. At page 144 is shown a fine Pagoda tree in the Botanic Garden at Oxford. I do not remember to have seen any specimens in Scotland. Probably the late flowering habit of the tree would not suit the northern kingdom.
[152]
The Elder
In the humid atmosphere of the west there is no more inveterate forest growth than the elder or, as we call it in Scotland, the bourtree (Sambucus nigra), which, springing from seeds which birds, having stuffed themselves with the sweet berries, distribute far and wide, shoots up with amazing rapidity, indifferent as to sun or shade, for it grows happily under dense forest canopy, although it is only in the open that it makes full display of its great discs of cream-coloured flowers.
From the earliest times there have been two schools of opinion about the elder. Pliny put faith in decoction of its leaves as a febrifuge, and in his day malaria was a terrible scourge in Italy. In 1644 appeared a book entirely devoted to its virtues—The Anatomie of the Elder, translated from the Latin of Dr. Martin Blockwich by C. de Iryngio; and thirty years later John Evelyn burst into a coruscation of italic type in praise of this humble tree.
"If the Medicinal properties of the Leaves, Bark, Berries, &c., were thoroughly known, I cannot tell what our Country-man could aile for which he might not fetch a Remedy from every Hedge, either [153] for Sickness or Wound. The inner Barke of Elder, apply'd to any burning, takes out the fire immediately. That, or in season the Buds, boyl'd in Water-grewel for a Break-fast, has effected wonders in the Fever; and the decoction is admirable to asswage Inflammations and telrous humors, and especially the Scorbut. But an Extract or Theriaca may be compos'd of the Berries, which is not only efficacious to eradicate this Epidemical inconvenience, and greatly to assist Longevity (so famous is the story of Næander), but is a kind of Catholicon against all infirmities; and of the same Berries is made an incomparable Spirit which, drunk by itself or mingled with Wine, is not only an excellent drink, but admirable in the Dropsy.... The Oyntment made with the young buds and leaves in May with Butter, is most soveraign for Aches, shrunk Sinews, Hemorrhoids, etc."
And so on and so on, much in the strain of modern advertisement of patent medicines. The boot is on the other leg now, for although hot elder-berry wine glows comfortably in memories of boyhood, I know not where I might now get a glass thereof, were I to perish for want of it. [15] Thoughtful housewives still provide elder flower water on the toilet tables of their guests, and methinks the ointment may be found in some conservative nurseries.
Contemporary with mediæval esteem of the elder was the belief that it was accursed because it was the tree whereon Judas hanged himself. We know, of course, that in Southern Europe the beautiful Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum) is stained by that imputation, but Sir John Mandeville (fourteenth century) assured his countrymen that he had been shown at Jerusalem the identical "Tree of Eldre" on which [154] the traitor ended his career. The chief reason for hesitating to accept Mandeville's evidence is that he never, or hardly ever, told the truth except by accident. Shakespeare, however, entertained the belief, for in Love's Labour's Lost he makes Biron say to Holofernes, "Judas was hanged on an elder," and science has lent assent to the rural fancy which gave the name Jew's Ears to the flabby black fungus that makes the elder its peculiar host by calling it Hirneola auricula-Judæ.
The pith which bulks so largely in the young growth of elder ceases to increase after the second year, and becomes compressed, and the wood that forms round it is exceedingly hard. In old times it was much in request for making pipes and other musical instruments. Pliny has preserved a quaint bit of folk-lore about it. He says the shepherds believe "that the most sonorous horns are made of an elder growing where it has never heard a cock crow." In our day we put the wood to no use whatever, unless, in the West of England, butchers still use it for skewering meat, which it was supposed to guard from taint. But—
No sound shall creak through the solemn pines,
The ocean shall lose its roar,
The wild horse cease to skim the plain,
The alpine peaks be level again,
The eagle forget to soar,
before our boys forget the simple craft that turns whistles and popguns out of elder shoots. For this, and certain other qualities, the elder claims a permanent [155] place in our affection. It never winces or complains under the harshest phases of our climate, and it forgets its melancholy at midsummer, when an old bourtree, 30 feet high or so, set with scores of creamy saucers, is a really beautiful object.
ELDER (Sambucus nigra) In June
ELDER (Sambucus nigra) In December
The elder has given names to many places in our land. In the Cornish dialect of Celtic, now extinct, it was called scau and scauan, and is preserved in Tresco, Boscawen, Penscauan, etc. In old Celtic it was trom, genitive truim, whence, as we learn from the Book of Armagh, the town Trim, in Meath, was formerly Ath-truim, the elder ford. Galtrim, in the same county, appears in the annals as Cala-truim, the meadow of the elder. Trimmer, Trummer, and Trummery are Irish place-names, all perpetuating the memory of tromaire, an elder wood. The Truim, a principal tributary of the Spey, probably was originally Amhuinn Truim, the elder river. In the Scottish lowlands we find Bourtriehill, Bourtriebush, etc., while in England it is difficult to distinguish "elder" in composition from "alder." Skeat suggests the two words are of identical origin, and in each the d is intrusive. Elderfield, a parish in Worcestershire, Ellerby and Ellerton in Yorkshire bear a pretty clear stamp.
[156]
The Hazel
To admit the hazel to rank among forest trees may seem like magnifying a molehill into a mountain; but it was a growth so important to the primitive community, as the only native tree contributing to winter provender, that it would be ungrateful to omit it. I was greatly impressed by this fact when, many years ago, we were exploring "crannogs," or lake dwellings, in the south-west of Scotland, in all of which nut-shells were found in quantity.
One instance was particularly remarkable. Dirskelvin Loch, a small sheet of water in Old Luce Parish, contained a very large crannog, built, as we roughly calculated, with between 2,000 and 3,000 trees. The loch having been drained away, we proceeded to exfoliate the crannog. In going along what had been the north-east margin of the vanished loch, I found it deeply covered with hazel-nut shells—many, many cartloads of them. Evidently they were kitchen waste from the crannog, drifted to that quarter before the prevailing south-west wind.
If the reader does not consider that the food it [157] produces justifies admission of the hazel among forest trees, let him meet me at Merton Parish Church, on Tweedside, turn off the main road to the left at Clint Mains, and, as we travel towards Bemersyde, he shall see in the road fence on his right hand a row of hazels which it would be a misuse of terms to style bushes. Speaking from recollection, they stand about 25 feet high, with single stems that must girth not less than 18 inches to 2 feet. The fact is, the hazel does not often get a chance of attaining its full stature, being commonly cut for copse or treated as undergrowth.
He, however, who aims at growing hazel timber need not waste time in educating our British Corylus avellana, but plant the Turkish hazel, C. colurna, which is perfectly hardy in our climate. It is represented by very few specimens in these islands, albeit it was grown in England as "the filbeard of Constantinople" so long ago as 1665. The finest trees of this species are at Syon House, Brentford, the tallest of which was 75 feet high in 1904, with a girth of 6 feet 9 inches, and a clean bole of 30 feet. The timber is said to have a beautiful texture, pinkish white, and sometimes grained like bird's-eye maple. French cabinetmakers import it under the name of noisetier.
Returning to our native hazel, we no longer depend upon its fruit to sustain us through the winter, though large quantities of the cultivated varieties, filbert and cob-nut, are still grown in Kent for the market. Of the wood, it can only be said that it produces excellent walking-sticks, and has no equal [158] in hurdle-making. Modern anglers have no use for it, preferring greenheart and split cane, though of old it was considered a sine qua non for rod-making. Thus the author of The Boke of Saint Albans prescribes:
"Ye that woll be crafty in anglynge, ye must fyrste lerne to make your harnays, that is to wyte your rodde.... And how ye shall make your rodde crafty here I shall teche you. Ye shall kytte betwene Myghelmas and Candylmas a fayr staffe of a fadome and an halfe longe, and arme grete, of hasyll, willowe, or aspe."
The prescription goes on for drying, straightening, and boring out the middle of the staff, and then—
"In the same season take a fayr yerde of grene hasyll and beth hym evyn and streyghte, and let it drye with the staffe, and whan they ben drye make the yerde mete into the hole in the staffe, unto halfe the length of the staffe.... And thus shall ye make you a rodde soo prevy that ye may walke therewyth, and there shall noo man wyte where abowte ye goo."
Seeing that the staff was to be "a fadome and an halfe longe" (9 feet), and as thick as his arm, the wayfarer's progress might not be so "prevy" as is set forth if water bailiffs were on the lookout!
AILANTHUS GLANDULOSA
[159]
The Ailanto
In many southern parts of the British Isles Ailanthus glandulosa has attained forest stature; but it seems to require more sunshine than it can receive in the average Scottish summer. Loudon, indeed, mentions one at Dunrobin, in Sutherland, which was 43 feet high about eighty years ago; but I have found no trace of that tree in the woods there. There used to be one at Syon 100 feet high, but this has been dead for some years. Elwes and Henry have recorded several in the home counties measuring from 70 to 80 feet in height. Dr. Henry found it wild only in the mountains of Northern China. Elsewhere in China it is cultivated to support a certain species of silk-worm (Attacus cynthia); also a drug is prepared from the root bark; but its timber is regarded as fit only for firing, although in this country it has been found serviceable by wheelwrights. It is said to resemble ash, but is of inferior toughness and elasticity. [16] He, therefore, would be acting very unwisely who, having land suitable for ash, should devote it to growing Ailanthus. Indeed the tree, [160] though handsome and hardy, would hardly deserve attention from British planters, were it not for its admirable fitness for street planting. Except the plane, no forest growth adapts itself so generously to the arid heat, the drought and noxious air of London. For this purpose, it is important that, as the Ailanthus is diœcious, only female trees should be planted; the males exhaling a disagreeable rammish odour. I have never been in Northern China, but I cannot conceive that the splendid pinnate foliage of this tree can be more luxuriant in its native forest than it is in a few of the driest, dustiest London thoroughfares.
The habit of the tree in this country tends to forking, probably because the leader is apt to be nipped by late frost; wherefore, to secure a shapely specimen, timely use of the knife is necessary; which attention, to judge from the trees I have seen, is very seldom paid to it.
[161]
The Pines
Except the birch, the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is more widely distributed over northern Europe than any other species of tree, and it shows more indifference than any other to variations of climate. While in Eastern Siberia it sustains without flinching a temperature of 40° below zero (Fahr.), it thrives in Southern Spain under a summer heat of 95°. It seems as much at home in the sun-baked region of Southern France as it is in the perennially humid atmosphere and cool soil of Western Scotland and Ireland.
Yet there are limits to its cosmopolitan endurance. Not long ago I spent a profitable day in the Arnold Arboretum at Boston, Massachusetts, under the guidance of its presiding genius, Professor C. S. Sargent. After wandering for hours amid the luxuriant vegetation of that magnificent park, we stopped beside a mangy, stunted conifer, and he asked me whether I recognised it. I did not; but guessed at hazard that it was the Japanese Pinus parviflora. I was surprised to be told that this was the best that could be done in that country with our own Scots pine. [162] From causes difficult to define, probably similar to those which prohibit the growth of our common ivy in the Eastern United States, this tree resists all attempts to make it at home in that atmosphere.
SCOTS PINE WOOD
It may seem strange that this tree should be known as the Scots pine, having regard to its enormous geographical range and to the insignificant area which it occupies in Scotland as compared with the vast forests in Russia, Scandinavia, and other countries. Its scientific title, Pinus sylvestris—the forest pine—would appear more appropriate. But it has received its English name because, although at one time it was spread as a native over all parts of the British Isles, it is now only to be found in a truly wild state in the fragments of old forest remaining in Strathspey, Deeside, and here and there in the counties of Inverness and Perth. From England probably it had entirely disappeared when, in the seventeenth century, certain landowners succeeded in reintroducing it; and now it has attained splendid proportions in Surrey and other southern counties, and spreads freely by its winged seeds wherever these fall on unoccupied lands. Were it not for deer, sheep, and rabbits, most of our dry moors and heathland would be covered with pine forest up to the thousand feet level. Howbeit, most of the moorland in the United Kingdom is the reverse of dry. Except in Eastern Scotland and the Surrey uplands, it is usually clad with a dense coat of wet peat, reeking with humic acid and inimical to tree growth of any kind. One of the darkest enigmas of natural science is presented in the remains of pine [163] forest buried under such a dismal treeless expanse as the Moor of Rannoch, and on Highland hills up to and beyond 2000 feet altitude, far higher than any tree can exist now. The explanation seems most likely to be arrived at in the direction indicated by certain symptoms of the alternation of periods of greater and less rainfall—periods comprising thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years. Trees, it has been suggested, might grow and reproduce themselves at high altitudes during the drier cycles; but when the rainfall and atmospheric humidity increased beyond a certain degree, the soil would become covered with moss, seedlings would be smothered or never start, and humic acid would render the ground unfit for any growth except heather and moorland herbs.
Diligent collectors and enterprising nurserymen have ransacked the remotest forests to furnish British woodlands with profitable timber-producers and British pleasure-grounds with ornamental trees; yet among all the scores of exotic conifers which have taken kindly to our ocean-girt land, the Scots pine, in my judgment, need fear no rival in beauty after reaching maturity.
It is not a little remarkable, considering how well adapted our moist climate is for evergreen growth, that the Scots pine and the juniper should be the only two conifers indigenous to Britain since the glacial age. (The yew used to be classed as coniferous, but has now been removed to a separate order.) The Norway spruce, as shown by remains in pre-glacial [164] deposits in Norfolk, once flourished in our land; but it has never recovered a footing there since the severance of Britain from the Continent.
No tree shows a greater difference than Scots pine in the quality of its timber at different stages of growth. Unlike larch, which yields useful and durable wood from a very early age, Scots pine is very soft and perishable until the tree approaches eighty years old. It is true that young deals and posts may be rendered serviceable by boiling in creosote; but it is not until the tree reaches maturity that the timber becomes valuable, without that treatment, for anything except pit-props.
In 1783 Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon, sold a great breadth of the pine forest of Glenmore to an English merchant, who took twenty-two years to fell it. The logs were floated down the Spey, and built at Speymouth into forty-seven ships of an aggregate burthen of 19,000 tons. When Mr. Osborne, the purchaser of the timber, finished his work in 1806, he sent a memorial plank to the Duke, which now stands in the entrance hall of Gordon Castle. It measures 5 feet 5 inches in width at the butt end, and 4 feet 4 inches at the top, and is of a rich dark brown colour. The top of this magnificent tree lies where it was cut off more than one hundred years ago, on the hill above Glenmore Lodge, 1400 feet above the sea, and is still hard and sound, 3 feet in diameter where it was cut off. Now, had that been part of a tree, say, fifty years old, frost and wet would have rotted it to the core in ten years or less; but the [165] snows and rains of a century have made little impression on the bones of this giant. Mr. Elwes was shown a tree in the King's Forest of Ballochbuie, on Deeside, which had been cut up after lying for seventy years where it fell, yet the timber was quite sound.
Age apart, the value of Scots deal varies much according to the manner in which it is grown. It is not the most picturesque pines that yield the finest timber; for the result of growing singly or in scattered groups is a spreading branchy habit, causing coarse, knotty wood. Enormous quantities of Scots pine from Scandinavia and pinaster from France, twenty to thirty-five years old, are imported into Great Britain for pit-props. These might be just as well grown in the British Isles, to the great advantage of rural employment; but British foresters are only now beginning to understand the economic management of timber crops. The great majority of woodlands in these islands have been ruined by over-thinning. Welsh mineowners decline to use the knotty British-grown pines so long as they can get clean-grown French timber.
Happily, a better understanding of the principles of economic forestry is being arrived at in this country, so that more satisfactory results may be expected in the future. Scots pine should be grown in close canopy—that is, with a continuous cover of foliage throughout the wood—until the trees are seventy or eighty years old. By that time long, clean boles will have been formed, and the forest may be dealt with [166] according to the views of the owner, whether his object be profit or beauty; for, unlike the oak, the Scots pine may be isolated from his fellows after reaching maturity without suffering in constitution.
The mildness and humidity of the British climate are unfavourable to the production of the best quality of deal, promoting, as they do, over-rapid growth and, in consequence, wide annual rings in the stem. The forester's object should be to check this by growing the trees so close that increase of trunk diameter may be retarded, and the annual rings crowded into small space until the trees are near maturity. That is the secret of the superior quality and durability of Russian and Scandinavian deals over all but the finest British pine.
FLOWER AND FRUIT OF SCOTS PINE
Amateurs in landscape object to the scientific treatment of pine forest, complaining that it creates a tiresome monotony. It is quite true that a plantation of Scots pines of middle age is not an interesting subject of contemplation, except to foresters. Nevertheless, it is half-way to what may become one of the most impressive scenes in nature. The most beautiful tract of Scots pine forest I have ever seen is that which clothes the slopes of the Wishart Burn, near Gordon Castle. This was planted about 180 to 190 years ago, and it is evident that the trees have gone through strict discipline of close company in early life, for their trunks are lofty, perfectly clean and even, carrying their girth well up to the branches at 50 or 60 feet from the ground. The tallest tree measured by Mr. Elwes in this wood seven years ago was about [167] 117 feet high, with a girth at breast height of 1 inch short of 11 feet. He estimated that it contained 345 cubic feet of timber. Many of the trees in this wood have been felled; but there remain about sixty to the acre—say, 6000 cubic feet per acre. They would be easily saleable standing at 6d. a foot, or £150 per acre.
As for landscape beauty, it would be difficult to imagine a fairer woodland scene than is composed by this company of aged pines. They do not stand so close now as to prevent one "seeing the wood for the trees"; the sun rays penetrate freely among the stately stems, which have that peculiar bloom of pearly rose that distinguishes the bark of old Scots pine. Aloft, the light flashes on the brighter hue of ruddy boughs supporting the massive foliage; below, the undulating ground, steep and rocky in places, is clothed with bilberry, fern, and other lowly growth. There is nothing gloomy or dreary in the scene, which he who visits it will not readily forget.
In Gaelic the name for the pine is giuthas (pronounced "gewuss," with a hard g). As is usual in the case of native trees, this word may be identified in many place-names both in Scotland and Ireland; albeit, sometimes pretty well disguised in modern orthography. Guisachan and Kingussie may be recognised pretty easily, the latter being cinn giuthasaich—"at the end or head of the pine wood"; but it requires some smattering of Gaelic speech to avoid the ornithological suggestion conveyed in the name Loch Goosie, in Kirkcudbright, and to interpret it correctly as "the loch of the pine wood."
[168]
I have remarked above that a mature Scots pine has no rival in beauty in the genus, and indeed the charming outline, blue-green foliage, ruddy branches and roseate grey trunk of a well-grown Scot of 150 years' growth can admit no superior in comeliness; but, on second thoughts, I must admit that it has a dangerous competitor in the Monterey pine (P. radiata syn. insignis). Native of an extremely limited range on the Californian coast, the first seedlings were raised in England in 1833. There are now several specimens recorded as over 100 feet in height. In rapidity of growth it excels all other pines, at least in the moist climate of the British Isles. One which I planted in 1884 at Monreith was blown down in 1911, and was found to be 61 feet 6 inches in height, with a girth of 5 feet 4 inches, certainly a remarkable growth in 27 years. If the timber were of a quality proportioned to the rapidity with which it is produced, the Monterey pine would indeed be a valuable tree, but our experience of it in this country differs in no respect from Sargent's report, viz. "Wood light, soft, not strong, brittle, close-grained." If it were grown in sufficient quantity it might prove good for pulping, but it is of no other economic value. Moreover, this pine is only suitable for the milder parts of the United Kingdom—the south and west coasts of Great Britain and the whole of Ireland. Almost the only exception known to me is a tree at Keir, in Perthshire, which in 1905 was about 70 feet high, with a girth of 11 feet. This must be an individual of exceptional hardihood, for in most inland districts, [169] except in Ireland, the Monterey pine has succumbed to frost. In maritime districts it is a most desirable tree, affording splendid shelter and gladdening the eye with its rich foliage of deep but brilliant green and rugged, massive trunk.
To describe, however briefly, all the exotic pines that have been successfully grown in the British Isles would fill a volume in itself. I cannot do more or better than refer the reader who desires the fullest information about them to the great work of Elwes and Henry wherein all particulars are given of about fifty different species. Yet I cannot refrain from mentioning one European species which I regard as qualified in large measure to supplant the Scots pine as a commercial asset in British woodland. I refer to the Corsican pine (P. laricio) and its varieties which, despite the insular title popularly given to the tree, cover a range extending from southern France and Spain to the Caucasus. Among these varieties, late authorities include the Austrian pine (P. austriaca), which, if it be botanically identical with the Corsican, is of very inferior merit for British planters. In extreme exposure it forms good shelter, but its habit is coarse and roughly branching, very different from the fine columnar growth of the Corsican. Moreover, there is this singular distinction between the two trees—one of no slight importance to foresters in our rodent-ridden land—that whereas hares and rabbits greedily devour young Austrian pines, they never touch the Corsicans; at least I have never known them injure one of tens of thousands which I [170] have planted, though I have heard of newly-planted trees being attacked elsewhere under extreme stress of hard weather.
Dr. Henry has given a very full description of the pine forests of Corsica, [17] whence it appears that, owing to the excess of sapwood, the timber is of little value till the trees are 200 to 300 years old, at which age the trunks average only 3 feet in diameter. A forest tree which develops so slowly is not likely to find much favour with British foresters; and the fact that this pine grows faster in our islands than on its native mountains certainly does not lead one to expect a high quality of timber. I have, however, cut poles of Corsican pine thirty years old to support the galvanised roof of a hayshed. They averaged 8 inches in diameter at 5 feet from the ground, and were undoubtedly larger and finer than Scots pine of the same age growing among them, which I should never dream of using for such a purpose; but, as the shed has only been standing for three or four years, it is too early to regard this as a test. The merits of this pine already ascertained in this country are resistance to wind exposure, straight and rapid growth, and immunity from damage by ground game. These qualities render it most valuable for planting mixed with other trees, for which purpose I consider it superior to Scots pine. It requires, however, more considerate nursery treatment, for its root system is straggling; and planting out should be delayed till the middle of April and carried on till [171] the middle of May. Observing this rule, I have found the percentage of loss after planting to be trifling, certainly not greater than with Scots pine; but the results are not so satisfactory in southern England on hot soils. The Corsican pine, however, demands all the light it can get, being extremely impatient of shade, whether overhead or alongside.
The great expectations formed about the Weymouth pine (Pinus strobus) when it was brought to England early in the eighteenth century have not been fulfilled. Known as the white pine of the North American lumber trade, it received its British designation from the extent to which it was planted by Lord Weymouth at Longleat. It is true that many fine specimens exist in several parts of these islands, notably that which was blown down in 1875 near Tortworth in Gloucestershire, measuring 122 feet high with 46 feet of clean bole; but as a forest tree it has never taken high rank with us, perhaps because, generally grown as a specimen, it has not been subjected to forest treatment, and the quality of the timber is ruined by the uprush of a number of competing tops. It was this habit that disfigured a Weymouth pine at Dunkeld which I measured in 1902 and found to be 13 feet 3 inches in girth at 4 feet from the ground, the clean bole being about 30 feet. I think this tree has since been blown down.
Far superior to the Weymouth pine in erect habit is the Western White pine (P. monticola), which, in other respects, resembles the other very closely. This would be a most desirable tree for use as well as ornament, [172] but that it has proved susceptible to attacks of the rust-fungus (Peridermium strobi), an organism which requires to pass alternate generations on Ribes (currant). A number of fine P. monticola in the famous woods of Murthly, some of which were over 80 feet high in 1906, have perished under the agency of this parasite. On the west coast, however, this fungus does not seem to have made its appearance. Of two trees of this species which I planted in 1876, believing them to be Swiss stone pines (P. cembra), one is now a straight, shapely tree 57 feet high, with a girth of 5 feet 4 inches at 5 feet from the ground; and both have produced plenty of seed whence a large number of seedlings have been planted out.
No notice of the Pines, however fragmentary and superficial, could be justified if it did not include a reference to the Pinaster or Cluster Pine (Pinus maritima). British tourists on their journey to or from Biarritz, Pau, etc., can scarcely fail to have noticed the immense plantations of this tree through which the railway runs between Bayonne and Bordeaux. For nearly 100 miles the woodland is well-nigh continuous, consisting almost exclusively of this species, and covering an area of nearly two million acres "perhaps" says Mr. Elwes, "the most extensive forest ever created by the hand of man." Estimating the capital sunk in planting, road-making, etc., since 1855 at upwards of £2,000,000, M. Huffel put its value in 1904 at £18,000,000, the annual revenue from timber, turpentine and resin being then more than half a million sterling—equal to a [173] rent of about 7s. an acre. In a wild state, the landes thus occupied were practically worthless for agriculture.
Although the pinaster is a native of the Mediterranean region, it agrees admirably with the soil and climate of the British Isles, thrusting its boughs out in the teeth of severe wind exposure, growing to great height and bulk and ripening abundant seed. Yet it is a despised tree with us, few landowners being at pains to plant it now, although a considerable number seem to have been planted about the end of the eighteenth century and early in the nineteenth.
[174]
The Silver Firs
While the wide range of the English language over the globe is of considerable advantage to commerce, and possibly to some other interests, it is the source of some perplexity when, as in treating of natural history or botany, precise terms have to be employed. Thus in the United Kingdom most people know exactly what tree is meant by the silver fir; but in the United States, with a population well on to double that of the British Isles, the silver fir is understood to mean quite a different species—namely, Abies venusta, a native of California, not suitable for forestry purposes in this country. In like manner, though there is no true cedar indigenous to America, there are half-a-dozen trees there known as red cedar, white cedar, and so forth. English, being a living language, is still fluid; meanings shift with changes of environment; to secure precision, therefore, science must have recourse to classical Greek and Latin, which, being dead languages, change no more.
The group of evergreen conifers, then, collectively known as silver firs, consists of about thirty species [175] comprised in the genus Abies; and these are most easily recognised by the position of the mature cones, which stand erect on the branches, whereas in the other group of true firs, the spruces (Picea), they are pendulous in all except two or three Asiatic species. Another mark of distinction is the circular base of the needle or leaf, which, when it falls or is pulled from the branch, leaves a perfectly circular scar; while in the spruces the leaves are set upon little pegs which remain on the twig when the leaves fall. The grey or silvery bands on the under side of the leaf, although it is from these that the tree is called the silver fir, are not an exclusive badge of the genus; for some of the other firs, notably the Manchurian spruce, display similar colouring.
The tree known in this country as the silver fir par excellence (Abies pectinata) is the loftiest European tree. Probably the extreme height had been attained by one grown in a Bosnian virgin forest, measured by Mr. Elwes after it had fallen, "over 180 feet long, whose decayed top must have been at least 15 or 20 feet more."
The silver fir is not a native of Britain, having been introduced about the beginning of the seventeenth century. Its range extends over southern and central Europe, from the Pyrenees on the west to the borders of Wallachia on the east. Nevertheless, it has found a congenial home in these islands, where, if it had ever received scientific handling, it would have been far more highly esteemed for its timber than it now is. Such handling we have never given it; the silver [176] fir has been used indiscriminately in mixed plantation, where, outstripping every other tree in stature, it loses its leader, and sends up a number of heads which get battered by the wind, becoming ragged and unsightly.
Now if these noble firs, instead of being scattered among trees of inferior height, were planted in close forest, so as to be drawn up with clean boles to a single leader, they would protect each other from the gale. Then might be seen something of the true character of the silver fir as it is developed in such forests as that of the Vosges, in Eastern France, where a tract fifty miles long is clad principally with this species, or in the Jura, where a forest of silver fir 10,600 acres in extent yields annually 170 cubic feet of timber per acre felled. British foresters and wood merchants set a low value on such timber as the silver fir produces in this country; and small blame to them, because, grown as we are in the habit of growing it, branchy and full of great knots, it is almost worthless; but in some districts of Europe where silver forest is well managed and felled in rotation, the deals are more sought after and command a readier market than spruce. The thinnings make excellent pitwood, and although, like spruce, the timber is not naturally durable enough for outdoor purposes, it can be made so by creosote treatment.
SILVER FIRS (Abies pectinata)
The silver fir sows itself very freely in places where the ground herbage is not so rank as to choke the young plants; but to allow natural reproduction a fair chance, ground game must be rigorously excluded, [177] for deer, hares, and rabbits seem to regard this delicacy in much the same light as human beings do asparagus. This tree—Abies pectinata (I must resort to Latin to distinguish it from the other European, Asiatic, and American silvers) differs from every other member of the genus (so far as my observation goes) in being a shade-bearer; that is, it will grow under the shade and drip of deciduous trees, so dense as to be fatal to the health, and generally to the life, of every other conifer except the juniper. This renders it of almost unique utility for under-planting, the beech being its only rival for that purpose. It is true that the Douglas fir and the giant Thuja both stand a considerable amount of side shade, but the silver fir thrives under conditions of overhead drip which the others cannot suffer. One may read in books on forestry that the Norway spruce is patient of overhead shade; I can only say that, though I have sought diligently for an instance of its doing so, and have seen many thousands of spruce planted in faith of this misleading advice, I have never found a case where the attempt has succeeded.
In planting silver firs it is important to take advantage of their power of bearing shade, for the young trees are very susceptible of injury by late frost, from which older and taller woodland will protect them. It is remarkable how long and patiently the young silvers so treated will wait for head-room—marking time, as it were, till the older crop is cleared away, when they will go ahead and occupy the ground.
[178]
The silver fir is more exacting in the matter of climate than in that of soil. The great forest of the Vosges is chiefly on silicious ground; but that of the Jura, which is even finer, grows on limestone. The great silver firs at Rosneath, probably the oldest in the United Kingdom, stand near the sea level in deep sandy soil. They are certainly over 200 years old, the largest being about 110 feet high and 22 feet 7 inches in girth. These trees are very massive, and branch into great heads owing to their not having been grown under conditions of close forest. The only rival in bulk to them is to be found at Ardkinglass, on Loch Fyne, about 120 feet high, and estimated to contain over 1,000 cubic feet of timber.
In many places on the south and east coasts the silver fir does not thrive. It requires an abundant rainfall and a moist atmosphere, which probably accounts for its inability to stand the climate of the Eastern United States. There are, however, some fine specimens in Sussex (at Cowdray there is, or was a few years ago, a silver fir over 130 feet high, with a clean bole of 90 feet), and at Alnwick, in Northumberland; but at Novar, so famous for coniferous trees, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson has given up planting it owing to its inability to resist the attacks of aphis. This seems to indicate a constitution impaired by climatic influence, for insect parasites, though they certainly hasten the death of a weakly subject, are not likely to prevail over a thoroughly vigorous one. In Western Scotland, where, as in Ireland, the silver fir makes grand growth, aphides [179] swarm immediately upon any tree that has been debilitated by late frost or other injury. On the other hand, the Caucasian silver fir (Abies nordmanniana), which thrives splendidly in many parts of Britain where the common silver cannot be grown, frequently succumbs in the west to the attacks of aphis. At Benmore, on the Holy Loch, about 2,000 acres were planted about forty years ago with different kinds of conifers. I have examined the lists of the species planted, and find that by far the largest proportion consisted of this Caucasian fir. The forest remains, a splendid monument to its designer's enterprise; but hardly a Caucasian fir is to be found in it. The prevailing species are Douglas fir and giant Thuja.
Dr. Stewart M'Dougall has made some useful research, leading him to identify the silver fir aphis with Chermes abietis, the spruce louse which, as explained when treating of the larch, migrates to the larch and produces parthenogenic generations thereon. Dr. M'Dougall traces the silver fir louse to the same parentage. It follows from this that the spruce is a dangerous neighbour to silver firs.
Less serious, because not hurtful to the general health of the tree, is the "witch's broom" which forms upon the silver fir, sometimes greatly disfiguring it. This is caused, or at all events accompanied by, a fungus (Æcidium elatinum), which passes one phase of its existence upon certain humble herbs of the Pink family, such as the mouse-ear chickweed and sandwort.
[180]
For purposes of timber probably the common (A. pectinata) and the Caucasian silver fir (A. nordmanniana) are the pick of the genus, but there are also many other species of singular beauty. Their beauty, indeed, especially in a young state, has proved somewhat of a snare, inducing people to plant them in gardens and pleasure-grounds where they soon outgrow their environment, and, being isolated from their kind, are apt to send up many leaders and so forfeit their true character. Several years ago I was staying in a country house in the south of England, where a royal personage was paying a visit. It was arranged that the said personage should plant a memorial tree; a site was selected on a close-shaven lawn, and I could not but deplore the tree chosen for the honour. It was perhaps the least majestic of all the silver tribe, namely, the Spanish fir (A. pinsapo), a species which seldom responds freely to the conditions provided in this country, and, when it does so, is of gloomy appearance.
The largest silver fir in the world is the North American (A. grandis), which in a young state might easily be mistaken for A. pectinata, but soon exhibits its true nationality by the extraordinary rapidity of its growth. It races upwards at the rate of three feet a year, and, distancing all surrounding growth, suffers the penalty inevitable in our stormy climate, unless it should be provided with shelter from a sufficient company of its peers. At the Avondale School of Forestry A. grandis is reported to be less liable to injury from spring frost than the common [181] silver fir. No doubt there are spaces in the wilder parts of this island where this grand tree might be grown into splendid forest, but as an isolated specimen it can never develop its true dimensions, which are out of all proportion to our native woodland. The timber is neither strong nor durable; indeed, of the nine species of North American silver firs, Professor Sargent reports favourably in this respect upon one only, Abies nobilis to wit, a tree of which, personally, I have formed a very high opinion for the climate of the northern and western parts of the United Kingdom. It has suffered in reputation with many experienced planters, owing to a liability to lose its leader when it outgrows its surroundings, as it very speedily does; but, as in the case of the common silver fir, that is the consequence of bad forestry; if A. nobilis were planted in masses, the trees would protect each other. No forester can look unmoved at the group at Murthly in Perthshire, several of which are well over 100 feet high. This fir is also exceedingly ornamental in a young state, some of the seedlings from every sowing having foliage with a lovely glaucous bloom. A. magnifica and A. amabilis are not easily distinguished from A. nobilis in a young state, until cones are produced. They are beautiful, but comparatively useless trees, and there are no specimens in this country approaching the dimensions already attained here by A. nobilis.
Of the Asiatic silvers I will mention but two, both from the Himalayas. Abies pindrow, a beautiful tree of columnar growth and fine glossy foliage, has proved [182] quite hardy in Britain. The finest specimen I have seen is at Gordon Castle, Banffshire, about 70 feet high and a picture of health. A. webbiana is a tree of wider spread than A. pindrow, and excels all other silvers in its splendid foliage, two broad white bands on the under sides of the large needles thoroughly justifying the epithet "silver." When the boughs are set with great violet-blue cones this tree is indeed a beautiful object. Individuals of this species vary a good deal in their endurance of British climate, at least in the west. Its tendency to early growth renders it very vulnerable by spring frosts, and when it has been debilitated by the destruction of the young growth, it falls a prey to the attacks of aphis.
[183]
The Spruce Firs
When a British forester talks of a spruce fir he may be understood to refer to Picea excelsa, commonly known as the Norway spruce, although in fact much of the Norwegian spruce forest is composed of the Siberian spruce (P. obovata), a species closely resembling the other, but incapable of thriving in the moist and relatively mild climate of Great Britain.
The so-called Norway spruce is not a native of the British Isles, its natural range extending from the Pyrenees on the south to Scandinavia on the north, and eastward through the Carpathian Mountains to Western Russia; but, next to the Scots pine and larch, it is the conifer most commonly seen in British woodland, and, where undergrowth is not too rank, it may reproduce itself from self-sown seed. It has, indeed, been far too extensively planted with us, probably owing to its cheapness and easiness to handle. It is only to be found well developed in inland districts, such as the valley of the Tay and Deeside, where it forms really fine forest, and where noble specimens may be seen.
[184]
At Blair Atholl there was a grand spruce blown down in 1893, measuring 142 feet in height and containing about 420 cubic feet of timber. There are still many lofty spruces in the woodland about Dunkeld and Dupplin, containing well-grown, clean timber, and Messrs. Elwes and Henry have recorded a number of trees in various parts of the United Kingdom from 130 to 150 feet high. As a rule, however, in this country spruce, even when the requisite shelter has been secured, is not grown under sufficiently strict forest conditions to produce the best deals; it is commonly raised in mixed plantations, wherein, being patient of side shade, it retains its branches, a habit that renders the timber coarse and full of knots.
Probably the most successful result from a plantation of pure spruce in Scotland was that obtained on the estate of Durris, on Deeside, where the trees on 400 acres were sold standing at 60 years old, the average number of spruce per acre being 560. As the average contents per tree were 10 cubic feet, and the price realised was 5d. per foot, the value amounted to £116 per acre.
DOUGLAS FIRS (Pseudotsuga douglasii)
Planted at Taymount in 1860
It would be vain to expect any such return from spruce planted in such situations as are frequently given to it. In a seaboard exposure it is worse than useless, for no tree becomes more unsightly than a spruce under the influence of salt-laden winds. For such situations, if spruce be grown of any kind, there are other species likely to give better results. I shall name two of these presently, but, first, it may be mentioned that the genus Picea consists of two distinct [185] groups—first, the true spruces, distinguished by having four-sided needles; second, the Omorika spruces, which have flat, two-sided needles. Inasmuch as some species of the second group have silvery undersides to the needles, they are apt to be mistaken for some kind of Abies, or silver fir. Here, again, the needle serves to distinguish between them, for, as aforesaid, in the spruce family the needles are set on little peg-like projections on the twig, whereas in the silver firs there is no such projection, but each needle when pulled off leaves a circular scar.
There are probably upwards of twenty species of true spruce, including the Norway spruce. Some of them well deserve attention from the arboriculturist, being exceedingly ornamental, such as the Himalayan Morinda (P. smithiana), first raised from seed at Hopetoun House, Linlithgowshire, in 1818, and now flourishing in various parts of the United Kingdom at a height of 70 to 80 feet, with handsome pendulous branchlets.
About Waterer's glaucous variety of the Colorado spruce (P. pungens), there is current an amusing account of its introduction to this country some five-and-twenty years ago. The late Mr. Anthony Waterer was an enthusiast in his calling as a nurseryman. A traveller came to him one day with a bag of seed which he said came off the bluest fir he had ever seen. "How much do you want for the bag?" asked Anthony. "Two hundred pounds," was the reply. "Oh! go along with you," exclaimed Anthony, "d'ye think I'm made of guineas?" The man departed, but left [186] Anthony with his mouth watering (no pun intended) for the blue fir. He sent after the traveller, paid him his price, and sold thousands of the seedlings at half a guinea apiece. I cannot vouch for the truth of detail in this narrative, but the tenour thereof is quite in accord with Mr. Waterer's enterprise in his business.
Beautiful as some of these true spruces are, it is not among them that the forester need look for a substitute for the Norway spruce; but there are two at least in the other group which bid fair to oust it from its undeserved predominance in our woodlands. The first of these is the Sitka spruce, formerly known as the Menzies spruce, and still appearing in some trade catalogues as Abies menziesii, though now recognised by botanists only as Picea sitchensis. This grand tree, which in Oregon has been known to tower to the height of between 200 and 300 feet, has proved to be admirably suited for forestry purposes in the United Kingdom. It is a moisture lover, thriving in soil too wet and sour for any other conifer, and as it grows right down to the coast in Northern California and Alaska, it does not share the dislike of the Norway spruce for the breath of the ocean. This spruce, having been introduced to this country in 1831 by David Douglas, has been long enough with us to prove its quality, and there are many in the three kingdoms 100 feet high and upwards. Probably the largest in these islands is one at Castle Menzies, in Perthshire, which in 1904 measured 110 feet high and 13 feet 2 inches in girth at a height of 5 feet, having been [187] planted in 1846. The timber is suitable for similar purposes to those served by Norway spruce; but the strong tendency of this tree to side-branching makes it essential that it should be grown close in pure forest in order to produce clean deals.
CONES OF NORWAY SPRUCE (Picea excelsa)
The other tree in the Omorika group which probably has a commercial future in this country is the Manchurian spruce, Picea ajanensis or jezoensis. I do not know that this tree is stocked by nurserymen in this country, but seed can be obtained from Continental merchants, and I am induced to speak favourably of it from the behaviour of about one hundred plants which I put out about twelve years ago. In the nursery it bears so close a resemblance to the Sitka spruce that it is difficult to distinguish between the two species until the plants are three or four years old; but after that age they differ markedly in foliage and habit of growth, the Manchurian spruce being less inclined to branch outwards than the Sitka and has no tendency to the characteristic of dropping its needles which is apt to disfigure the American species. In the forests of Yezo (the northern island of Japan) this spruce is reported as growing to a height of 150-200 feet. Its growth with me is extremely vigorous, and it seems to enjoy a maritime climate, which the Norway spruce does not. Like all the spruces, this tree is well adapted for the manufacture of wood pulp and celluloid.
I cannot part from the spruce family without going back to the square-needled group in order to commend the Caucasian spruce (Picea orientalis) as [188] an ornamental tree. The slowness of its growth compared with that of the Sitka, Manchurian, and Norwegian spruces may be thought detrimental to its value to British planters for profit; but the grace of its outline, and the fine, rich green of its shining foliage render it one of the choicest of conifers. In the Caucasus it rises to a height of 180 feet, with a girth of 12 feet; and in the British Isles, whither it was first brought in 1839, there are many specimens between 60 and 80 feet high.
The name "spruce" has an interesting origin, about which some controversy has been waged. From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century Spruce occurs in English literature as an alternative form of Pruce—that is, Prussia. The Prussians were then distinguished among the nations as great dandies. The chronicler Hall, in describing the splendid attire of some of Henry VIII.'s courtiers, observes that "they were appareyled after the fashion of Prussia or Spruce." Hence "spruce" came to be a synonym for "smart, finely dressed"; and some etymologists have argued that the spruce fir means the Prussian fir; but this has been shown to be an error. The tree takes its name from the sprouts, called sprossen in German, whence is distilled the essence of spruce, used in brewing sprossen-bier or spruce beer. So the tree came to be termed in German sprossen-fichte, translated into English spruce-fir, though we do not brew spruce beer. Therefore the name does really come to us from Prussia, though not in the manner supposed by the older etymologists.
[189]
This digression into etymology brings to mind another word connected with the spruce fir, namely "deal," which owns to one of the most remarkable etymologies in our language. Although it has not been traced to its original root, it exists in all branches of Teutonic speech, always in the sense of a share or division. It also occurs in Gaelic as dal, signifying a portion of land, as Dalnaspidal—the land portion of the hospital; Dalrymple (dal chruim puil, the farm of the crooked pool—on the Doon), and so on. The Anglo-Saxon dæl meant a portion, a share; whence we use the word in phrases such as "a deal of cards," "a great deal," [18] and have applied it to express the planks into which a tree is "divided," or sawn up. From a Scandinavian source we get another form of the word "dale," meaning a valley, as Tweeddale, Annandale, etc.; for in Norway one dale or valley is "divided" from another by mountains.
"The cedar stoops not to the base shrub's foot,
But low shrubs wither at the cedar's foot."
Shakespeare's Lucrece, 664.
The frequency with which Shakespeare mentions the cedar can only be explained as the action of a far-ranging intellect, beholding things through the eyes of travellers, and weaving hearsay into vivid imagery. He had, indeed, scriptural authority for assigning to the cedar royal pre-eminence among trees.
"Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches.... The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him; the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches, nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in beauty.... So that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied him." (Ezekiel, xxxi., 3, 8, 9.)
But Shakespeare himself never set eyes upon a cedar: for Evelyn, writing fifty years after his death, could but deplore that there were no cedars in England—"I conceive," says he, "from our want of industry." He says that he had raised seedlings, perhaps from the first cones brought to this country. [191] Howbeit, once this noble tree was established with us, it throve amain, and it is now as familiar an adjunct to English manor houses as the yew is to churchyards.
In Scotland it is not so often seen, more's the pity, for the fine specimens at Hopetoun House, Biel, Moncrieff House, Dupplin, and Mount Stuart, ranging from 64 to 88 feet high, with girths of from 13 to 23 feet, testify to its acceptance of northerly conditions. The largest cedar recorded by Elwes is a splendid specimen at Pains Hill, near Cobham, which in 1905 measured 115 feet high, with a girth of 26 feet 5 inches. Like most of its kind in Great Britain, this tree, having been planted for ornament, has been allowed room to throw out mighty side branches; but the cedar can be made to develop lofty, clean boles if grown in close canopy, such as one at Petworth, in Sussex, which in 1905 was 125 feet high, 14½ feet in girth, with a straight trunk clear of branches to a height of 80 feet, save for one small branch that has grown out at 56 feet from the ground.
Having regard to the fine quality of the timber, it is to be regretted that more attention has not been given to growing cedars under forest conditions. The nearest approach that I have seen to this treatment is in the fine cedar avenue at Dropmore, Bucks, where a large number of trees, close planted about seventy years ago, have grown straight and fair to a height of as many feet.
A few years ago, when the Duke of Northumberland was having some trees felled on Solomon's Hill [192] in Albury Park, a lofty cedar, whereof he had never suspected the existence, was revealed. Forest discipline had cleared the magnificent bole of branches to a height of fifty feet, and fifty more must be added as the probable height of the tree, which, owing to the nature of the ground, cannot be accurately ascertained.
In regard to the timber, the value whereof for building caused the Israelitish Kings to levy such severe tribute from the forest of Lebanon, what is produced in the humid atmosphere of the British Isles is not so hard and durable as that grown in the Orient; but it is extremely suitable for panelling and other indoor work, being of a delicate pinkish hue, fine in grain, and beautifully figured. There is no regular market for it in Britain, but the opportunity not infrequently occurs of securing the trunk of blown trees, and ought not to be lost. If one goes into the market to buy cedar wood, what is likely to be supplied is not coniferous wood at all, but that of Cedrela odorata, a West Indian tree belonging to the natural order Meliaceæ. On the other hand, the scented wood used for pencils comes from the so-called pencil cedar, which is not a cedar, but a juniper—Juniperus virginiana—a tree of columnar habit and slow growth, perfectly hardy in this country, and very ornamental.
The late Sir Joseph Hooker visited the cedar grove on Mount Lebanon in 1864, and found about 400 old trees producing plenty of seed, by which the forest would soon regenerate itself if the ground were [193] protected from goats, which devour every seedling. Besides this grove at the head of the Kedisha Valley there are four others in the Lebanon district, the largest of which, at Baruk, was reported in 1903 by Dr. A. E. Day as containing many young trees; but the older trees were being recklessly hacked for fuel and house timbers. Besides the Lebanon groves, which are specially interesting from their connection with biblical history and the prodigious age of some of the trees, there are extensive forests of Cedrus libani in the Taurus Mountains, where the winter is very severe.
In Britain this tree responds to excess of moisture by growing far more rapidly than in its native forests; and, notwithstanding that exaggerated views are entertained about the age of certain specimens, it seems certain that it never will attain with us anything approaching the age of the patriarchs of Lebanon. Assuming that none were planted in Britain before the middle of the seventeenth century, and that very many have died, showing all the signs of senile decay, we cannot calculate on a duration of life exceeding 250 years, or rather more than the normal life span of the beech and ash.
Fifteen years ago or so I was appointed to represent the Privy Council on a Committee formed to take over the Chelsea Physic Garden from the Apothecaries Company. One of the first problems that presented itself was how to deal with an aged cedar of Lebanon that stood in the grounds. Probably it was one of the oldest in Great Britain, for it was one of those mentioned by Sir Hans Sloane in 1685 [194] as having been planted in the Physic Garden, but the dwellers in Chelsea had conceived a fabulous estimate of its age, and, although it was stone dead, the mere whisper of the need for removing it sent a wave of indignation through the neighbourhood. Howbeit, the dead tree was an eyesore and a harbour for wood-lice and other pests, so it had to go. It was felled and taken away; but in deference to popular feeling this was done under cloud of night!
The cedar of Mount Atlas (C. atlantica) was pronounced by Sir Joseph Hooker to be, like the Indian deodar (C. deodara), really no more than a geographical and climatic variety of the cedar of Lebanon; but whereas the difference in habit and appearance is well marked and constant, modern classifiers have assigned each of the three specific rank. For the British planter the distinction between them is of considerable importance. The Mount Atlas cedar, which forms great forests in the mountain ranges of Morocco and Algeria at high altitudes, is far more erect in growth, and has less tendency to wide branching, than the cedar of Lebanon. The glaucous variety, with foliage of a charming silvery bloom, is one of the loveliest conifers that can be planted, provided it is raised from seed; but nothing except disappointment is prepared for those whom nurserymen supply with plants raised from cuttings or grafts, which are invariably lacking in the graceful carriage and erect habit which distinguish this species among all other cedars. There is the less excuse for propagation by these means, inasmuch as the Atlantic cedar ripens [195] its cones in our country as freely as the Lebanon cedar, and seed gathered from glaucous parents will produce a considerable proportion of seedlings with the hereditary tint.
The cedar of Mount Atlas was not introduced to England until about 1845, but there are already many handsome specimens, measuring 50 to 80 feet high. The tallest I have seen in Scotland is at Smeaton-Hepburn, in East Lothian, which was 69 feet high and 6½ feet in girth in 1902.
The deodar, C. deodara, may be distinguished at a glance from either of the other forms of cedar by the graceful drooping of the young growth. A native of the Western Himalayas, at altitudes from 4,000 to 10,000 feet, it has not adapted itself very successfully to our mild, restless winters and cool summers, the very reverse of its native climate. It grows in its own country to an immense size, 150 to 250 feet high, and as much as 35 feet in girth, with long clean boles. Elwes records how a fallen deodar lay for at least one hundred years in one of the leased forests of the North-West before it was cut up, when it sufficed for 460 railway sleepers, narrow gauge.
Deodar seed was first sown in Britain in 1831, at Melville in Fife and Dropmore in Bucks. Ten years later large quantities were raised and planted in the New Forest, but so many of these died without apparent cause between the ages of forty and fifty years that their cultivation there has been discontinued. Similar results have been experienced elsewhere, so it does not seem that this tree, however [196] desirable as an ornamental species, can ever be of importance for forestry in the United Kingdom. Moreover, it is not so hardy as the other two cedars, many having succumbed in all parts of the country during the severe winter of 1860-61. There are, however, many fine specimens in the southern counties of England and in Ireland, ranging from 75 to 85 feet high. In Scotland, Elwes has recorded nothing taller than a tree at Smeaton-Hepburn, which measured 55 feet high in 1902. There are several of about the same height at Galloway House in Wigtownshire.
On the whole, the best species of cedar for planting in this country, whether for timber or ornament, is the cedar of Mount Atlas.
LARCH IN SPRING
[197]
The Larch
The European larch was known in England fully one hundred years before it arrived in Scotland, having been introduced into Southern Britain early in the seventeenth century. But it was long before this tree was grown except for ornament and by those curious in exotics; it was John Evelyn who first drew attention to the value of its timber, upon which he reported very favourably after seeing it in Continental forests. Writing in 1678, he refers to one growing near Chelmsford, "arriv'd to a flourishing and ample tree, [which] does sufficiently reproach our negligence and want of industry"—for not planting more larches.
The introduction into Scotland of the larch, the most valuable of all European conifers, was delayed a full century after the tree had become known to English planters. When it did come, it opened a new era in the forestry of that country; and, if credit may be given to local traditions, its coming was not devoid of romance.
Among the other resources of the northern realm, which had been sorely exhausted during three centuries [198] of war with England, Scottish woodland, once so rich and extensive, had well-nigh disappeared, and so bare was the country that when Dr. Johnson made his tour in 1773 he declared that in the whole of it he only saw three trees big enough to hang a man upon. [19] Nevertheless, after the Legislative Union in 1707, landowners very generally set about planting on their estates, none of them more diligently than James, second Duke of Atholl, who received from a neighbour returning from the Continent the present of a few seedling trees which he had brought in his portmanteau from the Tyrol. It is said that these were given to the gardener, who tried to grow them in a greenhouse. Having languished under such unsuitable conditions, the plants were thrown out upon the rubbish heap, where two of them, reviving in the free Highland air, took root and grew vigorously.
The date of this incident is variously given between the years 1727 and 1738; anyhow, there the pair of "Mother Larches" stood, close to the west end of Dunkeld Cathedral, until 1909, when the larger of them was destroyed by lightning, after attaining the age of 170 years or thereby. It measured 102 feet high, with a girth of 15 feet 1 inch at 5 feet from the ground, and contained about 530 cubic feet of splendid timber.
The Duke of Atholl was so well pleased with the growth and appearance of these two trees, and of three others of the same age, which, I believe, are still standing at Blair, that before his death in 1764 he had [199] wholly altered the appearance of the landscape by planting many square miles of hillside with larch. His example was followed by other landowners, so that during the nineteenth century larch was planted in greater quantity than any other tree, except perhaps Scots pine, for it was found that, owing to the durable character of the wood even in trees from ten to twenty years old, the thinnings of a larch plantation were serviceable and readily saleable.
Unfortunately, it became the practice to plant larch and Norway spruce in mixture. No more mischievous combination could have been devised, owing to a peculiarity in the life history of the spruce-gall aphis (Chermes abietis), a plant louse which bores into the buds of young spruce and lays eggs therein, causing the tree to throw out a cone-like gall from the site of the puncture. This gall is the nursery whence issues a swarm of sexual and sexless aphides. The sexless form has wings, and, alighting on a larch, speedily lays numerous eggs, which in turn are hatched into minute sexless lice, each with a coat of white down, easily detected as snowy dots on the foliage. In a few weeks these creatures acquire wings, and, despite their sexlessness, lay fertile eggs, successive swarms being produced till the fall of the leaf. Feeding by suction of the juices in the leaves, these creatures seriously, often fatally, reduce the vitality of the tree, the foliage appearing as if blighted by frost.
It must be admitted that this diagnosis of the life-history of the spruce and larch louse is to some extent [200] tentative. It is true that no instance is recorded of the male Chermes being found on the larch, and it is also true that, as stated by Elwes, larches are often infested with Chermes where there are no spruces near. [20] But it is well known that many, if not all, of the Aphidæ multiply by parthenogenesis (that is, without the intervention of the male), and although it has not yet been ascertained that this can be continued for more than four years, [21] that is a period quite long enough to allow of the swarms inflicting deadly injury to any tree not in the most robust health.
Now, whereas larch and spruce may often be found growing together in natural woods on the continent of Europe, it may be asked why the result of planting them together in British woods should be attended with such evil consequences. The explanation is to be found in the climatic conditions to which the larch is exposed in these islands. Naturally a mountain tree, in regions where a high summer temperature, long and strong sunshine, with little rainfall, but with much subterranean moisture from melting snow, promote vigorous growth, to be followed by total rest during severe winter weather, the larch meets in Britain with the reverse of these conditions—namely, a cool, cloudy, generally wet, summer, and an open and still wetter winter. The wonder is that the tree can adapt itself to the change as well as it does; there can be no doubt that its constitution does [201] not remain so well able to resist attack by insect or fungoid parasite. Nature, which is ever as solicitous to provide for the perpetuation of what we consider ignoble vermin as she is for that of more admirable forms of life, has adapted the spruce-gall for a dual existence upon two species of tree growing in company; but she has also endowed these trees with a constitution vigorous enough not to suffer materially from the presence of the parasite. When that constitution becomes impaired by unnatural conditions of climate and environment, the parasite gets the upper hand, just as lice multiply upon a diseased bird or mammal. In the case of the larch, the mischief does not end with the aphides.
Another enemy lies in wait for the tree that has been weakened by loss of its sap. A minute fungus (Dasicypha calycina), gaining access by its spores through any lesion of the bark, causes that incurable ill known as larch canker, which has now become so generally spread through British woodlands as to cause many landowners to give up planting larch at all. In this case, also, we have a parasite which may be found on larches in their native forests, but which the inherent vigour of the trees keeps in check. That this is the true and only reason for the excessive prevalence of larch canker in this country, causing incalculable pecuniary loss to many owners of woodland, is shown by the behaviour of the Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis). The fungus may easily be found upon this species; but so great is the vigour of the young trees that the fungus exists, and no more. [202] The tree repels the inroads of mycelium into its tissues affording the invader foothold merely as a harmless guest.
Serious doubts are entertained as to whether the Japanese larch will prove as valuable a tree commercially as the European species; it has not been grown long enough in Britain to prove its quality as a timber producer. But the extraordinary rapidity and vigour of its growth in early years, its beauty and the readiness with which it takes hold when planted out, have induced many people to discard European larch in favour of this Asiatic species. Travellers in Japan report that the larches of that country never attain the bulk and stature of European larches; but it does not follow from this that they may not do so in this country. The holm-oak, more commonly known as ilex, is a native of the hot and dry Mediterranean region, yet what is probably the tallest specimen in the world is growing in the moist atmosphere of County Wicklow. So with the horse chestnut, only to be found wild in a few spots in Macedonia and Asia Minor, lands which can show none to equal the noble trees of this species at Bushey and elsewhere throughout the British Isles.
Meanwhile, the lesson of our experience is that we must still treat the European larch as a foreigner of great distinction. Let it never be exposed to contact with the Norway spruce, a useful tree in its way, but, commercially, not half the value of larch. Let it not be planted as a pure crop, but let it be mixed with other trees, as it is usually found in a wild state. [203] There is no better companion for it than the beech, none, indeed, equal to that beneficent tree, owing to the manner in which it screens the soil from evaporation and radiation, and refreshes it with an abundant annual leaf fall. Finally, let the utmost care be bestowed upon the critical operation of planting; see that in removal from the nursery the roots are not suffered to get dry, as they often become when sent to a distance by rail; and let these roots be fairly spread in the pit dug for them, instead of being rammed in a bunch into a mere notch in the ground, as is too often done. It is worth much effort to retain such a desirable denizen of our woodlands in health and vigour.
Attention has been drawn within the last few years to the Western Larch (L. occidentalis) of North America, a tree which Douglas found in British Columbia in 1826, and mistook for Larix europæa. It has now, however, been recognised as a distinct species, the mightiest of the genus, reaching a height of 180, perhaps 200 feet. [22] In habit and outline it is very different from the European larch, still more so from the Japanese species, for the side branches, though horizontal, are short, which gives the tree a fine columnar habit. Owing to the great height of the trees in Montana and British Columbia, and to the cones opening and scattering the seed as soon as ripe, it is difficult to collect a supply of seed, which can only be done from trees in September. Dr. Henry visited Montana in the autumn of 1906 on [204] purpose to obtain a supply. Unluckily, very few cones were formed that year; but a good supply was obtained in 1907, whereof I was given some. It germinated freely; the seedlings grew as rampantly as those of Japanese larch, forming beautifully rooted plants; I cleared the hardwood off three acres of good land, and planted it with 12,000 western larch, fine rooted plants, in the spring of 1910. The result has been discouraging; about 50 per cent. died outright, and by the end of 1914 the remainder have made poor growth. On the other hand, a dozen seedlings which Mr. Elwes sent me, raised from seed in 1904, and planted on moist but well-drained bottom land, have grown fast and well, being now 14 to 18 feet high. Evidently this tree, like the Sitka spruce, requires moist deep land; the other place, though far from being poor, was not wet enough for it.
There are three specimens of the western larch at Kew, one being 34 years planted and about 35 feet high; but the soil of Kew is too dry to nourish without much coddling a tree whereof all reports go to show that it demands so much moisture at its roots as would be fatal to the European and Japanese species. Sheltered valleys on the western side of Great Britain seem to be the likeliest environment for the development of this most valuable timber tree, and probably nearly all parts of Ireland.
[205]
The Yew
What the ash was to the Scots of old, the yew (Taxus baccata) was to the English; for while the ash furnished staves for the national weapon, the pike, which the Scots learnt to handle from their Flemish allies, the most powerful longbows were fashioned of yew, and it was as archers that the English excelled all other infantry until gunpowder came into general use. Even long after the smoke and stench of "villainous saltpetre" had altered the conditions of battle, much attention was given to archery in the English army. Despite the many Acts of Parliament enjoining the planting of yews, the supply had run short before Queen Elizabeth came to the throne, so that in 1571 it was enacted that bow-staves should be imported from the Continent (13 Eliz., c. xiv.).
Apart from military association, the yew is a tree of gloom, taking the place in British churchyards which the cypress, "like Death's lean lifted forefinger," occupies in Eastern cemeteries. Tennyson was least likely of poets to miss the significance of this tree's melancholy; at first he could [206] recognise in it nothing else but that and its changelessness:
Old yew, which graspest at the stones
That name the underlying dead,
Thy fibres net the dreamless head,
Thy roots are wrapt about the bones.
Oh not for thee the glow, the bloom,
Who changest not in any gale!
Nor branding summer suns avail
To touch thy thousand years of gloom.
Shakespeare received a similar impression:
But straight they told me they would bind me here
Unto the body of a dismal yew.
Sir Walter Scott applied the self-same epithet:
But here 'twixt rock and river grew
A dismal grove of sable yew.
Seem'd that the trees their shadows cast
The earth that nourished them to blast;
For never knew that swarthy grove
The verdant hue that fairies love;
Nor wilding green, nor woodland flower,
Arose within its baleful bower.
The dark and sable earth receives
Its only carpet from the leaves.
FRUIT OF YEW (Taxus baccata)
Anyone who has stood on a summer noon within one or other of the two remarkable yew woods on Lord Radnor's property near Salisbury cannot fail to recognise the truth of this picture in every detail. The sense of gloom and envious shade in those "swarthy groves" must oppress him who enters it. They are known respectively as "the Great Yews" [207] and "the Little Yews," the former being of the greater extent—about 80 acres—but the largest trees are growing in the Little Yews. Although these two woods are almost certainly of natural origin, traces of replanting may be recognised here and there by the regular lines in which some of the great trees are disposed, telling of a time when the timber was in request for bow-making.
Tennyson came to realise that the yew really responds in its own fashion to the summons of spring as briskly as any rose or lily, and that a sparrow cannot alight upon it in April without disturbing a puff of pollen:
Old warder of these buried bones,
And answering now my random stroke
With fruitful cloud and living smoke,
Dark yew, that graspest at the stones
And dippest toward the dreamless head,
To thee, too, comes the golden hour
When flower is feeling after flower.
Surely there is nothing more delightful in English verse than the delicate phrase in which Tennyson touches upon some of the less obvious workings of nature.
Evelyn observes regretfully in the seventeenth century: "Since the use of bows is laid aside amongst us, the propagation of the eugh is likewise quite forborn; but the neglect of it is to be deplored." Howbeit, on the whole, one cannot regret that this sombre tree is less often planted than it was when the Kings of England were striving desperately to retain their [208] rich lands in France. The yew requires two or three centuries to acquire dignity. Such venerable ruins as the great yew in the churchyard of Leeds, in Kent, measuring 32 feet in girth at 3½ feet from the ground, command admiration akin to awe from creatures whose span is but three-score years and ten. So do the yews on Merrow Down, near Guildford, reputed to have marked the Pilgrims' Way to Canterbury; and the yews of Borrodale and Inch Lonaig, on Loch Lomond, we cherish as traces of the primæval forest. But for decorative work, for sheltering hedges in garden and pleasure ground, let us take some more lightsome evergreen from the wealth of choice that the enterprise of collectors has furnished us withal. The Lawson cypress, the giant thuja, the so-called Albert spruce, and many others, are of far nobler growth than the yew and equally patient of the shears, if clipped they have to be. True, they are foreigners, but so are the Spanish and horse-chestnuts, the silver fir, the sycamore, the English elm, and many other growths which have become integral parts of our home landscape; assuredly our forbears would not have hesitated to plant better things than yews if they had been given the chance. That they did plant what they had may be seen from the note made by Giraldus Cambrensis when he visited Ireland in the year 1184:
"Here the yew with its bitter sap is far more abundant than in all the other countries where we have been, but chiefly in old graveyards; and of these trees you may see plenty planted of old in these sacred places by the hands of holy men who did what they could to honour and adorn them."
THE EARL OF RADNOR IN HIS YEW GROVE NEAR DOWNTON, WILTS
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Given elbow room, the yew takes liberal advantage of it, and is apt to spread to a breadth equal to or greater than its height. A singular departure from this habit was made by a seedling found in 1767 on the hills near Florence Court, in County Fermanagh, which grew in a strictly fastigiate or columnar form, and became the progenitor (by cuttings) of what is now known in all temperate parts of the globe as the Irish yew.
Geologically the yew is of immense antiquity in this island; indeed, it grew in what is now the island of Britain before that was severed from the Continent, as is proved by its remains in the forest bed underlying the glacial drift on the coast of Norfolk, where its fruits, identical with those of the present time, have been recognised lying among the bones of elephant, rhinoceros, and four species of bear. A closely kindred form of yew, with somewhat smaller seeds, has been found in the German coal-fields, showing that the type has existed from an incalculably distant period, before the formation of the chalk. Botanically, therefore, the yew must be regarded as contemporary with such archaic types of vegetation as the Gingko, the Umbrella pine (Sciadopytis), the Cycads, and the Horsetails.
Of the age of individual trees exaggerated estimates have been formed and statements devoid of evidence made. Thus a fine yew at Yew Park, Clontarf, near Dublin, is confidently shown to visitors as that under which Brian Boruimh, King of Ireland, died on Good Friday, A.D. 1014. Very likely he [210] breathed his last under a yew tree growing on that spot; but it is incredible that this should be the identical tree, for although it has a wide spread of branches, the trunk only measures 12 feet in girth. Compare this with the recorded increase of a yew at Ankerwyke, near Staines, which in 1822 girthed 27 feet 8 inches, and in 1877 had increased to 30 feet 5 inches, and it is clear that the Clontarf tradition cannot be seriously entertained.
It would grievously wound the feelings of a townman of Chichester to express any lack of confidence in the tradition which affirms that the yews in Kinglye Bottom, near that town, were growing there when the Norsemen landed among them a thousand years ago; but listen to Dr. Lowe's chilly analysis of the grounds for that belief. "Had it been said that yews were there, the statement would have been accurate; but that 'the yews,' meaning those still existing, were then in being, is too large a demand on our credulity, as there is no tree at that place which exceeds 15.4 feet in girth, or possibly about five hundred years in age." [23] In like manner the belief that Montrose rested under the fine yew at Abercairney, in Perthshire, must be dismissed, for it only girths 10 feet 7 inches, indicating an age of about 200 years; whereas to have afforded effective shelter in the year 1640 it ought by this time to be at least 370 years old.
The usual indication of age by annual rings of [211] growth cannot be trusted in the case of the yew, owing to a peculiarity in its habit of growth. Injury to a main branch often causes all that part of the stem with which it is connected to die under the bark right down to the ground, the injury being repaired by a rush of young shoots from the living bark; and these, if they get head room, grow vigorously and ultimately become welded together. This process vitiates the record of annual rings, and although it is a means of rejuvenescence which no doubt prolongs the life of the tree, it would not be safe to assume that there is any yew in the British Isles more than five hundred years old. Dr. John Lowe was at great pains to collect evidence on this matter, and failed to obtain documentary proof of any yew exceeding 250 years of age.
The practice of planting yews in churchyards helps to account for the extravagant statements about the age of certain trees. Generation after generation has become familiar with seeing a yew beside the parish church; the date of the building of the church being accurately known, it comes to be assumed that church and tree are coeval. Dr. Lowe gives a case in point of two churches in contiguous parishes in Kent, each of which has a large yew in the churchyard reckoned to be the same age as the church. One of these yews measures 16 feet in girth, the other 17 feet; but as one of the churches dates back to the eleventh century, and the other only to the fourteenth, the tradition about the trees would have one yew to be three hundred years older than [212] the other, although only differing in girth by one foot. [24]
The poisonous properties of the yew are pretty generally known; in fact, Pliny says that the adjective toxicus, poisonous, was once written taxicus from taxus, the yew. But in the English Encyclopædia is the mischievous statement—"It is now well known that the fruit of the yew may be eaten with impunity." It is quite true that the pulp surrounding the seed, with its sweet but sickly taste, does not possess the poisonous properties of the foliage and young bark; but the seed itself is deadly, numerous fatal cases having been recorded as the result of swallowing it. On the whole, therefore, it is best to give children nice chocolates on condition that they leave the pretty yew berries alone.
A yew bearing yellow berries originated at Glasnevin about 100 years ago and has been pretty extensively propagated in Ireland, but I have never happened to see it in fruit, though I have a clear recollection of the weird yew avenue at Glasnevin.
The Irish or Florence Court yew, described above, found high favour with garden designers seventy or eighty years ago, owing to its fastigiate habit; but, at best, it is a funereal object, and a more cheerful effect may be obtained by planting Incense Cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), Lawson Cypress or Pencil Cedar (Juniperus virginiana).
Dr. Prior, in his excellent work on the Popular Names of British Plants (1879), argued confidently [213] that the names "yew" and "ivy" were but different forms of the same word; but the late Professor Skeat declined to admit that there was any connection between them. It is an elusive element in English place-names; Yeovil in Somerset being assigned to a totally different origin. Yeoford, in Devon, has been variously written Uford and Yewford, and may possibly be named from a yew tree, and so may Uffculme in the same county. The Gaelic iubhar (pronounced "yure") is more easily recognised in the suffix -ure or -nure to many Irish and Scottish place-names. For instance, Gortinure, near Londonderry, is written Gort-an-iubhair in the Annals of the Four Masters; Glenure in Argyll and Palnure in Galloway are respectively the glen and stream (pol) of the yews. The word is more closely disguised in Newry, County Down; but that name is explained in the aforesaid Annals as derived from a yew planted by St. Patrick himself, whence the monastery founded there was called Iubhar-cinn-trachta, the yew near high tide-mark. The name was shortened into an-Iubharach, whence the transition was easy to Newry. In Galloway, Palnure is the stream of the yews, and in Ayrshire Dunure is the fort of the yew-tree.
[214]
The Cypress and its Kin
Among all the green things that clothe this wonderful globe—that globe which man strives so desperately to unclothe that he may pile upon it leagues of bricks and mortar, defile it with the smoke of myriad furnaces, burrow in it in pursuit of pelf to pay for still more bricks, mortar and furnaces—among these green things, I say, no group bears the badge of clanship more openly than the Cypresses (Cupressineæ), a branch of the great order of Conifers. It contains but a single species indigenous to the British Isles, namely, the common juniper (Juniperus communis), which cannot aspire to rank among forest trees. Agriculture and mineral industry have extirpated it in many districts where it once abounded; but it is still a characteristic feature in the landscape on some of the English chalk downs, in East Anglia, the Scottish Highlands, western Ireland, and other places where it has been allowed to survive. Near Capenoch, in Dumfriesshire, there remains a broad hillside thickly covered with juniper, which seems to have been the chief growth there from immemorial time.
MONTEREY CYPRESS (Cupressus macrocarpa)
[215]
Tenderly as we should regard the juniper as a legacy from a bygone age, reminiscent of a scenery now no more, it has no qualities to recommend it for planting where it does not naturally grow, but the cypress group to which it belongs contains many foreign species which are capable of being turned to great advantage by British foresters. Although this group has been classified by botanists under a number of distinct genera, whereof the nomenclature has been repeatedly changed in a manner perplexing to ordinary persons, one valuable quality distinguishes all of them, namely, the durability of the timber they produce. It is recorded that the doors of the original basilica of St. Peter at Rome, erected in the fourth century, were of Mediterranean cypress (C. sempervirens), and that they were perfectly sound when that building was destroyed to make way for the present church in the sixteenth century.
It is not possible to trace to its source the association of this tree with human mortality. That it was so associated in Pagan civilisation may be seen from Horace's pathetic poem:
Neque harum quas colis arborum
Te præter invisas cupressus
Ulla brevem dominum sequetur. [25]
The Mediterranean cypress is only hardy in the mildest parts of the United Kingdom, and is therefore [216] not suitable for general planting; [26] but it has many relatives worthy of earnest attention from our foresters. About forty years ago the late Mr. Peter Lawson, of the Goldenacre Nurseries, Edinburgh, told me he expected that the American Thuja lobbi (as it was then called) was destined to surpass all other conifers for British planting. The name of this tree has been repeatedly changed; perhaps it is most commonly known as Thuja gigantea; but the Kew authorities have decreed of late that its right name is T. plicata. In British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington, where it is of more commercial importance than any other tree, except the Douglas fir, it is known as Red Cedar; which does not help much towards identification, as it is quite distinct from any true cedar. In its native forests it soars to a stature of 200 feet; and, although not brought to this country until 1853, has already reached a height of 100 feet in some places. The most striking example known to me of its behaviour under forest treatment in this country is at Benmore, on the Holy Loch, where about 2,000 acres were planted in successive seasons, 1871-78, and consist now chiefly of this Thuja and Douglas Fir. It is a tree most easily raised from seed, which it produces freely in this country, and it is most easily handled in the nursery. About twelve years ago I raised about 70,000 from [217] 15s. worth of seed; but the bulk of these, having been planted on low-lying, damp ground, succumbed to severe spring frost; while the remainder, planted on higher dry ground, now average 20 feet high. Of the timber, Professor Sargent, the leading authority on North American forestry, reports: "The wood is very valuable; it is light, soft, easily worked, and so durable in contact with the ground or when exposed to the elements, that no one has ever known it long enough to see it decay." Mr. Elwes has given a remarkable photograph of a western hemlock spruce (Tsuga mertensiana) at least one hundred years old, growing astride of an enormous trunk of Thuja, which is still quite hard and sound (Trees of Great Britain, vol. i., plate 59). I feel convinced that when the fine qualities of this tree are better known, it will largely replace European larch in our woodlands.
DECIDUOUS CYPRESS (Taxodium distichum) At Syon
Of the true cypresses there are four North American species likely to prove of high value in the United Kingdom; but in regard to them, it is of the highest importance to use only plants raised from seed. Unluckily, they all strike readily from cuttings, and many of us have formed a poor opinion of these trees from being supplied with plants propagated in that manner, which never can develop their true character, but grow into unwieldy, branchy bushes. Lawson's cypress (Cupressus lawsoniana) has specially suffered in esteem from this cause; but when reared from seed, which is an easy process, it makes fine forest stock, provided attention is paid to removing superfluous leaders till the young trees are 7 or 8 feet high.
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Sargent states that this cypress (which is named after Mr. Peter Lawson, who first raised it from seed in this country in 1854) often reaches a height of 200 feet, with a girth of 36 feet. It agrees thoroughly with British conditions of soil and climate; there are many in various parts of the United Kingdom from 60 to 70 feet high. The timber is of finer quality than that of Thuja, and equally durable; but in Professor Sargent's opinion the Nootka Sound cypress (C. nootkatensis) is a more valuable tree, though slower in growth and inferior in bulk to the Lawson. While the Lawson cypress agrees with a considerable amount of moisture in the soil, provided the drainage is good, the Nootka cypress seems to do best on soil too poor and dry for the other. Both species are impatient of overhead shade and extreme wind exposure, but both are perfectly hardy and very beautiful when grown in reasonable shelter from storms.
Most rapid in growth of all the cypress tribe is the Monterey cypress (C. macrocarpa), but it can only be recommended for mild districts near the sea. It will not stand the frost in most inland districts, but those which I have growing within a mile or two of the coast came unhurt through the long and terrible frost of January and February, 1895, when the mercury fell below zero. This tree is remarkable by reason of its being found native only in two places, both in California, at Monterey, and on the island of Guadalupe. In neither place does it extend much beyond an area of three square miles. In maritime [219] districts of the United Kingdom it grows most vigorously, and ripens seed freely, forming a splendid shelter for other trees. But its branch growth is so luxuriant as to be apt to outstrip the root system; wherefore, to prevent young plants getting swung by sea winds, it is well to shorten the branches till the trees are well established.
The Monterey cypress is of a beautiful bright green, and forms a lovely hedge, for which purpose it may be propagated to any extent by cuttings; but for forest purposes seedlings should invariably be used. Mr. Elwes pronounces the timber "to be so coarse and knotty as compared with that of other cypresses, that it is not likely to be of any economic value"; but that is owing to the manner in which it is usually grown in this country, as isolated specimens, which encourages a rampant growth of side branches. Reared in close canopy, it develops fine clean boles, and Proffessor Sargent reports the timber as being "heavy, hard, strong, very durable, close grained." It is indeed surprising how wood of that weight and quality can be so rapidly produced. In its own country, exposed to the full blast of Pacific gales, it appears never to exceed 60 or 70 feet in height; but there are already in the United Kingdom many taller than that, though the seeds were not brought to this country till 1838. Probably the largest Monterey cypress in England is one at Lamorran in Cornwall, which in 1905 gave a height of 86 feet, and a girth of 12½ feet.
No notice of the Cupressineæ, however succinct, [220] would be complete without mention of what is called in North America the incense cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), though it is of small account as a timber producer. Of all the group it lends itself most conspicuously to landscape effect, retaining its close, columnar figure quite independently of shears or side shade and distinguished by its rich, velvety, dark green foliage. It was not brought to Britain till 1853, yet there are with us many specimens over 60 feet high. Again let me warn those desiring to see the true character of this fine tree to have nothing to do with plants reared from cuttings.
The same applies to an Asiatic member of this group, namely, the Hinoki cypress (C. obtusa), so highly prized by the Japanese for its beautiful, satiny timber. It grows to a height of 100 feet in Japan, where it is much planted, being indigenous in the central and southern parts of the main island. It was brought to England in 1861. I have raised a quantity from seed, and it has proved quite hardy; but its growth is not nearly so free as that of the above-named American species, and it cannot be said that it is likely to be a profitable forest growth with us. It is, however, a very pretty tree in its youth.
[221]
The Wellingtonia and the Redwood
In the vegetable world stature and bulk afford no index to longevity. The lofty pine may be but a stripling in years compared with the lowly lichen that clings like paint to the rock at its foot. One may be able to calculate pretty nearly the age of yonder massive oak; yet before the acorn whence it sprang had ripened, the primrose in its shade may have brightened many springtides with its blossoms.
Howbeit there are certain forest growths that go on adding indefinitely to their bulk during such vast spaces of time as almost to stagger the imagination. The man who can contemplate unmoved a tree, still growing vigorously, which was flourishing when Aaron's rod budded before Pharaoh must be of sterner stuff than most of us; yet such trees may be seen, if the German botanist Mayr's estimate be correct of the age of the largest Wellingtonia which he measured. This giant at 13 feet above the ground was 99 feet in circumference, 11 yards in diameter, and showed [222] 4250 rings of annual growth. Even if Sir Joseph Hooker's cautious view be adopted that this species of tree may make two rings of growth in each year, that carries one back to a time centuries before our country became a province of the Roman Empire.
When seeds of this giant tree were first brought to England by Mr. J. D. Matthew in 1853, we Britons named it Wellingtonia in pious memory of the Iron Duke, who had breathed his last in the previous year, and that is still the name it goes by popularly with us. Americans, not less patriotically, called it Washingtonia; but we are now bidden by botanists to speak of it as Sequoia, a genus of conifers composed of only two species. Sequoia gigantea, then, is the mightiest of evergreens, for although the other species, the Redwood (S. sempervirens), may exceed it in stature, ranging to a height of 340 feet, it does not build up such an enormous trunk. The largest Redwood measured by Dr. Mayr in 1885 was 308 feet high, but not more than 46 feet in girth at 6½ feet from the ground. Its bole was clear of branches to a height of 230 feet. It may enable readers to realise these vast dimensions if they bear in mind that Messrs. Elwes and Henry have not found a tree of any kind in the British Isles 150 feet high, except the great black Italian poplar at Albury Park, and here and there a larch and spruce reaching to that stature.
Sixty years' experience has proved to British planters that, given suitably generous soil and adequate shelter, the Wellingtonia can be grown in these [223] islands as successfully as in its native district, to wit, the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada of California between the altitudes of 5,000 and 8,500 feet. Indeed, there is no reason to doubt that, in sheltered glens and river valleys, it is capable of attaining in the Old World dimensions as great as those it has reached in the New. Owing to the ease with which they can be raised from seed, Wellingtonias have been very widely distributed through British and Irish counties, and there are already many of 100 feet and upwards in height—an astonishing growth for less than half a century. Thus a Wellingtonia at Fonthill, which is known to have been raised from seed in 1861, was 102 feet high in 1906, with a girth of 17 feet, being then only 45 years old. This tree stands in a favourably sheltered hollow, and so does one of the tallest I have seen in this country, namely, one at Albury Park, which stands on the brink of the lucid Tillingbourne. This tree, planted in 1857, was 54 feet high in 1879, and 97 feet in 1913.
It is obvious that, under ordinary conditions, the Wellingtonia in this country must outstrip all surrounding trees of other sorts, and suffer from wind exposure, unless planted in close forest of its own kind. It must be confessed that he would be ill-advised who should devote good land to such a crop, for the timber of Wellingtonia, though very durable, is weak, coarse, and quite unsaleable in the European market. Unhappily, the inferiority of the timber has not protected the trees from the reckless destruction of the beautiful forest by lumberers. Huge trees [224] have been felled which, in falling, have smashed many others; fires have been frequent, and it is not unlikely that this, the mightiest of all green things of the earth, would have been exterminated ere this, but for protective State legislation. "Big Tree wood," says Professor Jepson, "has extraordinary durability, fallen logs in the forest having remained sound for several centuries. It is used for posts, farm-buildings, shingles, raisin-trays, and for stakes in vineyards. It seems unfortunate that timber of such magnificent proportions cannot be applied to larger purposes than grape-vine stakes." [27] Professor Jepson undertook a census of the remaining forest; from the list published in his Silva of California it appears that there are still scattered groves over an area of some 38,000 acres, although in one of these groves there are only six trees left, while some others contain no more than from 30 to 150. In twenty-two groves, however, the trees were so numerous that they were not counted.
Seeing that British planters must not look for any profit from the timber which is so liberally produced by the Wellingtonia, there remain only its decorative qualities to recommend it. These are considerable, provided right advantage be taken of them. Isolated specimens in sheltered places grow into majestic objects with broadly buttressed trunks and dense green curtains of leafage; but perhaps the most impressive effects are obtained by setting Wellingtonia in formal avenues. Such an avenue [225] was planted by the late Mr. Walter of Bearwood at Wellington College in 1869. This avenue is 1,200 yards long and 25 yards broad; the trees were planted 54 feet apart, and as they now average 80 feet high, and are clothed with verdure from the ground to the summit, the effect is very stately and impressive.
Turning now to the other species in this genus—the Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), we have a tree equalling, or even excelling, the Wellingtonia in height, and greatly its superior both in beauty and economic value. Originally this splendid tree occupied a far more extensive area in California and Oregon than the Wellingtonia; but lumberers have swept away great tracts of forest. In one respect the Redwood resists extermination better than any other of its kin, being almost, if not quite, unique among conifers (the yew being no longer classed as a conifer) in sending up suckers profusely, which secures natural regeneration after the parent trees have been felled.
The Redwood Park in California is a tract of forest 3,800 acres in extent which the State Legislature secured at a price of 250,000 dollars in order to preserve the forest in perpetuity.
"It is," says Mr. Elwes in The Trees of Great Britain, "the most impressive of all forests, being remarkable not only for the immense size of the trees, but also for their extraordinary density on the ground. A single acre has yielded 100,000 cubic feet of merchantable timber. [28] ... I saw a stand close to Smith River where the trees were of enormous size and of incredible density on the ground. One tree measured 51 feet in girth."
[226]
The Redwood was first introduced to Great Britain about 1847, and has proved fairly hardy if protected from frost in the seedling stage. It is, however, impatient of wind exposure, and seldom displays its best qualities unless planted in close forest. In suitable environment this tree develops into one of the most beautiful trees imaginable, owing to its stately habit, deeply fissured bark of a rich russet hue, and luxuriant, glossy foliage.
Three Redwoods were planted in a glen at Cuffnells, near Lyndhurst, in 1855; these measured in 1906 from 98 to 105 feet high, with girths from 10 to 15 feet. This shows an average annual increase of height of 2 feet over a period of fifty years, which is far in excess of any other tree grown in the British Isles, not excepting the Wellingtonia. The consequence is that, as the Redwood has nowhere been planted in extensive masses, the leaders are peculiarly liable to be destroyed by high cold winds. Moreover, the quality of the timber produced in Great Britain cannot be rightly estimated until the trees shall have been subjected to close forest treatment, for in isolated specimens the texture of the wood is spoilt by excessive width between the annual rings.
Having regard to the value of Redwood timber exported from America, and the rapidity with which it is developed, this species is well worth attention from any person or corporation planting on a large scale in a sufficiently humid climate, for it is to be noted that it is very impatient of drought. The Redwood Belt, extending from Sonoma County to [227] Del Norte County, enjoys an average annual rainfall of 50 inches. Much less than that will serve the tree in the British Isles, owing to the sun being far less powerful over here than it is in California. Propagation is done from suckers, for, as is the case with some other trees—the English elm, for instance—the production of fertile seed is diminished or disappears with the acquirement of the suckering habit.
It has been claimed for the Redwood that it is the tallest growth in the world; but Australians dispute its title to that distinction on behalf of Eucalyptus amygdalina. The data for a verdict are as follows: In 1896 Professor Sargent measured a Redwood felled on the Eel River, and found it to be 340 feet high and 31 feet 3 inches in girth at 6½ feet from the ground. The rings of annual growth numbered 662. On the other hand, the height of two fallen eucalyptus have been recorded as 420 and 471 feet (the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral is 404 feet high); but Mr. Malden, Director of Sydney Botanic Garden, has declined to receive these measurements as trustworthy. It is very much to be desired that the truth should be ascertained before it be too late.
Not far in kin from the Redwood is the Western Hemlock (Tsuga albertiana), not to be confused (as it often has been by nurserymen and planters) with the Canadian Hemlock (T. canadensis), which is a tree of very inferior beauty and merit to the other. The Western Hemlock forms splendid forests in British Columbia, Washington and Oregon, attaining its greatest dimensions near the sea-coast, where [228] Professor Sargent has recorded specimens 200 feet high and 20 or 30 feet in girth. Introduced to Great Britain by Jeffrey in 1851, it has proved itself contented with our climate, and is certainly one of the loveliest of exotic conifers. There are now many specimens in the United Kingdom measuring from 70 to 100 feet high. It is frost-hardy; but, to develop its true grace, must have shelter from wind exposure. Sargent reports very favourably of the timber, which is said to be disliked by rats and mice; but it does not seem to have been imported into Europe. Seed is plentifully produced, wherefore there is no excuse for the nefarious trick of reproduction by cuttings.
GINGKO BILOBA
[229]
The Gingko
The Gingko or Maidenhair-tree (Gingko biloba) is among the most interesting of trees, owing to its being, like the Araucaria, a survival of the vegetation prevailing when the aspect of our globe was very different from that which it bears now. Both Gingko and Araucaria were classed as conifers by the older botanists; but certain archaic features in each have been recognised as justifying their rearrangement in two separate natural orders.
The gingko has not been found anywhere in a wild state, and owes its preservation from an extremely remote past to the care which the Chinese have always shown to preserve part of the natural forest round their temples. It is in such situations that it is now found in China, Corea, and Japan; but Dr. Henry suggests that it may not improbably exist in the unexplored forests of central China.
The true affinity of this strange tree is with the ferns and cycads, dominant orders in the Mesozoic world. It is, however, a true phanerogam or flowering plant, the male and female flowers being born on separate trees. The fruit and leaves found in the [230] Lias clay at Ardtun, in the Isle of Mull, have been pronounced indistinguishable from those of the existing species. [29] What a vast chasm of time divides us from the summers when these fruit and leaves were produced! Since they fell our land has been ploughed and scarred by the land ice of successive glacial periods, each enduring for unnumbered thousands of years; yet these fragile relics, drifting into clefts and crannies and overlaid by the clay which the ice ground out of the rocks, have survived the rocks themselves. And now the climate of these islands has been tempered again, so that the gingko finds a congenial home in our pleasure grounds.
It is a very beautiful tree, provided it is raised from seed, or, at least, propagated by layers. Unluckily, planters are very apt to be supplied with young trees reared from cuttings, which never turn out well, for seed is seldom produced in this country, owing to the different sexes not being planted together, and the rapidity with which imported seeds lose their vitality. The foliage is unlike that of any other tree grown in Great Britain, the leathery, light green, fan-shaped leaves suggesting the design of a gigantic maidenhair fern, whence it used to be known botanically [231] as Salisburia adiantifolia. The foliage turns a beautiful clear yellow in autumn.
The first European botanist to mention the gingko was Kæmpfer, who found it in Japan in 1690, but it was not introduced to England until more than sixty years later. In Scotland it does not seem to have been often planted, though it is quite hardy in the milder districts. The only considerable specimen I have seen north of the Tweed was one 40 or 50 feet high on the banks of the Ayr at Auchincruive. This was blown down some years ago, but when I saw it last it was growing vigorously from the stool.
There are many fine gingkos in England. The finest known to me are at The Grove, near Watford, 68 feet high, with a girth of 8 feet 5 inches in 1904 (see plate at page 228 ). One at Panshanger, in the same county, of which I did not measure the height, was reported to be 70 feet, and I found the girth to be 8 feet. Both of these are most graceful, vigorous trees, but they must yield in stature to one at Melbury House, near Dorchester, which has reached a height of more than 80 feet. No tree-lover who has seen such fine examples as these can fail to regret that more frequent use has not been made of the gingko in ornamental planting. That is its proper function with us, for the timber is of no more than mediocre quality.
Many fine gingkos may be seen in the Loire valley, at Geneva, and in northern Italy; but nowhere have I been so much impressed with their decorative qualities as in the beautiful city of Washington, [232] where they have been planted in a long avenue along one of the principal streets. True, they have not yet attained a great stature—from 30 to 40 feet are the tallest—but their verdure is most refreshing in that sun-baked capital, and it is easy to imagine what they may become at their present free rate of growth.
The gingko is particularly well suited for a town atmosphere. In the most malodorous part of evil-smelling Brentford, close to a brewery and opposite a huge gaswork, stands the wreck of a fine one. Jammed in between grimy buildings, it has lost its top, but each spring it still hangs out its fairy leafage over the dingy thoroughfare.
AVENUE OF ARAUCARIA IMBRICATA
[233]
The Araucaria
Very different in habit and appearance from the lightsome gingko is the araucaria or puzzle monkey, but, like the former, it is a survival of the vegetation that flourished in the carboniferous era, when it had to compete with giant ferns, cycads, and horse-tails, and attained its utmost development in the Jurassic landscape. Of the ten known species of araucaria, all indigenous only in the southern hemisphere, only one is hardy in Great Britain—A. imbricata—which forms forests on the mountains of southern Chile.
This tree was first brought to England in 1795 by Archibald Menzies, who, visiting Chile with Captain Vancouver, sowed some araucaria nuts on board ship and brought home six live seedlings. It was not till 1844, however, that any fresh supply of seeds reached this country, when William Lobb, collecting for the firm of Veitch, secured a large quantity. The quaint character of the tree, the readiness with which the seeds germinated, and its thorough adaptation to British soil and climate soon caused it to be widely distributed, so that at this day there is [234] no tree with which people are more familiar than the puzzle monkey. At the same time, there is no tree which has suffered so much from injudicious planting among inappropriate surroundings. It is a creature demanding broad light and free, pure air; and I know of no more dismal object in the world of plants than an araucaria stuck down in front of a suburban villa, stifled with smoky deposit, retaining a despairing grip of life, whereof the only visible sign is the green tips of its poor blackened branches. It is treatment such as this which has caused the araucaria to lose favour with British planters. To realise what this tree is capable of in our hands, one has but to visit the Earl of Stair's grounds at Castle-Kennedy and stroll down a wide grassy avenue, two hundred yards in length, bordered on either side by araucarias over 50 feet high (see plate at page 232 ).
Effective in a different fashion must be the araucaria grove at Beauport, Sussex, which I have not seen. Here a number of these trees were planted about fifty years ago, and allowed to grow in forest canopy, the inner ones clearing their boles naturally. The largest of these, measured by Dr. Henry in 1904, was 74 feet high, with a girth of 7 feet 9 inches.
ARAUCARIA IMBRICATA Male Flower
ARAUCARIA IMBRICATA Female Flower
Again another effect. On the west shore of Loch Fyne, united to the mainland by a narrow neck of shingle, is Barmore Island, a grassy, rocky pile, treeless save for a solitary araucaria which some freakish hand has planted many years ago high on the northern slope. The impression received from this lonely foreigner is very enduring. (Let me not be misunderstood. [235] I do not mean the physical impression, which would be distinctly disagreeable; but the mental one, which is most pleasing.)
Araucaria timber is said to be like good deal, but smoother and heavier. Like most primitive types of vegetation, the trees are of separate sexes, though exceptionally a tree may be found bearing male and female flowers. The male inflorescence is like a large, brown, pendant catkin, 4 or 5 inches long; the huge female cones take two years to ripen, when they open, and each discharges 200 or 300 large seeds, 1 to 1½ inch long. These seeds are freely produced in nearly all parts of Britain; self-sown seedlings spring up where the undergrowth permits them; and as an article of food the kernels are not to be despised when cooked as chestnuts.
The araucaria is one of many South Chilian plants which relish the climate of western Britain and Ireland. The character of climate in these widely-separated regions is curiously similar, though from diametrically opposite causes. In Chile abundant moisture arises from the afflux of a cold ocean current upon a warm coast; in the British Isles a warm ocean current flows upon the colder land.
GLASGOW: PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS BY ROBERT MACLEHOSE AND CO. LTD.
FOOTNOTES:
[25] With all the trees that thou hast tended,
Thy brief concern is well-nigh ended,
Except the cypress—that may wave
Its hateful symbol o'er thy grave.
(Horace, Odes, ii. 14.)
[26] At Monreith I have many trees thirty feet high and more, raised from seed gathered at Fiesole, near Florence, in 1878; but young plants raised from seed gathered at Gravosa, in Dalmatia, in 1907, were all killed by frost, indicating that the cypress has acquired a hardier constitution in Tuscany than those growing on the hot limestone of Dalmatia.
[27] Silva of California, p. 145.
[28] Professor Jepson states that "stands of 125,000 to 150,000 feet, board measure, to the acre, are not uncommon," op. cit. p. 151.
[29] It is nowhere truly wild, and is a relic of a very ancient flora. Geological evidence shows that it is the last survivor of an ancient family, which flourished during Secondary times, and can even be traced back to the Primary rocks. In Mezozoic times this genus played an important part in the arborescent flora of north-temperate regions. Fossil remains, almost identical with the present existing species, have been found, not only in this country and North America, but also in Greenland.—A Naturalist in Western China, by E. H. Wilson, ii. 45.
Transcriber's Note
Hyphenation has been standardised.
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| i don't know |
In which battle of 1403 was Henry Percy, known as Hotspur, killed? | Henry Percy (de Percy), Sir (1364 - 1403) - Genealogy
Henry Percy
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland
Wife:
May 28 1364 - Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, England
Death:
May 28 1364 - Alnwick, Northumberland, , England
Death:
July 30 1403 - Shrewsbury, Shropshire, , England
Mother:
Margaret De Neville Of Raby
Wife:
Lady Elizabeth De Percy (born Mortimer)
Children:
Joan de Percy, Elizabeth De Percy
Brother:
1364 - Warkworth Castle, Alnwick, Northumberland, England
Death:
Elizabeth Percy, Baroness Camoys (born Mortimer)
Children:
May 20 1364 - Alnwick, Northumberland, England
Death:
July 21 1403 - Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
Parents:
Henry de Percy, Margaret de Percy (born Neville)
Wife:
May 20 1364 - Alnwick, Northumberland, England
Death:
July 21 1403 - Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
Parents:
Henry de Percy, Margaret de Percy (born Neville)
Wife:
Henry de Percy, Lady Elizabeth Percy, Elizabeth Percy
Brother:
May 20 1364 - Warkworth Castle, Alnwick, Northumberland, England
Death:
July 21 1403 - Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, Shrewsbury, England
Parents:
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland (born De Percy), Margaret De Neville (born Percy De Neville)
Brother:
Elizabeth Percy, Baroness of Camoys (born De Mortimer)
Son:
About Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy
a short summary from Wikipedia:
Harry Hotspur (Sir Henry Percy)
Spouse:
Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland
Lady Elizabeth Percy
Noble family House of Percy
Father: Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland
Mother: Margaret Neville
Died: 21 July 1403 (aged 39)
Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
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"Sir Henry Percy KG (20 May 1364 – 21 July 1403), commonly known as Sir Harry Hotspur, or simply Hotspur, was the eldest son of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, and Margaret Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby, and Alice de Audley. He was the most famous soldier of his day, but was slain leading the losing side at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403."
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Citations / Sources:
[S11] Alison Weir, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy (London, U.K.: The Bodley Head, 1999), page 95. Hereinafter cited as Britain's Royal Family.
[S125] Richard Glanville-Brown, online <e-mail address>, Richard Glanville-Brown (RR 2, Milton, Ontario, Canada), downloaded 17 August 2005.
[S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume XII/2, page 550. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
[S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume IX, page 712.
[S1257] #248 A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions or High Official Rank; but Uninvested with Heritable Honors (1834-1838), Burke, John, (4 volumes. London: Published for Henry Colburn, by R. Bentley, 1834-1838), FHL book 942 D2bc., vol. 4 p. 358.
[S2420] #11886 The Golden Grove books of pedigrees (filmed 1970), (Manuscript, National Library of Wales manuscript number Castell Gorfod 7. Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1950), FHL microfilms 104,349-104,351., book 9 p. G1134, 1186; book 16 p. M1925.
[S2411] #11915 British Genealogy (filmed 1950), Evans, Alcwyn Caryni, (Books A to H. National Library of Wales MSS 12359-12360D. Manuscript filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1950), FHL microfilms 104,355 and 104,390 item 2., book 6 p. F4, 9.
[S673] #1079 A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans into Wales down to the Present Time (1904-1993), Bradney, Sir Joseph Alfred, (Publications of the South Wales Record Society, number 8. Five volumes in 13. London: Mitchell, Hughes and Clarke, 1904-1993), FHL book 942.43 H2b., vol. 3 p. 8.
[S712] #1039 Pedigrees of Anglesey and Carnarvonshire Families: with Their Collateral Branches in Denbighshire, Merionethshire (1914), Griffith, John Edwards, (Horncastle, England: W.K. Morton, 1914), FHL book Folio 942.9 D2gr; FHL microfilm 468,334., p. I, 305.
[S2] The Visitations of Yorkshire in the years 1563 and 1564, made by William Flower, esquire, Norroy king of arms, Flowers, William and Charles Best Norcliffe, (London : Harleian Society, 1881), FHL book 942 B4h vol. 16; microfilm 162,050 item 2., vol. 16, p. 242.
[S452] #21 The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant (1910), Cokayne, George Edward (main author) and Vicary Gibbs (added author), (New edition. 13 volumes in 14. London: St. Catherine Press,1910-), vol. 2 p. 508; vol. 3 p. 293
[S266] #379 [7th edition, 1992] Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists, Who Came to America Before 1700 (7th edition, 1992), Weis, Frederick Lewis, (7th edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, c1992), FHL book 974 D2w 1992., p. 8 line 5:33, p. 23 line 19:32.
[S394] #230 [5th edition, 1999] The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215 (5th edition, 1999), Adams, Arthur, (5th edition. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1999), FHL book 973 D2aa 1999., p. 46 line 36:10, p. 64 line 44:7.
Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy's Timeline
1364
| Shrewsbury |
Before 1966, the kingdom of Lesotho was a British crown colony with what name? | A Kingdom in Crisis: Henry IV and the Battle of Shrewsbury | History Today
A Kingdom in Crisis: Henry IV and the Battle of Shrewsbury
Henry IV
Alastair Dunn discusses the battle and its repercussions in its 600th anniversary year.
On Saturday July 21st, 1403, the vigil of St Mary Magdalene, two armies met just outside Shrewsbury. One was led by Henry IV (1366-1413), king of England since the summer of 1399, and the other by his erstwhile ally, Sir Henry Percy (1364-1403), son of the Earl of Northumberland, and better known to history as ‘Hotspur’. The ensuing encounter was the hardest fought battle between Englishmen since that of Evesham in 1265. Engaging the royal forces with cries of ‘Henry Percy King!’ the rebels threatened to undo the Lancastrian revolution of 1399, and plunge England into renewed turmoil.
The stakes at Shrewsbury could not have been higher for Henry IV, as both he and his eldest son Hal, the future Henry V, were present at the battlefield. The last battle fought between Englishmen, that at Radcot Bridge (Oxon) in 1387, had been little more than a posturing skirmish, and although some were killed, most of the energy had been expended in manoeuvre and flight. But Shrewsbury was an entirely different affair. The widespread use of archers, more than 2,000 in Prince Hal’s retinue, and nearly 870 in that of Hotspur (as estimated by Philip Morgan) ensured a heavy death toll. The prince himself was struck in the face with an arrow which, had it landed with more force and accuracy, could have inflicted the type of fatal wound sustained by King Harold at Hastings, as shown on The Bayeux Tapestry.
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| i don't know |
Jimmy Porter and his wife Alison were the central characters in which classic play and later film? | Look Back in Anger (1959) - IMDb
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Look Back in Anger ( 1959 )
1h 38min
A disillusioned, angry university graduate comes to terms with his grudge against middle-class life and values.
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Title: Look Back in Anger (1959)
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Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 4 nominations. See more awards »
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Storyline
Jimmy Porter is a loud, obnoxious man, rude and verbally abusive to his wife, Alison. Alison comes from an upper class family that Jimmy abhors and he berates Alison for being too reserved and unfeeling. Jimmy is college educated but works with a partner, Cliff Lewis, as a street vendor operating a candy stall. Cliff lives with Jimmy and Alison and is close friends with both. When Jimmy pushes Alison while she is at the ironing board she is burned. Alison visits her doctor where it is revealed that she is pregnant. She asks him if it is too late to do something about it but the doctor immediately tells her never to mention such an idea. When Jimmy leaves for work, Alison confides to Cliff that she is pregnant. She is frightened of Jimmy's reaction to this news, and has not told him. Jimmy is visited by his childhood nanny, Mrs. Tanner, whom Jimmy loves and calls "Mom." Alison tries to tell Jimmy of the pregnancy but is frustrated when Jimmy insults her for being cool towards Mrs. ... Written by Anonymous
Taglines:
An electrifying adult experience... from the sensational play by John Osborne that shocked the world! See more »
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9 October 1959 (Italy) See more »
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Trivia
The character of Ma Tanner was only referred to in the play, never seen. For the film version, she was brought vigorously to life by Edith Evans . See more »
Quotes
Jimmy Porter : I must say it's pretty dreary living in the American age, apart from if you're an American of course.
Working-Class Hero Before His Time
2 September 2007 | by bluesdoctor
(A Place is Just A Place) – See all my reviews
This low-budget, rather short, black-and-white film reminds me of why I fell in love with movies in the first place, a love which of late has become as taxed and attenuated as that between Allison and James Porter, the protagonists of this movie. Can you believe it? It used to shown on TV, on commercial TV, no less. How things have changed. Not even PBS would have the guts to show it now.
The subject matter is dated, a slice of a culture long dead, based in the class antagonism of post-war Britain. Young people seeing it today probably wouldn't understand the source of the Angry Young Man's anger no one talks about "alienation" any more. Indeed, the young take for granted all the cultural and social changes that anger wrought, for example, punk music, cultural diversity, recreational drugs, social mobility, etc.
Richard Burton concentrates in his one exquisitely shrill soul that big bang, the explosion that gave birth to, as just a few small examples, John Lennon and Billy Bragg's "working-class hero," Sid Vicious, and, across the pond, "Easy Rider." This movie is an historical document, electrified by the energy, the frustration, the impotent rage, the nascent source of it all, of the social upheaval that would sweep over all Western countries in a few short years.
The writing (John Osborne), directing (Tony Richardson), and acting are excellent, of a caliber, intelligence and wit rarely, if ever, seen today, coming directly from the British stage, then in its renaissance.
The feel and look of the film -- its rough edits, gritty urban landscapes, the damaged faces of the extras, the coffin-like claustrophobia of the working-class loft in which at least half of the film takes place, its odd camera angles and, above all, its unadorned matter-of-factness however, have not aged a bit. In fact, by comparison to the tepid fare in art houses today, this little movie jumps off the screen, a real live wire.
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| Look Back in Anger |
"Which two words complete the old proverb, ""A mackerel sky is never ......?" | The Books: “Look Back in Anger” (Jon Osborne) | The Sheila Variations
The Sheila Variations
Next play on the shelf is Look Back in Anger
, by John Osborne.
This play was first produced in 1956 in London, at the Royal Court Theatre. To say it was a success is to be putting it so mildly as to be meaningless. It was a cultural and social event, in England. People discuss the impact this play had to this day. Books have been written about it. At the time, in the 50s in England, there were a group of writers who were referred to (and perhaps they referred to themselves as such) as ‘angry young men’. They took a rebellious stance towards society, they were critical towards handed-down mores and beliefs … not just critical. They raged against them. Not only did these writers rage against society – they raged against themselves, their disappointments in their own achievements, in who they were, in how they turned out. The play Look Back in Anger became a lightning rod for that generation. Leslie Allen Paul’s autobiography gave this “movement” its name – it was called Angry Young Man. I wonder if Christopher Hitchens has ever written about the “angry young men” writers – I’d be interested to hear what he had to say. Other writers who classed themselves part of this generational shift were Kingsley Amis, John Braine, John Wain, Alan Sillitoe … I am sure there are more. But John Osborne’s 1956 production of his play had an impact like a bomb going off. It is still referenced today.
The play is painful to read. There is no let-up. The plot is simple: Jimmy is married to Allison, who is pregnant. Jimmy is a strong working-class guy – who cannot get a job. He is frightened. He is in a rage at the unfairness of society. He takes out all of his aggressions onto his wife – it’s brutal, man. Some of the scenes are so awful that you can’t wait for them to be over. The play looks at the class-structure in England. Jimmy is one of those types who is fiercely loyal to his working-class origins – wants no part of the bullshit he sees in the upper levels of society … and yet, he still wants to live the good life. His wife is pregnant – he still needs to worry about making a living. Throughout the course of the play, he becomes infatuated with a friend of his wife’s – an upper-class woman named Helena. All hell breaks loose.
I personally find Jimmy to be an unremitting self-pitying bore … I know a guy like that. He dominates the room with his own personal dramas, and if you don’t immediately jump on board and accept his interpretation of events 100%, he will zero in on you, like a shark smelling blood. He will then find your weakness, exploit it, and humiliate you publicly. I’ve seen him do it time and time again. If his ego feels threatened in any way, if he doesn’t feel that everyone in the room is hanging on his every word … and also accepting his version of the story totally … he will attack. Jimmy is in a rage, sure … but it comes off as “wah wah wah why doesn’t anyone understand me” to me. Jimmy wonders why his wife doesn’t sympathize more … why she turns away from him … It’s completely obvious to me why she turns away. Who wants to listen to that crap? What – she doesnt’ have her own life? She has to spend 100% of her time being abused by him, but also being lectured at, dominated .. and her only job is to nod sympathetically? Huh?
It’s a play that is, on its surface, about this small group of characters, and what happens to them in their lives. But on an uber-level, it’s about society as a whole – British society, specifically. John Osborne is pissed, man. He’s also a good writer – so that saves the play from just being a pamphlet of propaganda. This is no pamphlet. It is the story of a couple of people, caught up in their own struggle … a struggle which is deeply universal.
Here’s part of a scene from the middle of the play. Helena, Allison, Jimmy … the three main characters … are all involved. Oh, and Cliff is there, too. I forget who Cliff is. Helena is staying with Jimmy and Allison, and she and Allison announce casually that they are going to go to church on Sunday morning. Jimmy flips out.
EXCERPT FROM Look Back in Anger
, by John Osborne.
JIMMY. One day, when I’m no longer spending my days running a sweet-stall, I may write a book about us all. It’s all here. [slapping his forehead] Written in flames a mile high. And it won’t be recollected in tranquility either, picking daffodils with Auntie Wordsworth. It’ll be recollected in fire, and blood. My blood.
HELENA. [thinking patient reasonableness may be worth a try] She simply said that she’s going to church with me. I don’t see why that calls for this incredible outburst.
JIMMY. Don’t you? Perhaps you’re not as clever as I thought.
HELENA. You think the world’s treated you pretty badly, don’t you?
ALLISON. Oh, don’t try and take his suffering away from him — he’d be lost without it. [He looks at her in surprise, but he turns back to Helena. Allison can have her turn again later]
JIMMY. I thought this play you’re touring in finished up on Saturday week?
HELENA. That’s right.
JIMMY. Eight days ago, in fact.
HELENA. Allison wanted me to stay.
JIMMY. What are you plotting?
HELENA. Don’t you think we’ve had enough of the heavy villain?
JIMMY. [to Allison] You don’t believe in all that stuff. Why you don’t believe in anything. You’re just doing it to be vindictive, aren’t you? Why — why are you letting her influence you like this?
ALLISON. [starting to break] Why, why, why, why! [putting her hands over her ears] That word’s pulling my head off.
JIMMY. And as long as you’re around, I’ll go on using it. [He crosses to the armchair and seats himself on the back of it. He addresses Helena’s back] The last time she was in a church was when she was married to me. I expect that surprises you, doesn’t it? It was expediency, pure and simple. We were in a hurry, you see. Yes, we were actually in a hurry! Lusting for the slaughter! Well, the local registrar was a particular pal of Daddy’s, and we knew he’d spill the beans to the Colonel like a shot. So we had to seek out some local vicar who didn’t know him quite so well. But it was no use. When my best mate — a chap I’d met in the pub that morning — and I turned up, Mummy and Daddy were in the church already. They’d found out at the last moment, and had come to watch the execution carried out. How I remember looking down at them, full of beer for breakfast, and feeling a bit buzzed. Mummy was slumped over her pew in a heap — the noble, female rhino, pole-axed at last! And Daddy sat beside her, upright and unafraid, dreaming of his days among the Indian Princes, and unable to believe he’d left his horsewhip at home. Just the two of them in that empty church — them and me. [Coming out of his remembrance suddenly] I’m not sure what happened after that. We must have been married, I suppose. I think I remember being sick in the ventry. [To Allison] Was I?
HELENA. Haven’t you finished?
[He can smell blood again, and he goes on calmly, cheerfully]
JIMMY. [to Allison] Are you going to let yourself be taken in by this saint in Dior’s clothing? I will tell you the simple truth about her. [articulating with care] She is a cow. I wouldn’t mind that so much, but she seems to have become a sacred cow as well!
CLIFF. You’ve gone too far, Jimmy. Now dry up!
HELENA. Oh, let him go on.
JIMMY. [to Cliff] I suppose you’re going over to that side as well. Well, why don’t you? Helena will help to make it pay off for you. She’s an expert in the New Economics — the Economics of the Supernatural. It’s all a simple matter of payments and penalties. She’s one of those apocalyptic share pushers who are spreading all those rumours about a transfer of power. [His imagination is racing, and the words pour out] Reason and Progress, the old firm, is selling out! Everyone get out while the going’s good. Those forgotten shares you had in the old traditions, the old beliefs are going up — up and up and up. There’s going to be a change over. A new Board of Directors, who are going to see that the dividents are always attractive, and that they go to the right people. Sell out everything you’ve got: all those stocks in the old, free inquiry. The Big Crash is coming, you can’t escape it, so get in on the ground floor with Helena and her friends whil there’s still time. And there isn’t much of it left. Tell me, what could be more gilt-edged than the next world? It’s a capital gain, and it’s all yours. You see, I know Helena and her kind so very well. In fact, her kind are everywhere, you can’t move for them. They’re a romantic lot. They spend their time mostly looking forward to the past. The only place they can see the light is the Dark Ages. She’s moved long ago into a lovely little cottage of the soul, cut right off from the ugly problems of the twentieth century altogether. She prefers to be cut off from all the conveniences we’ve fought to get for centuries. She’d rather go down to the ecstatic little shed at the bottom of the garden to relieve her sense of guilt. Our Helena is full of ecstatic wind — aren’t you?
[He waits for her to reply]
HELENA. It’s a pity you’ve been so far away all this time. I would probably have slapped your face. [They look into each other’s eyes across the table.] You’ve behaved like this ever since I first came.
JIMMY. Helena, have you ever watched somebody die? [She makes a move to rise] No, don’t move away. [She remains seated, and looks up at him] It doesn’t look dignified enough for you.
HELENA. [like ice] If you come any nearer, I will slap your face.
[He looks down at her, a grin smouldering round his mouth]
JIMMY. I hope you won’t make the mistake of thinking for one moment that I am a gentleman.
HELENA. I’m not very likely to do that.
JIMMY. I’ve no public school scruples about hitting girls. If you slap my face — by God, I’ll lay you out!
HELENA. You probably would. You’re the type.
JIMMY. You bet I’m the type. I’m the type that detests physical violence. Which is why, if I find some woman trying to cash in on what she thinks is my defenceless chivalry by lashing out with her frail little fists, I lash back at her.
HELENA. Is that meant to be subtle, or just plain Irish?
[His grin widens]
JIMMY. I think you and I understand one another all right. But you haven’t answered my question. I said: have you watched somebody die.
HELENA. No, I haven’t.
JIMMY. Anyone who’s never watched somebody die is suffering from a pretty bad case of virginity. [His good humour of a moment ago deserts him, as he begins to remember] For twelve months, I watched my father dying — when I was ten years old. He’d come back from the war in Spain, you see. And certain god-fearing gentlemen there had made such a mess of him, he didn’t have long left to live. Everyone knew it — even I knew it. But, you see, I was the only one who cared. His family were embarrassed by the whole business. Embarrassed and irritated. As for my mother, all she could think about was the fact that she had allied herself to a man who seemed to be on the wrong side in all things. My mother was all for being associated with minorities, provided they were the smart, fashionable ones. We all of us waited for him to die. The family sent him a cheque every month, and hoped he’d get on with it quietly, without too much vulgar fuss. My mother looked after him without complaining, and that was about all. Perhaps she pitied him. I suppose she was capable of that. [with a kind of appeal in his voice] But I was the only one who cared! Every time I sat on the edge of his bed, to listen to him talking or reading to me, I had to fight back my tears. At the end of twelve months, I was a veteran. All that that feverish failure of a man had to listen to him was a small, frightened boy. I spent hour upon hour in that tiny bedroom. He would talk to me for hours, pouring out all that was left of his life to one, lonely, bewildered little boy, who could barely understand half of what he said. All he could feel was the despair and the bitterness, the sweet, sickly smell of a dying man. You see, I learnt at an early age what it was to be angry — angry and helpless. And I can never forget it. I knew more about — love … betrayal … and death, when I was ten years old than you will probably every know all your life.
[They all sit silently. Helena rises.]
HELENA. Time we ent. [Allison nods] I’ll just get my things together. I’ll see you downstairs.
[EXIT. A slight pause]
JIMMY. [not looking at her, almost whispering] Doesn’t it matter to you — what people do to me? What are you trying to do to me? I’ve given you just everything. Doesn’t it mean anything to you? [Her back stiffens. His axe-swinging bravado has vanished and his voice crumples in disabled rage] You Judas! You phlegm! She’s taking you with her, and you’re so bloody feeble, you’ll let her do it!
[Allison suddenly takes hold of her cup and hurls it on the floor. He’s drawn blood at last. She looks down at the pieces on the floor, and then at him. Then she crosses the room, takes out a dress on a hanger, and slips it on. As she is zipping up the side, she feels giddy, and she has to lean against the wardrobe for support. She closes her eyes.]
ALLISON. All I want is a little peace.
JIMMY. Peace! God! She wants peace! [hardly able to get his wrods out] My heart is so full, I feel ill — and she wants peace! [She crosses to the bed to put on her shoes. Cliff gets up from the table and sits in the armchair. He picks up a paper and looks at that. Jimmy has recovered slightly, and manages to sound almost detached] I rage, and shout my head off, and everyone thinks, “poor chap!” or “what an objectionable young man!” But that girl there can twist your arm off with her silence. I’ve sat in this chair in the dark for hours. And, although she knows I’m feeling as I feel now, she’s turned over and gone to sleep. One of us is crazy. One of us is mean and stupid and crazy. Which is it? Is it me? Is it me, standing here like an hysterical girl, hardly able to get my words out? Or is it her? Sitting there, putting on her shoes to go out with that — [But inspiration has deserted him by now] Which is it? [Cliff is still looking down at his paper] I wish to heaven you’d try loving her, that’s all. [Jimmy watches Allison look for her gloves] Perhaps, one day, you may want to come back. I shall wait for that day. I want to stand up in your tears, and splash about in them, and sing. I want to be there when you grovel. I want to be there, I want to watch it, I want the front seat. [Helena enters, carrying two prayer books] I want to see your face rubbed in the mud — that’s all I can hope for. There’s nothing else I want any longer.
HELENA. [after a moment] There’s a phone call for you.
JIMMY. [turning] Well, it can’t be anything good, can it?
[He goes out]
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"ANAGRAMS - Which country is an anagram of the female film star famous mostly for her roles in ""When Harry met Sally"" and ""Sleepless in Seattle""?" | Meg Ryan - Biography - IMDb
Biography
Showing all 50 items
Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (33) | Personal Quotes (5) | Salary (5)
Overview (3)
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra
Height
5' 8" (1.73 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Blond-haired, blue-eyed with an effervescent personality, Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Susan (Duggan), an English teacher and one-time actress, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. She has Polish, Irish, and German ancestry ("Hyra" is a Polish surname, and "Ryan" is her maternal grandmother's maiden name). Meg graduated from Bethel high school, Bethel in June 1979. Moving to New York, she attended New York University where she majored in journalism. To earn extra money while working on her degree, Meg went into acting using her new name Meg Ryan. In 1981, she had her big screen debut with a brief appearance as Candice Bergen 's daughter in George Cukor 's last film Rich and Famous (1981). She tried out and was cast as Betsy in the day time television soap As the World Turns (1956). She was part of the cast from 1982 to 1984. Meg also had a part in the television series One of the Boys (1982), but this show was soon canceled. In 1984, she moved to tinsel town and landed a job in the western Television Series Wildside (1985). Meg's small part in the blockbuster movie Top Gun (1986) led to her being cast in Steven Spielberg 's Innerspace (1987) where she co-starred with Dennis Quaid . She again co-starred with Quaid in the remake of D.O.A. (1988) and they married on Valentine's Day in 1991. In 1989, Meg appeared in When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and the scene at the restaurant became famous. Meg was nominated for both the Golden Globe and the BAFTA. In 1990, she co-starred with Tom Hanks in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and this time she played three roles as DeDe/Angelica/Patricia. She appeared again with Tom in the very successful Sleepless in Seattle (1993) for which she was again nominated for the Golden Globe. In 1994, Meg decided to act against type when she appeared as the alcoholic wife and mother in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). After that, she went back to "cute" with both I.Q. (1994) and French Kiss (1995). In 1994, Meg won the Harvard Hasty Pudding Award as "Woman of the Year" and was voted as being one of "The 50 most beautiful people in the world 1994" by People Magazine.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana <[email protected]>
Spouse (1)
Trivia (33)
Graduated from Bethel High School. Was Prom Queen. [1979]
Ranked #57 in Premiere (USA) magazine's "The 100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood" list. [June 1999]
Ranked #59 on Entertainment Weekly's most powerful people in Hollywood [1998]
Voted most favorite female movie star by the readers and online users of the "People Weekly Magazine" [April 1998]
Ranked #94 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Began Prufrock Pictures in 1994. Then in 2000, Prufrock Pictures was shut down.
Met actor Anthony Edwards during the making of the film Top Gun (1986) and moved in with him. They were a couple until she met actor Dennis Quaid during the film Innerspace (1987), and she moved in with and eventually married him. Both actors portrayed military fighter pilots in their respective roles. Had she been chosen for the role of Robin Monroe in Six Days Seven Nights (1998), that would have made the third time she would have been she would play a character involved with a pilot, albeit not a military pilot.
Turned down the Nicole Kidman role in To Die For (1995).
"Meg Ryan" is an anagram of "Germany". When she registered with the Screen Actors Guild as a teenager, Meg used her maternal grandmother's maiden name, "Ryan", as her stage surname.
Born at 10:08 AM EST
Savage Garden 's song, "All Around Me", was written about her, inspired by a crush from Daniel Jones , the band's composer.
4 February 2002 - An L.A. judge granted a restraining order against John Michael Hughes, a 40 year old real estate agent who had been hanging around Ryan's home claiming to be her fiancee.
Member of jury Festival International de Cannes 2003
Took three weeks of boxing lessons, to prepare for her role in Against the Ropes (2004); Ryan wanted to understand the sport, and the terms her character would use.
Shared an L.A. house with Daphne Zuniga when both were struggling actresses
She and her good friend Tom Hanks have been co-stars in three movies as love interests: Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and You've Got Mail (1998).
Did several national commercials as a teenager for Barbie and other products.
Voted "cutest" girl in school, class secretary, and homecoming queen her senior year of high school.
A famous haircut by Sally Hershberger was named "Meg" in honor of Ryan, since she was the first one to have it.
Was offered the role of "Molly Jensen" in Ghost (1990), but turned it down. The part later went to Demi Moore .
Turned down the role of "Vivian Ward" in Pretty Woman (1990). Julia Roberts was later given the role.
Was offered the role of Clarice Starling, in the movie The Silence of the Lambs (1991), that eventually went to Jodie Foster .
Has twice played Candice Bergen 's daughter, first in Rich and Famous (1981) and again in The Women (2008).
Her first film audition was for the role played by Brooke Shields in Endless Love (1981).
Was in consideration for the part of Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction (1994) but Uma Thurman , who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
Was offered the role of Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie in Steel Magnolias (1989), but she turned it down in order to film When Harry Met Sally... (1989). Julia Roberts , who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
An asteroid is named after her - 8353 Megryan.
Ex-sister-in-law of Randy Quaid .
Her father has Polish ancestry and her mother is of three quarters Irish, and one quarter German, descent. Her paternal great-grandfather, Orest J. Hyra, was born in Galicia, Halychyna, Poland, and met Meg's Polish-American great-grandmother, Anna Durniak, in the United States.
Was originally offered Jodie Foster's role in "Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Coincidentally both actresses share the same birthday (November 19th). Ryan is exactly one year older than Foster (Ryan was born in 1961 and Foster in 1962).
Has 2 children - Jack Henry Quaid ( Jack Quaid ; b.April 24, 1992) with her ex-husband Dennis Quaid and adopted daughter Daisy True Ryan (b.November 2004, adopted as 14-month-old in January 2006 from China).
Personal Quotes (5)
People say that chivalry is dead, I don't think that it's dead, I think it's just got the 'flu!
(Commenting on the nudity and sex in In the Cut (2003)) "You don't go, 'Wow! I get to do a nude scene.' But I love the sex scene in this movie. It was scary, honest and raw. But people could find my body very unattractive. There could be a backlash against it".
The best thing about modern living is anaesthesia. Definitely.
Clearly romantic comedy is my franchise genre, I don't mind saying that, it's true. I love doing them and hopefully always will do them. I don't feel particularly typecast because I think I do so many different kinds of things. Whether they're seen or not is another issue.
On why she hasn't been working very much recently - I've been famous since I was a teenager. There are a lot of empty spaces in that. I just feel like I've been filling in the cracks a little bit. I feel very fortunate, very free. (2008)
Salary (5)
| Germany |
"Sporting firsts - Who was the first British cyclist to win the ""green jersey"" in the Tour de France? (The green jersey is for the leader in the points classification and is awarded to the champion sprinter)" | Meg Ryan - Biography - IMDb
Biography
Showing all 50 items
Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (33) | Personal Quotes (5) | Salary (5)
Overview (3)
Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra
Height
5' 8" (1.73 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Blond-haired, blue-eyed with an effervescent personality, Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Susan (Duggan), an English teacher and one-time actress, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. She has Polish, Irish, and German ancestry ("Hyra" is a Polish surname, and "Ryan" is her maternal grandmother's maiden name). Meg graduated from Bethel high school, Bethel in June 1979. Moving to New York, she attended New York University where she majored in journalism. To earn extra money while working on her degree, Meg went into acting using her new name Meg Ryan. In 1981, she had her big screen debut with a brief appearance as Candice Bergen 's daughter in George Cukor 's last film Rich and Famous (1981). She tried out and was cast as Betsy in the day time television soap As the World Turns (1956). She was part of the cast from 1982 to 1984. Meg also had a part in the television series One of the Boys (1982), but this show was soon canceled. In 1984, she moved to tinsel town and landed a job in the western Television Series Wildside (1985). Meg's small part in the blockbuster movie Top Gun (1986) led to her being cast in Steven Spielberg 's Innerspace (1987) where she co-starred with Dennis Quaid . She again co-starred with Quaid in the remake of D.O.A. (1988) and they married on Valentine's Day in 1991. In 1989, Meg appeared in When Harry Met Sally... (1989) and the scene at the restaurant became famous. Meg was nominated for both the Golden Globe and the BAFTA. In 1990, she co-starred with Tom Hanks in Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and this time she played three roles as DeDe/Angelica/Patricia. She appeared again with Tom in the very successful Sleepless in Seattle (1993) for which she was again nominated for the Golden Globe. In 1994, Meg decided to act against type when she appeared as the alcoholic wife and mother in When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). After that, she went back to "cute" with both I.Q. (1994) and French Kiss (1995). In 1994, Meg won the Harvard Hasty Pudding Award as "Woman of the Year" and was voted as being one of "The 50 most beautiful people in the world 1994" by People Magazine.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana <[email protected]>
Spouse (1)
Trivia (33)
Graduated from Bethel High School. Was Prom Queen. [1979]
Ranked #57 in Premiere (USA) magazine's "The 100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood" list. [June 1999]
Ranked #59 on Entertainment Weekly's most powerful people in Hollywood [1998]
Voted most favorite female movie star by the readers and online users of the "People Weekly Magazine" [April 1998]
Ranked #94 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Began Prufrock Pictures in 1994. Then in 2000, Prufrock Pictures was shut down.
Met actor Anthony Edwards during the making of the film Top Gun (1986) and moved in with him. They were a couple until she met actor Dennis Quaid during the film Innerspace (1987), and she moved in with and eventually married him. Both actors portrayed military fighter pilots in their respective roles. Had she been chosen for the role of Robin Monroe in Six Days Seven Nights (1998), that would have made the third time she would have been she would play a character involved with a pilot, albeit not a military pilot.
Turned down the Nicole Kidman role in To Die For (1995).
"Meg Ryan" is an anagram of "Germany". When she registered with the Screen Actors Guild as a teenager, Meg used her maternal grandmother's maiden name, "Ryan", as her stage surname.
Born at 10:08 AM EST
Savage Garden 's song, "All Around Me", was written about her, inspired by a crush from Daniel Jones , the band's composer.
4 February 2002 - An L.A. judge granted a restraining order against John Michael Hughes, a 40 year old real estate agent who had been hanging around Ryan's home claiming to be her fiancee.
Member of jury Festival International de Cannes 2003
Took three weeks of boxing lessons, to prepare for her role in Against the Ropes (2004); Ryan wanted to understand the sport, and the terms her character would use.
Shared an L.A. house with Daphne Zuniga when both were struggling actresses
She and her good friend Tom Hanks have been co-stars in three movies as love interests: Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and You've Got Mail (1998).
Did several national commercials as a teenager for Barbie and other products.
Voted "cutest" girl in school, class secretary, and homecoming queen her senior year of high school.
A famous haircut by Sally Hershberger was named "Meg" in honor of Ryan, since she was the first one to have it.
Was offered the role of "Molly Jensen" in Ghost (1990), but turned it down. The part later went to Demi Moore .
Turned down the role of "Vivian Ward" in Pretty Woman (1990). Julia Roberts was later given the role.
Was offered the role of Clarice Starling, in the movie The Silence of the Lambs (1991), that eventually went to Jodie Foster .
Has twice played Candice Bergen 's daughter, first in Rich and Famous (1981) and again in The Women (2008).
Her first film audition was for the role played by Brooke Shields in Endless Love (1981).
Was in consideration for the part of Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction (1994) but Uma Thurman , who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
Was offered the role of Shelby Eatenton-Latcherie in Steel Magnolias (1989), but she turned it down in order to film When Harry Met Sally... (1989). Julia Roberts , who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.
An asteroid is named after her - 8353 Megryan.
Ex-sister-in-law of Randy Quaid .
Her father has Polish ancestry and her mother is of three quarters Irish, and one quarter German, descent. Her paternal great-grandfather, Orest J. Hyra, was born in Galicia, Halychyna, Poland, and met Meg's Polish-American great-grandmother, Anna Durniak, in the United States.
Was originally offered Jodie Foster's role in "Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Coincidentally both actresses share the same birthday (November 19th). Ryan is exactly one year older than Foster (Ryan was born in 1961 and Foster in 1962).
Has 2 children - Jack Henry Quaid ( Jack Quaid ; b.April 24, 1992) with her ex-husband Dennis Quaid and adopted daughter Daisy True Ryan (b.November 2004, adopted as 14-month-old in January 2006 from China).
Personal Quotes (5)
People say that chivalry is dead, I don't think that it's dead, I think it's just got the 'flu!
(Commenting on the nudity and sex in In the Cut (2003)) "You don't go, 'Wow! I get to do a nude scene.' But I love the sex scene in this movie. It was scary, honest and raw. But people could find my body very unattractive. There could be a backlash against it".
The best thing about modern living is anaesthesia. Definitely.
Clearly romantic comedy is my franchise genre, I don't mind saying that, it's true. I love doing them and hopefully always will do them. I don't feel particularly typecast because I think I do so many different kinds of things. Whether they're seen or not is another issue.
On why she hasn't been working very much recently - I've been famous since I was a teenager. There are a lot of empty spaces in that. I just feel like I've been filling in the cracks a little bit. I feel very fortunate, very free. (2008)
Salary (5)
| i don't know |
Ian Huntley was convicted of the murders of two schoolgirls in 2002. In waht village did the murders take place? | Is Ian Huntley innocent? - David Icke's Official Forums
Is Ian Huntley innocent?
Likes: 3 (3 Posts)
Is Ian Huntley innocent?
Is Ian Huntley innocent? This was the view asserted by researcher Joe Vialls, in great detail. Unfortunately since making his argument public, Joe has died, and the joevialls.co.uk website is no longer maintained, meaning that this research has been lost to the public.
Hazel Mackinlay wrote a brief summary of his findings two yeasr ago:
"Ian Huntley will go down in history as a notorious child killer and he himself has been brainwashed into believing this monstrous lie, but the fictitious case presented against him does not stand up to scrutiny. Prior to the double murder of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells, Huntley had no previous convictions, other than a fine for riding an unlicensed motorcycle. He was not a pedophile and the police found no evidence of preplanning, as they would have expected, nor was there any proof indicating he had abducted the ten year olds. Huntley denied any involvement and felt certain he was going to be “fitted up” for the crime, as he was the last person to see them alive.
Huntley said he had been cleaning his car when the girls stopped to enquire about his girlfriend Maxine Carr, their former, popular teaching assistant. He did not recognize them but said Maxine was fine and then the girls skipped away as “happy as Larry.” Nevertheless, he was arrested two weeks later when the victims’ clothes were found, partially burned, in a bin at the village school where he was the caretaker. The half of the building in which these items were discovered was not locked and accessible to anyone. Huntley was subsequently detained under Section 48 of the 1983 Mental Health Act, at Rampton High Security Hospital and remained in jail until his trial.
He was assessed by consultant psychiatrist, Dr Christopher Clark, who deduced that Huntley was, “both physically and mentally sound” and fit to stand trial, but he lost his memory during his stay at Rampton. It was claimed this was due to the trauma of the murders; all he could remember was the girls walking away, but this was said to be his “coping mechanism.” He did not recall how they died until after taking an overdose of pills at Woodhill Prison in June 2003. Huntley’s conviction relied wholly on this “confession” and forensic evidence which was circumstantial, or could have been planted. It is alleged he has attempted suicide three times by consuming pills.
During his trial, Huntley told an incredulous story about how the girls died accidentally in his bathroom after he invited them in to attend to a nosebleed. It is unlikely that Huntley let them into his house since Mrs. Bryden, his boss at Soham College, described him as “a very level-headed person” who was conscientious in informing a senior member of staff if any girls became attracted to him. The most revealing statement made regarding Huntley’s ridiculous testimony was by prosecutor Richard Latham QC when he said, “This is just false memory syndrome, all this stuff, isn't it?” UCI psychologists have admitted they use Propranolol to induce false memories.
Huntley had been passive throughout his trial until Latham insinuated the killing was sexually motivated. That is when Huntley became agitated and raised his voice, because the idea was so contrary to his true suppressed nature. The prosecutor implied his angry reaction suggested he had a temper, but Maxine Carr told police she knew him inside out and he was not a violent man, he was very emotional. Carr said, “He wouldn’t hurt anybody. He just wouldn't do it.” They were both of the opinion that child molesters should be castrated. Carr was convicted for lying to protect him and vilified by the media who compared her to Myra Hindley, a hated serial child killer.
The prosecution took jurors to the area where the bodies were discovered in a ditch by a game keeper at the perimeter fence of RAF Lakenheath, where Huntley often went plane spotting, which would explain the soil samples and spores detected on the pedals of his Ford Fiesta. But they were shown two tracks leading through overgrown nettles, indicating there had been more than one person at the site. However, this was explained by claiming Huntley had returned two days later to burn the bodies after cutting off the clothes which he left at his place of work to incriminate himself. It would have been more sensible to ignite the clothes whilst still on the corpses.
None of the thousands of servicemen at this military air force base, who have a reputation for murder and sex offences abroad, were interviewed or investigated. The judge, Mr Justice Moses told Huntley, “You murdered them both. You are the one person who knows how you murdered them; you are the one person who knows why.” Even Huntley’s defence lawyer agreed, aptly named Stephen Coward QC, he instructed the jury to find him guilty, “on thin evidence” of the manslaughter of Holly and Jessica, saying, “Mr Huntley was not innocent, nor unworthy of punishment.” Coward agreed with a list of twenty-one admissions submitted to the court.
Huntley received a life sentence, but after a recent attempt on his life by another inmate, he has been moved from his suicide-watch cell to another part of Wakefield Prison, supposedly for his own safety, but he is now in a better position to ‘kill himself.’ Jessica Chapman’s father said of Huntley; “The next time I'd like to see him, was how we last saw our daughters and that was in a coffin.” The bereaved families may get their wish, because as long as Ian Huntley remains alive, there is a danger that his real memories of that day in Soham on August 4th 2002 may return, and then he will realise that he is an innocent man, not a merciless, calculated double murderer."
How did Joe Vallis die ?
Posts: 329
Likes: 0 (0 Posts)
nothing in that report leads me to believe he is innocent. there is no evidence, just examples of what may of happend or would make more sense to of happened.
Posts: 14,691
Likes: 1,724 (999 Posts)
joe vialls was in early doors with the cons piracy stuff, he had a good site.
huntley? the media went hyper on this story, yet strangely his g/f was released early and given a new ID.
Who knows what is true anymore.
__________________
DISCLAIMER: Reader discretion advised. The above post is entirely fictional, for entertainment purposes only. Any similarities to real life events, animals, humans, persons, politicians, or any other form of organisation entity living, dead or in any other state of existence are coincidental. Any opinion, comment or statements related or attributed to this username are not necessarily nor implied to be those held by the ip/computer/username or other electronic media device or service owner/user.
YOu don't think Uncle Jimmy was involved ?
now then , now then
Posts: 2,467
Likes: 3 (2 Posts)
I believe Huntley is innocent. These terrible murders happened just before the invasion of Iraq. The bodies were found dumped outside the huge American base. There is a history of American servicemen abusing children in Japan.
They didn't want to have an anti-American backlash in England just as they were about to start slaughtering thousands of Iraqi children.
Something happened to Huntley when he was held in Rampton. They worked on him. Even the investigating police officer was fitted up later for supposedly downloading child porn. Perhaps he was going to blow the whistle.
His girlfriend, Maxine, has probably been given a new identity so they can quietly bump her off later.
Location: Turn left, and I'm just up there... on the right
Posts: 1,194
Quote:
Originally Posted by tyler
I believe Huntley is innocent. These terrible murders happened just before the invasion of Iraq. The bodies were found dumped outside the huge American base. There is a history of American servicemen abusing children in Japan.
They didn't want to have an anti-American backlash in England just as they were about to start slaughtering thousands of Iraqi children.
Something happened to Huntley when he was held in Rampton. They worked on him. Even the investigating police officer was fitted up later for supposedly downloading child porn. Perhaps he was going to blow the whistle.
His girlfriend, Maxine, has probably been given a new identity so they can quietly bump her off later.
She was living in Skegness for a while, she was even working in a pub no more than 100 yrds from her house!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pipsicle
Is Ian Huntley innocent? This was the view asserted by researcher Joe Vialls, in great detail. Unfortunately since making his argument public, Joe has died, and the joevialls.co.uk website is no longer maintained, meaning that this research has been lost to the public.
Hazel Mackinlay wrote a brief summary of his findings two yeasr ago:
"Ian Huntley will go down in history as a notorious child killer and he himself has been brainwashed into believing this monstrous lie, but the fictitious case presented against him does not stand up to scrutiny. Prior to the double murder of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells, Huntley had no previous convictions, other than a fine for riding an unlicensed motorcycle. He was not a pedophile and the police found no evidence of preplanning, as they would have expected, nor was there any proof indicating he had abducted the ten year olds. Huntley denied any involvement and felt certain he was going to be “fitted up” for the crime, as he was the last person to see them alive.
Huntley said he had been cleaning his car when the girls stopped to enquire about his girlfriend Maxine Carr, their former, popular teaching assistant. He did not recognize them but said Maxine was fine and then the girls skipped away as “happy as Larry.” Nevertheless, he was arrested two weeks later when the victims’ clothes were found, partially burned, in a bin at the village school where he was the caretaker. The half of the building in which these items were discovered was not locked and accessible to anyone. Huntley was subsequently detained under Section 48 of the 1983 Mental Health Act, at Rampton High Security Hospital and remained in jail until his trial.
He was assessed by consultant psychiatrist, Dr Christopher Clark, who deduced that Huntley was, “both physically and mentally sound” and fit to stand trial, but he lost his memory during his stay at Rampton. It was claimed this was due to the trauma of the murders; all he could remember was the girls walking away, but this was said to be his “coping mechanism.” He did not recall how they died until after taking an overdose of pills at Woodhill Prison in June 2003. Huntley’s conviction relied wholly on this “confession” and forensic evidence which was circumstantial, or could have been planted. It is alleged he has attempted suicide three times by consuming pills.
During his trial, Huntley told an incredulous story about how the girls died accidentally in his bathroom after he invited them in to attend to a nosebleed. It is unlikely that Huntley let them into his house since Mrs. Bryden, his boss at Soham College, described him as “a very level-headed person” who was conscientious in informing a senior member of staff if any girls became attracted to him. The most revealing statement made regarding Huntley’s ridiculous testimony was by prosecutor Richard Latham QC when he said, “This is just false memory syndrome, all this stuff, isn't it?” UCI psychologists have admitted they use Propranolol to induce false memories.
Huntley had been passive throughout his trial until Latham insinuated the killing was sexually motivated. That is when Huntley became agitated and raised his voice, because the idea was so contrary to his true suppressed nature. The prosecutor implied his angry reaction suggested he had a temper, but Maxine Carr told police she knew him inside out and he was not a violent man, he was very emotional. Carr said, “He wouldn’t hurt anybody. He just wouldn't do it.” They were both of the opinion that child molesters should be castrated. Carr was convicted for lying to protect him and vilified by the media who compared her to Myra Hindley, a hated serial child killer.
The prosecution took jurors to the area where the bodies were discovered in a ditch by a game keeper at the perimeter fence of RAF Lakenheath, where Huntley often went plane spotting, which would explain the soil samples and spores detected on the pedals of his Ford Fiesta. But they were shown two tracks leading through overgrown nettles, indicating there had been more than one person at the site. However, this was explained by claiming Huntley had returned two days later to burn the bodies after cutting off the clothes which he left at his place of work to incriminate himself. It would have been more sensible to ignite the clothes whilst still on the corpses.
None of the thousands of servicemen at this military air force base, who have a reputation for murder and sex offences abroad, were interviewed or investigated. The judge, Mr Justice Moses told Huntley, “You murdered them both. You are the one person who knows how you murdered them; you are the one person who knows why.” Even Huntley’s defence lawyer agreed, aptly named Stephen Coward QC, he instructed the jury to find him guilty, “on thin evidence” of the manslaughter of Holly and Jessica, saying, “Mr Huntley was not innocent, nor unworthy of punishment.” Coward agreed with a list of twenty-one admissions submitted to the court.
Huntley received a life sentence, but after a recent attempt on his life by another inmate, he has been moved from his suicide-watch cell to another part of Wakefield Prison, supposedly for his own safety, but he is now in a better position to ‘kill himself.’ Jessica Chapman’s father said of Huntley; “The next time I'd like to see him, was how we last saw our daughters and that was in a coffin.” The bereaved families may get their wish, because as long as Ian Huntley remains alive, there is a danger that his real memories of that day in Soham on August 4th 2002 may return, and then he will realise that he is an innocent man, not a merciless, calculated double murderer."
dean Warwick also held similar opinions to Viallis on the Soham murders. He's dead too. The link below is a transcript of an interview he gave to Dave Starbuck not long before he died on stage whilst giving a talk at a conspiracy conference in Blackpool
Thankyou to gilly meksar and narcoleptioc for the links... I will read....
Quote:
Originally Posted by tyler
Something happened to Huntley when he was held in Rampton. They worked on him. Even the investigating police officer was fitted up later for supposedly downloading child porn. Perhaps he was going to blow the whistle.
No way was his sectioning legal. He had no history of mental illness. This was before he was charged. He was charged while he was in sectioning.
Did you notice how bizarre and ridiculous the story told in court was? The girls, with whom he and Carr had always got along well, came in to give him a present. Then he decided to take one upstairs and kill her in the bath. Like you do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sam bless
nothing in that report leads me to believe he is innocent. there is no evidence, just examples of what may of happend or would make more sense to of happened.
I respectfully disagree.... A taxi driver reported seeing the girls after the time they were supposed to have been killed looking at a war monument but this was deemed inadmissible in court... why?
The girls were fond of Huntley and Carr and had come round to deliver a present to him. Huntley was apparently very scrupulous about reporting any perceived inappropriate attraction to him from schoolgirls. An early report on his body language concluded he was telling the truth and wanted to help.
He does not fit the profile of a pedophile (no attacks on kids, no child porn). I think much later he was accused of a pedophile attack. Huntley strongly denied the allegation from prison, but later "confessed".
I hate to say it but the story seemed very contrived, just like all the media coverage about Huntley.
Quote:
| Soham |
Which general introduced martial law in Poland in 1981? | h2g2 - Lincolnshire People - Noble and Ignoble - Edited Entry
0 Conversations
People from Lincolnshire , England, are known as Yellowbellies , although no two stories as to the origin of the term are the same, so nowadays it's just used as a term of endearment. In the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games , three of the members of the Women's hockey team which took a bronze medal hailed from Lincolnshire. They are Crista Cullen and Hannah Macleod from Boston, and Georgie Twigg from Lincoln . The GB team for the London Paralympics included five participants from Lincolnshire:
Hollie Arnold (javelin) from Holton-le-Clay,
Jamie Carter (wheelchair sprint) from Binbrook,
Kieran Tscherniawsky (seated discus) from Heckington,
Rob Welbourn from Market Deeping, who won a bronze medal in the men's S10 400m freestyle,
Sophie Wells of Lincoln, who won two individual silver medals in the para-dressage on her horse Pinocchio. Her scores helped the GB equestrian team claim an overall gold medal, which meant a gold-painted postbox honour for the city of Lincoln and special individual first class stamps for each member of the equestrian team.
Noble Yellowbellies
Henry Andrews
To the north of Scotland it will be a very great eclipse; but nowhere total on account of the apparent diameter of the Sun. The spectators will be entertained with a beautiful annulus, or ring of light encompassing the opaque body of the Moon on every side. This eclipse begins with the rising sun in the back settlements of Carolina and Virginia, from whence it traverses Hudson's Bay, north-easterly towards the coast of Greenland, Iceland and Lapland, and the northern coast of Great Tartary where this phenomenon will end and quit the Earth with the setting sun.
– Henry Andrews talking about the solar annulus eclipse in 1792 which he predicted.
Henry Andrews (1744 - 1820) was born in the village of Frieston, near Grantham. He was an accomplished mathematician and astronomer, and became an advisor to the Astronomer Royal of his time, the Rev Dr Nevil Maskelyne. For over 40 years he worked as 'Compiler of the tables detailing the movement of the planets' for Old Moore's Almanac - and that was just in his spare time. His day jobs were Calculator to the Board of Longitude, Churchwarden and Overseer to the Poor. He also ran a shop which sold books and scientific instruments.
Anne Askew
Anne Askew (1521 - 46) of South Kelsey was accused of heresy, tortured on the rack in the Tower of London and burned to death at the stake. She is mentioned in the Book of Martyrs by John Foxe (see below).
George Bass
Aswarby-born George Bass (1771 - 1803) was an explorer and ship's surgeon who sailed on the Reliance to the east coast of Australia. He mapped the body of water separating Australia from the island of Tasmania, later named the Bass Strait in his honour.
George Boole
Mathematician George Boole (1815 - 64) was Dean of Science at Queen's College, Cork. Regarded as his most important work: An Investigation Into the Laws of Thought, on Which are Founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities, was the paper which details the relationship between algebra and logic (published in 1854). Much of today's computer technology is based on this study. In 1857 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society, and the Teaching Window in Lincoln Cathedral is dedicated to his memory.
Jim Broadbent
Oscar 1 and BAFTA-winning actor Jim Broadbent was born on 24 May, 1949 in Wickenby, Lincoln. His is the voice of 'Vroomfondel' in the BBC radio series version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy .
Joe Brown MBE
'Chirpy Cockney' (his description in The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums) Joe Brown was actually born in the village of Swarby, near Sleaford, on 13 May, 1941. Although he began in the music business as a skiffle artist, when that genre dipped in popularity he switched to rock and roll. An accomplished musician as well as singer, Brown learned to play multiple instruments including the banjo , fiddle, guitar, mandolin and the ukulele . His UK Top 10 hits in 1962 were 'A Picture Of You' and 'It Only Took A Minute', with 'That's What Love Will Do' peaking at number 3 in 1963. Brown's best friend was George Harrison ; the pair collaborated on Harrison's post-Beatle albums Gone Troppo (1982) and the posthumous release Brainwashed. Brown appeared at the tribute Concert for George in 2002, where he sang three songs including the very moving 'I'll See You In My Dreams'. Brown is much-respected among his peers and well loved by the wider general public, his 50th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London was a sell-out. In 2009 he was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of his five decades in the music industry.
David Burghley
Stamford-born David George Brownlow Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, previously David (Lord) Burghley (1905 - 1981), won the 400m hurdles at the 1928 Summer Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Burghley inspired the character of Lord Andrew Lindsay in the film Chariots of Fire but it was Burghley who raced around the Great Court at Trinity College in the time it took the college clock to chime 12 times 2 , and he refused to endorse the film. Chariots of Fire was produced by Dodi 3 Al-Fayed (1955 - 1997) who was the boyfriend of Diana, Princess of Wales , and died in the same car crash in Paris.
Geoff Capes
Geoff Capes was born in 1949 in Holbeach. The former coalman and policeman took up the sport of shot put , winning two Commonwealth Games gold medals in 1974 and 78. He won Britain's Strongest Man in 1979, held the title of Europe's Strongest Man in 1980, 1982 and 1984, and was World's Strongest Man in 1983 and 85. Although he represented Great Britain in the 1972, 1976 and 1980 Olympic Games, Capes was not among the medal winners. He had thrown a new Commonwealth and British shot put record in 1980, which would have been an Olympic record as well if he could have repeated it at the Olympic Games. As it was, the 1980 gold medal winner's throw claimed a new Olympic record, but it was still less than Capes' Commonwealth record of 21.68m (71' 3½"), which remained a national record until 2003. Capes enjoys breeding and showing budgerigars , eventually becoming president of the British Budgerigar Society in 2008. He also serves as a Justice of the Peace in Lincolnshire.
William Cecil
The first Lord Burghley was born at a house in Bourne town centre in 1520, which is now the Burghley Arms public house. Today there is a plaque on the wall commemorating this event. Cecil served Queen Elizabeth I for 40 years, during which time he was an architect, diplomat, politician and administrator. He died in 1598.
Ray Clemence MBE
Skegness-born Ray Clemence was a goalkeeper for Scunthorpe United when he was scouted by Liverpool and signed by their legendary manager Bill Shankly in 1967. After 14 years with Liverpool, he transferred to Tottenham Hotspur where he remained until he retired in 1988. During his footballing playing career Clemence kept goal for his country's team 61 times between 1972 – 84, and he was awarded an MBE for his service to Association Football in 1981. Clemence was the England team's Goalkeeping Coach from 1996 until 2007 when Fabio Capello became England manager, but Capello's successor Roy Hodgson brought Clemence back as Senior Goalkeeping Coach in 2012.
Alderman Ada Croft Baker
Ada was born into one of Grimsby's founding fishing families, the Grants. She married trawler owner Henry Croft Baker and as well as having five children to raise, she was a suffragette and eventually became the first female magistrate in Lincolnshire. From being elected to the County Council in 1919, she served continually until her death in 1962. After her husband died in 1928, Ada bought The Mount, a very large house in Mill Road, Cleethorpes, and donated it to the town in his memory, with the proviso that it be used as a Maternity Home. Ada turned down an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1961, a fact that was only made public by the Cabinet Office in January 2012. The Croft Baker Maternity Home closed in September 1984, despite a heated campaign to save it. It is now only a memory in the minds of those who were born there, or gave birth there (in some cases, both 4 ). The property was developed and some walls of the original building survive. What stands there now are several ground floor accommodations and first-floor flats, surrounded by landscaped gardens, collectively called 'The Mount'. North East Lincolnshire Council has three Council Wards within the area of Cleethorpes , one of which is Croft Baker Ward, named in honour of Ada.
Sir Thomas Boor Crosby
Sir Thomas Boor Crosby (1830 – 1916), born in Gosberton, was a doctor and Lord Mayor of London in 1911. When the Titanic sank in 1912, Crosby set up the Titanic Trust which raised funds for the survivors and relatives of the casualties.
Colin Dexter
The author of the best-selling Inspector Morse novels, Colin Dexter was born in Stamford in 1930.
Della Dolan
Gorgeous Della became Miss UK in 1982 at the age of 20, and bought a fashion shop called Hobo in her home town of Grimsby with her winnings. When she later came third in the Miss World contest, Della became a national celebrity. She caught the eye of Manchester United goalkeeper Gary Bailey, but in order to go out with him she had to dump her childhood sweetheart Craig Draper. The lure of being a WAG didn't last and Della was soon back to her roots. She married Craig and the couple had two lovely daughters. In 2012, Della aged 50 but not looking a day over 35, starred in the TV documentary Wonderland – I Was Once A Beauty Queen.
Victor Emery
Victor Emery (1933 - 2002) was a physicist from Boston whose work paved the way for others to win a Nobel Prize. He was an expert on superconductors and he created the Emery Model. He became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders (1774 - 1814) was inspired to become an explorer after reading the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. He was good friends with George Bass (see above); they met when they both sailed to Australia on the Reliance. Flinders was to first man to circumnavigate Australia (1802 - 03), it was he who suggested the name and it was adopted in 1824. He completed a book on his travels A Voyage to Terra Australis just before his death aged just 39 years. Flinders Island is named after him.
Dr Michael Foale CBE
The market town of Louth boasts a son who was born on Earth but made his career in outer space. Dr Michael Foale CBE 5 (born 1957) was the first British person to perform an EVA 6 . He has commanded the International Space Station and once held the record for most time spent in space for a US citizen (Dr Foale has dual UK/USA nationality). Dr Foale retired from NASA in 2013 to concentrate on the development of electric aircraft.
John Foxe
John Foxe (1516 - 1587) - Author and Reformist. His 16th-Century Book of Martyrs (its full title was Actes and Monuments of these Latter and Perillous Days, touching Matters of the Church) was, after The Bible , the second most widely-read book in the English language when it was produced.
Sir John Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin (1786 – 1847) was born in Spilsby and educated in Louth. He rose to the top of his profession in the British Royal Navy and became Governor of Tasmania for a while. Franklin led an Arctic expedition to map the Northwest Passage in 1845, but the ill-fated voyage was beset by multiple problems and Franklin's death was logged in June 1847.
Freddie Frinton
Freddie Coo was born in Grimsby in 1909, to a single mother. Although poorer than a church mouse, his mother worked her fingers to the bone in order to give her son an education. When he was old enough to go to work himself, he decided making a living in a fish factory was not for him. Discovering he had a natural talent for making people laugh, Freddie took a stage name and found work in a music hall, usually playing a falling-down drunk. He even had his own catchphrase 'Good evening occifer,' which he would say to someone offstage and would have the audience in stitches. Freddie became a familiar face when he appeared on television, guest starring in shows such as The Arthur Haynes Show and Meet The Wife. He suffered a heart attack and died in 1968, and there his story might have ended, were it not for a bizarre tradition which developed in Germany. In 1963 Freddie had recorded Dinner for One , a sketch he had been performing on stage since 1945, for German television. Since the early 1970s Der 90. Geburtstag (The 90th Birthday, alternative title for Dinner for One), the 18-minute, black-and-white comedy sketch has become a New Year's Eve institution for European television viewers. Dinner for One featured in the Guinness Book of Records from 1988 to 1995 as the most frequently repeated TV programme, when the category was discontinued.
Lady Eleanor Glanville
Lady Eleanor Glanville (1654 - 1709) was an entomologist who specialised in butterflies . Some of her collection are still on display at the Natural History Museum . The Glanville Fritillary butterly is named after her, a rare honour indeed.
Nora Hardwick
Nora Hardwick was born in Lincolnshire in 1905. She spent her working life as postmistress of Ancaster, and was a member of the parish council for 35 years. She has enjoyed being a philanthropist and charity worker. When she was 102, the plucky Lincolnshire lass volunteered to pose naked for a charity calendar. Nora appeared as Miss November: 'It was very tastefully done. I had a pink tulle scarf to hide the bits and pieces'. The story went global and Nora was invited to appear on TV programmes including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in the USA. Speaking in 2012, she says the secret to a long, happy life is to put others first. And enjoy the odd glass of whisky .
Sir Thomas Little Heath
Sir Thomas Little Heath (1861 - 1940) was born in Barnetby-le-Wold. He was an author and historian, translating ancient Greek mathematic and astonomy books into English. His translated works included: On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon; History of Greek Mathematics and Apollonius of Perga. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society, president of the Mathematical Association and a Fellow of the British Academy.
King Henry IV
King Henry IV was born at Bolingbroke Castle in 1366.
Hereward the Wake
Hereward the Wake , 11th-Century leader, anti-Norman dissident, freedom-fighter, hero and eventual outlaw, was born in Bourne, Lincolnshire. Stories about him were very similar to later legends about Robin Hood .
Patricia Hodge
Born in Cleethorpes on 29 September, 1946, Patricia initially trained to be a teacher before joining drama school at the age of 22. She made her name as Phyllida Trant (later Phyllida Erskine-Brown) in Rumpole of the Bailey, a recurring role which lasted 14 years. She played the title role in the 1983 TV series Jemima Shore Investigates but it is probably her part in the 1986 drama/horror mini-series The Life and Loves of a She-Devil which was the most memorable. Patricia made headlines when she had her first child at the age of 42, followed by a second son when she was 45. The acting offers kept coming and she played the Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Margaret Thatcher, in a 2002 TV movie about the Falkland Islands. Invited to play the part of Miranda's mother Penny, which she loves performing, in the TV smash hit show Miranda, has introduced the ever-youthful Patricia to a whole new generation of fans.
To be able to make people laugh is like finding a bar of 24-carat gold at the end of the rainbow.
– Patricia Hodge in 2012
Benjamin Huntsman
Benjamin Huntsman was born into a Quaker family in Epworth, in the year 1704. He started his own business as a clockmaker, and conducted experiments with steel in order to create better clock springs. Huntsman succeeded in manufacturing crucible steel, but he neglected to patent it and the idea was stolen. The cutlery that was made from his steel process was much harder than had been produced before.
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson (1591 - 1643), from Alford, a 17th-Century pioneer of women's rights, became an influential and popular figure in America by assisting women with childbirth and greatly reducing infant mortality rates. She has a statue situated outside the New State House in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jean Ingelow
Jean Ingelow (1820 - 97), poet and novelist, was born in Boston.
Tony Jacklin OBE
Tony Jacklin OBE, golfer, was born on 7 July, 1944, in Scunthorpe . Jacklin became a national hero in 1970, when he was the first British player to win the US Open for over 70 years. In 1985 he captained the team that brought the Ryder Cup back to Europe for the first time in 28 years. Two years later he led the Europeans to a historic victory, beating the Americans on their own turf.
Elizabeth Jennings CBE
Elizabeth Jennings (1926 – 2001) of Boston was a prolific poet who won awards for her first two books. She was honoured with a CBE in 1992. Although affected by mental illness, Elizabeth continued to write poetry up till her death, aged just 75 years. Elizabeth Jennings: The Collected Poems was published in 2012.
Dame Madge Kendal
Arguably the finest actress Grimsby has produced, Madge Kendal performed Shakespearean roles, including that of the tragic Ophelia , as well as comedies and important parts such as Galatea in Pygmalion and Galatea which also starred her husband WH Kendal. Together they successfully toured America. After being widowed in 1917 Kendal worked tirelessly for theatrical charities. She was honoured in 1926 by King George V, becoming a DBE, however this was upgraded to GBE (Dame Grand Cross) a year later. There is a Dame Kendal Grove in Grimsby, which was named after her.
Peter John King
Peter John King was born in Boston in 1956. He is a poet, philosopher and author of One Hundred Philosophers: The Life and Work of the World's Greatest Thinkers.
Percy Roycroft Lowe
Ornithologist Percy Roycroft Lowe (1870 - 1948) was born in Stamford. He was Curator of Birds at the Natural History Museum .
Sir Halford John Mackinder
Halford Mackinder (1861 – 1947) of Gainsborough was a prolific author, specialising in geography.
Sir Neville Marriner
Neville Marriner was born in Lincoln in 1924. Always drawn to a musical career, he studied at the Royal College of Music in London. He taught students to play the violin while learning to become a conductor . In 1959 he founded the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, which became the first orchestra to be honoured with the Queen's Award for Export Achievement. He conducted the music for the soundtrack of the 1984 film Amadeus, which won eight Oscars, four BAFTAs and no fewer than 29 other awards. For his services to music he was made a CBE in 1979, and knighted in 1985. He has also been honoured by the French Ministry of Culture.
William Marwood
William Marwood (1820 - 83) was a discontented cobbler working in his hometown of Horncastle when he decided upon a change of career. He conducted a hanging at Lincoln Jail in 1872. As it went without a hitch, Marwood was appointed official hangman, a post he held until his death. During this time he perfected a new and kinder way to kill convicted criminals – the long drop, a technique which snaps the neck causing instant death . Over the course of his second career Marwood notched up 176 executions.
Robert Mason Mills
This Bourne entrepreneur, born in 1819, realised the market potential of the fresh water supply that was freely available beneath the town and was soon extracting it from underground springs and selling it world-wide. His aerated water business became part of the town's prosperity during the 19th Century, giving employment to many and earning his business a Royal Warrant for supplying Queen Victoria's son Prince Arthur, the Duke of Connaught, who bought it for its supposed medicinal and health giving qualities. Mills died in 1904, having reached his mid-eighties, which was an excellent lifespan for the time, adding to the reputation of his special water.
John Motson
Boston United FC's most famous supporter is John Motson (born 1945), 'Mottie', the 'voice of football', is the BBC's senior football commentator on Match of the Day.
Sir Isaac Newton
The genius Sir Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727) was born in Woolsthorpe, near Grantham. Newton was a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and alchemist. He was elected Lucasian Professor of Mathematics 7 in 1669. He invented a reflecting telescope which bears his name, the Newtonian telescope, and due to not wanting to be disturbed by his cat while working in his dark room, the cat flap. Newton's laws of motion and gravity provided a basis for predicting the motion of celestial bodies. He held the post of President of the Royal Society from 1703 until his death. Some researchers now believe that Newton displayed autistic traits comparable to Asperger's Syndrome .
Allan Ogle
Born in Grimsby, Allan's first claim to fame was arriving in the world on the exact 100th anniversary of the Krakatoa Eruption , the loudest worldwide event in modern history. In 2011 in Sheffield , South Yorkshire, Allan put together a team of amateur athletes to attempt to break the world record for longest consecutive badminton playing. It was to be a serious attempt; a representative from the Guiness Book Of Records was invited and the special timing equipment ordered. There were an estimated nine million people aware of the event thanks to local radio station promotion, social media and advertising, and there were website hits from as far away as Thailand and Australia . With all the good publicity, over £6,000 was raised for the charity NSPCC. Allan's team smashed the previous record by an hour, creating a new world record of 29 hours.
Nicholas Parsons
Actor, radio host and television personality Nicholas Parsons OBE hails from Grantham. He will be best-remembered for chairing the BBC Radio 4 panel game Just a Minute and presenting the weekly TV quiz show Sale of the Century, although he did guest star in Doctor Who in 1989 .
Alfred Piccaver
Although born in Long Sutton in 1884, the young Alfred's parents emigrated to America and he was raised there. Gifted with a fine operatic voice, he performed many roles and quickly became a favourite. He loved working in Austria so much that he turned down a contract offer from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Italian composer Puccini described Piccaver as his 'ideal Rodolfo'. Leaving Vienna in 1937 due to the worsening political situation, Piccaver found work, both singing and teaching, in London. The 'Great English Tenor', as he has been lauded, returned to his beloved Austria in 1955. When he died there in 1958, he was honoured with a state funeral.
Frank Pick
Frank Pick (1878 - 1941), the man who helped build the London Underground public transport system , was born in Spalding.
Dame Joan Plowright
This multi-talented Golden Globe-winning actress was born in Brigg in 1929. Her second marriage, to Sir Laurence Olivier , lasted 28 years until his death in 1989. The Scunthorpe Civic Theatre, built in 1958, was renamed the Plowright Theatre in honour of the local girl who had gone to school in the town. Her CBE honour of 1970 was upgraded to DBE 8 in the New Year Honours List 2004.
Samuel Roberts
Horncastle-born Samuel Roberts (1827 - 1913) was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and Treasurer and later President of the London Mathematical Society.
Jennifer Saunders
Fellowship BAFTA-winning actress, comedienne and national treasure Jennifer Saunders was born in Sleaford in 1958. Co-writer of French and Saunders with Dawn French , Saunders is also responsible for bringing us Absolutely Fabulous starring herself and the divine Joanna Lumley .
Charlotte Angas Scott
Charlotte Angas Scott (1858 - 1931) was born in Lincoln during a period in time when women were not allowed to win awards and qualifications. In 1885 she became a true pioneer when she was the first British woman to be awarded a doctoral degree (in mathematics).
Captain John Smith
Willoughby-born Captain John Smith (1580 - 1631) was a soldier, sailor – and, according to him - had his life saved thanks to a brave act by Pocahontas (1595 - 1617), the Native American princess.
Sean Storey
Talented snooker player Sean Storey was born in Immingham, an industrial town on the Humber Bank, in 1971. He turned professional in 1991, and holds the record for being the only competitor to score two maximum breaks (of 147) during the same tournament. This phenomenal feat occurred in Mexborough in April 1997, in the South Yorkshire Times Invitation tournament quarter final against Steve Judd, and again in the semi-final, when his opponent was Karl Burrows.
William Stukeley
Holbeach near Boston, in Lincolnshire, was the birthplace of antiquarian William Stukeley (1687 - 1765), who was later ordained and became the Reverend Dr William Stukeley . He was the first person to recognise the alignment of Stonehenge on the solstices. He also suggested that Robin Hood was the historical Robert of Loxley.
Bernie Taupin
Bernie Taupin , who was born and raised in Lincolnshire, wrote a song called 'Grimsby' that was featured on Sir Elton John 's 1974 album Caribou. Taupin has been Elton John's main writing partner on and off for many years (a partnership often considered to be almost as important as Lennon/McCartney ) and which has produced some of the most well-known songs in British pop music history.
Haydn Taylor
Not only did Haydn Taylor (1897 - 1962) swim the English Channel , he was also the first person to successfully swim across the River Humber.
Rod Temperton
The versatile Temperton, born in Cleethorpes in 1947, is a keyboard player, music producer and songwriter. He wrote 'Thriller' and 'Rock With You' for Michael Jackson ; 'Boogie Nights' and 'Always and Forever' for Heatwave, and 'Lovelines' and 'If We Try' for Karen Carpenter . Temperton died in 2016.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 92), born in Somersby near Horncastle, is still regarded as one of the greatest British poets. He moved to Farringford House on the Isle of Wight, near to where Tennyson Down and the Tennyson Heritage Coast have been named after him. He was Poet Laureate to Queen Victoria (who stated that she found great comfort in his poetry after the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert ), from 1850 until his death, and he is interred in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey. There is a Tennyson Research Centre at Lincoln Central Library and a statue of the Poet Laureate at Lincoln Cathedral. The photo to the right shows the Tennyson memorial on the Isle of Wight, where there is also a Tennyson Trail .
The Rt Hon Dame Margaret Thatcher
Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven in the County of Lincolnshire - aka Margaret Thatcher , ex-Conservative MP and the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was born in Grantham in 1925. She is also the only Prime Minister of the 20th Century to have served three consecutive terms. Margaret Thatcher died on 8 April, 2013.
Eric Thompson
Director and actor Eric Thompson (1929 - 82) was born in Sleaford. He wrote the English scripts for and voiced The Magic Roundabout from the French series Le Manège Enchanté, which endeared him to a whole generation of British children (and their parents). He also fathered the Oscar/BAFTA award-winning Shakespearean actress Emma Thompson.
Dame Sybil Thorndyke
Gainsborough girl Sybil grew up hoping to become a classical pianist but it wasn't meant to be; nerve problems in her hands forced a change of career path. Choosing acting created arguably one of the finest theatrical actresses of her generation. Parts she played, including Shakespearean roles, would feature on any budding actresses' wishlist: Queen Victoria , Lady Macbeth, Portia (of The Merchant of Venice), WWI martyr Edith Cavell , and Joan of Arc in George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan. Sybil was created Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by King George V in 1931. This was compounded by the award of Companion of Honour to Queen Elizabeth II in 1970. Sybil's marriage to Sir Lewis Casson lasted over 60 years, until he died aged 93. Sybil also lived to the age of 93, passing away seven years after her husband in 1976. Her ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey.
Dr Chad Varah CH CBE
The founder of The Samaritans has his own Guide Entry .
Nicholas Volley
Grimsby-born Nicholas Volley was the son of an artist and he inherited his father's talent. Inspired by Cézanne, Manet, Rubens and Van Gogh , Nicholas stuck to traditional art rather than adapting to modern trends. John Cleese was a fan. As technology advanced, Nicholas felt everyday life was becoming impersonal with emails taking the place of intimate handwritten letters and he never owned a mobile phone. It was as if he had been born into the wrong century. Seemingly as tortured in his own life as historic artistic souls, Nicholas took his own life in April 2006, aged 55 years.
Rev John Wesley
John Wesley, a son of the rector of Epworth, was born in 1703. He studied theology himself and eventually became the founder of the Methodist movement. Wesley travelled the world to preach his teachings and became a vocal opponent of slavery. It is thought there are now over 300,000 Methodists in the UK, with the worldwide figure estimated at around 70 million. There are churches, statues and monuments dedicated to John Wesley all over the globe, as far apart as America and Australia. Wesley was listed at number 50 in the BBC's 2002 list of the 100 Greatest Britons. His younger brother Charles Wesley has his own Guide Entry.
Harold Allan Wilson
Born in Horncastle in 1885, Harold Wilson ran for Hallamshire Harriers in Sheffield and was entered into the 1908 Olympic Games in London after he became the first athlete to run an under four minute 1,500 metres (his time was 3m:59.8s). In the Olympic 1,500 metres final he was narrowly beaten by Melvin Sheppard of the USA, so Wilson won the silver medal. Wilson was also on the Men's 3-mile team, and they won the gold medal. He turned professional the following year and travelled to South Africa, the USA and Canada. Diminutive Wilson, who was only 5'4" (1.6m) tall and weighed just 8st 3lbs (52.1kg), enlisted at the start of WWI and was tragically killed in France in 1916, aged just 31 years.
Charles Worth
The son of a local solicitor, born in 1825, Charles Worth lived at Wake House in North Street, Bourne, which nowadays is a community centre. He left Bourne when still a young man to seek his fortune in Paris, where he became a world-renowned designer of women's fashion and the founder of haute couture. His reputation was such that the French government awarded him the Legion of Honour and when he died in 1895, 2,000 people, including the President of France, attended his funeral.
Lilian Wyles
Lilian Wyles was born in 1885, the only daughter of Bourne brewer Joseph Wyles. She was a major influence in the acceptance of women into the police force. After a spell of duty on the streets of London with the new female patrols to assist young girls at risk, she was promoted to the rank of Inspector in 1922, becoming the first female officer of the Metropolitan Police's CID department. She died aged 90 in 1975.
Patrick Wymark
Born Patrick Carl Cheeseman in Cleethorpes in 1926, the budding Shakespearean actor grew up and attended school in neighbouring Grimsby. Taking the stage name Wymark, he quickly became renowned for statesman-like roles; in fact he played as and voiced Sir Winston Churchill in two different aspects of Churchill's life. The enigmatic Wymark kept in touch with his roots with frequent visits to the Lincolnshire coast throughout his illustrious career. He attended the Royal Naval Association (Cleethorpes Branch) 11th Annual Dinner & Dance, at the Royal Hotel, Grimsby, on 17 April, 1965, the same year that he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. In 1968 Wymark walked over the newly-opened Cleethorpe Road flyover. He described it as 'an eyesore on the face of the town', an honest comment which caused upset at the time. The flyover is still used by thousands of people a day to enter or leave Grimsby and Cleethorpes, and the council now decorates each side and the middle length with flower boxes. Wymark seemed destined to become one of the acting giants but a heart attack in Australia in 1970, when he was aged just 44, robbed the world of further performances. His daughter Jane Wymark (born 1951) followed her father into acting; she played the role of Elizabeth's cousin Morwenna Chynoweth Whitworth Carne in the BBC's adaptation (1975 - 77) of Winston Graham's 18th-Century Cornish drama Poldark.
Ignoble Yellowbellies
Jane Andrews
Cleethorpes-born Jane Andrews used to work as a dresser for Sarah, Duchess of York, a one-time member of the British Royal Family. Andrews murdered her boyfriend.
Maxine Carr
Keelby-born Maxine Carr, the ex-fiancée of Soham murderer Ian Huntley (see below), lied to police and was jailed for perverting the course of justice. She served 21 months in prison before being released and awarded a new identity and a lifetime's anonymity .
Dr William Dodd
William Dodd, born in 1729, was the son of the Rev William Dodd who was Vicar of Bourne from 1727 - 56. He graduated with distinction from Clare College, Cambridge, and then moved to London where his extravagant lifestyle soon landed him in debt. Dodd decided to take Holy Orders and was ordained in 1751. He became a popular and fashionable Anglican clergyman but was always short of money and in an attempt to rectify his depleted finances, he forged a bond in the sum of £4,200. He was found out, prosecuted, sentenced to death and hanged in public at Tyburn on 27 June, 1777.
John George Haigh
John George Haigh (1909 – 49) of Stamford is better known as the 'Acid Bath Murderer'. He was found guilty of six murders during the time when the penalty for murder was execution. To try and avoid this fate, Haigh feigned mental illness, hoping to be sent to Broadmoor (a high-security psychiatric hospital). The jury found Haigh guilty of murder and the judge sentenced him to death by hanging. His executioner was Albert Pierrepoint .
Ian Huntley
Grimsby-born Huntley murdered two schoolgirls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in 2002, and was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in jail .
Lord John Hussey
Lord John Hussey (1466 - 1537) incurred the wrath of King Henry VIII and was beheaded for high treason in 1537. His house in Boston, 'Hussey Tower', still stands.
Alan Pennell
Alan Pennell of Grainthorpe was 15 when he stabbed Luke Walmsley, 14, through the heart in front of other pupils at school in North Somercotes, Lincs, in 2003. Pennell was sentenced to life in prison for Luke's murder. He will be eligible to apply for parole in 2015. Luke's parents created the Luke Walmsley Sports Foundation in his memory.
1 He won Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 2001 film Iris . 2 The film incorrectly grants this feat to the character Harold Abrahams. 3 Full name Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed. 4 This Researcher was born there and so was one of her children. 5 Doctorate in laboratory astrophysics. 6 Extra-Vehicular Activity, also known as a spacewalk. 7 Holder of the post since 1979 is Stephen Hawking . 8 Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
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"Which group had number 1 hits in the 1980's with ""It's a sin"", ""Heart"" and "" Always on my mind""?" | New wave hit of the 80s: all the best new wave songs
Posted By Pia Sooney on Mar 1, 2007 | 38 comments
As mentioned on the New Wave Music page , the term is hard to pin down and covers a wide range of artists from the period spanning the late 70s and on into the 80s.
It came to mean music that was slightly out of the mainstream, a post-punk, pre-alternative music that was edgier and with more attitude. Below are some of the most popular New Wave hits of the 80s listed alphabetically by artist. This list of 80s new wave songs includes some songs from the late 70s (they have to be really special to be included) and is by no means all inclusive. We will be adding more of the best new wave songs regularly. If you see one we missed, please comment below or email us at [email protected]
.
A
ABC: “Poison Arrow” (1982), “The Look Of Love (Part One)” (1982), “All of My Heart” (1982), “How to Be a Millionaire” (1984) “Be Near Me” (1985)
Adam & the Ants: “Ant Music” (1980), “Stand and Deliver” (1981), “Prince Charming” (1981), “Antrap” (1981), “Dog Eat Dog” (1980)
Adam Ant: “Goody Two Shoes” (1982), “Friend or Foe” (1982), “Desperate But Not Serious” (1982), “Strip” (1984)
After the Fire: “Der Kommissar” (1983)
a-ha: “ Take On Me ” (1985), “Hunting High And Low” (1985)
Arcadia: “Election Day” (1985)
B
The B-52’s: “Private Idaho” (1980), “Rock Lobster,” “Party out of Bounds,” “Strobe Light” (1979), “ Love Shack ” (1989)
Bananarama: “Really Saying Something” (1982), “Shy Boy (Don’t It Make You Feel Good)” (1982), “Cruel Summer” (1983), “Venus”
The Bangles: “Manic Monday” (1985) , “Walk Like An Egyptian” (1986), “Hazy Shade of Winter” (1987)
Toni Basil: “ Mickey ” (1981)
Bauhaus: “She’s in Parties” (1983), “Stigmata Martyr” (released in 1980, included on the soundtrack of 1988’s Night of the Demons)
Berlin: “The Metro” (1982), “No More Words” (1984), “Sex” (1982)
Big Country: “In a Big Country” (1983)
Blondie: “X-Offender” (1976), “One Way or Another” (1978), “Dreaming” (1979), “Call Me” (1980), “ The Tide Is High ” (1980), “ Rapture ” (1980), “Heart of Glass” (1978)
The Boomtown Rats: “Rat Trap” (1978), “I Don’t Like Mondays” (1979), “Someone’s Looking at You” (1980), “Banana Republic” (1980)
The Bongos: “Numbers With Wings” (1983), “Barbarella”(1983)
David Bowie : “Heroes” (1977), “Ashes to Ashes” (1980), “Fashion” (1980), “Let’s Dance (1983), “China Girl” (1983)
Bow Wow Wow: “C30, C60, C90, Go!” (1980), “I Want Candy” (1982), “Go Wild in the Country” (1982)
Bronski Beat: “Smalltown Boy” (1984), “Why?” (1984)
The Call: “Let the Day Begin” (1989), “Everywhere I Go,” “I Still Believe”
Camouflage: “The Great Commandment” (1988)
The Cars: “Just What I Needed” (1978), “My Best Friend’s Girl” (1978), “Shake It Up” (1981), “Drive” (1984), “Magic” (1984)
The Church: “Under the Milky Way” (1988)
Anne Clark: “Our Darkness” (1982)
The Clash: “Rock the Casbah” (1982), “Train in Vain” (1980), “Should I Stay or Should I Go” (1982), “London Calling” (1979 – Dec, so close enough)
Cock Robin: “The Promise You Made” (1985)
The Communards: “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (1986), “Never Can Say Goodbye” (1987), “Tomorrow” (1987)
Elvis Costello: “Radio Radio” (1978), “Oliver’s Army” (1979), “Good Year for the Roses” (1981 – not really New Wave as it was on his country cover album Almost Blue), “Everyday I Write the Book” (1983), “Veronica” (1989)
Josie Cotton: “Johnny Are You Queer?” (1981)
Culture Club: “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” (1982), “Time (Clock of the Heart)” (1982), “Church of the Poison Mind” (1983), “Karma Chameleon” (1983), “Miss Me Blind” (1984), “Victims” (1983)
The Cure: “Boys Don’t Cry” (1979), “A Forest” (1980), “Let’s Go to Bed” (1982), “Love Cats” (1983), “In Between Days” (1985), “Close to Me” (1985), “Why Can’t I be you” (1987), “Just Like Heaven” (1987), “ Love Song ” (1989), “Hot Hot Hot!!!” (1988)
D
Dead or Alive: “You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record)” (1984), “Lover Come Back To Me” (1984), “In Too Deep” (1985), “ Brand New Lover ” (1986)
The Dead Milkmen: “ Punk Rock Girl ,” (1988) “Bitchin Camero” (1985)
Devo: “ Whip It ” (1980)
Divinyls: “Boys In Town” (1982)
Duran Duran: “Planet Earth” (1981), Girls on Film” (1981), “Hungry Like the Wolf” (1982), “Save A Prayer” (1982), “Rio” (1982), “Is There Something I Should Know?” (1983), “Union of the Snake” (1983), “New Moon on Monday” (1984), “ Reflex ” (1984 – first single to hit #1 in US), “Notorious (1986), “All She Wants Is” (1988)
E
Echo & the Bunnymen: “Seven Seas” (1984), “Bring on the Dancing Horses (1985), “Lips Like Sugar” (1987) “People are Strange”
The English Beat: “Mirror in the Bathroom” (1980)
Erasure: “Sometimes” (1986), “Who Needs Love (Like That)” (1986), “Stop!” (1988)
Eurythmics: “Love Is A Stranger (1982) “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (1983), “Who’s That Girl?” (1983), “ Here Comes the Rain Again ” (1984)
F
Falco: “Rock Me Amadeus” (1985), Junge Roemer (1984)
The Fixx: “One Thing Leads to Another” (1983), “Red Skies” (1982), “Are We Ourselves?” (1984), “Stand or Fall” (1982), “Saved by Zero” (1982), “Secret Separation” (1986)
Flash and the Pan: “Waiting for a Train” (1983), “Midnight Man” (1984)
A Flock of Seagulls: “I Ran” (1982), “Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)” (1982), “Space Age Love Song” (1982), “The More You Live, The More You Love” (1984)
Frankie Goes To Hollywood: “ Relax ” (1983), “Two Tribes” (1984), “The Power of Love” (1984), “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” (1985)
Fun Boy Three: “It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It)” (1982)
G
General Public: “ Tenderness ” (1984)
The Go-Go’s: “We Got The Beat” General Public (1981), “Our Lips Are Sealed” (1981), “Vacation” (1982), “Head Over Heels” (1984)
Go West: “We Close Our Eyes” (1985)
Eddy Grant: “Electric Avenue” (1983)
H
Robert Hazard: “Escalator of Life” (1981)
Heaven 17: “Play to Win” (1981), “Let Me Go” (1982), “Come Live with Me” (1983), “Temptation” (1983), “Crushed by the Wheels of Industry” (1983), “Sunset Now” (1984), “This is Mine” (1984)
Holly and the Italians: “Tell That Girl To Shut Up” (1981)
HooDoo Gurus
Human League: “Being Boiled” (1978), “The Sound of the Crowd” (1981), “Love Action (I Believe in Love)” (1981), “Open Your Heart” (1981), “ Don’t You Want Me ” (1981) , “Mirror Man” (1982), “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” (1983), “The Lebanon” (1983), “Human” (1986)
I
Icehouse: “We Can Get Together” (1980), “Great Southern Land” (1982), “Hey Little Girl” (1982), “Electric Blue” (1987)
The Icicle Works: “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)” (1984) and “Love Is A Wonderful Colour” (1983)
Billy Idol: “ Dancing With Myself ” (1981), “White Wedding” (1982), “Rebel Yell” (1984), “Eyes Without a Face” (1984), “Mony Mony” (1987)
Information Society: “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” (1988)
INXS: “The One Thing” (1982), “Don’t Change” (1982), “I Send A Message” (1984), “Original Sin” (1984), “The Swing” (1984), “ What You Need ” (1985), “ Need You Tonight ” (1987), “Devil Inside” (1987), “Never Tear Us Apart” (1987), “New Sensation” (1987)
J
Joe Jackson: “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” (1979), “Steppin’ Out” (1982), “Nineteen Forever” (1989)
The Jam: “Town Called Malice” (1982)
Japan: “Adolescent Sex (1978), “Life In Tokyo” (1979-1982*reissue)
Joy Division: “Transmission” (1979), “She’s Lost Control” (1979), “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
Howard Jones: “New Song” (1983), “What is Love?” (1984), “Things Can Only Get Better” (1985), “No One is to Blame”, “Everlasting Love” (1989)
K
Katrina & the Waves: “Walking on Sunshine” (1985)
The Knack: “My Sharona” (1979) – ok, not really the 80s, but it gets counted.
L
Cyndi Lauper: “Girls Just Want To Have Fun ” (1983), “True Colors” (1986)
Level 42: “Lessons In Love” (1987), “Something About You” (1985)
M
Madness: “One Step Beyond” (1979), “It Must Be Love” (1982), “House of Fun” (1982), “ Our House ” (1983)
Men at Work: “Who Can It Be Now?” (1981), “Johnny Be Good” (1982), “Down Under” (1982), “Overkill” (1983), “It’s a Mistake” (1983)
Men Without Hats: “ The Safety Dance ” (1982), “Pop Goes the World” (1987)
Ministry: “(Everyday is) Halloween” (1984)
The Modern Lovers: “Pablo Picasso” (recorded 1973, released 1976)
Moving Pictures: “What About Me” (1982)
Alison Moyet: “Love Resurrection” (1984)
N
Naked Eyes: “Always Something There to Remind Me” (1982, hit #8), “Promises Promises” (1983, hit #11), “What in the Name of Love” (1984, hit #39)
Nena: “99 Luftballons” (1983)
Gary Numan: “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” (1979), “Cars” (1979), “We Are Glass” (1980), “Music for Chameleons” (1982), “I Die: You Die” (1980), “This Wreckage” (1980), “We Take Mystery (To Bed)” (1982)
O
Oingo Boingo: “Only A Lad” (1981), “Dead Man’s Party” (1985)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD): “Electricity” (1979), “Enola Gay” (1980), “Souvenir” (1981), “If You Leave” (1986)
P
Pet Shop Boys: “West End Girls” (1984), “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” (1985), “Suburbia” (1986), “It’s a Sin” (1987), “What have I done to deserve this? ” (with Dusty Springfield) (1987), “Always On My Mind” (1988), “Heart” (1988), “Domino Dancing” (1988)
The Police: “Roxanne” (1978), “Every Breath You Take” (1983), “Wrapped Around Your Finger” (1983), “King of Pain” (1983), “Synchronicity Part II” (1983)
The Pretenders: “Brass in Pocket” (1980), “Back on the Chain Gang” (1983), “Don’t Get Me Wrong” (1986), “Hymn to Her” (1986), “Precious” (1980)
The Psychedelic Furs: “Dumb Waiters” (1981), “Love My Way” (1982), “Pretty in Pink” (1986), “Heartbreak Beat” (1987)
Public Image Limited: “Public Image” (1978), “Death Disco” (1979), “This is Not a Love Song” (1983)
R
R.E.M: “Radio Free Europe” (1983 – I.R.S. version), “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)” (1984), “Cant Get There from Here” (1985), “Driver 8” (1985), “Fall on Me” (1986), “Superman” (1986), “It’s The End of The World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)” (1987), “ The One I Love ” (1987), “Finest Worksong” (1988), “Orange Crush” (1988), “Stand” (1989), “Pop Song 89” (1989)
Real Life: “Send Me an Angel” (1983)
Red Flag: “Russian Radio” (1988)
Red Rockers: “China” (1983)
The Romantics: “What I Like About You” (1980), “Talking In Your Sleep” (1983)
Romeo Void: “Never Say Never” (1982)
Roxy Music: “Dance Away” (1978), “Angel Eyes” (1979), “Over You” (1980) “Oh Yeah” (1980), The Same Old Scene” (1980), “Lover” (1980), “More Than This” (1982)
S
Peter Schilling: “Major Tom” (1983), “The Different Story (World Of Lust And Crime)” (1989)
Simple Minds: “I Travel” (1980), “Sweat In Bullet” (1981), “Love Song” (1981), “Theme For Great Cities” (1981), “Someone Somewhere In Summertime” (1982), “Promised You A Miracle” (1982), “New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)” (1982), “Glittering Prize” (1982), “Waterfront” (1983), “Speed Your Love To Me” (1984), “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” (1985), “Alive & Kicking” (1985), “All The Things She Said” (1985)
The Smiths
The Smithereens
Soft Cell: “Tainted Love” (1981), “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” (1982), “Torch” (1982)
Spandau Ballet: “To cut a long story short” (1980), “Musclebound” (1981), “Lifeline” (1982), “True” (1983), “Gold” (1983), “Only when you leave” (1984)
Sparks: “Beat The Clock” (1979)
Split Enz: “I Got You” (1980)
Spoons: “Arias and Symphonies” (1982), “Nova Heart” (1982) , “Romantic Traffic” (1982)
Squeeze: “Black Coffee in Bed” (1981), “Another Nail in My Heart” (1980), “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)” (1980), “If I Didn’t Love You”, “Tempted” (1981), “Hourglass” (1987)
T
Talking Heads: “Psycho Killer” (1977), “Once in a Lifetime” (1981), “Burning Down the House” (1983), “Road to Nowhere” (1985), “And She Was” (1985)
Talk Talk: “Talk Talk” (1982), “It’s My Life” (1984)
Tears for Fears: “Pale Shelter” (1982), “Mad World” (1982), “Change” (1983), “ Shout ” (1984), “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (1985), “King for a Day” (1985), “Head Over Heels” (1985), “Sowing the Seeds of Love” (1989)
The The: “This is the Day” (1983), “The Beat(en) Generation” (1987)
Thompson Twins: “Love on Your Side” (1982), “Hold Me Now” (1983), “Doctor! Doctor!” (1984), “Lies” (1983), “You Take Me Up” (1984), “Sister of Mercy” (1984)
Throbbing Gristle: “United” (1978)
‘Til Tuesday: “Voices Carry” (1985)
The Tubes: “Talk to Ya Later” (1981), “She’s a Beauty” (1983)
Tubeway Army: “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” (1979)
Tuxedomoon: “In a Manner of Speaking” (1985)
U
Ultravox: “Vienna” (1981), “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” (1984), “Reap the Wild Wind” (1984)
V
The Vapors: “Turning Japanese” (1980)
Suzanne Vega: “Luka” (1987) “Tom’s Diner” (1981)
Violent Femmes: “Blister in the Sun” (1982)
Visage: “Fade To Grey” (1980), “The Damned Don’t Cry” (1980)
W
Wall of Voodoo: “Mexican Radio” (1983)
Wang Chung: “Dance Hall Days” (No. 16 In the summer of 1984), “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” (No. 2 in 1986) and “Let’s Go!” (No. 9 in 1987)
When In Rome: “The Promise” (1988)
Kim Wilde: “Cambodia” (1981), “Kids in America” (1981), “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (1987)
Y
Yaz: “Only You” (1982), “Situation” (1982), “Don’t Go” (1982), “Nobody’s Diary (1983)”
Yello: “Bostich” (1981), “I Love You” (1983), “Lost Again” (1983), “Oh Yeah” (1985)
Paul Young: “Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)” (1983), “Come Back and Stay” (1983), “Love of the Common People” (1983)
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"The film director Oliver Stone won 2 ""Best Director"" oscars. His first in 1987 was for ""Platoon"". His second, in 1990, was for what film?" | New wave hit of the 80s: all the best new wave songs
Posted By Pia Sooney on Mar 1, 2007 | 38 comments
As mentioned on the New Wave Music page , the term is hard to pin down and covers a wide range of artists from the period spanning the late 70s and on into the 80s.
It came to mean music that was slightly out of the mainstream, a post-punk, pre-alternative music that was edgier and with more attitude. Below are some of the most popular New Wave hits of the 80s listed alphabetically by artist. This list of 80s new wave songs includes some songs from the late 70s (they have to be really special to be included) and is by no means all inclusive. We will be adding more of the best new wave songs regularly. If you see one we missed, please comment below or email us at [email protected]
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A
ABC: “Poison Arrow” (1982), “The Look Of Love (Part One)” (1982), “All of My Heart” (1982), “How to Be a Millionaire” (1984) “Be Near Me” (1985)
Adam & the Ants: “Ant Music” (1980), “Stand and Deliver” (1981), “Prince Charming” (1981), “Antrap” (1981), “Dog Eat Dog” (1980)
Adam Ant: “Goody Two Shoes” (1982), “Friend or Foe” (1982), “Desperate But Not Serious” (1982), “Strip” (1984)
After the Fire: “Der Kommissar” (1983)
a-ha: “ Take On Me ” (1985), “Hunting High And Low” (1985)
Arcadia: “Election Day” (1985)
B
The B-52’s: “Private Idaho” (1980), “Rock Lobster,” “Party out of Bounds,” “Strobe Light” (1979), “ Love Shack ” (1989)
Bananarama: “Really Saying Something” (1982), “Shy Boy (Don’t It Make You Feel Good)” (1982), “Cruel Summer” (1983), “Venus”
The Bangles: “Manic Monday” (1985) , “Walk Like An Egyptian” (1986), “Hazy Shade of Winter” (1987)
Toni Basil: “ Mickey ” (1981)
Bauhaus: “She’s in Parties” (1983), “Stigmata Martyr” (released in 1980, included on the soundtrack of 1988’s Night of the Demons)
Berlin: “The Metro” (1982), “No More Words” (1984), “Sex” (1982)
Big Country: “In a Big Country” (1983)
Blondie: “X-Offender” (1976), “One Way or Another” (1978), “Dreaming” (1979), “Call Me” (1980), “ The Tide Is High ” (1980), “ Rapture ” (1980), “Heart of Glass” (1978)
The Boomtown Rats: “Rat Trap” (1978), “I Don’t Like Mondays” (1979), “Someone’s Looking at You” (1980), “Banana Republic” (1980)
The Bongos: “Numbers With Wings” (1983), “Barbarella”(1983)
David Bowie : “Heroes” (1977), “Ashes to Ashes” (1980), “Fashion” (1980), “Let’s Dance (1983), “China Girl” (1983)
Bow Wow Wow: “C30, C60, C90, Go!” (1980), “I Want Candy” (1982), “Go Wild in the Country” (1982)
Bronski Beat: “Smalltown Boy” (1984), “Why?” (1984)
The Call: “Let the Day Begin” (1989), “Everywhere I Go,” “I Still Believe”
Camouflage: “The Great Commandment” (1988)
The Cars: “Just What I Needed” (1978), “My Best Friend’s Girl” (1978), “Shake It Up” (1981), “Drive” (1984), “Magic” (1984)
The Church: “Under the Milky Way” (1988)
Anne Clark: “Our Darkness” (1982)
The Clash: “Rock the Casbah” (1982), “Train in Vain” (1980), “Should I Stay or Should I Go” (1982), “London Calling” (1979 – Dec, so close enough)
Cock Robin: “The Promise You Made” (1985)
The Communards: “Don’t Leave Me This Way” (1986), “Never Can Say Goodbye” (1987), “Tomorrow” (1987)
Elvis Costello: “Radio Radio” (1978), “Oliver’s Army” (1979), “Good Year for the Roses” (1981 – not really New Wave as it was on his country cover album Almost Blue), “Everyday I Write the Book” (1983), “Veronica” (1989)
Josie Cotton: “Johnny Are You Queer?” (1981)
Culture Club: “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” (1982), “Time (Clock of the Heart)” (1982), “Church of the Poison Mind” (1983), “Karma Chameleon” (1983), “Miss Me Blind” (1984), “Victims” (1983)
The Cure: “Boys Don’t Cry” (1979), “A Forest” (1980), “Let’s Go to Bed” (1982), “Love Cats” (1983), “In Between Days” (1985), “Close to Me” (1985), “Why Can’t I be you” (1987), “Just Like Heaven” (1987), “ Love Song ” (1989), “Hot Hot Hot!!!” (1988)
D
Dead or Alive: “You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record)” (1984), “Lover Come Back To Me” (1984), “In Too Deep” (1985), “ Brand New Lover ” (1986)
The Dead Milkmen: “ Punk Rock Girl ,” (1988) “Bitchin Camero” (1985)
Devo: “ Whip It ” (1980)
Divinyls: “Boys In Town” (1982)
Duran Duran: “Planet Earth” (1981), Girls on Film” (1981), “Hungry Like the Wolf” (1982), “Save A Prayer” (1982), “Rio” (1982), “Is There Something I Should Know?” (1983), “Union of the Snake” (1983), “New Moon on Monday” (1984), “ Reflex ” (1984 – first single to hit #1 in US), “Notorious (1986), “All She Wants Is” (1988)
E
Echo & the Bunnymen: “Seven Seas” (1984), “Bring on the Dancing Horses (1985), “Lips Like Sugar” (1987) “People are Strange”
The English Beat: “Mirror in the Bathroom” (1980)
Erasure: “Sometimes” (1986), “Who Needs Love (Like That)” (1986), “Stop!” (1988)
Eurythmics: “Love Is A Stranger (1982) “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (1983), “Who’s That Girl?” (1983), “ Here Comes the Rain Again ” (1984)
F
Falco: “Rock Me Amadeus” (1985), Junge Roemer (1984)
The Fixx: “One Thing Leads to Another” (1983), “Red Skies” (1982), “Are We Ourselves?” (1984), “Stand or Fall” (1982), “Saved by Zero” (1982), “Secret Separation” (1986)
Flash and the Pan: “Waiting for a Train” (1983), “Midnight Man” (1984)
A Flock of Seagulls: “I Ran” (1982), “Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)” (1982), “Space Age Love Song” (1982), “The More You Live, The More You Love” (1984)
Frankie Goes To Hollywood: “ Relax ” (1983), “Two Tribes” (1984), “The Power of Love” (1984), “Welcome to the Pleasuredome” (1985)
Fun Boy Three: “It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It)” (1982)
G
General Public: “ Tenderness ” (1984)
The Go-Go’s: “We Got The Beat” General Public (1981), “Our Lips Are Sealed” (1981), “Vacation” (1982), “Head Over Heels” (1984)
Go West: “We Close Our Eyes” (1985)
Eddy Grant: “Electric Avenue” (1983)
H
Robert Hazard: “Escalator of Life” (1981)
Heaven 17: “Play to Win” (1981), “Let Me Go” (1982), “Come Live with Me” (1983), “Temptation” (1983), “Crushed by the Wheels of Industry” (1983), “Sunset Now” (1984), “This is Mine” (1984)
Holly and the Italians: “Tell That Girl To Shut Up” (1981)
HooDoo Gurus
Human League: “Being Boiled” (1978), “The Sound of the Crowd” (1981), “Love Action (I Believe in Love)” (1981), “Open Your Heart” (1981), “ Don’t You Want Me ” (1981) , “Mirror Man” (1982), “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” (1983), “The Lebanon” (1983), “Human” (1986)
I
Icehouse: “We Can Get Together” (1980), “Great Southern Land” (1982), “Hey Little Girl” (1982), “Electric Blue” (1987)
The Icicle Works: “Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)” (1984) and “Love Is A Wonderful Colour” (1983)
Billy Idol: “ Dancing With Myself ” (1981), “White Wedding” (1982), “Rebel Yell” (1984), “Eyes Without a Face” (1984), “Mony Mony” (1987)
Information Society: “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” (1988)
INXS: “The One Thing” (1982), “Don’t Change” (1982), “I Send A Message” (1984), “Original Sin” (1984), “The Swing” (1984), “ What You Need ” (1985), “ Need You Tonight ” (1987), “Devil Inside” (1987), “Never Tear Us Apart” (1987), “New Sensation” (1987)
J
Joe Jackson: “Is She Really Going Out With Him?” (1979), “Steppin’ Out” (1982), “Nineteen Forever” (1989)
The Jam: “Town Called Malice” (1982)
Japan: “Adolescent Sex (1978), “Life In Tokyo” (1979-1982*reissue)
Joy Division: “Transmission” (1979), “She’s Lost Control” (1979), “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
Howard Jones: “New Song” (1983), “What is Love?” (1984), “Things Can Only Get Better” (1985), “No One is to Blame”, “Everlasting Love” (1989)
K
Katrina & the Waves: “Walking on Sunshine” (1985)
The Knack: “My Sharona” (1979) – ok, not really the 80s, but it gets counted.
L
Cyndi Lauper: “Girls Just Want To Have Fun ” (1983), “True Colors” (1986)
Level 42: “Lessons In Love” (1987), “Something About You” (1985)
M
Madness: “One Step Beyond” (1979), “It Must Be Love” (1982), “House of Fun” (1982), “ Our House ” (1983)
Men at Work: “Who Can It Be Now?” (1981), “Johnny Be Good” (1982), “Down Under” (1982), “Overkill” (1983), “It’s a Mistake” (1983)
Men Without Hats: “ The Safety Dance ” (1982), “Pop Goes the World” (1987)
Ministry: “(Everyday is) Halloween” (1984)
The Modern Lovers: “Pablo Picasso” (recorded 1973, released 1976)
Moving Pictures: “What About Me” (1982)
Alison Moyet: “Love Resurrection” (1984)
N
Naked Eyes: “Always Something There to Remind Me” (1982, hit #8), “Promises Promises” (1983, hit #11), “What in the Name of Love” (1984, hit #39)
Nena: “99 Luftballons” (1983)
Gary Numan: “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” (1979), “Cars” (1979), “We Are Glass” (1980), “Music for Chameleons” (1982), “I Die: You Die” (1980), “This Wreckage” (1980), “We Take Mystery (To Bed)” (1982)
O
Oingo Boingo: “Only A Lad” (1981), “Dead Man’s Party” (1985)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD): “Electricity” (1979), “Enola Gay” (1980), “Souvenir” (1981), “If You Leave” (1986)
P
Pet Shop Boys: “West End Girls” (1984), “Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)” (1985), “Suburbia” (1986), “It’s a Sin” (1987), “What have I done to deserve this? ” (with Dusty Springfield) (1987), “Always On My Mind” (1988), “Heart” (1988), “Domino Dancing” (1988)
The Police: “Roxanne” (1978), “Every Breath You Take” (1983), “Wrapped Around Your Finger” (1983), “King of Pain” (1983), “Synchronicity Part II” (1983)
The Pretenders: “Brass in Pocket” (1980), “Back on the Chain Gang” (1983), “Don’t Get Me Wrong” (1986), “Hymn to Her” (1986), “Precious” (1980)
The Psychedelic Furs: “Dumb Waiters” (1981), “Love My Way” (1982), “Pretty in Pink” (1986), “Heartbreak Beat” (1987)
Public Image Limited: “Public Image” (1978), “Death Disco” (1979), “This is Not a Love Song” (1983)
R
R.E.M: “Radio Free Europe” (1983 – I.R.S. version), “So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry)” (1984), “Cant Get There from Here” (1985), “Driver 8” (1985), “Fall on Me” (1986), “Superman” (1986), “It’s The End of The World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)” (1987), “ The One I Love ” (1987), “Finest Worksong” (1988), “Orange Crush” (1988), “Stand” (1989), “Pop Song 89” (1989)
Real Life: “Send Me an Angel” (1983)
Red Flag: “Russian Radio” (1988)
Red Rockers: “China” (1983)
The Romantics: “What I Like About You” (1980), “Talking In Your Sleep” (1983)
Romeo Void: “Never Say Never” (1982)
Roxy Music: “Dance Away” (1978), “Angel Eyes” (1979), “Over You” (1980) “Oh Yeah” (1980), The Same Old Scene” (1980), “Lover” (1980), “More Than This” (1982)
S
Peter Schilling: “Major Tom” (1983), “The Different Story (World Of Lust And Crime)” (1989)
Simple Minds: “I Travel” (1980), “Sweat In Bullet” (1981), “Love Song” (1981), “Theme For Great Cities” (1981), “Someone Somewhere In Summertime” (1982), “Promised You A Miracle” (1982), “New Gold Dream (81,82,83,84)” (1982), “Glittering Prize” (1982), “Waterfront” (1983), “Speed Your Love To Me” (1984), “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” (1985), “Alive & Kicking” (1985), “All The Things She Said” (1985)
The Smiths
The Smithereens
Soft Cell: “Tainted Love” (1981), “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” (1982), “Torch” (1982)
Spandau Ballet: “To cut a long story short” (1980), “Musclebound” (1981), “Lifeline” (1982), “True” (1983), “Gold” (1983), “Only when you leave” (1984)
Sparks: “Beat The Clock” (1979)
Split Enz: “I Got You” (1980)
Spoons: “Arias and Symphonies” (1982), “Nova Heart” (1982) , “Romantic Traffic” (1982)
Squeeze: “Black Coffee in Bed” (1981), “Another Nail in My Heart” (1980), “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)” (1980), “If I Didn’t Love You”, “Tempted” (1981), “Hourglass” (1987)
T
Talking Heads: “Psycho Killer” (1977), “Once in a Lifetime” (1981), “Burning Down the House” (1983), “Road to Nowhere” (1985), “And She Was” (1985)
Talk Talk: “Talk Talk” (1982), “It’s My Life” (1984)
Tears for Fears: “Pale Shelter” (1982), “Mad World” (1982), “Change” (1983), “ Shout ” (1984), “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” (1985), “King for a Day” (1985), “Head Over Heels” (1985), “Sowing the Seeds of Love” (1989)
The The: “This is the Day” (1983), “The Beat(en) Generation” (1987)
Thompson Twins: “Love on Your Side” (1982), “Hold Me Now” (1983), “Doctor! Doctor!” (1984), “Lies” (1983), “You Take Me Up” (1984), “Sister of Mercy” (1984)
Throbbing Gristle: “United” (1978)
‘Til Tuesday: “Voices Carry” (1985)
The Tubes: “Talk to Ya Later” (1981), “She’s a Beauty” (1983)
Tubeway Army: “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” (1979)
Tuxedomoon: “In a Manner of Speaking” (1985)
U
Ultravox: “Vienna” (1981), “Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” (1984), “Reap the Wild Wind” (1984)
V
The Vapors: “Turning Japanese” (1980)
Suzanne Vega: “Luka” (1987) “Tom’s Diner” (1981)
Violent Femmes: “Blister in the Sun” (1982)
Visage: “Fade To Grey” (1980), “The Damned Don’t Cry” (1980)
W
Wall of Voodoo: “Mexican Radio” (1983)
Wang Chung: “Dance Hall Days” (No. 16 In the summer of 1984), “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” (No. 2 in 1986) and “Let’s Go!” (No. 9 in 1987)
When In Rome: “The Promise” (1988)
Kim Wilde: “Cambodia” (1981), “Kids in America” (1981), “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (1987)
Y
Yaz: “Only You” (1982), “Situation” (1982), “Don’t Go” (1982), “Nobody’s Diary (1983)”
Yello: “Bostich” (1981), “I Love You” (1983), “Lost Again” (1983), “Oh Yeah” (1985)
Paul Young: “Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)” (1983), “Come Back and Stay” (1983), “Love of the Common People” (1983)
More from my site
| i don't know |
In the chemical Periodic Table how many chemical elements are included in the group reffered to as the Halogens? | Chemical Elements.com - Halogens
Halogens
Rare Earth Elements
The halogens are five non-metallic elements found in group 17 of the periodic table. The term "halogen" means "salt-former" and compounds containing halogens are called "salts". All halogens have 7 electrons in their outer shells, giving them an oxidation number of -1. The halogens exist, at room temperature, in all three states of matter:
Solid- Iodine, Astatine
| 5 |
In the chemical Periodic Table how many chemical elements are included in the group reffered to as the Noble Gases? | Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory
10/20/16
Characterizing the Elements
Elements can generally be described as either metals or nonmetals. Metal elements are usually good conductors of both electricity and heat. The dividing line between metals and non-metals is not hard and fast, thus the distinction between "Post-transition metals" and "Metalloids" is represented differently on different versions of the Periodic Table. For example, in some tables, Group 12 is is categorized with the post-transition metals, and in others, aluminum and tin are included characterized as Metalloids or poor metals. In our version of the table, we have chosen the most commonly accepted demarcations between these elements.
Alkali metals. The alkali metals make up group 1 of the Table, and comprise Li through Fr. They have very similar behavior and characteristics. Hydrogen is group 1 but exhibits few characteristics of a metal and is often categorized with the nonmetals.
Alkaline earth metals. The alkaline earth metals make up group 2 of the periodic table, from Be through Ra. The alkaline earth metals have very high melting points and oxides that have basic alkaline solutions. Their characteristics are well described and consistent down the group.
Transition metals. The transition elements are metals that have a partially filled d subshell (CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics) and comprise groups 3 through 12 and the lanthanides and actinides (see below).
Post-transition metals. The post-transition elements are Al, Ga, In, Tl, Sn, Pb and Bi. As their name implies, they have some of the characteristics of the transition elements. They tend to be softer and conduct more poorly than the transition metals.
Metalloid (or "semi-metal" or "poor metal"). The metalloids are B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te, and Po. They sometimes behave as semiconductors (B, Si, Ge) rather than as conductors.
Lanthanides. The lanthanides comprise elements 57 (lanthanum, hence the name of the set) through 71. They are grouped together because they have similar chemical properties. They, along with the actinides, are often called "the f-elements" because they have valence electrons in the f shell.
Actinides. The actinides comprise elements 89 through 103. They, along with the lanthanides, are often called "the f-elements" because they have valence electrons in the f shell. Only thorium and uranium are naturally occurring actinides with significant abundance. They are all radioactive.
Nonmetals. The term "nonmetals" is used to classify the elements H, C, N, P, O, S, and Se.
Halogens. The halogen elements are a subset of the nonmetals. They comprise group 17 of the periodic table, from F through At. They generally very chemically reactive and are present in the environment as compounds rather than as pure elements.
Noble gases. The noble gases comprise group 18. They are generally very stable chemically and exhibit similar properties of being colorless and odorless.
Alkali metals
| i don't know |
"The film director Milos Foreman won 2 ""Best Director"" oscars. His first in 1976 was for ""One flew over the Cuckoos Nest"". His second, in 1985, was for what film?" | Milos Forman - IMDb
IMDb
17 January 2017 4:34 PM, UTC
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Director | Writer | Actor
Milos Forman was born Jan Tomas Forman in Caslav, Czechoslovakia, to Anna (Svabova), who ran a summer hotel, and Rudolf Forman, a professor. During World War II, his parents were taken away by the Nazis, after being accused of participating in the underground resistance. His father died in Buchenwald and his mother died in Auschwitz, and Milos ... See full bio »
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Won 2 Oscars. Another 43 wins & 22 nominations. See more awards »
Known For
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Filmography
1990 Dreams of Love (Short) (producer)
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1962 Tam za lesem (first assistant director)
1958 Cubs (first assistant director)
1957 Vintage Car (second assistant director)
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1984 Amadeus (supervisor - 2002 director's cut)
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2012 Crossroad (acknowledgment to the works of)
2004 Remembering 'Ragtime' (Video documentary short) (special thanks)
1998 High Art (special thanks)
1998 Bigbít (TV Series documentary) (acknowledgment - 3 episodes)
1995 Heavy (very special thanks)
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2014 Un jour, une histoire (TV Series documentary)
Himself
2012 Show Jana Krause (TV Series)
Himself - Audience Member
2011 Bohdalka je nase! (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
2011 Il était une fois... (TV Series documentary)
Himself
2010 Sodankylä Forever (TV Series documentary)
Himself
2009 Uuden aallon jäljillä (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
2009 Golden Sixties (TV Series documentary)
Himself
2006 Corazón de... (TV Series)
Himself
2004 Remembering 'Ragtime' (Video documentary short)
Himself
2004 François Truffaut, une autobiographie (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
2003 A Room Nearby (TV Special documentary short)
Himself (voice)
2001 Behind the Music (TV Series documentary)
Himself
2000 The Beatles Revolution (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
1998 Biography (TV Series documentary)
Himself
1998 The South Bank Show (TV Series documentary)
Himself
1998 Cold War (TV Mini-Series documentary)
Himself
1997 The Directors (TV Series documentary)
Himself
1997 Completely Cuckoo (Video documentary)
Himself
1997 Cannes... les 400 coups (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
1997 Omnibus (TV Series documentary)
Himself
1997 Mundo VIP (TV Series)
Himself
1995 Drawn from Memory (TV Movie)
Himself (voice)
1991 The Republic Pictures Story (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
1988 La nuit des Césars (TV Series documentary)
Himself - Le président des Césars
1985 The 57th Annual Academy Awards (TV Special documentary)
Himself - Winner: Best Director
1985 Cinema 3 (TV Series)
Himself
1985 Milos Forman - Das Kuckucksei (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
1980 Stars en Campagne (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
1979 Bitte umblättern (TV Series documentary)
Himself
1976 Apropos Film (TV Series documentary)
Himself
1966 Hinter der Leinwand (TV Series documentary)
Himself
2005 Cinema mil (TV Series)
Himself
2004 Words in Progress (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
1998 Bigbít (TV Series documentary)
Himself
Personal Details
Other Works:
Book: Turnaround : A Memoir. Co-written with Jan Novák . New York : Villard Books, 1994. ISBN 067940063XDistributed by Random House. See more »
Publicity Listings:
8 Interviews | 8 Articles | 1 Pictorial | See more »
Height:
Did You Know?
Personal Quote:
[on Valmont (1989)] When I was in the film school in Prague, my professor of literature was a Francophile, and he was always suggesting that we read and study French literature. And he suggested 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses'. I was 18 or 19 years old. Oh my god, how much I loved that book. I wouldn't dare, of course, to say to anybody, but I thought it would be a wonderful, erotic movie. And then, ... See more »
Trivia:
He was raised by parents Anna (Svabova), who ran a summer hotel, and Rudolf Forman, a professor. They were Protestants, but were arrested by the Nazis during World War II after being accused of participating in the underground anti-Nazi resistance (his father died in Buchenwald and his mother died in Auschwitz). As an adult, Milos was told that his biological father was Otto Kohn, an architect of... See more »
Trademark:
| Amadeus |
"Sporting Firsts - Who was the first golfer for 35 years to achieve an ""albatross"" at the US Masters tournament this year? (an albatross is a score of three under par at any hole)" | Armchair Oscars - 1975 - ArmchairCinema.com : ArmchairCinema.com
Armchair Oscars
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Directed by Milos Foreman)
The Nominees: Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, Nashville
MY CHOICE:
Nashville (Directed by Robert Altman)
My Nominees: Amarcord (Federico Fellini), Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick), Dog Day Afternoon (Sydney Lumet), Farewell My Lovely (Dick Richards), Jaws (Steven Spielberg), The Man Who Would Be King (John Huston)
Milos Foreman specializes in films about misfits struggling against a rigid system. They were on display in best work, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus, The People vs. Larry Flynt and Man on the Moon, films that about oddballs who aren’t always lovable. Foreman was born in Czechoslovakia and had been working in Europe for a dozen years before Coo Coo’s Nest brought him success here in America.
Based on the satirical 1963 novel by Ken Kesey (which I have read), it tells the story of the struggle of Randal P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), an asylum inmate, to break the grip that the head nurse Mildrid Ratched holds over her patients. The film was right for the times, a decade when authority was seen as mechanical and corrupt and the outlaw took on a heroic status. It is a moving film but I find that some of the book’s irony is lost in translation (the story was narrated by The Chief, a character who hardly speaks).
The cast is uniformly fine. I loved Jack Nicholson in the lead role, a performance that got him his first Oscar, but I wonder about the characters who occupy the film behind him. There is a gallery of great actors who occupy the sides of the frame, Brad Dourif, Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Vincent Schiavelli but as I watch the film I wonder about their characters. Some of men in the ward have significant moments but many do not. This is a film stuffed with memorable faces but that’s all they are.
Not to knock Foreman, who is a great director, but I wonder what Cuckoo’s Nest would have been like in the hands of a director like Robert Altman who knew how to mix a jumble of dozens of different characters and give them all a chance to tell their story.
Altman is a director who is famous for traffic control amid a multitude of actors, a talent he has put to good use in MASH, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Nashville, Popeye, The Player, Short Cuts, Cookie’s Fortune, Gosford Park and the underrated A Prairie Home Companion. All are great films but Nashville is my favorite because it encapsulates all of the elements that made Altman a maverick filmmaker. While other directors run down a checklist for their plot and their characters, Altman tears down the fences and allows his actors to roam free, to expand their characters beyond simplistic formulas. He doesn’t rely on heavy plotting but puts his films in the hands of the characters and lets them their own story. He is generous with his actors, often allowing them to improvise and in Nashville, which is predominantly a musical; he even let his actors write their own songs.
The main hub of the story takes place in Nashville in the middle of a major political campaign for an unseen political candidate named Hal P. Walker who is running on a fringe party and announces his candidacy by driving around in a van with loudspeakers. That’s only the framework that leads to the finale. What we see along the way are a gallery of characters who are interlocked within personal and professional relationships, between sad histories, bad decisions, reconciliations, arguments, donnybrooks and a lot of great music. There are parents, children, brothers, sisters, lovers, co-workers, old friends, ex-friends and total strangers. We meet a lot of different kinds of people, some who act honorably, some who act despicably, and some who hurt others, some who work on other’s behalf and some who only come to around when the chips are down.
We meet Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakely), a Loretta Lynn-type who is a sweetheart of Nashville and returns to the city like a homecoming queen but is heavily burdened by a series of health problems. When she is alone in a hospital room with her bullying husband (Allan Garfield) we understand where her nervous breakdown came from. She sings songs with titles like “Tapedeck in his Tractor” and “My Idaho Home”, songs about her country home where she was raised by her momma and daddy. But when she breaks into a song called “Dues”, about her desire to break out of her marriage, we sense that some of her personal problems have wandered into her repertoire. We also sense that her over-bearing husband isn’t her only problem because just out of her line of sight, she is stalked by a PFC (Scott Glenn) for reasons that we don’t expect.
We also meet Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson), a smarmy country singer and opportunist who is fond of Nudie Suits and takes on political aspirations when Walker’s political organizer mentions that he should run for Governor. Hamilton sings songs like the self-satisfied “For the Sake of the Children”, a song about a man breaking the news to his mistress that he can’t leave his wife and kids, but then he has the song “Keep A-Goin’”, a song who’s meaning only really becomes clear in the film’s final scene.
Then there’s Opal (Geraldine Chaplin), a nutty woman who claims to be a BBC reporter even though we never see a film crew. She talks a lot of nonsense and uses the excuse that she is making a documentary about Nashville in order to get close to famous people even though she never shows anyone any sort of credentials. She has two scenes late in the film that make us question her sanity. One takes place in an automobile junkyard where she talks to herself, lamenting about the rusting metals hulks being tossed away and forgotten like some sort of automotive holocaust (she compares the rust to dried blood). The other scene takes place in a school bus storage lot where she tries describe it as the stuff of children’s nightmares.
There’s Linnea (Lily Tomlin), a gospel singer raising two deaf children and is in the middle of a crumbling marriage to Delbert (Ned Beatty), a lawyer working on Hal Walker’s campaign. She begins receiving phone calls from a singer named Tom Frank (Keith Carradine) a self-absorbed womanizer who has taken an interest in her. She initially hangs up on him but eventually accepts an invitation to go to a club to hear him sing. That leads to the film’s most beautiful moment as several of Tom’s past conquests sit in the audience listening to him sing “I’m Easy” (a song about a man who is absolutely thunderstruck by the woman in his life). Each woman smiles, thinking the song was written about her, but then the camera settles on Tomlin in the back of the room as she slowly realizes that the song is for her.
There’s Lady Pearl (Barbara Baxley), Haven’s tough mistress, who drinks heavily and has a stage presence that is seemingly inspired by Minnie Pearl. But that illusion is broken the more we get to know her. Her outward happiness begins to crumble as she confesses her love for Jack and Bobby Kennedy and the hard work she did on their behalf. When she reveals loving memories about the boys, we see a woman who is still shaken by their tragic deaths.
There’s Sueleen (Gwen Welles), an attractive waitress who wants to be a country singer but works harder at trying to be a sex symbol (she is forever stuffing her brassiere). She is a lousy singer but no one will tell her the truth and when she humiliates herself by doing a striptease, a co-worker (Robert DoQui) finally rises up and tells her that she has no talent whatsoever. The problem is the she doesn’t know where to draw the line. We assume that after her humiliation that she will come to her senses but we’re wrong.
There’s Winifred (Barbara Harris), a daffy blonde who wants to be a singer and songwriter. She spends the entire film running from her loud-mouthed husband Star (Bert Remsen) and we don’t assume that she will ever succeed at anything until she is given a chance in the end. She takes the microphone at a crucial moment and really shines.
Functioning around these characters are smaller roles that don’t seem, at first, to have any real significance. Like Mr. Green (Keenan Wynn) who’s wife is dying in a hospital. Or Connie White (Karen Black), a Tammy Wynette-type who seems poised to steal Barbara Jean’s spotlight. Or Norman (David Arkin), Tom’s driver who is handed Tom’s guitar and immediately begins playing a baseline that his employer later steals for “I’m Easy”. Or PFC Glenn Kelly (Scott Glenn) who appears to be stalking Barbara Jean, even to the point of spending the night by her bedside while she sleeps but who’s intentions turn out to be completely honorable. He eventually clashes with Kenny Fraiser (David Hayward), a loner who is renting a room from Mr. Green and seems like a nice enough guy until it dawns on us that his machinations bears a strange resemblance to Lee Harvey Oswald.
There is a major political undercurrent all throughout this film, mostly negative. This movie was being made while the Watergate scandal was wrapping up (the scene at the Grand Old Opry was film on the day that Richard Nixon resigned). Politics in the American mindset, as well as in this movie, are all about paranoia and distrust. The major political figure in Nashville functions as a sort of Greek chorus in the form of a van with loudspeakers that shouts support for the candidacy of a certain Hal P. Walker, whose political rally gives the film it’s climax. We never see Walker but his truck shouts some oddly sound reasoning about why he should be the next president. He supports something called The Replacement Party, the kind of fringe party that supports people like Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan. But oddly enough, as I began thinking back on the film, I thought of Jimmy Carter, a man who stood for many of the things that Walker’s unseen speaker talks about. Although a Democrat, he favored a more personal approach to government, one that did not rely on back-slapping or on listening to advisors but only from what comes from the heart and the head and God above. That kind of radical ideal doesn’t work in our government (consider that he wasn’t asked back for a second term) and, in a way, it sets up the film’s final act. An assassination plot is in the works and it provides not only the film’s great climax but brings out several of the character’s true natures. Consider how Hamilton reacts even though he has been grazed by a bullet or how Winifred takes the microphone and brings calm to the chaos. I love it when a director has the confidence to take his character in a logical but unexpected direction.
Altman has always been generous with his characters by giving them extra dimensions. Most movie characters are written in a three step process 1.) The character. 2.) Their job and 3.) The conflict. The best movie characters are given a fourth element, a dimension that makes them stand out, makes them interesting, gives them elements of their personalities that allow them to do more than just march through tired old plot requirements. Robert Altman spent his career developing characters like that. With Nashville, he strings together a story that is equal parts comedy, musical, melodrama, human interest story, soap opera and political parable.
Yet with all the film’s multiple elements, Nashville is first and foremost a musical. This is the way Robert Altman describes it and indeed the film makes many stops for its musical numbers – nearly an hour’s worth. The actors sing their own songs (Altman allowed them to write them too) and while many are not great singers but they are able to sell their performances with assured greatness. The best, by a mile, is Keith Carradine who sings the Oscar winning “I’m Easy” with moving tenderness, a song about a man utterly stricken by the woman he loves. It plays well against a character that seems to have no use for those kinds of sentiments. I also liked Haven Hamilton’s “200 Years”, an sickeningly patriotic bicentennial ballad that could have played on the B-Side of “The Ballad of the Green Berets”. I liked “The Heart of a Good Woman”, a sweet little love song that Haven’s son Bud who sings to Opal until her attention is swept up by the presence of Elliott Gould; I was struck by the amazing talent of Karen Black (I had no idea she could sing) as her Connie White takes the place of superstar Barbara Jean and out-performs her by a country mile with “”I Don’t Know If I Found It in You”.
What is amazing about the musical performances is that Altman allows them to continue for four, five, six, seven minutes. It puts you in mind of how little interest is paid to the music in most movies today even in musicals. Most of today’s directors cut or abbreviate their musical numbers down to two or three minutes for fear that the audience will grow restless. But the performers in this movie are allowed to sing their entire song, all the way through. Especially the final number when Winifred sings “You might say that I ain’t free, but it don’t worry me.” That lyric is repeated over and over until it becomes a rallying cry. Nashville is full of moments like that. It contains the kinds of characters and storytelling structure that is all but gone from today’s filmmaking. Hollywood wouldn’t have the nerve to make a film this jumbled, this deep or this poetic.
THE WINNER:
Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
The Nominees: Walter Matthau (The Sunshine Boys), Al Pacino (Dog Day Afternoon), Maximilian Schell (The Man in the Glass Booth), James Whitmore (Give ’em Hell Harry)
MY CHOICE:
Robert Mitchum (Farewell, My Lovely)
My Nominees: Warren Beatty (Shampoo), Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws), Clint Eastwood (The Eiger Sanction), Gene Hackman (The French Connection II), Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Coo Coo’s Nest), Al Pacino (Dog Day Afternoon), Roy Scheider (Jaws)
Kirk Douglas tried and failed for years to get an adaptation of Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Coo-Coo’s Nest to the screen. In nineteen seventy-four, his son Michael teamed up with Saul Zaentz and finally got the greenlight. Kirk was delighted and assumed that Michael would cast his old man in the lead, but it was thought that he was too old so the part (and the Oscar) went to the much younger Jack Nicholson. Based on that, I have a feeling that Thanksgiving that year at the Douglas house wasn’t much fun.
Nicholson had already established himself as one of the most popular actors of his generation. He had made a name for himself in his breakout role as George Hanson in Easy Rider and from there he would become popular as the rascally rebel with a sardonic smile, the sly voice and the ridiculous crazy man’s laugh. Between his breakout role in Easy Rider and his first Oscar for One Flew Over the Coo Coo’s Nest, he would create arguably the best work of his career in Five Easy Pieces, The Last Detail, Chinatown, The Passenger and The Fortune.
Watching Jack Nicholson is akin to watching the bad kid at school, he’s a rebel who has a gift for mischief and verbal heresy. He is one of those actors who is endlessly watchable. Some of his best gifts are on display in Milos Foreman’s One Flew Over the Coo Coo’s Nest, where he plays Randal P. McMurphy, a misfit who is sent to a mental institution and tries to rally the inmates against their clinical prison by encouraging them to do normal things. His encouragement is not met with favor by the ward’s unfeeling chief Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) whose clout pulls against McMurphy’s rebellion.
It is a great performance because we aren’t always sure what McMurphy is going to do nor what he’s thinking. Even when Ratched’s force of will begins to wear him down we can still see him fighting.
Nicholson’s Best Actor award was part of the film’s Oscar sweep, this was the first film since 1934’s It Happened One Night to win Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and screenplay. That doesn’t mean much beyond the fact that the movie was extremely popular and so was Nicholson. He would win two other Oscars in his career, one for supporting in Terms of Endearment and another for Best Actor in As Good As It Gets. Here’s some trivia: Every time he has won an Oscar, his female co-star has won Best Actress.
The other nominees for Best Actor (with the exception of Pacino) were not that great. I would like to have seen some recognition for my choice for Best Actor, Robert Mitchum for finally getting the chance to play Phillip Marlowe in Dick Richards’ little-seen Farewell, My Lovely. It doesn’t happen often that the right actor finds themselves in the role of a great literary character but in the case of Marlowe, Mitchum fit him like a glove.
Mitchum returns to the genre he helped to create, in this great throw-back to the noir classics of the 40s (adapted from the novel by Raymond Chandler) he plays Marlowe as a weary, burned-out P.I., fedora snapped down over his brow, cigarette planted in his mug and sporting a nose for trouble. This is Los Angeles, 1941 and when we first see him, the camera pans up to a window where he stands looking out at this weary old city and we just know that it won’t be long before he is neck-deep in danger. We get a goofy, knowing grin as his deep, weary voice begins a narration. He tells us “This past spring was the first time that I felt tired and realized that I was growing old. Maybe it was the rotten weather we’d had in L.A., maybe it was the rotten cases I’d had.”
We see a man who’s eyes are filled with regret, who’s voice reveals a great deal of sadness. Here is a man who’s growing old and what he’s seen of the world has come through the dregs of society: murdering husbands, cheating wives, perverts, double crossers, double-dealers or simply the most diseased members of the species. We can sense all of this just in a few opening passages as he tells us that he is simply tired and his only joy comes from the World Series. He tells us: “The only pleasure I’d had at all was following Joe DiMaggio pelting the apple at an incredible clip for the New York Yankees”.
His downtime is soon to pass when he is hired by a lunkheaded brick named Moose Malloy (played former prize fighter Jack O’Halloran in his film debut). When Marlowe first meets this towering hulk he describes their encounter as “a hand I could have sat in took hold of me”. Moose may not be a gentle giant but his eyes betray a needy heart. He wants Marlowe to find his girl, Velma, a hooker he was going to marry seven years ago before a bank job went bad. He took the blame and did time for her. Out on parole, Moose is panicked because she stopped writing and he wants Marlowe to find out where she went.
This isn’t a case of simply knocking on a door and being introduced to her. The case becomes a journey through the lurid underbelly of Los Angeles. There’s a bar in the ghetto where Moose kills a man who won’t give him any information, “I just wanted him to tell me where my Velma is” he says with a soft voice, moist eyes and a dead man’s neck in both hands. There’s a bizarre adventure in a brothel run by a large scary woman (Kate Murtaugh) who sticks a needle in Marlowe’s neck and, when he comes around, finds that he is locked in a room with a dead guy.
There is also an encounter with a swishy little man named Marriott (John O’Leary) who hires Marlowe to carry money for him to a rendezvous to recover some stolen jewelry, a rendezvous that ends badly for Marriott. Wherever Marlowe goes in this case, dead bodies keep turning up. That’s where Lieutenant McNulty (John Ireland) comes in. He knows Marlowe’s reputation but would like to know why there’s seems to be so much death in his wake.
Mitchum, working with director Dick Richards, creates not only the best screen appearance of Philip Marlowe (who has previously been played by Humprey Bogart, James Garner, Elliott Gould and would be played one more time by Mitchum in 1978’s The Big Sleep) but gives one of the best angles on the character. Here he’s older (Mitchum was 58) and a little more run down. There are moments when we see the exhaustion of life in his eyes and even though he’s older he still gets in the same gut-busting mess that he’s known for. His dialogue is perfect especially when he comes upon a motel: “It was one of those transient motels, something between a fleabag and a dive.” or when he tries to get some information: “I sparred with the night clerk for a couple of minutes, but it was like trying to open a sardine can after you broke off the metal lip. There was something about Abraham Lincoln’s picture that loosened him up.” He has a natural feel for Chandler’s dialogue but, like everything else with Mitchum, it never feels forced.
Robert Mitchum was one of those actors, like Alec Guinness, who came so naturally to acting that it kind of made him invisible. He wasn’t showy even in a showy role like his murdering preacher in Night of the Hunter. He could come onscreen so effortlessly that we never saw an actor in front of a set rather a character in his natural setting (which I think is why he never won an Oscar). Mitchum understands Philip Marlowe more than any actor who ever played him, he understands when no matter how weird or how dangerous the case gets, it’s all just part of the job. I wanted to applaud the ending when, after a mountain of dead bodies and a case so bizarre it borders on parody, he doesn’t seem rattled by it. Strolling into a bar he tells us: ” I had two grand inside my breast pocket that needed a home – and I knew just the place.”
Best Actress
THE WINNER:
Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
The Nominees: Isabelle Adjani (The Story of Adele H), Glenda Jackson (Hedda), Carol Kane (Hester Street), Ann-Margaret (Tommy)
MY CHOICE:
Isabelle Adjani (The Story of Adele H)
My Nominees: none
Nineteen Seventy-Five was not a great year for actresses in leading roles. The winner, among a very diverse group of nominees was Louise Fletcher for her ice-cold Nurse Rached who mercilessly looks over a ward full of asylum inmates in Milos Foreman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The key to her performance is that Fletcher never makes the mistake of giving Rached any joy in the cruelty she doles out. She shames her charges, belittles them, dopes them up, puts them through shock therapy but there is never the suggestion on her face that she is enjoying any of this nor does she ever suggest that she is bothered by it. Her eyes have a cold, deadness that lays at the center of the film.
This was an element that director Foreman didn’t like (he wanted Shelley Duvall). Fletcher auditioned six times for the role but was turned down because he didn’t like the approach that she was bringing to it. She was hired for the part only a week before filming began. I liked Fletcher in the film but I’m not really sure that it’s a role fit for an Academy Award, Rached is an unnerving presence in the book and Fletcher is able to inject that into the film. It is an effective performance.
My choice for Best Actress is Isabel Adjani in the title role of Francios Trauffat’s The Story of Adele H, a performance that contained multitudes of notes. Adjani plays Adele Hugo, the second daughter of author Victor Hugo. Devastated by the loss of her sister, the movie finds her living with her father in exile on the isle of Guernsey where she falls in love with one Lieutenant Pinson, a British Naval Officer who seduced her and whom her father has selected as a husband. She goes to Halifax to rekindle a romance with him only to find that Pinson wants nothing to do with her (marriage would mean he can’t whore around) and makes it clear that there will never be any chance of a life together. We’ve sensed from the very beginning that Adele is a little mad and that knowledge gives weight to what she does for the rest of the film.
She is undeterred by his brush-off and begins writing bogus letters back home the she and Pinson are in the throws of a love affair and later she writes of their marriage. Meanwhile she keeps pursuing him, peeping at him while he is having sex, she arranges prostitutes, slips letters into his pockets and sends him money. He is unmoved but she is remains determined even at one point stuffing a pillow under her dress and telling Pinson’s father that she is pregnant with his child.
She becomes further and further detached from her own sanity until her pride, her dignity and her consciousness of the surrounding world are virtually gone. Terribly ill she sleeps in flophouses but never gives up on Pinson even though it is clear that he is a rat and isn’t worth her time. Adjani is the right actress for this material because her breathtaking beauty leaves us thinking that this is a woman who could level any man with her eyes and yet her madness leaves her to pursue a man who wouldn’t know a good woman if she fell on him. To look at Adele is to understand the commonality of all of Truffaut’s characters who are not led by plot but are urged on by their personalities, their obsessions and their emotions. He loves long close-ups of her beautiful face and there is a sense of her tunnel vision.
What we see in that beautiful face is that there is a battle going on inside. There are two sides of Adele, one in reality and one in her writing that are battling for control over her mind. In her writings, the world is a happy, joyous place and as she descends ever further into her madness it consumes her soul. This makes her sound like just a stubborn girl who clings to an uninterested lover, but the screenplay is much smarter than that. Adele is unstable from the beginning (though it is not very apparent) and Pinson rejection fuels her madness and consumes her for the rest of her life.
Truffaut isn’t interested in pushing Adele into a simple-minded role as a sympathetic waif, his characters were always more complex than that. Adele isn’t molded to our affections but we pay witness to an irrational woman trapped between an unloving father and an unloving man whom her madness won’t leave behind. The collaboration of Truffaut and Adjani was brilliant, they present the portrait of soul trapped by obsession but refuse to give her any ray of sunshine. The closest thing is in the end in which she wanders the streets wearing rags in a catatonic state and she doesn’t recognize Pinson when she passes him on the street. Maybe, for her, this is best.
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DEADLY SECRET S authorHOuSE® U.S. REP. DANA ROHRABACHER on his investigation: "It is astonishing that officials from the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies were unwilling to permit congressional investigators to question a former bank robber with a possible connection to a large-scale terrorist attack." FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT FBI DIRECTOR DANNY COULSON: "We have victims here and victims' families, and we don't know the answers. And the answer is frankly a federal grand jury." U.S. SEN. ORRIN HATCH on the Kenneth Trentadue mystery: "Somebody has not told the truth here and somebody is, in my opinion, covering up." FEDERAL JUDGE DALE A. KIMBALL on the FBI's conduct: "[Wjhile the FBI's failure to discover documents is not necessarily an indication of bad faith, it is puzzling that so many documents could be referenced but not produced." FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST DR. T.K. MARSHALL on the "extra leg" recovered from the Murrah Building: "The working assumption has to be, until excluded, that the leg in question belonged to a bomber." DEADLY SECRET S Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing David Paul Hammer AuthorHouse"" 1663 Liberty Drive Bloomington, IN 47403 www.authorhouse.com Phone: 1-800-839-8640 ©2010 David Paul Hammer. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author. First published by AuthorHouse 4/5/2010 ISBN: 978-1-4520-0364-1 (e) ISBN: 978-1-4520-0363-4 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-4520-0362-7 (he) Library of Congress Control Number: 2010904034 Printed in the United States of America Bloomington, Indiana This book is printed on acid-free paper. Certain information and passages in this book was previously published and was copyrighted by David Paul Hammer andjeffery William Paul in 2004. That material is used here with permission. Cover photo: 2007 BBC documentary, Conspiracy Files — Oklahoma City Bombing. This [joojf is dedicated to the memory of Kenneth Michael T rentadue and to the search for justice. Someone Knows who Killed Kenney. The truth is rarely pure and never simple. - Oscar Wilde IX FOREWORD By Margaret Roberts Tlhis remarkable book speaks for itself. But first, a word about the author is in order. David Paul Hammer is a death row inmate. Credibility is an issue. Back in the 1980s, I broke a story in Chicago about a death row inmate who claimed he was innocent. Most people who knew what I was working on laughed at me for being so naive as to think the condemned man's story was worth the enormous amount of time it consumed to investigate. The consensus was: Never believe a prisoner. They're all lying. Once the story was published, it won prizes in Chicago, and more importantly, influenced the Illinois Supreme Court to reconsider the condemned man's case. Years later, other investigations exonerated him through DNA testing. He was innocent. Other men were proven to be the real murderers. Subsequently, Newsweek credited my reporting on that story with changing the death penalty debate in America. For me, the lesson learned was this: If something is true, even if it comes from death row, it is still the truth. For reasons that you will understand when you read the book, I can't say that I know that David Hammer is telling the truth in this book. Only Hammer knows that. But XII I can say this: The astonishing story he says Timothy McVeigh told him is compelling. I can say Hammer's story deserves careful consideration in light of what I regard as the hollow and unconvincing official version of the Oklahoma City Bombing, as told by government prosecutors in the trials of McVeigh and his accomplice Terry Nichols. I've learned something else about journalism. Trust your gut. I know a lot about this fascinating and still mysterious case. I started digging into it back in 2005 as a producer for the TV crime show America's Most Wanted. In the aftermath of the bombing, in 1995, an unidentified suspect known as John Doe No. 2 had become, briefly, the world's most wanted man, an accomplice of McVeigh's, known only from an FBI sketch, who was believed to have somehow escaped the dragnet that caught McVeigh and Nichols. But something didn't ring right. In short order, the FBI suddenly and improbably canceled its global manhunt, calling John Doe No. 2 a case of eyewitness error. But meanwhile, at least a dozen honest citizens in Oklahoma City and Kansas — people with no apparent reason to lie — continued to insist they had seen the stocky, dark-haired man, who looked nothing like Nichols, with McVeigh. These witnesses were not brought to court to testify for the prosecution. It was as if what they had seen had never happened. I kept digging. But I never imagined where this story would lead until I heard David Hammer's account of his death row interviews with Timothy McVeigh. According to Hammer, McVeigh disclosed that he was not the mastermind of the bombing, but rather was an undercover government agent in a sting operation that targeted right- wing extremists. But evidently, something went terribly wrong: 168 innocent people wound up dead. All of this sounds far-fetched. McVeigh certainly had reasons to fabricate a tale of a malevolent government. But upon consideration, his story placed a compelling new light on the John Doe No. 2 mystery. In contrast to the government's account — that McVeigh executed the elaborate delivery of the huge truck bomb single-handedly — McVeigh gave Hammer a much more logistically feasible account, that McVeigh had a support squad of accomplices on the ground in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. And he named names. XIII This book is by no means a mere recounting of prison talk, however. After McVeigh's execution, Hammer, an inmate without ready access to a telephone, the Internet, or face-to-face interviews, undertook a Houdini-like feat: to investigate the validity of McVeigh's story while locked behind bars. The result is an abundance of evidence, much of it developed through a dogged parallel investigation by another man on the outside, who is central to Hammer's story. He is Jesse C. Trentadue, a lawyer who for many years has pursued the truth about the suspicious death of his brother, a prisoner in federal custody in Oklahoma City the summer after the bombing. Jesse Trentadue and Hammer have come to believe Kenneth Trentadue's death was linked to a government cover-up of federal involvement in the bomb plot. I won't spoil the book's surprise ending, but suffice it to say, Hammer has far more to lose than gain by writing this story. The Federal Bureau of Prisons prohibits all media interviews with him. With a federal judge's approval, he offered to tell his story about the bombing by videotaped deposition. But the FBI sought and won an order from a higher court to keep Hammer off videotape. Why would the federal government go to such lengths just to keep an inmate from telling a story? One possible answer is that, against all odds, prison investigative journalist David Paul Hammer is getting close to deeply embarrassing truths regarding the Oklahoma City Bombing. For now, what is known is that, in the most devastating domestic terrorist strike ever on American soil, investigators didn't seem to investigate every lead, and reporters, for the most part, didn't report anything beyond the government's narrative. And so, strangely, it now falls to David Paul Hammer to break the news from death row. Here is the news: Contrary to the spin of government insiders who have secrets to hide, the Oklahoma City Bombing case is not closed — not by a long shot. Terrorists who were never brought to justice for the bombing may still be out there. The death of Kenneth Trentadue, who may have been Victim No. 169, remains unsolved. Consider the evidence carefully in the story that follows. Then you be the judge. XIV PREFACE I stood at my cell door and watched as prison guards placed restraints on the most infamous Federal Death Row prisoner in history. Timothy James McVeigh exited the deathwatch cell at 3:40 a.m. on Sunday June 10, 2001. He was dressed in a pair of institutional khaki pants, a white T-shirt, socks and blue slip-on deck shoes. Two correctional officers escorted him. As McVeigh walked down the tier, our eyes met. He nodded once, maintaining his military bearing. I acknowledged him with a similar nod. No words were spoken, yet McVeigh's meaning was clear to me: "Write the book. Expose the secrets." Timothy McVeigh was only hours from being executed. This book is based upon my interactions with McVeigh during the 23 months we were housed together on death row at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. The book contains firsthand information and accounts provided to me by McVeigh. When McVeigh was executed, he took many secrets with him. Some of those secrets are contained in this book. In order to obtain them, I was required to barter with McVeigh and take on certain crucial legal issues - notably his desire to give up his appeals and advance his XVI execution date, and his desire not to have his body autopsied. Those legal efforts paved the way for McVeigh's exit from this world on his own terms, within the limits of his situation. In exchange, McVeigh cooperated with me, knowing full well of my intention to write about him and the Oklahoma City Bombing. I have no doubt that his cooperation was an attempt to control when and where information about him was revealed to the public. Still, our bargain required McVeigh to disclose information that could be verified. And he did that. Our association was not always amiable. There were intense disputes, allegations of broken promises and even treachery, but in the end the necessity for cooperation won out. Our communications took many forms: debates, arguments, chatter, gossip, explanations, question and answer sessions, and yes, even confessions by McVeigh. Fellow death row inmate Jeffery Paul and others oftentimes witnessed these almost daily exchanges. Paul and I spent more time with McVeigh during the last two years of his life than anyone else. In those months, McVeigh opened up and provided detailed facts that seemed astonishing at the time. I have honored all aspects of my agreement with McVeigh. He insisted that I delay publishing in book form any of what he revealed until the publication of his biography, American Terrorist, in early 2001. That book portrayed McVeigh as the lone-wolf terrorist responsible for planning, financing and carrying out the Oklahoma City Bombing almost single-handedly. That is the story he wanted the public to believe while he was alive. But to those of us who spent every day with McVeigh, his conflicted emotions were evident in the last months of his life. He was well aware of the growing number of people who didn't buy the government's lone- wolf theory. He was fearful of being labeled a fraud or patsy, of having his image destroyed before his death. To this day, McVeigh still has many followers and supporters who consider him a hero. I've received death threats from the outside as well as from other inmates because of my writings about McVeigh. I have accepted the risk because I believe that the truth about the Oklahoma City Bombing must be exposed. XVII I didn't take Timothy McVeigh at his word. With assistance from attorneys and their investigators, and from journalists, I have tried to verify the information McVeigh provided. We have obtained thousands of documents and exhibits via Freedom of Information Act requests and litigation. My attorney or his investigator has interviewed some of the individuals mentioned by McVeigh. In 1999, at the height of media interest in all things McVeigh, he gave me his Federal Bureau of Prisons ID card to use as proof of my access to him. The ID badge traveled around some in the publishing world, and then was returned to the warden here on Federal Death Row. I kept a digital copy of the image, which is published here for the first time. One man who is central to my investigation is Jesse C. Trentadue. Jesse and I first met in December 1995, soon after Jesse's brother, Kenneth Michael Trentadue, was killed in his prison cell at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. Jesse's investigation of his brother's suspicious death has taken many twists and turns in the past 14 plus years. No one could have scripted the facts he has uncovered, including a link to the bombing case that apparently cost Kenney his life. Jesse's investigation has now established evidence that his brother was murdered by federal agents, engaged in a government cover-up, who mistakenly believed Kenney was an escaped McVeigh accomplice: a man who knew too much. Jesse's battle with the federal government to uncover the truth behind his brother's death has led him down many paths, but they all lead to Oklahoma City and the bombing. Jesse had no special interest in the bombing case. He never had any reason to think his efforts in his brother's case would land him squarely in the face of a massive cover-up by the federal government. He certainly never would have imagined that Timothy McVeigh himself would reach out from death row with information that would connect the dots in shocking manner between the bombing case and Kenneth Trentadue's death. Yet, as this story will reveal, that is exactly what happened. I first began writing this manuscript in 2000, with assistance from inmate Jeffery Paul. A version of that writing was published in March 2004 as a book entitled Secrets Worth Dying For. Excerpts are included herein. XVIII Following the publication of Secrets, some family members of victims who perished in the bombing contacted me. My correspondence with Jannie Coverdale, grandmother of Aaron and Elijah, in particular, has provided me with strength to write this manuscript. I have also been in regular contact with media personalities who have spent years investigating the bombing. They have been invaluable sources of verification and information. My incarceration has slowed the progress of this investigation, but the fruits of our combined efforts are contained in the following pages. I offer this account of events surrounding the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, because the public has just as much right to know Timothy McVeigh's secrets, and the secrets of the U.S. government relating to the bombing, as they have to know the authorized lone-wolf version. I offer this account, as told to me by McVeigh, only for what it is worth. That value is left up to you, the reader, to decide. — David Paul Hammer Federal Death Row Terre Haute, Indiana April 2010 XIX CHAPTER ONE Operation Golden Eagle Rpril 19, 1995: 1 remember sitting in a solitary cell at the United States Penitentiary in Lompoc, California, listening to my Walkman when news of the Oklahoma City Bombing was broadcast on a local radio station. I didn't have access to any of the television news coverage. The images conjured up in my mind were bad, but nothing in comparison to the actual damage caused by the bombing. The destruction of life and property, the overwhelming sense of loss, were incomprehensible to me. Within two days I had a copy of The Oklahoman published on April 20, 1995. A friend in Oklahoma had sent it via overnight mail. I couldn't stop the tears as I read all of the articles, and looked at the photographs of my hometown. One article gave a report as described by a salesman at a car dealership in downtown Oklahoma City. That man was a distant relative of mine. I searched for names of those killed and injured, wondering if anyone I knew or was related to was a victim. I never dreamed I would one day come to be in a cell next to the man who had committed this atrocity. No one could have ever predicted that a smalltime criminal incarcerated since the age of 19 in the State of Oklahoma, and then transferred into the federal prison system, would eventually be on death row with the Oklahoma City Bomber. Sometimes the truth really is stranger than fiction. This is one of those times. Fast-forward four years, to Tuesday morning, July 13, 1999. Timothy McVeigh and I were both inmates at the federal ADX Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. Often referred to as the "Alcatraz of the Rockies," Supermax is home to the so-called worst of the worst federal prisoners. But until that day, McVeigh and I had virtually no contact. We were both housed in a secure area of Supermax known as "The Suites" and "Tier 13," a section reserved to isolate inmates even from one another. I was lying on my bunk when the silence was broken by the sounds of electronic clicks and whirs. Locks opened, then sliding doors banged, followed by voices of guards, jangling of keys, and doors being opened. I heard their steps echo as they walked along the corridor leading to my cell. Two officers approached the outer door. Another guard monitored them via a video camera and closed circuit TV screen. Some unknown signal was given, buttons were pushed, and the control room officer far away opened my outer cell door electronically. I sat up on the side of my bunk. Two guards stepped into the isolated area in front of the cell. They were senior officers, one being a lieutenant. Another officer stood watch, armed with a 36-inch riot baton sporting a round silver ball on its tip (known to all inmates as the "rib-splitter"). The lieutenant said: "Hammer, you need to put on your jumpsuit and shoes. We were told to bring you to the hospital for an examination." Having been given a direct order, I obeyed. While rapidly changing from my sweat pants into the requisite orange jumpsuit and tennis shoes, I questioned the officers about the unexpected trip to the hospital. In prison it is all about routine. Medical visits are by appointment unless it is an emergency. Their response: "We are just following orders." I dressed. They ordered me to back up against the cell bars. They handcuffed my hands behind my back and placed leg shackles on my ankles. The lieutenant held my hands immobile. A signal was given. The cell door slid open. I was instructed to walk backwards. Doors opened and closed. I was leaving that cell for the last time. I remained silent, as required, during the walk. To my surprise, we entered a door leading not to the hospital, but rather to the institution's Deadly Secrets 3 receiving and discharge area. Something unusual was happening. Various members of the prison's administration were present, along with an alarming number of security staff dressed in camouflage garb. Excitement, tension and a sense of the unexpected were in the air. After I was placed into an open-faced enclosure with steel bars, my restraints were removed and I was ordered to strip. That procedure required that I first face forward with my arms and hands extended in front, palms down and fingers spread open. Naked as the day I came into this world, I stood as my hands, armpits, mouth, nose and ears were checked. I was then required to bend forward and run my fingers through my hair. After standing upright I was ordered to lift up my penis, and then my testicles. I was then instructed to turn around and face the back wall, to lift up each foot and wiggle my toes. Last, but not least, I was required to bend over, reach back with both hands, and spread my buttocks. Then, while in that position, I was told to cough twice. Next, I was escorted to another holding cell, where I was allowed to dress in a pair of pull-on khaki pants and top that resembled pajamas, socks and deck shoes. I was placed in full transport restraints. Those consisted of leg irons on my ankles and a waist chain applied like a belt. Handcuffs were inserted through the waist chain and then onto my wrists. A device known as a black box was fitted over the handcuffs, covering the keyholes. The waist chain buckle was inserted through the black box, and a large padlock was applied to secure the restraints in place. These restraints hold your hands immobile in front at waist level. This is a most painful position to be in for more than a few minutes. I was then placed into yet another holding cell, where I heard Timothy McVeigh call my name from the next cell. "Hammer, I hear you're from Oklahoma," McVeigh said. I replied that I was. He then stated: "I hope there's no hard feelings." Our exchange was interrupted when an officer ordered us to remain silent. There was a loud disturbance as another prisoner, Anthony Battle, was brought into a holding cell. He was already in full restraints, but complaining bitterly about how tightly they had been applied. Battle received a death sentence for killing a guard at the federal prison in Atlanta. Our destination was now clear: We three all had federally imposed death sentences, and rumors had David Paul Hammer been ongoing for months about the Bureau of Prison's new Federal Death Row unit being activated. We were escorted from Supermax one at a time by a four-man team, while under the watchful lens of a video camera, through an underground garage and onto a prison transport bus. Officers armed with riot batons, gas masks and hand-held canisters of tear gas were stationed in the aisle of the bus just opposite of where each of us was seated. One officer for each inmate, with his baton ready to strike at any sign of trouble. Prison transport buses are designed as rolling fortresses. An officer with a shotgun was stationed in the rear of the bus in a secure area. Through a turret-type structure, he was capable of firing his weapon anywhere into the prisoners' section. The front of the bus, where the driver and a lieutenant were positioned, was separated from the prisoners' section by grates and a steel door. These officers were armed with side arms and other weapons, including an M-16 type of weapon. A third officer stood on the steps of the bus with his back to the closed door. We proceeded in a caravan of vehicles that included two in the lead and two following. In addition, Colorado state troopers and a military-style vehicle with a machine gun on top escorted the bus. All officers wore bulletproof vests and helmets. The transport was under the direct supervision of the captain of security from the ADX and others from Washington, D.C. As the bus traveled to the airport in Pueblo, Colorado, McVeigh and I talked about the beauty of the land - and about our suspected destination. The guards stood at stoical attention, batons raised in anticipation of trouble. Two guards standing beside McVeigh and me began a conversation. One announced: "Y'all three should be executed on pay-per-view TV. Hammer, you and Battle as the warm-up to the main event. McVeigh, you will be the main attraction and you should go last." The second guard replied: "Yeah, and all the proceeds from the telecast should go to law enforcement." McVeigh responded: "That sounds like a plan. And what's an execution without beer and popcorn? Who gets the profit from the concession stands?" Deadly Secrets "It won't be you, McVeigh," his guard responded. Little did either of them know at the time that during the weeks leading up to McVeigh's execution, an entertainment company would litigate in federal court for the right to broadcast his execution on the Internet. And that hundreds of victims' family members would watch McVeigh's execution via a closed-circuit feed into a location in Oklahoma City. No live at five Internet coverage, but a spectacle all the same. At the airport in Pueblo,"Con-Air," the U.S. Marshals Service federal transport plane, was waiting with a flight crew and a cadre of deputies. Four other condemned men from Texas were already on the plane when we boarded. Within minutes we were airborne. I sat in the middle seat of a row over the wing. McVeigh sat across the aisle. Despite an order not to talk, we had lengthy conversation during the flight. I am a native Oklahoman, born and raised there. I attended school in Oklahoma City, where my family lived for many years. Being in such close proximity to Timothy McVeigh, arguably the most hated man in the country, presented a unique situation. What were my feelings supposed to be about this person? Where did my loyalties lie? The U.S. Marshals transport center and planes, as well as the Bureau of Prison's Federal Transfer Center, are based in Oklahoma City. Several of the deputies on this flight knew me from their previous employment with the Oklahoma City Police Department or the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. During the flight, two of these deputies began to taunt McVeigh with stories of my past misdeeds and with exaggerated tales of violence attributed to me. They informed him that I'd been sentenced to death for killing a federal prisoner. They made sure he got the impression that because I was an Oklahoman with a history of extreme violence, he had better watch out. I attempted to reassure him that he had nothing to fear from me. Our plane next made a stop in Little Rock, Arkansas, where more prisoners joined the flight. Deputies now reassigned seats in a staggered seating arrangement. McVeigh was near the front of the plane. Jeff Paul, who had boarded in Arkansas, was in the middle. I was towards the rear. Conducting any conversation was difficult, but, filled with nervous energy, some tried. Most of the men were anxious about flying in such an aged aircraft. David Paul Hammer At one point during the flight, the deputies passed out granola bars and bottles of water. I passed on the snacks, but, with assistance, I did down a couple of bottles of water. Watching the others attempt to eat their snacks was amusing. Because of the restraints, guys would have to bend over at the waist all the way down in their seats. Their heads popped up and down like gophers in their holes. After about an hour of flying the plane began its descent. Even with my limited view it was clear we were landing in Indiana. The airport was one used primarily by airfreight carriers, not commercial passenger service. It was bordered by farms, corn crops and grain silos. Arriving in Indiana was like nothing most of the prisoners had seen before. None were greenhorns when it came to heavy security precautions. That's a given when one has received a death sentence. But this scene was something straight out of a Hollywood movie. Once on the ground, the plane was surrounded by an array of law enforcement vehicles and no fewer than 50 officers armed with automatic rifles and side arms, and dressed in full body armor. They wore black fatigues with utility belts, gas canisters and an assortment of equipment affixed to their belts. The officers took up various positions securing a perimeter with each facing away from the plane on alert for any type of a threat. A second contingent of heavily armed officers, with their weapons pointing directly at the rear exit door of the plane, took up their positions to await our departure. A portable rolling staircase was pushed up to the doorway. Transport buses were pulled into place. The first three inmates to exit were Battle, McVeigh and I. A deputy escorted each of us to the rear of the plane while holding onto the waist chain. A second deputy compared our names, numbers and faces to a master list with photographs. Then we were required to give our date of birth. One can only assume these measures were in place to ensure that no imposter sneaked his way onto Federal Death Row. At the bottom of the staircase there was a gap of about eight inches from the last step to the ground. That wouldn't have been such a big deal, but each inmate had leg restraints on his ankles. Not to worry, because at the bottom of the stairs awaited a welcome party of four BOP officers dressed in black ninja-type garb and armed with batons. The first guard would grab a fistful of shirt at the collar and give a quick jerk forward, right off the steps. A knee well placed in the groin from Deadly Secrets 7 the same guard did help to steady us while another guard to the side ground his fingers into our upper arms. One guard on each side made certain we didn't lose our balance. Then we were pat searched yet again. With officers holding us by the waist chain in back, and one on each side, still applying pressure to our arms, and a fourth officer with baton raised, we walked the distance of about 25 feet to the bus. I passed a group of administrative types in suits. Several people were standing around taking photographs and videotaping each of us. All staff, officers and suits had head and chin radios allowing instant communication with those in command. We learned later that the Justice Department and BOP had dubbed this massive transfer of 20 federal inmates from all across the country Operation Golden Eagle. Once the buses were loaded, they crept slowly onto the highway, where, to our surprise, more manpower joined in. An additional three dozen local police patrol cars, Indiana state troopers, and Vigo County Sheriff's Department cruisers with lights and sirens on, accompanied by another dozen or so unmarked sedans with bubble lights on their dashes, all fell in with the convoy. A helicopter flew overhead directing drivers to clear the roads. Vans loaded with SWAT members paced the buses at a suitable distance. Our journey from the airport to the U.S. Penitentiary, Terre Haute, took approximately 20 minutes. The cruisers darted up ahead and then pulled back, weaving through the procession chaotically as it sped through town. Through back roads bordered by cornfields, onto city streets, onto Interstate 70 for a short distance, back onto more city streets, we traveled. Onlookers, forced to the side of streets, craned their necks to see the spectacle, a parade of the unusual. They pointed and stared. Some had exited their cars and were sitting on hoods of their vehicles waiting for the roads to clear. Most of the traffic had been eliminated as city police blocked intersections with emergency lights warning all of our presence. McVeigh summed it up this way: 'I was surprised to realize we would be driving right through Terre Haute. We actually blew past a Wal-Mart and a Burger King. I couldn't believe it. I had assumed it would be a rural route. That would be logical from a threat-management point of view. Two well-armed SWAT vans with close air support could easily deal with trouble in a restrictive environment and protect the public 8 David Paul Hammer effectively. When compared with the resources they must have spent, as well as the inconvenience to the public, it's obvious the operation was a prison orchestrated show, to assure and dazzle the country." Did I mention the media? The caravan was followed by a train of media that had more than a little difficulty staying close enough to videotape much. The buses' tinted windows kept the public and reporters from seeing inside. As we arrived at the prison another group of media and TV news crews was waiting on private property across the road. They had long-range video cameras mounted on tripods and various recording equipment. One reporter appeared disheveled and very animated as he stood talking to those gathered by a news van and pointing at us. Possibly, he was trying to spot the infamous passenger, Timothy McVeigh, who at the time was staring back through the tinted glass with an amused smile on his face. McVeigh seemed genuinely pleased by the interest. Prison officials had alerted the media to the arrival of the Terre Haute Twenty, as we were quickly labeled by various reports. At 3:30 p.m. the buses stopped at the back gate of the prison. Out stepped a group of 21 BOP officers dressed in full riot gear and black military fatigues, which seemed to be the order of the day. These men, all the size of professional football players, were members of the prison's Special Operations and Response Team, known as the SORT Team, or, by prisoners, as the Goon Squad. They wore helmets with face guards attached, and dark sunglasses, and most held long batons. They filed onto the buses, stomping their combat boots in perfect synch. Processing had begun. In order to get the full effect of the SORT team lieutenant's orders, close your eyes and imagine a military drill instructor with a puffed out chest, red cheeks and a vacant look in his eyes as he screams these words: "You are in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. You do not look up. You do not move unless told to do so, and you'd better keep your shit-eating mouths shut!" The lieutenant then turned and asked the gun-cage officer who the "problem children" were. The guard pointed to Battle and explained that he had been complaining about the tightness of his restraints, and at me, stating that I had a medical condition, referring to my diabetes. Battle was removed from the bus first and received some special abuse by the Goon Squad. Obviously his reputation as a guard killer preceded his Deadly Secrets 9 arrival. I heard one guard say: "I'll show you how a dog lives and dies." It had been widely reported that during his trial, Battle stated that the officer he killed had lived like a dog and died like one. As we exited the bus, another search was conducted. McVeigh recalled: "During the pat down, I felt a tingle from the hair on the back of my head standing on end. It was a familiar feeling, and when I turned around to move on, I glanced up and spotted a sniper in the tower leaning out, following the activity with his rifle." Some of the black inmates commented about Indiana having once been a stronghold for the Ku Klux Klan. They wondered aloud if McVeigh would get the red carpet treatment, or at least a cup of coffee and a sympathetic nod from the "good 'ole boys." That didn't seem likely. Almost from the beginning of the operation, the officers had been playing upon McVeigh's fears of being sexually assaulted - and they were using my name. They played mind games with McVeigh by talking loudly about my past, and me being from Oklahoma. As I watched McVeigh being processed, I could see he was rattled. The sheer rage on the faces of the staff members and guards was remarkable. Several came to leer at McVeigh for no reason other than a first glimpse of the Oklahoma City Bomber. While McVeigh was undergoing a strip search under the watchful eyes of staff and fellow inmates, his head was held against the concrete so hard as to warrant intervention by a supervisor, who told guards: "You better calm down or you'll be a part of breaking news." Trying to make light of the situation, McVeigh commented: "Looks like the Klan turned into ZOG." The right-wing phraseology was short for Zionist occupied government. Each of us was photographed, finger printed, strip-searched, and had our scars and tattoos documented. Forms were signed. Restraints were reapplied. We were led into a holding area, and then into cells. Having been in prison for over 30 years, I've seen just about everything you can imagine in these places. I know the kind of mind games used by the guards: shake, rattle and roll. They shake you physically, rattle your brain, and roll your ass off to the cellblock. But this operation was something else. I was thankful the guy with the video camera was right on scene to capture events on tape. In the holding cell, in groups of five or six, we had our first opportunity to talk out of the presence of guards. I told McVeigh he shouldn't pay 10 David Paul Hammer any attention to what the guards said about me. That we are all in the same boat, since the government was intent on executing each of us. Jeff Paul and several other inmates were also present. Introductions were made. McVeigh had never previously been held in a cell with other inmates. He was nervous, but bantered with us. At one point he half- joked that there wouldn't be any conjugal visits during recreation. One at a time we were then taken to an office about the size of a closet. Two beefy guards escorted us and then stood watch over the encounter as a staffer sat behind a desk writing. Jeff Paul recalled his experience this way: "They set me down and this one guard sort of worked his way behind the chair. His gut was literally pushing flat against the back of my head. The other guard stood, blocking the door with his rib-splitter baton ready to do its damage. The desk jockey tells me that I need to sign for a copy of the prison rules and regulations after asking me a ton of questions they already knew the answers to. The hack at the door says: 'Now I'm gonna hand you a pen. You can stand up and put your 'X' on the form, but if you do anything funny with that pen, I'm going to crack your fucking head right down the middle.' "At this point, my nerves are about shot and I don't know what he means by funny, so when he puts the pen down, I just sit there, looking at it. After a long wait, he asks what the hell my problem is, and I say, 'Well, I'm sore already. I feel like this is a lose-lose situation, and, I figure if you're going to bust me up, I'd rather get it for nothing, than something, so my Mom can sue your ass, cause I don't know your definition of funny and I ain't touching that pen.' "The guy blinks, then actually laughs and steps back, saying, 'Just sign it, all right?' So, I did, carefully, and was then informed that they had run out of copies of the rules manual and I'd have to get it later. Typical." Meanwhile, back in the holding cell, numerous conversations ensued, with the main topic being executions and the death penalty. Views ran the spectrum from "God will save me" to "I'm innocent, but have faith in the system and hope that each of the cocksuckers involved dies a slow and painful death before going straight to hell. The sooner the better." McVeigh remained silent on this issue, but when I prompted him he commented: "All I have to say is that the official score is 168 to 1. Deadly Secrets 1 1 I'm up." After an uncomfortable pause, I told him: "Huh, well, I guess they can't kill you more than once." Paul and McVeigh ended up discussing the weapons carried by the officers throughout the day. Paul, having grown up in the South and being familiar with guns and the gun show circuit that McVeigh seemed to like so much, was able to participate in these conversations. Most of the guys present were impressed with McVeigh's uncanny recap of weapons specifications down to the minutest detail. I joked with McVeigh that he must have been popping a bottle of aspirin a day while he memorized Soldier of Fortune magazine. By the late afternoon we were all tired and hungry. None of us had eaten a meal since early that morning. McVeigh leaned across Paul towards the door of the holding cell and yelled: "Take us to our fucking cells." The response was rapid. Several guards opened the door cursing. They grabbed Jeff Paul by the front of his shirt, jerking him down the hallway. He recalled what happened next: "It was real quick. I didn't even get a chance to say anything before I was spinning. They rushed me right into the doorframe of the hallway and bounced me off of the wall, over and over, dragging me back the way we'd come in. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the guy with the video camera, but he was pointing it straight down at the floor. I yelled at him: 'What, you don't want to get this on film?' "If he said anything back, I was gone before he opened his mouth, so I wouldn't know." Back in the holding cell, we voiced our protest over what had just happened. We told the staff that Paul hadn't done anything. When a guard asked sarcastically, "Then who did?" there was only silence. No one was going to point the finger at McVeigh. Jeff Paul was the youngest man in the group being transported that day. I think that's part of the reason he had been singled out all day long. The guards were wound up real tight. They manhandled Paul back outside the building and onto the bus, where he sat through a verbal assault, punctuated by fingers poking his forehead and the rib-splitting baton grinding into his side. Shortly, the lieutenant arrived and calmed the situation. Paul was asked who caused the trouble in the cell, but he said nothing. 12 David Paul Hammer Back in the holding cell, I watched McVeigh, who had been quiet as a church mouse since causing the guards to snatch up Paul. It didn't escape notice that this so-called badass bomber was as passive as a virgin on her wedding night. He let an innocent kid take the rap for his attempt to impress the fellas. Not a good start. In short order, we were each loaded back onto the bus, nodding at Paul with a silent show of support as we passed him in his seat. The group of guards fell back into formation around the bus as it traveled about a hundred yards to another building. Welcome to Federal Death Row, better known to its residents as Dog Unit. We were offloaded two at a time, issued red jumpsuits, restrained, and placed into our cells, where the heat index stood at 1 15 degrees that afternoon. Our first meal was hot pork and potatoes. Everyone was exhausted, but it was way too hot to sleep. On our small black-and-white TVs, we watched the day's events unfold on the local news. The star attraction was McVeigh. USPTerre Haute was his new home. Operation Golden Eagle was a success. Deadly Secrets 13 CHAPTER TWO Dog Unit Despite the exhaustion of that first day in transit, none of us could sleep. McVeigh, like the rest of us, found himself nursing wrists that , were bruised and swollen from the long hours in handcuffs and the black box. From cell to cell advice and remedies were passed along. We quickly found that communication was easy if we talked out of the back windows of our cells. The cooler air that came with darkness brought a much needed respite from the heat. In short order we began to get our bearings and discovered who was housed in the cells around us. I listened to tales of the day's events as described by one and then another of the men around me. As it turned out there had been two planes with passengers headed for Dog Unit. The U.S. Marshals Service had driven three men to Terre Haute in a van. The second plane had flown in from the East, retrieving inmates along the way. McVeigh, Paul and I were housed in a row of cells on the top tier. McVeigh and I were eager to hear from Paul about what had transpired after he was snatched up from the holding cell. Jeff joked about it, and that helped alleviate some of the tension. McVeigh told him: "You took 16 a good one for the team." That was the beginning of the association between McVeigh, Paul and me. That first night also brought the late local news on TV. In an on- the-street interview, a local man, whose property was next to the prison, was asked about his new infamous neighbor, Timothy McVeigh. The man said something to the effect of: "A good ole' fashion hangin'" was in order. The row erupted in a roar of laughter and a bit of outrage. Some of the black inmates began yelling for McVeigh, telling him that he had been kicked out of the conspiracy, referring jokingly to the "white conspiracy." McVeigh responded: "If that cornhusker can figure out how to tie a noose, I'll put my neck into it." The next day, with temperatures on the rise, no one slept in. It quickly became apparent that the previous occupants had vacated our cells in haste. The floors were sticky and dirty, and the grime was corner to corner. The cell walls had cracked off-white paint and were spotted with dark stains of unknown origin. There were splotches and smears of food sticking to the wall. The stench was overpowering in some cells. The porcelain fixtures, consisting of a sink and toilet, were encrusted with layer after layer of rust and bright orange-colored streaks. In one of his less guarded moments, McVeigh dropped his soldier routine and described the place as a "fuckin' dump." Many cells were being overrun with ants. The source of these insects was quickly determined to be what at first glance seemed to be roach traps. Upon closer inspection, these little cardboard cartons contained pieces of candy or rotting food. The heat had putrefied the contents. Some very offensive remarks were directed towards the Cuban inmates who had left these contraptions behind, for even in prison, manners go a long way. We later learned from reading a book by Professor Mark Hamm, entitled The Abandoned Ones, that these cartons were impromptu altars used by the Cuban inmates, some of whom practiced the Santeria religion. They possibly left the altars behind to benefit those condemned to death. Gestures of goodwill, perhaps, and not the acts of disrespect as were first perceived. But the most pressing problem was the heat. With no air circulation, the heat seemed to settle in the lungs, sapping the body of all strength. McVeigh, weakened by the steady stream of sweat pouring out of him, Deadly Secrets 1 7 had a very difficult time drinking the water. It was occasionally the brownish color of tea and had the aroma of spoilt eggs. He vomited repeatedly, loud enough to get Jeff Paul's attention. When urged to seek medical attention for the dehydration and vomiting, McVeigh refused. I gave him some cherry-flavored cough drops to kill the taste of the water. Confined to our cells, most inmates were dressed in nothing but underwear. The guards walked around out of uniform in T-shirts and with towels soaked in cold water around their necks. Two days into our stay on Dog Unit, an inmate in the prison's general population died of heat stroke. After about a week, recreation time was approved. That morning, we were all up, excited to be leaving our cells for exercise and a shower. To our surprise, that would have to wait. One at a time, we were escorted to the back of the unit and into an indoor exercise area, but not for recreation. Once there, we were ordered to strip out of the soiled and dirty clothing that we had worn for several days without the benefit of a shower. We were ordered to place the dirty clothing into an extra large zip-top bag that an officer was holding. The bag also contained a blue index card with each inmate's name, number and photograph. We each then had to take a new washcloth and rub it on our armpits and genitals. The washcloth was added to the plastic bag and sealed. Our scent had been preserved. The bags were to be stored in some freezer in the bowels of the prison in case one of us ever escaped. We were told this would serve as a scent reference for the hounds. McVeigh jokingly wondered how much his dirty undershorts would sell for once he had been executed. In all of my many years in prison I've never seen anything quite like it. Not once afterwards did any other prisoner arriving on the row have to contribute to the scent pool. The first day of outside recreation was loud and boisterous. This was our first opportunity to stand face-to-face and converse in a normal voice with one another. We recreated in groups of five or six, yet separated in individual cages. The heat was hovering close to 100 degrees, so most everyone stripped down to T-shirts and boxers, if they had been allowed to purchase them from the commissary by then. Jeff Paul and McVeigh spent their time doing pushups and talking. Both were into staying slim and trim at all cost. Soon there were bursts 18 David Paul Hammer of laughter from several men. Prisoners who had leaned their backs against the cages had criss-cross rusty metal stains emblazoned across the backs of their shirts, or skin if they had removed shirts. They looked as if they had been afflicted with some unknown disease Early into our stay on the row, our clothing turned pink. That included our bed sheets, underwear, T-shirts and socks. The death row jumpsuits we were required to wear had been dyed red by the manufacturing process. The garments were all of awkward sizes and bled red dye when worn in the hot sun and heat. Sweating caused the dye to turn our clothing what McVeigh termed "fairy pink." It was a ridiculously funny sight, 20 of the so-called most dangerous men in America, including the notorious Timothy McVeigh, standing in the rec yard in pink boxer shorts. The pink color was even worse after our clothing was laundered for the first time. All clothing was washed together with the red jumpsuits, so pink remained the color of death row for many months afterwards. Our conversations in the recreation cages centered on a few themes. McVeigh loved to speak on warfare, weapons and explosives. He had newsletters and magazines such as Resistance sent into death row. One book that he insisted Paul read was entitled Unintended Consequences. McVeigh stated that if he'd read this novel before the Turner Diaries, things might have turned out differently. The book described a grass- roots movement that used strategic assassinations to overthrow the federal government. McVeigh signed a copy of it for Paul. McVeigh and Paul liked to watch the same movies or TV shows, or read the same books, and then discuss them in the rec yard. McVeigh preferred political thrillers. He also liked to impress Paul by weaving elaborate escape scenarios. "I could pop this whole unit open with a well armed five-man team," McVeigh claimed. We got glimpses of his peculiarities too. His public image meant everything to McVeigh. Anything that made him appear weak or incompetent had to be avoided at all cost. He became infuriated when the media reported on spelling errors in letters he wrote. He would not keep a dictionary in his cell. Instead, he would borrow one from Paul or me and then return it as quickly as possible. He had pornography sent to the prison, but he had Jeff Paul keep it in his cell. When McVeigh got sick, instead of seeing the doctor, he usually would ask other inmates Deadly Secrets 1 9 to sign up for sick call, represent his symptoms, and obtain medication for him, leaving no paper trail. Beyond our small circle of three, McVeigh, in his quirky way, made an effort to reach out to the other men living on the row too. When television broadcasts featured him, he would routinely receive piles of mail, most of it from women. Many of the letters contained sexually explicit scenarios, and most were doused with perfume. One woman from Germany wrote McVeigh short-story-length letters monthly, detailing her fantasies. McVeigh would take these letters to recreation and pass them out to the guys. He would read aloud some of the more twisted letters to fellow prisoners in their cages. Guards standing watch would pull up a chair and listen to McVeigh's groupies' letters being read and discussed. The letters would be divided up and some taken back to the cells for use as air fresheners or private fantasy material. McVeigh has oftentimes been characterized as charismatic. In fact, he was a very socially awkward man in a place filled with social misfits. In conversations, he would figuratively drown outside his comfort zone of political rhetoric, military or militia oriented topics. He took a lot of ribbing, especially when it came to the subject of women. McVeigh would listen raptly to the guys telling stories about girlfriends and exploits with women. McVeigh's naivete' was obvious from the questions he asked. The men would openly call him "virgin McVeigh" until he would be red-faced with embarrassment. Sometimes they confronted him with a question that haunted McVeigh and turned his forehead into a flaming red crinkle. How could McVeigh, whose face, name and story had been plastered all over the world for years during his trial and incarceration, explain why not one single woman had come forward to acknowledge a romantic or sexual relationship with him? He'd try to stay cool and joke his way out of this by saying: "You should read the National Enquirer!' Under serious questioning by Paul and me, he admitted both to being a virgin and to not having much experience with women. When we encouraged him to correspond with some of the women who had written to him, McVeigh replied that he wouldn't waste his time. Any woman who wasn't a virgin until marriage was a slut, in 20 David Paul Hammer McVeigh's view. Professional women were stupid. So were independent women, and they never knew their place. Any woman who appeared overtly sexual was dirty. There are few secrets in prison. When some of McVeigh's private habits became known, they fueled even more speculation about his sexuality. McVeigh would completely shave off all of his body hair, including under his arms, pubic hair and the hair on his legs and torso. This was difficult to do in prison because razors are only issued while showering, and your shower time is strictly limited. Additionally, you are limited to using one or two disposable razors of poor quality. Shaving one's face with these is torture. But the guards made it known that McVeigh shaved his whole body. When Paul and I asked about this, he said it was a practice he had picked up during the Gulf War because of the sand fleas. When we explained to him that such a habit in prison might be viewed as something else, he just shrugged it off. McVeigh had another odd habit. He would regularly make offers to purchase used boxer shorts from some of the guys on the row. He would pay twice as much as what new boxers from the commissary were sold for. However, he had one very specific requirement. He only wanted boxers that had been worn and not laundered. At least two of the men on Dog Unit routinely sold McVeigh their dirty boxers. It didn't take long for McVeigh's strange request to become common knowledge. When I quizzed him about this he admitted to having a penchant for body odors. He wouldn't get any more specific than that. However, he insisted he was not gay and that one inclination had nothing to do with the other. A wiser man in McVeigh's high-profile position would have had the good sense to keep his head down and keep quiet. Not Tim. He wasn't dumb, but his mouth was his worst enemy. One problem was that McVeigh was new to incarceration. He was just plain ignorant of the realities of prison life. Jeff Paul and I tried to bring him up to speed, but he wasn't a quick study. He called a fellow Hispanic inmate a "wetback" to his face, and set off a firestorm of controversy. He called fellow inmates "punks" without even realizing that in prison this term means a submissive homosexual, or that calling someone a punk is a killing offense. He referred to Deadly Secrets 21 the African-American community in Buffalo as "porch monkeys," which almost caused a race riot on the row, where most inmates were black. Yet McVeigh seemed oblivious to the fact that any one of these insults could easily have resulted in a foot-long shank sticking into his chest. Trouble was coming. The only question was when. Beneath the surface of his cool, Timothy McVeigh was dwelling on the thought that someone was going to "get" him. He would whisper his fears to Paul in private. "All it would take is a drop of my blood on their hands to get on the cover of Time, and they know it," McVeigh said. He was particularly fearful of me, though I meant him no harm. During this time, he obtained a copy of a federal court opinion that made him even more paranoid about me. The opinion by U.S. District Court Judge Frank H. Seay described me as a "clever, manipulative, dangerous, violent criminal" and cited my transgressions inside prison, including "using a weapon to take an Oklahoma State Penitentiary prison psychologist hostage." Jeff Paul attempted to reassure his friend that he had nothing to fear from me. But McVeigh insisted that he wasn't going to "let anyone rock him to sleep." He set out to arrange a cell move. Paul warned McVeigh that if he requested to move it would open him up to what he feared most: others perceiving him as weak. So, McVeigh placed a telephone call to his lawyers and had them contact prison officials, who then facilitated McVeigh's movement to the opposite end of the tier from my cell. Then, McVeigh and Paul realized they would no longer be in the same recreation rotation, so McVeigh requested that Paul be moved into the empty cell next to him. The request was approved. McVeigh and Paul were now housed in cells 39 and 40. But unfortunately for McVeigh, he had just orchestrated disaster. McVeigh's deep-seated fear of being raped in prison was a major factor contributing to his paranoia. He would often ask questions about prison sex. Jeff Paul advised him on how to avoid predators intent on manipulation or game playing for sex. I told him how to fight back if confronted in a group situation, and how to avoid placing himself at risk for being sexually abused. Since I knew he feared me in particular, I straight out informed McVeigh I had no intentions of assaulting him 22 David Paul Hammer in any way, and that I most definitely wasn't into forced sex. But words didn't help. McVeigh was a prisoner of his fear. Each time the prison would go on lock-down, rumors detailing the reasons why, including assaults, rapes or killings, would run rampant. McVeigh would become very quiet and nervous with each re-telling from the guards of how some incident went down. He was, no doubt, thinking it could easily be him getting carried out on a gurney with his throat cut. He said he wasn't afraid of dying, but that it wouldn't do for America's future if he, who was part of history, were taken down by a crackhead trying to take his ass, literally. To his way of thinking, the possibility of losing face was terrifying. Showering was a particular concern of McVeigh's. In order to ensure that we were all allowed to shower on our assigned day, the guards working the unit took it upon themselves to shower us two at a time. Once in the showers, each prisoner was locked inside his respective stall alone. But McVeigh felt threatened and wanted to shower by himself. He asked his lawyers to address the issue on his behalf. Unfortunately for him, the guards and inmates all learned of his actions. Not only was he seen as weak, but some of the guards vowed revenge. Then it happened. In September 1999, trouble came when Timothy McVeigh least expected it. With his move to cell 39, McVeigh had positioned himself at the end of a tier, next to the stairs and across from the walkway leading onto the side of the unit housing a group of Cuban detainees being held by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Several times each day, guards making their rounds would rattle our cell doors to make certain they were shut and locked. Each door was opened and closed manually using a key. The tiers were not monitored by any video cameras or alarms. During one of his rounds, a guard who despised McVeigh unlocked his door while rattling it. McVeigh had no way of knowing his cell was unlocked. The guard unlocked the door of two Cuban inmates, and instructed them to have their way with McVeigh, but not to harm him physically. Both the Cubans were known for having assaulted and raped other inmates. They were now being allowed to do so with the blessing of the guard. Deadly Secrets 23 The Cuban inmates entered McVeigh's cell and sexually assaulted him. He didn't fight back or raise much of a commotion. The attack was overheard by some, including Jeff Paul and me. We held mirrors out our cell doors, and we could see the front of McVeigh's cell. In broken English, we heard one of the assailants demand that McVeigh perform oral sex on them. They also threatened him: "We come back and kill you if you tell!" They slapped and punched him before leaving the cell and closing the door. McVeigh wouldn't answer us when we asked if he was all right. He didn't leave his cell for several days. We finally got him to come out where we could talk in private. After we confronted him with what we had seen and heard, McVeigh told us what had happened. He attempted to put on a brave face, but he was rocked to his very soul. His biggest fear had become a reality. He asked Paul to make him a shank so that if they ever came back he would be able to defend himself. He swore us to secrecy, but knew that others on the tier had seen and heard what happened to him. I figured that McVeigh would alert the authorities to what had happened. But he didn't want anyone to know: no reports, no lawyers' involvements. His manhood had been assaulted, his pride injured. But that was nothing in comparison to the humiliation he would endure if the media discovered what had happened. His pride just couldn't stand that. Such an attack on his reputation would have been worse than the physical and sexual attacks. He told us just that. The stage was set for a death row bargain between McVeigh and me. Timothy McVeigh needed protection, and he knew it. He needed protection from guards, other inmates, the excesses of his own ego, and certainly from the public revelation of what had just happened to him. For my part, I needed the truth from Timothy McVeigh for a book I wanted to write about the Oklahoma City bombing: a book that would go beyond the unconvincing lone-wolf scenario McVeigh and the U.S. government were so carefully constructing. Jeff Paul and I showed McVeigh a letter from the National Enquirer tabloid newspaper, wherein the sum of $10,000 was mentioned for information on the infamous Oklahoma City Bomber. I told him: "I 24 David Paul Hammer think the public might be interested in knowing that you have been turned into a prison sex slave and how the guards turn a blind eye to your plight." We agreed to cooperate. A most unusual literary collaboration was formed. As McVeigh told Jeff Paul: "A deal with the devil you know beats the unknown and uncontrolled." Deadly Secrets 25 CHAPTER THREE Agent McVeigh Rt the outset I must state in unequivocal terms that I have no personal knowledge about events surrounding the Oklahoma City Bombing. The account that follows is based exclusively upon information provided by Timothy McVeigh, and document reviews and investigations conducted to verify McVeigh's secrets. I cannot attest to the veracity of McVeigh's claims. Many were the times he and I argued, when I challenged his version of events, or he contradicted himself or changed his story, as he often did. McVeigh could be an enigma. His motives were never obvious. Knowing he was a master at spinning his views complicated my efforts to compile the story and, later, to investigate it. This I do know: In contrast to the image he cultivated, and federal prosecutors made almost indelible, Timothy McVeigh was no mastermind. Tim had some fine qualities. He was able to follow instructions to the tee. But his intelligence was average at best. His communication skills were limited, and he definitely was not a leader. As for the story McVeigh told, what I can state with certainty is that much of the information provided by McVeigh contained here has now been confirmed. In the earlier version of this book, I intentionally 28 left out many facts because I had no independent verification of them. Now I do. The most sensational aspect of McVeigh's story is that he named names of specific people he said were his accomplices in the bombing. I have reported the names of these people, and their alleged actions, just as McVeigh told the story to me. It must be remembered, however, that none of these people has ever been charged in connection with the bombing. All of them must be presumed innocent under the law unless proven otherwise. From my prison cell, I had no opportunity to interview any of them. I am not here to accuse anyone, only to report what McVeigh said, and critically examine the story through documents and information available to me. This is Timothy McVeigh's account of the Oklahoma City Bombing as he told it to me. The story opens in 1991, at Camp McCall, the Army's headquarters for Special Forces training on the grounds of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Within hours of Timothy McVeigh's arrival at Camp McCall, McVeigh told me he received a shock that altered the course of his life forever. As instructed, he had returned from the Persian Gulf and reported to Special Forces training in early April of 1991. TheArmy's Special Forces Training Complex at Camp McCall has an impressive history. In his mind, McVeigh knew he possessed "the talent, the guts, the brains and the balls" to become one of the Army's elite soldiers. To his surprise, however, he was escorted into a windowless office in an administration building and told to wait. Within a few minutes, in walked a man McVeigh already knew as "the Major" from McVeigh's Army hitch in Iraq, though McVeigh never said exactly how he knew the Major, and never would identify him by name. McVeigh told me he found it strange that the Major was attired in civilian clothing and appeared unkempt by military standards. Unsure of exactly what to do, McVeigh stood and saluted the man. After they exchanged greetings and touched on the state of affairs in Iraq, the reason for the meeting became clear. According to McVeigh, he and the Major were "close associates or borderline friends." This was true despite differences in their ages and ranks. They shared similar interests and had spoken often about many issues. The Major was a man McVeigh respected and sought to emulate. Deadly Secrets 29 In short order the Major launched into a slick and polished presentation about how difficult it was to find young leaders with enough intelligence, strength and loyalty to follow orders, conduct actions and campaigns without questioning the "why of things." While leafing through McVeigh's personnel file and continuing to pump his ego by extolling his many admirable attributes, the Major had McVeigh's complete attention. He admitted to me the performance was "dazzling," especially when the Major worked in personal information from the file to supplement the accolades. The Major reminded McVeigh that he had signed the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Statements of Understanding, and the Honor System, and inquired as to McVeigh's understanding of these documents. Then the Major confided that he now worked on "black-ops" projects, off the books. He invited McVeigh to work with him, and reluctantly revealed that his unit was attached to the Defense Department. According to the Major, the unit was so secret that even the Defense Secretary was unaware of its existence. The Major further explained that the agenda for this secret unit was primarily domestic intelligence gathering and internal threat evaluations with an emphasis on direct counter-action operations. The Major stressed that if McVeigh agreed to sign on, he would be required to sign another confidentiality agreement never to disclose any information about the unit or its work. McVeigh's assignments would call for him to act separately from any other agents in the unit, relying on recruits or players of his own choosing when needed. Funding and support for the operations would be provided through sources unconnected to the U.S. government. McVeigh would be an agent acting alone, utilizing his own resourcefulness. With his mind racing, McVeigh, ever the soldier boy with a burning desire to prove his worth, accepted on the spot. According to McVeigh, the Major told him to withdraw from Special Forces training, tone down his "hot-shot" performance in the Army and muster out by the end of the year. In the meantime, McVeigh was to familiarize himself with the rhetoric of the extreme right-wing ideology and create the plausible aura of a disgruntled soldier. The Major instructed McVeigh to await further orders. 30 David Paul Hammer According to an FBI interview statement dated December 7, 1996, the Army provided the original documents relating to McVeigh's Special Forces training. These documents demonstrate that McVeigh entered the Special Forces on April 3, 1991, and then voluntarily withdrew from the training program four days later on April 7, when he signed his Voluntary Withdrawal Statement from the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course. It is undisputed that McVeigh left the Special Forces within days of arriving at Camp McCall. However, his military medical records indicate he was given a medical examination at the Physician Exam Center at Irwin Army Community Hospital in Ft. Riley, Kansas, four months later, on August 22, 1991, at the request of two physicians - and that he was "qualified for Special Forces." By December 1991, McVeigh had mustered out of the Army as an active duty soldier, but joined the National Guard Army Reserves in Buffalo, New York. He enlisted with the National Guard on November 13, 1991. He was then living with his father, William E. McVeigh, in Lockport, New York. McVeigh assumed the role of an ordinary civilian, but he was actually a sleeper agent now, part of the Major's black-op domestic surveillance unit. According to a Defense Department record, McVeigh held a DOD Secret Clearance that did not expire until May 11, 1995. Agent McVeigh now immersed himself in research for his mission. His motivation was the Major's grim portrait - which McVeigh could still recite word for word - of a "country ripped apart by the militant movement, in specific, rogue elements, giving grass-roots Second Amendment advocates and your run of the mill tax protesters a bad name." According to the Major: "These groups are even more dangerous than armed criminals because they are on a mission with a defined ideology and creed, fueled by religious convictions." One such domestic terrorist group that McVeigh already knew about was Robert Matthews' The Order, which was reported to have raised millions of dollars in robberies and carried out assassinations. McVeigh also familiarized himself with the history of James Ellison's Covenant, Sword and Arm of the Lord, a militia-style survivalist group in Northern Arkansas whose members are alleged to have committed murders and bombings. These activities landed one CSA captain on Arkansas' death row, where he was eventually executed the very same Deadly Secrets 31 day as the Oklahoma City Bombing. Most of the group's other members ended up dead or imprisoned. But as far as the world knew, Timothy McVeigh was just another Gulf War soldier who had come home to pick up his civilian life. For 14 months beginning in December 1991, McVeigh's official residence was in upstate New York, where he worked as a security guard. According to McVeigh, however, he oftentimes traveled to other areas beginning in early 1992, preparing for his new mission. McVeigh was anxious to proceed with the assignment awaiting him. Working as a security guard and attending monthly National Guard weekends didn't hold his interest, though it did help support him. McVeigh's job with Burns International Security Services, Buffalo District, found him working as a rent-a-cop in an unarmed position. McVeigh claimed that while working for Burns Security he earned $7 an hour in 1991-92, more than his co-workers and some supervisors, who earned a maximum of $6.50 an hour. McVeigh took comfort in this claim, stating: "My boss would have me sneak in and get my check from her office." Eventually McVeigh obtained a position as an armed security guard, working for CALSPAN, which contracted with Burns Security. Nevertheless, most of his duties were routine. To McVeigh, this was a complete waste of his talents. "I felt lost and adrift while back in New York," he told me. In a letter dated May 1, 1992, on Burns International Security stationery, McVeigh's employer stated: This communication is being sent to confirm that Timothy James McVeigh (an employee of Burns International Security) has recently been promoted to a supervisory position . . . Supervisor McVeigh's Army National Guard drills interfere greatly with his ability to perform this specific job. As we understand that Sergeant McVeigh has requested to be released from his commitment with the NYARNG, we only hope that you will grant him this reprieve. The letter is signed by Linda McDonnell, Operations Manager. According to McVeigh's military records, he was honorably discharged from the Army National Guard after five months and one day of service 32 David Paul Hammer on a four-year contractual agreement that was scheduled to end on May 11, 1996. At the time of discharge McVeigh continued to have a Top Security clearance. His rank was that of an E-5 Sergeant. His Separation and Discharge papers were signed by Charles M. Amoroso, Assistant Adjutant General, NYARNG. All of this does not prove McVeigh's secret agent status, but it does raise questions as to whether his employment history during this period might actually have been a cover story. By the summer days of August 1992, McVeigh was well on his way to becoming one of the anti-government zealots he was supposed to impersonate, or so it seemed. Depending upon which version one believes, he was for real, or he was acting. He wavered on this position when recounting his reaction to the August 21, 1992, raid by federal agents on the cabin of Randy Weaver in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. The raid followed a long standoff, after Weaver refused to surrender to authorities to face federal gun charges. In the first few hours of that raid, Weaver's 14-year-old son was killed. Weaver's wife was shot and killed the next day. One deputy U.S. marshal was also killed in the gun battle. The Ruby Ridge standoff lasted 1 1 days before Randy Weaver surrendered. During the siege at Ruby Ridge, McVeigh received a phone call from the Major. In a very brief exchange, the Major directed McVeigh to a meeting at Niagara Falls, New York, set for the following day. The meeting was short and to the point. McVeigh described the Major as being in an angry mood. As McVeigh recalled, the Major said: The "Ruby Ridge fiasco was a real cluster fuck for federal law enforcement" and that the militant movement would use the deaths of a woman and child as a rallying call to all like-minded Americans. The Major told McVeigh to heed that call. He was provided with a secure telephone number where he could leave messages for the Major. McVeigh's mission was simple: he was to become a spy. In the words of his recruiter: "The survivalist and militia malcontents can destroy this country. It is up to you to prevent that from happening." The Major gave McVeigh $10,000 in used U.S. currency and told him to "put these funds to good use." According to McVeigh's bank records from the Federal Credit Union in Lockport, New York, where he maintained an Deadly Secrets 33 account for several years, he made a deposit of $7,172.93 on September 28, 1992. During the remaining months of 1992, McVeigh continued with his indoctrination into the anti-government agenda. He cultivated sources by mail and telephone. He also traveled some and attended meetings where skinheads gathered in Pennsylvania. McVeigh's father grew concerned over the noticeable changes in his son's behavior and attitude, and over his criticism of the government. In mid-January, 1993, McVeigh received the telephone call he had been anxiously awaiting. The Major told him to wrap up his affairs and prepare for "months in the field." McVeigh was given an address in New Jersey and told to be there on a certain date and time. At the appointed time McVeigh arrived in Vineland, New Jersey. As he pulled into the driveway of a small house in a rundown, predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood, a dark complexioned man met him. The man appeared to speak fluent Spanish as he conversed with two children. Once inside, the swarthy man introduced himself as "Roberto," a friend of the Major. McVeigh was provided with a stack of files and told to familiarize himself with the contents. These detailed dossiers contained information on well-known and obscure figures from various militant groups throughout the United States. Having spent endless hours reading books, reports and pamphlets in advance of this mission, he was amazed at the wealth of facts and figures he now had before him. Agent McVeigh spent the next few days cloistered inside the house in a marathon of briefings. He listened to the odd-sounding accent of Roberto as he quizzed McVeigh thoroughly on the subjects and procedures contained in the documents. Contact with the Major, or any other agent from the unit, would be infrequent and only when absolutely necessary. All field reports were to be filed via voice recordings. To engage the system, a call would be placed to a telephone number McVeigh had to memorize. Once the connection was made the line was automatically secured and all verbal reports were encrypted as they were recorded. Only certain individuals, such as the Major, could access the reports and ascertain the identity of the agent making the report. After three days McVeigh left Vineland with nothing except an envelope full of well used currency totaling $50,000. His instructions 34 David Paul Hammer were to "immerse, inform on, and assess the actions of those in the right-wing, anti-government movement in the United States." McVeigh used some of the funds to purchase merchandise such as T-shirts with "White Power" emblazoned on them, flags, books, uniforms and copies of the Turner Diaries, a book depicting the bombing of a government building. The flags were mostly Rebel flags. He assumed his role and was off to the gun show circuit where he would display his wares and blend in. In January 1993, McVeigh arrived in Florida, where he set up shop at a gun show being held in the armory on State Highway 84 in Fort Lauderdale. He had visited his sister in Hollywood, and accepted a temporary job working with his brother-in-law for an electrical contractor. While at the gun show, McVeigh wore his Desert Storm uniform. He told me this helped in starting up conversations, and created a sense of trust with gun-show visitors. In uniform he came across as a patriot who cared for his country. This Florida gun show was the beginning of McVeigh's undercover travels. Over the next two years and four months, leading up to the Oklahoma City Bombing, he would criss-cross the country, following the gun-show circuit. McVeigh found this environment to be perfect ground for networking with individuals who could further his mission. He was quickly able to establish a persona as a veteran with some extreme views. He often quoted the cadence from his boot camp training as inspiration: "Blood makes the grass grow. Kill, kill, kill!" At the Fort Lauderdale show, McVeigh met Arkansas gun dealer Roger Moore. This would be the first of many contacts between the two men. Moore operated two businesses with his girlfriend Karen Anderson. They operated the American Assault Company and the Candy Store. Moore had residences in Pompano, Florida, and Royal, Arkansas. His presence on the gun show circuit was more of a hobby than anything else. He didn't need the money, as he had earned a considerable fortune when he sold a group of successful boat-building businesses. Moore first noticed the clean-cut man dressed in his Desert Storm uniform as McVeigh stood behind a table selling merchandise. They struck up a conversation, and McVeigh introduced himself. According to an FBI interview statement, Moore claimed to have purchased a clock Deadly Secrets 35 and Rebel flag from McVeigh during their first encounter. McVeigh told me they discussed the Second Amendment, the New World Order, the world money supply, white power and The Turner Diaries. McVeigh offered to share his table with Moore at an upcoming gun show at Dinner Key, in Coconut Grove, Florida. McVeigh had already reserved a table there and Moore hadn't. It was agreed they would meet there in four weeks. McVeigh and Moore both attended the Dinner Key gun show and sold their wares from the same table. Moore seemed surprised that McVeigh was such a decent young man, and invited McVeigh to visit him at his ranch in Royal, Arkansas, after learning that McVeigh would be traveling west to attend the gun show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in April. The month of March 1993 found McVeigh near Waco, Texas, visiting the area surrounding the Mount Carmel compound that housed the religious group known as the Branch Davidians. On February 28, just the month before, federal law enforcement agents had raided the compound for the stated purpose of serving a search warrant. A fierce gun battle erupted, and several federal agents were killed or wounded. A 50-day standoff began. The siege at Waco galvanized the anti-government movement. For McVeigh, his presence on scene provided him with the perfect opportunity to improve his cover for the mission. He was fascinated by the media attention being given to the situation. He was interviewed as a spectator. This allowed him to use the knowledge he had accumulated and to memorialize his appearance at Waco. McVeigh left Waco, traveling west to Arizona. In Kingman, he reunited with his old Army buddy Michael Fortier. During their time in the Army they spent many hours discussing and debating their beliefs on politically charged issues. In a letter from McVeigh to his sister Jennifer while he and Fortier were roommates, McVeigh tells her that: "We're quiet [sic] a team." He enclosed a picture of Fortier and told Jennifer to write to Fortier. That letter was dated March 12, 1990. Even more revealing is McVeigh's explanation to his defense team of the relationship he had with Fortier. In a memo dated May 30, 1996, written by Richard Burr, McVeigh explains that he developed a close 36 David Paul Hammer relation with Fortier because: "when one is in the field, there's a buddy system, and that it is necessary for you to be there for your buddy." According to Burr, "Mike Fortier was Tim's buddy." Mike knew the job, the concepts, and was McVeigh's "intellectual and physical equal." McVeigh described Fortier and himself as "birds of a feather." This undoubtedly figured in McVeigh's decision to recruit his old friend for his new mission. McVeigh told me more than once that he knew that he could trust Mike with his life. McVeigh's visit was brief. Fortier had a live-in girlfriend named Lori. McVeigh found that he was experiencing some jealousy, but he insisted: "When I say jealousy, I don't mean in a perverted way. It's not a sexual thing. I was just emotionally involved and that took away from the bond we shared before I shipped off to the Gulf War. I sort of felt like a third wheel." McVeigh had found the gun show circuit to be fertile ground as he sought to infiltrate the anti-government Patriot movement. Having long possessed an interest in weapons and the Second Amendment, McVeigh felt at home amongst the gun show crowd. It didn't take long for him to become a fixture at gun shows across the country. He found an in with many younger people involved in skinhead groups and the white power crowd. During this period everyone was talking about the siege at Waco, and guessing what action the government would take to end it. In April 1993, McVeigh attended the event in Tulsa that billed itself as the "World's Largest Gun Show." McVeigh listened, learned and observed. He didn't have a booth at this event, but he met up with Roger Moore and Karen Anderson. As McVeigh made his way from booth to booth, having many conversations, he was surprised by just how much he had in common with these folks on whom he was spying. Their interest in guns and maintaining the right to own them, while remaining free from government interference, seemed perfectly logical. He told me he asked himself: "Can these people really be a legitimate threat to this country?" At the conclusion of the Tulsa gun show, McVeigh followed Roger Moore and Karen Anderson to their Arkansas ranch. McVeigh intended to stay several weeks. In their FBI interview statements, Moore and Anderson said they were somewhat irritated when McVeigh just "took over the house." Moore and Anderson reported that McVeigh kept going into the kitchen and fixing his own meals, eating whatever he wanted Deadly Secrets 37 to, spent most of his time reading magazines such as Time, U. S. News and World Report, Soldier of Fortune, Firearms Journal, NRA Magazine, and Travel Magazine. According to Anderson, McVeigh seemed "antsy" and "hyper" when discussing what he was reading. During his short stay of less than three days he assisted Anderson with various odd jobs. He did so over Moore's objections that Anderson shouldn't be putting their houseguest to work. McVeigh grew angry over Moore's statements and left shortly afterwards. McVeigh had been impressed with Moore's ranch. He described the area as being "laid back." Unbeknownst to the gun dealers, Moore and Anderson were being observed and befriended by an agent of the U.S. government intent on harming the Patriot movement. On April 19, 1993, McVeigh was visiting the family farm of his friend and ex-platoon leader Terry Nichols in Decker, Michigan. Nichols lived with his wife Marife and her toddler son Jason, along with Nichols' brother James. They shared the farmhouse where McVeigh became a frequent visitor. On this day McVeigh and the others watched in horror as the Branch Davidian compound in Waco burned to the ground, live on national television. The fire began after government agents attacked the Davidians with a tank. The structures appeared to ignite, and the fire spread immediately. All of the Davidians inside perished: men, women and children alike - at least 71 total, with 17 being children. McVeigh immediately drove to a nearby pay phone and tried to contact the Major. While watching news coverage of the carnage at Waco, McVeigh had caught a glimpse of the Major in the background of a television interview. McVeigh told me he wondered: What was the Major's involvement in Waco? After three days he finally reached his secret unit. The Major was, however, unavailable. Somewhat dazed and confused, McVeigh felt compelled to reassess his current mission. So far he had done nothing more than pass along weekly reports on various individuals he'd met at gun shows and meetings. Was Waco one of the actions contemplated by the Major when he recruited McVeigh into the unit? This question played over and over in McVeigh's mind. After the Waco raid McVeigh was restless and soon departed Michigan. He was on the road for several days. He traveled through Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Oklahoma, where he met with a German 38 David Paul Hammer national named Andreas Carl Strassmeir at a motel in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Strassmeir plays a key role in McVeigh's account of the bomb plot. McVeigh had first met Strassmeir, whom he called "Andy the German" and, at times, "Andy the Kraut" at the Tulsa gun show several weeks earlier. Strassmeir was the firearms and paramilitary arms trainer at Elohim City, a Christian Identity religious community in rural Adair County in eastern Oklahoma. According to a McVeigh defense memo dated December 27, 1995, McVeigh admitted meeting Strassmeir and two of his companions at the Tulsa gun show and discussing Waco. Strassmeir also admitted in a sworn declaration to meeting McVeigh at the Tulsa gun show "two years before the Oklahoma City Bombing." In the meeting with Strassmeir at the Muskogee motel, McVeigh tried to assess the mood in the Patriot movement following the Waco raid. Strassmeir told McVeigh that many Patriots were intent on some type of a response against the federal government, which they held directly responsible for the deaths of the Branch Davidians. In the meeting, McVeigh expressed sympathy for that position, partly because he believed it would enhance his cover, but partly because he was genuinely upset over the deaths of the children and others at Waco, or so he told me. According to McVeigh, Strassmeir and the other residents of Elohim City were fearful of a Waco type raid on their own community. Strassmeir invited McVeigh to visit Elohim City, which McVeigh said he did, several months later. He said Strassmeir and others knew him at Elohim City by the name "Tim Tuttle," one of McVeigh's aliases. In May 1993, the Major instructed McVeigh to begin organizing a group of men in the Patriot movement who would be willing to undertake a military style action when the time was right. McVeigh had returned to Kingman, and worked for a while as a security guard at State Security. He was staying with Mike Fortier. It is during this time Tim said he first used drugs, including marijuana, which he stated, "made me depressed and made me cry," and crystal methadrine, which "made me feel I had the answers to the universe." McVeigh also had his own place in Kingman for several months. He resigned his position at State Security in July 1993. In a letter from McVeigh to his longtime friend Steve Hodge dated July 30, McVeigh wrote: "The time for playing games is over. This Deadly Secrets 39 communication is too important to send through the regular channels; it comes direct to you from me." He also forwarded a copy of a video concerning Waco and asked that Hodge's whole family watch it. In the letter, McVeigh alleges lies told by the government during the Waco cover-up, and asks Hodge to consider evidence that the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms murdered the Branch Davidians. McVeigh concludes the letter by saying: "Jesus, man, wake up!!!" McVeigh told me that during the summer of 1993, he traveled to several U.S. military bases where he had access via his Defense Department Secret Clearance designation. He claimed to have toured the facilities and engaged in maneuvers with troops at U.S. Army bases. Some of these included Camp Grafton, North Dakota; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and Fort Riley, Kansas. His real reason for these visits was to scout armories and determine the possibility of obtaining large destructive weapons "by whatever means necessary." When pressed on this, McVeigh was vague at first, but later claimed: "I knew a big mission was coming, and the Major had instructed me to scout Army bases with some others from the unit. We knew that explosives would be needed, and a base is the best place to find those." In September, McVeigh attended the Soldier of Fortune gun show in Las Vegas. This is the largest gun show in the country and was held at The Sands hotel. McVeigh met up with Roger Moore, also know as Robert or Bob Miller. Moore claimed that he became upset with McVeigh because of his discussions with someone at the gun show with a law enforcement badge under his coat. McVeigh was debating Patriot- related activities that Moore thought would attract unneeded attention to him as McVeigh was working Moore's booth. When Moore voiced his concerns, McVeigh became angry and stomped off. During this convention in Las Vegas, McVeigh had a face-to-face meeting with the Major. They had in-depth conversations regarding some of the individuals McVeigh had met and established contact with. Now the Major instructed McVeigh to form a strike team to carry out a domestic bombing. Up until this point, McVeigh's mission had only been gathering intelligence and establishing contacts. The Major assured McVeigh that he, the Major, had not been involved in the events at Waco other than as an observer. McVeigh told me: "I knew that he was lying through his teeth, just like he lied about Ruby Ridge." 40 David Paul Hammer The Major supplied McVeigh with another infusion of cash and revealed the timetable for the mission. The Major's prior orders had been cryptic. Now, all of that had changed. He provided McVeigh with a specific course of action, and McVeigh now knew exactly what was expected of him. The bombing would put an end to the growing strength of the Patriot, militia and survivalist movements. Some in the federal government, including the Major, saw that fringe element of America as "one of the largest threats to ever face this nation." McVeigh sent out an SOS to many of his contacts. He whittled down their varied responses and asked several to meet him in the rural encampment of Elohim City. He was ready to gather his team and begin preparing them for the mission. After leaving Las Vegas, McVeigh traveled to Kansas with several stops along the way, including one in Grand Junction, Colorado, on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. Here he visited Executive Security International. This private school provides training in executive protection, investigation and intelligence operations, including anti- terrorism. Some of McVeigh's former colleagues from the first Gulf War were associated with ESI. During the first week of October 1993, McVeigh and Terry Nichols attended a gun show in Knob Creek, Kentucky. McVeigh told me that he spoke with numerous individuals who were experts in the field of explosives at this gun show. He obtained a copy of a book titled The Ranger Handbook that he said was very useful to him while planning and preparing for the bombing. He also met up with Roger Moore and Karen Anderson at the Knob Creek event. McVeigh and Nichols traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where they searched for property to purchase. Motel records from a Motel 6 in Fayetteville show that Nichols registered there on October 11 and 12, 1993. They drove from Fayetteville to Elohim City, which is near the Arkansas/Oklahoma state line. McVeigh was issued a traffic ticket in Crawford County, Arkansas, approximately five miles from the Oklahoma state line on October 12 while en route to Elohim City. McVeigh had previously met Rev. Mark Thomas, a racist preaching anti-government zealot who operated from his farm near Allentown, Pennsylvania. McVeigh had attended a weekend rally there while waiting to be called upon by the Major. Rev. Thomas was popular amongst some Deadly Secrets 41 skinhead groups in the area. He was also a longtime friend and associate of Rev. Robert G. Millar, the leader and patriarch of Elohim City. With assistance from Mark Thomas and Andreas Strassmeir, McVeigh was able to arrange the meeting at Elohim City, and ensure his recruits were on hand. While at Elohim City, McVeigh, Nichols and others who had come for the meeting toured the compound and fired their weapons on the practice range. Strassmeir served as firearms instructor and paramilitary trainer at the request of Rev. Millar. According to McVeigh, those in attendance at the October 1993 meeting included Nichols, Strassmeir, and Dennis Mahon, the Oklahoma chapter leader of the White Aryan Resistance, and a former Grand Imperial Dragon of the KKK. Also at the meeting were members of a bank robbery gang with extreme anti-government politics, who will play a central role in McVeigh's account of the bombing. Those present at the meeting included Richard Guthrie, Peter Langan, Shawn Kenny and Kevin McCarthy. Guthrie and Langan were co-leaders of the bank-robbery gang. Guthrie was a small-time criminal with a history of violence, hatred for the U.S. government and having made threats against President George H.W Bush. McVeigh had first met Guthrie through Mark Thomas while in Pennsylvania. Peter Langan was unknown to McVeigh prior to the meeting at Elohim City. Strassmeir and Guthrie vouched for Langan, as they did for several others McVeigh recruited. McVeigh told me he preferred men who were not easily recognizable to law enforcement and who could blend in where needed. McVeigh and Strassmeir emerged as the group's leaders in the meeting. The group committed to a mission: a direct strike against the federal government in retaliation for the raids on Ruby Ridge and Waco. According to McVeigh, they envisioned "an eye for an eye" type attack. "I wanted to plant a seed," he told me. "A specific mission would be developed, but for now it was enough that we had agreed to raise money to fund the attack. We would select a suitable soft target, plan, and then act." Within a matter of months after the Elohim City meeting, McVeigh told me that he, Langan and Guthrie were robbing banks in order to 42 David Paul Hammer fund the mission. McVeigh's involvement with Guthrie, Langan and their gang has long been speculated upon, and evidence does exist that the FBI investigated McVeigh's involvement in planning the robberies, and his actual participation as a getaway driver. But publicly, at least, the FBI has discounted any link between McVeigh and the bank robberies. And most curiously, government prosecutors were silent about the robberies - believed to have netted as much as a quarter of a million dollars - when they made their bombing case against McVeigh and Nichols. The subject of the bank robberies and their connection to McVeigh's undercover mission came up in letters McVeigh wrote his sister Jennifer soon after the Elohim City meeting in late 1993. In letters dated October 20 and December 24, 1993, McVeigh wrote that he was associated with a group of people who shared similar beliefs as his own. The letters go into detail about his having been recruited during Special Forces training because he was one of 10 out of 400 who scored the highest in certain test areas. McVeigh said his group would be helping the CIA bring drugs into the U.S., and they would work hand in hand with police agencies to quiet those who were security risks. The December letter stated that McVeigh was on the move again. He acknowledged associating with "our friends who knock over banks." He characterized the endeavor as a sort of Robin Hood situation in which the government is the evil king. "We are at war with the system . . .we have to fund our war efforts with, sometimes, covert means," McVeigh wrote. McVeigh told me that he was leaving a paper trail by design. "I was following orders," he said. " It had to be known that I hated the government. Even my own family had to believe my cover. Otherwise I could have ended up dead before the mission was completed." On November 22, 1993, McVeigh was in Michigan, visiting the Nichols' family farm. On that day, Terry Nichols' son was found dead. The official report states that the toddler's death was accidental. Apparently the boy smothered himself with plastic. McVeigh and Nichols tried to revive him. They performed CPR on the small body. An ambulance crew came and transported little Jason to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. McVeigh provided some contradictory information to others and me about this incident. Deadly Secrets 43 At one point, when recounting the events surrounding Jason's death, McVeigh admitted that he had actually killed the boy because of his anger at Nichols' wife, Marife, after she rebuffed his sexual advances. McVeigh first mentioned this in response to a question about the children who had been killed in the Oklahoma City Bombing. He said: "It's not hard to kill children, after already having killed one." This was a stunning response, and when I followed up on it, McVeigh confessed to having smothered Jason Nichols. At a different time, McVeigh was adamant that he had only been joking, that he had actually been dismayed to learn that Marife believed he had killed her little boy. Tim was angry and visibly moved when discussing the incident. He said: "The fuckin' bitch suspected me of killin' that half-breed kid. If anyone wanted to kill him, it would have been Terry. He knew that kid wasn't even his." Actually, while Jason Nichols wasn't Terry's biological son, he wasn't half of any race. Both his mother and father were Filipino. McVeigh was visibly agitated when talking about Jason Nichols' death. His body movements, hand gestures and animated speech patterns were pronounced. During the investigation by local law enforcement of Jason's death, McVeigh made the mistake of identifying himself as Tim Tuttle, and only later as Tim McVeigh. This misstep was a learning experience for McVeigh. He had brought unwanted scrutiny upon himself. Being investigated, even briefly, by the local Michigan cops wasn't on his agenda. Some fast-talking on his part convinced the local officer that his use of an alias was not sinister and had nothing to do with the child's death. According to some who attended McVeigh's federal trial in Denver, the officer stated that he always suspected McVeigh of having some involvement in Jason Nichols' death. McVeigh's involvement with Peter Langan and Richard Guthrie progressed from a talking stage to action in January 1994. During meetings the trio planned strategies for robbing banks and armored cars. McVeigh's inside knowledge from having worked as an armed security guard was invaluable as he provided his partners with information. He saw his partnership with these men, willing to act in conjunction with him to help finance the overthrow of the federal government, as God sent. McVeigh was well on his way to infiltrating militant groups and 44 David Paul Hammer raising money that could not be traced: exactly the objective the Major had given him. According to McVeigh's accounts, he helped to "plan, case and rob banks" with Langan and Guthrie, beginning with banks in Iowa. He used the gun show circuit as his cover, and personally drove getaway cars during some of the heists. This band of brothers would take on new members, expand and become known as the Aryan Republican Army in the months to follow. The media dubbed the gang the Midwest Bank Bandits. One of McVeigh's contacts included a skinhead named David Lynch from Port Saint Lucie, Florida, whom McVeigh met at a gun show in the area. According to Klanwatch, published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, an advocacy group against hate crimes and white supremacy, Lynch was a leader of the white supremacist group, American Front, and had connections to methamphetamine dealers. Skinheads usually do not use drugs, but McVeigh claimed that Lynch had a network of skinhead dealers and others in the Patriot movement. McVeigh's use of crystal meth, a potent form of speed, is well documented. His sources for this drug were not limited to the suppliers known to him and the Fortiers in Kingman, as some have speculated. While McVeigh and the Fortiers did purchase regularly from a dealer named James Rosencrans in Kingman, McVeigh formed a loose association with Lynch that benefited them both. McVeigh told me that his use of meth was far more than recreational. "I needed it in order to fulfill my mission," he said. "The U.S. military regularly issues speed to its pilots and Special Forces who are required to be awake and on duty for hours and even days at a time." McVeigh's need to justify his drug use seemed very important to him. When quizzed on this, he said: "I'm not like the ghetto dwelling crackhead porch monkeys you find in every prison in this country or on the streets of every fuckin' city around, and I don't wanna be lumped into the same category as those jungle bunnies. I saw plenty of that during my rounds in Buffalo." McVeigh's first experience with meth was with Michael Fortier. McVeigh claimed it allowed him to explore thoughts, ideas and to plan in ways that motivated him. The drug was an additional tool or weapon in his arsenal. Deadly Secrets 45 Having embarked upon a quasi-criminal career, McVeigh wanted to ensure that his superiors in the unit officially sanctioned his position. The Major had provided him with assurances and a telephone number to call if he were ever arrested. At some point, he received a law enforcement badge that he carried in his wallet. According to an FBI interview statement from the Oklahoma City Bombing case, McVeigh had a law enforcement badge in his wallet at the time of his arrest. However, the badge presented a potential problem. McVeigh didn't want anyone in the criminal world, the Patriot/militia movement, or those on the gun show circuit to perceive him as a government agent or cop. So he took to showing the badge as a prank, as if it was a realistic- looking replica of a real badge. Ironically, he and the ARA bank robbery crew began using other law enforcement paraphernalia, such as FBI and ATF windbreakers and jackets. The group also used police radios and scanners to monitor local police and federal law enforcement frequencies while planning and conducting criminal operations. McVeigh stated: "Everyone was impressed when I was able to secure the radio frequencies for the FBI and ATF." The Major provided these to him. Between February and July of 1994, McVeigh lived a nomadic lifestyle while based in Kingman, Arizona. Some 19 trips out of Arizona in 1994 took him to Kansas, Michigan and New York, but he never stayed in any one place for long. McVeigh continued to travel the gun show circuit, had secret meetings with Patriots, militia members and the ARA. He participated in bank robberies and reported faithfully to the Major. He was able to purchase materials for making small pipe bombs. He was learning more and more about explosives on his own. In a letter to his sister dated March 23J994, and postmarked Las Vegas, McVeigh wrote that he had worn himself ragged running, so he was settling in one spot. He said: "Being as it's been more than two years since I got out, things may be O.K. now." He also told her that if anyone unusual came looking for him in New York she should immediately call Mike and Lori Fortier's phone number. He also asked his sister if she was posing naked. In Roger Moore's May 19, 1995, FBI interview statement, he claimed McVeigh came unannounced to his ranch in Royal, Arkansas, in late April 1994. This was McVeigh's third trip to the ranch. He had also visited in early 1994, while Karen Anderson was there alone. Moore 46 David Paul Hammer said he observed a noticeable change in McVeigh on this visit. He wanted to sleep where he could look out the window to see if anyone was approaching the residence. He slept with a gun under his pillow. McVeigh normally had in his possession a .45 caliber handgun, but on this occasion he had added a mini 30 Ruger. After two days McVeigh left abruptly. Moore did not remember any argument or altercation between himself and McVeigh. About a month later, Moore received a letter from McVeigh advising him that he was back in Kingman, and providing contact information. It appears that McVeigh was becoming paranoid and was fearful for his own safety. When I questioned him about this he seemed to shrug it off and became defensive and wanted to change the subject. At one point he did admit, "I was always searching, didn't know who I could trust. I tested everyone, even my own blood." During this period McVeigh and the ARA bank bandits used fake bombs during their robberies. This ruse was designed to confuse cops and delay organized investigations while the robbers escaped the area. McVeigh's travels took him all across the United States, and money provided by the Major was his main source of support. McVeigh told me his proceeds from the bank robberies were minimal. His forays into working short terms at legitimate jobs or ventures brought in only meager sums of money. He certainly didn't earn enough from his gun show sales to support himself and his travels. There absolutely wasn't enough income to purchase the items required to build a truck bomb. April 1994: McVeigh was once again in Tulsa for a gun show. He had a lengthy meeting with Andreas Strassmeir and Dennis Mahon. During this meeting, specific targets for a bombing were first discussed. The first choice was the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Other possible targets included the Federal Courthouse in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the Tulsa Federal Building or IRS office. The choice of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City intrigued McVeigh because during the 1980s it had been the potential target of a bombing planned by members of the Covenant, Sword and Arm of the Lord. Additionally, the Murrah Building also housed some federal law enforcement agencies. That was appealing in its own way. He had much to ponder, but a deciding factor would be just how accessible and "soft" the target was. Deadly Secrets 47 Andreas Strassmeir 49 Dennis Mahon 51 A decision was made to assess the choices. McVeigh, Strassmeir and others would do this personally in the unit. It was also decided that supplies or explosives for making a bomb would need to be stockpiled. McVeigh volunteered to undertake the task of obtaining and storing the supplies. At Mahon's insistence it was agreed that Mark Thomas and "his students" - including Michael Brescia, Kevin McCarthy and Scott Stedeford — would assist in the mission. Strassmeir and McVeigh spoke about their mutual friends Roger Moore and Karen Anderson as a potential source for explosives needed to build a bomb. Moore had access to explosives through their business, the American Assault Company. Both McVeigh and Nichols would later claim that Roger Moore did provide explosives to be used in the Oklahoma City Bombing. McVeigh told me Karen Anderson had befriended McVeigh, Strassmeir, Richard Guthrie and Michael Brescia. McVeigh told me that Anderson had a penchant for younger men, and oftentimes entertained them with viewing pornographic videos that she and Moore sold under the counter via their business, the Candy Store. According to McVeigh, these men would visit Anderson in Arkansas while Moore was away or living in Florida. On one of McVeigh's nomadic trips, sometime in 1994, he paid a visit to Terry Nichols, who was now living and working in Kansas. He and his wife Marife and their children lived in a small house in Herington while Nichols worked as a farmhand on a nearby ranch. This was the first of many such visits by McVeigh to Herington. At about the same time, Pete Langan of the ARA, using an alias, rented a house in Pittsburgh, Kansas. The distance between the ARA safe house and Nichols' home was less than 150 miles. McVeigh's connection to both Nichols and the ARA safe house is something he bragged about when recounting just how stupid the federal agents were. "How could they miss that?" he asked. "My sister told the FBI that I'd been robbing banks, and Terry's bitch ex-wife told 'em he was involved with a group of bank robbers." While back in Arizona, his home base in 1994, McVeigh continued to use crystal meth as a source of inspiration and to establish his bond with a group of meth dealers in and around Kingman. The Fortiers had introduced him to their main dealer, but McVeigh didn't trust him. That mistrust was well placed because James Rosencrans, the 52 David Paul Hammer dealer in question, was one of many witnesses who testified against McVeigh at his trial. According to McVeigh, he had purchased a "bulk load of meth" from Andreas Strassmeir in Elohim City. McVeigh kept a personal stash, but put the rest out for sale on consignment. According to McVeigh, he placed some of this meth with Cheyne Kehoe, who lived in the Spokane area. McVeigh had met Kehoe at a gun show in Nevada. He was part of a Christian Identity family who were regulars at the Elohim City compound. McVeigh told me he had done meth with Kehoe, who was heavily into the drug. For that reason, McVeigh fronted Kehoe a shipment of crystal meth to sell. McVeigh saw in him a bright, young, intelligent potential warrior with a drive to succeed. McVeigh shared his meth with some in the Kingman area, but he refused to sell it himself, and certainly not there. "I didn't want to step on any toes," he said. "You learn quick not to shit in your own backyard." He had come a long way from his "boy next door" image. There was someone else in Kingman, who McVeigh told me played an important role in his plans to build a bomb. Karen Anderson and Roger Moore were acquaintances of one Steven Colbern, who had purchased ammunition and other items from them by mail, although they claim not to have met Colbern in person. Knowing that McVeigh and Colbern had much in common, and were both in the Kingman area, Anderson introduced McVeigh to Colbern. But at Roger Moore's insistence, Anderson introduced McVeigh as Tim Tuttle. In short order, McVeigh and Colbern were camping in the desert and in caves, doing maneuvers, talking, sharing ideas and teaching one another. Colbern was by all accounts a paranoid man with various anti-government views. He had caches of food and supplies stashed in numerous locations awaiting a doomsday event. Colbern had a chemistry degree from the University of California at Los Angeles. McVeigh told me Colbern "was super intelligent, had lots of guts, and he knew plenty about explosives." They were both secretive personalities, and McVeigh seemed to light up and smile when recounting tales about his friendship with Colbern. By summer's end, 1994, McVeigh pulled up stakes, packed his meager belongings and prepared to head east. Before his departure he said his goodbyes to Colbern, but only after obtaining specific Deadly Secrets 53 information he needed for building a bomb. McVeigh now had in his pocket a completed list of the exact components needed for his bombing mission. McVeigh explained to me how he, Mike Fortier, Colbern and others had designed, made and exploded several types of small bombs out in the desert during the spring and mid-summer of 1994. McVeigh once drew a diagram of a pipe bomb and a clock timer to demonstrate how easily a bomb could be constructed. "The device would kill a person if placed under the driver's seat of a car," he said. At one point McVeigh told me that his No. 1 choice for making explosive devices was his friend the chemist: Steve Colbern. In August, after leaving Kingman and visiting Nichols in Kansas, McVeigh met up with Pete Langan at the annual motorcycle rally held in Sturgis, South Dakota. According to McVeigh, he and Langan spent several days at the rally, which attracts bikers and others by the thousands every year. They come from around the country and Canada to attend this event. McVeigh told me he and Langan spent time drinking, doing meth, and riding Pete's bike. At times McVeigh was riding behind Langan on what McVeigh termed the "bitch seat." McVeigh seemed pained when recalling the details. He had real problems with accepting the fact that he had formed a partnership with a "sexual deviant" after learning years later that Langan was a cross dresser and wanted to become a woman. During the Sturgis rally, Langan and McVeigh had several discussions about the potential for robbing an armored car. Members of the ARA were intent on pursuing such a robbery. McVeigh's experience and employment with an armored car company provided the bank robbers with an insider's information. While McVeigh and Langan were in South Dakota, Richard Guthrie was back in Pennsylvania, but he had made a stop to see his old friend Shawn Kenny in Ohio before traveling on to Mark Thomas' farm near Allentown. In September 1994, McVeigh arrived at Elohim City, where he once again met with Dennis Mahon and Andreas Strassmeir. At this meeting McVeigh met Michael Brescia for the first time. Brescia was Strassmeir's roommate and assistant at Elohim City - and the newest member of the Aryan Republican Army. McVeigh was impressed by 54 David Paul Hammer Brescia. "I liked him almost immediately," McVeigh said. "I could tell he had brains and guts." McVeigh, Strassmeir and Mahon had decided on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City as the target for the bombing. This building was a symbolic target and had a history within the Patriot communities. The date for the mission was also decided - April 19, 1995 - the second anniversary of the Waco fire. Unbeknownst to those in attendance, however, their secret plan wasn't a secret to the federal government anymore. One month before, the Tulsa office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had opened an investigation into Mahon and WAR. Mahon's former girlfriend, Carol Howe, had become an ATF informant. In months to come, she would specifically inform her two handlers, David E. Roberts and case agent Angela Findley Graham, that Mahon and Strassmeir were casing federal buildings in Oklahoma with the idea of blowing them up. As of August 1994, then, almost a year before the bombing, the U.S. government began acquiring information through informant Carol Howe that Strassmeir and Mahon were targeting the Murrah Building from Elohim City. After the meeting, McVeigh, Brescia and Mahon used the Elohim City gun range for target practice. "Mike B. was good, but I was better," McVeigh said, as he bragged about his marksmanship abilities. Some have speculated that this September 1994 visit to Elohim City was McVeigh's first to the compound. I questioned him specifically about this. McVeigh was adamant, saying: "This was actually my fourth visit there. Fuckin' government rats don't know everything about me." He was just as forceful when stating that Terry Nichols was not present at this particular meeting. Court records show that it was McVeigh who rented a room at a motel in Vian, Oklahoma, on September 12. Vian is only a short distance from Elohim City. On September 21, McVeigh (also known as "Speedie"), told me he was the wheelman for a bank robbery in Overland Park, Kansas. He drove after ARA members Richard Guthrie and Pete Langan robbed the bank. September 1994: According to the government's case against McVeigh and Nichols, this month marked the beginning of the conspiracy to bomb the Murrah Building. According to McVeigh's account, however, the plan had been operational for several months. Deadly Secrets 55 McVeigh was now focusing on acquiring explosives. In September, he said, he bought some stolen explosives from a speak freak. According to McVeigh, Roger Moore was the middleman in this deal. The speed freak contacted Moore as a potential buyer. Moore put McVeigh in contact with the man, and a deal was struck. During September and October, McVeigh was on the move, traveling from west to east and back west again. He visited his mother, sister, grandfather, Roger Moore, and others. He and Terry Nichols obtained bomb-making supplies and rented the storage facilities to keep them in. McVeigh also claims he cased the Murrah Building with Nichols and later with Fortier. On October 4, McVeigh rented a storage space in his own name at the Northern Storage Company in Kingman. He used that space to store detonators and other items. Lori Fortier claimed it was on October 7 that McVeigh told her he had selected the Murrah Building as his target for the bombing. On approximately October 20, 1994, McVeigh, Nichols, Guthrie, Strassmeir and Brescia met in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to McVeigh, they were brought together at the request of Karen Anderson. It was simple: Anderson wanted Roger Moore killed. She wanted to contract with someone within the McVeigh group to commit the murder, but it had to be done soon. There is no record of any such meeting, but it has been confirmed that on October 21, Karen Anderson was at a Tulsa gun show selling merchandise for the American Assault Company. Richard Guthrie and Andreas Strassmeir were also present at the gun show. Court records and investigative reports show that McVeigh and Nichols were in Texas that day. But according to McVeigh, he and Nichols drove from Tulsa to Oklahoma City after the meeting with Anderson. Then, McVeigh said they cased the Murrah Building and traveled on to Texas. McVeigh's account of the Tulsa meeting, which he told me was held in Anderson's motel room, made it clear that Anderson and Strassmeir had spoken previously about the contract. It was Strassmeir who had contacted McVeigh, Brescia and Guthrie at Anderson's request. Anderson said she wanted the job done on November 5, 1994. The verbal contract was accepted. It called for Moore to be murdered, and for the house to be robbed of cash, weapons, jewels, gold and silver. McVeigh said Anderson provided them with a set of keys to her Royal, 56 David Paul Hammer Arkansas, home and to the van belonging to Roger Moore. McVeigh said Anderson gave specific instructions that certain items belonging to her were not to be taken. In late October, McVeigh began recruiting another prospective accomplice: Shawn Kenny, an ARA member who lived in and around Cincinnati, Ohio. They had first met in Elohim City several months earlier. Richard Guthrie and Pete Langan were close associates of Kenny's. He was a young man who reminded McVeigh of Mike Fortier and Cheyne Kehoe. McVeigh told me he had numerous conversations with Kenny about his plans to bomb the Murrah Building. He had grown to trust Kenny after their participation in a bank robbery. According to McVeigh, Kenny had assisted McVeigh in obtaining some explosives that he later used in the bombing. On November 4, 1994, Kenny agreed to assist McVeigh and the others in the Oklahoma City Bombing. At around the same time, McVeigh first learned of his grandfather's death during a telephone call to Mike Fortier on October 21, 1994. McVeigh seemed very somber and reflective when discussing this with me. He left Kansas and drove east on his way back to Pendleton, New York. McVeigh told me he made stops in Miamitown, Ohio, for a meeting with Shawn Kenny and Columbus, where he was the wheelman for a bank robbery committed by Langan, Guthrie and Scott Stedeford, the newest addition to the Midwest Bank Bandits. The Columbus National Bank was believed to have been robbed on October 24 by three men, but actually there were four. McVeigh was never inside the bank, so witnesses saw only three robbers. By early November 1994, McVeigh was in his hometown helping to dispose of his grandfather's estate. During the midst of his stay, he left New York for a quick trip to the Niles Gun Show in Akron, Ohio. On November 5, the day set for the Roger Moore contract, McVeigh was a guest at a motel in Kent, Ohio. According to McVeigh, he was at the gun show on November 5 and 6. On November 5, Richard Guthrie and Mike Brescia robbed Roger Moore, according to McVeigh. They did so with ease. The robbery took approximately two hours. Moore always claimed to have seen only one robber. The robbery began when Moore was confronted by a shotgun- toting man who ordered Moore into his house where he was tied up. The robbery netted approximately $64,000 in items, including 77 guns, Deadly Secrets 57 200-250 pieces of precious jewels, camera equipment and $17,650 in cash, silver and gold, according to the Farmer's Insurance report and adjuster Rick Spivey. The Garland County Sheriffs Department report differs slightly, indicating there was between $20,000 and $24,000 in cash, silver and gold taken. None of Karen Anderson's jewelry or property was taken during the robbery. Roger Moore was left alive and unhurt. His hands were tied but left loose enough so that he was easily able to free himself and go to a neighbor's house to call for assistance. According to Mrs. Walt Powel, Moore was sporting a .45 pistol in his belt when he entered the Powel residence. Mrs. Powel also stated that Moore used the phone to call someone whom he spoke to in a low voice to report what had happened. Only after Mrs. Powel 's son had arrived and retrieved her husband, who was working at a nearby church, were they able to coax Moore into contacting the sheriffs department to report the robbery. According to McVeigh, it was Andreas Strassmeir's last minute decision to call off the hit on Moore, and go forward with the robbery only. McVeigh told me that Strassmeir had secretly recorded one of his conversations with Anderson and felt he was in control of the situation. McVeigh was livid at first over the change in plans. He feared that Roger Moore would suspect him of involvement in the robbery. That would be impossible if Moore was dead. In hindsight, though, McVeigh concluded it was good that Moore hadn't been killed. McVeigh made sure to establish an ironclad alibi for the time of the crime. When explaining why he left New York for the gun show in Ohio to establish his alibi, he said: "I didn't want my family involved in my world. Even the cops don't believe family members when an alibi is involved. Records and strangers make a much stronger alibi." The proceeds from the Moore robbery were eventually split, and part of the money found its way into financing the Oklahoma City Bombing. Strassmeir's decision to double-cross Anderson and to threaten her with blackmail was what McVeigh described as "a stroke of pure genius," because the robbery would likely be considered an inside job or a case of insurance fraud. The heat from a robbery/murder would have been intense. McVeigh claimed he took possession of most of the weapons from the Moore robbery, and that he and Fortier later sold them. As McVeigh told this part of his story, it was obvious to me that he had not 58 David Paul Hammer been happy with Strassmeir acting on his own with the change in plans. It threatened McVeigh's sense of control. He couldn't trust Strassmeir. On November 11, 1994, ARA members Langan and Guthrie, along with an unknown getaway driver, robbed a bank in Des Moines, Iowa. In discussing this robbery, McVeigh smiled and said: "The feds are like Keystone cops. They can't do shit unless they have some informant doing their job for them. I was all across the country doing these jobs. I'm the best wheelman around." He made this statement more than once, but we were discussing the Des Moines bank robbery this time. When I attempted to pin him down as to whether he was the wheelman for this particular robbery, he was evasive. On December 3, 1994, McVeigh traveled to a gun show in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He had meetings with members of the Michigan Militia and with a Patriot in Three Rivers. He then traveled back to Ohio where he visited Shawn Kenny. McVeigh told me Kenny provided materials for establishing fake identities. The items included blank baptismal certificates, birth certificates, insurance cards and instructions on how to use these materials. McVeigh and Kenny discussed where they could purchase military grade explosives. Kenny agreed to research this through his associates. On December 7, McVeigh met with other ARA members in Ohio before traveling back to Kansas. The Midwest Bank Bandits robbed a bank in a Cleveland suburb on December 8, and the gang returned to Kansas. McVeigh was present at a gun show in Overland Park, where he was selling bumper stickers, books and flags. Also present at that gun show were ARA members Langan, Scott Stedeford and Kevin McCarthy. Between December 13 and 16, McVeigh traveled from Kansas to Arizona, where he stored some bomb-making parts. He and Mike Fortier then traveled back to Kansas. They stopped for an overnight stay at a Motel 6 in Amarillo, Texas. On December 16, they traveled through Oklahoma City, where McVeigh told me he pointed out the Murrah Building to Fortier and identified it as his target for the bombing. During his days in Arizona, McVeigh carefully cultivated his relationship with numerous right-wing Patriot types. Those included Richard Kaufman, head of the Arizona chapter of National Alliance in Mohave Valley. The founder of that organization was Dr. William Pierce, author of The Turner Diaries. McVeigh's association with Kaufman is Deadly Secrets 59 well documented in telephone records, FBI interview statements and by eyewitnesses. Johnny Bangerter, a leader of the Army of Israel, a skinhead group in the Arizona and Utah area, told FBI agents that Kaufman introduced him to McVeigh in early 1995. McVeigh was a busy man during this period, as he coordinated the planning and strategic aspects of the Oklahoma City Bombing, now just a few months away. Dealing with the criminal element and those on the fringes of the Aryan movement, with their own egos and agendas, was a daunting task for former United States Army Sgt. McVeigh. He told me: "Our mission required skill, timing and adherence to a stringent schedule. These guys were, for the most part, lifetime fuckups, not trained and disciplined soldiers ready for action anytime or anywhere." Some perspective on McVeigh's recruiting efforts during this period comes from Bangerter. He told the FBI he met McVeigh during the Crossroads of the West gun show in St. George, Utah, on February 25-27, 1995. Mike Fortier testified that he and McVeigh were staying at the Dixie Palms Motel in St. George on those dates, and Fortier 's statements to the FBI confirm that he had obtained contact information for Bangerter's skinhead group at McVeigh's behest. Bangerter told the FBI that McVeigh met with various Aryan and white supremacist members while he was in Utah. According to McVeigh, Fortier had already backed out of participating in the bombing, and Shawn Kenny had joined the Army earlier that month. McVeigh told me he was disappointed that two of his recruits had "flaked out." He was having difficulties finding men he could trust. "They seemed to be a lot of talkers," he said. Interestingly, in a defense memo dated January 11, 1996, one of McVeigh's defense team members, Robert Warren, wrote: "I feel it is important to note a comment that Tim has made on more than one occasion, 'those who do the most talking usually take the least action.' It is clear that Tim was a talker to the highest extreme. . . Is he (McVeigh) both a talker and an actor?" McVeigh expanded on this subject during our conversations. He had high praise for many he had recruited, but was scornful of Fortier, saying: "Look at Mike. I gave him weapons valued at ten to twenty thousand dollars, schooled him on how to sell the merchandise at gun 60 David Paul Hammer shows and he still couldn't do it effectively. He was in the Army and didn't learn shit. His only claim to fame is being a speed freak and rattin' on me." McVeigh's evaluation of the ARA members was very different: "Those guys, even Langan, were well disciplined. Ask yourself this: How did they get that way? Fuckin' practice - we drilled and we practiced. Just like we practiced in the desert before the bombing." It is a known fact that McVeigh and the ARA were in the Arizona desert in February and March 1995. He told me that he and ARA members Peter Langan, (nicknamed "Commander Pedro"), Richard Guthrie and Kevin McCarthy met several times for "dry runs" of "planting the bomb and getting away." Guthrie, who was ex-Navy, was in charge of the ARA for McVeigh's use of the team. McVeigh said: "I just felt uneasy about Commander Pedro. What kind of a handle is that? I never suspected him of being a fag or a rat, though." McVeigh was having real trouble finding last-minute replacements for the recruits who had backed out of the bombing. It's possible this was because some in the Aryan, neo-Nazi and skinhead community suspected McVeigh was a federal agent. According to the March 9, 1996, memo by McVeigh's investigator Richard Reyna, he interviewed a man named Jim Dalton. Dalton stated that in early February 1995, he was in the office of a newsmagazine in LaVerkin, Utah, (the same town where Johnny Bangerter resided), when he received a telephone call from someone calling himself "Chuck." The man told Dalton he wanted to build a motel in St. George, but he did not want to use any "niggers" or "spies," that he just wanted to use white supremacists, and that they could meet at the Dixie Palms Motel in St. George, where he was staying. (Dalton later identified "Chuck" as Timothy McVeigh, based on his motel registration at the Dixie Palms.) Dalton claimed he did get the word out to various people, including several skinheads, but they suspected the caller was a federal agent, and not a very convincing one. No one attended the meeting. Dalton told Reyna he believed Timothy McVeigh was a federal agent or someone under the control of the federal government, who was attempting to infiltrate the skinhead movement. Dalton claims to have obtained that information through his contacts within the CIA and other federal agencies. Deadly Secrets 61 During February and March 1995, McVeigh threaded his way through Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan and Oklahoma. Most of these trips were brief and all were by way of driving. Much has been made of McVeigh's use of old vehicles and their shabby conditions. According to McVeigh, using an alias, he purchased a four-wheel drive SUV that he kept parked away from his "home base of operations." He told me: "I used that SUV for long-distance travel and took cabs after parking it. The rundown vehicles were all a part of the facade." He laughed at how easy it had been to fool "the public and later on, my lawyers." McVeigh may have fooled his lawyers, but certainly not his investigator. In a report dated December 12, 1995, Reyna stated that after a discussion with McVeigh relating to Roger Moore, Terry Nichols and the subject of explosives, "I looked at Mr. McVeigh and smiled then told him that he was full of shit!" Most of McVeigh's legal team found it impossible to believe much of the story he told them about his planning and preparation for the bombing. His records are replete with notations documenting their suspicions and his failure to pass polygraph examinations administered at the request of his legal team. McVeigh's travels and actions have been difficult for those in law enforcement and others to track. He is known to have used at least 10 alias names, which include Daryl Bridges, David Gilmore, Mike Havens, Tim Johnson, Bob Kling, Shawn Masters, Richard Menton, Steve Murphy, Shawn Rivers and Tim Tuttle. He told me he had used so many aliases that he couldn't even remember them all. It was now two months before the bombing. At a second meeting in Las Vegas between McVeigh and the Major, on March 17, 1995, the Major introduced McVeigh to a man he referred to as "Poindexter." According to McVeigh, Poindexter was the Major's choice for building the bombs - plural: there would be more than one. The Major now instructed McVeigh to check in every day until the mission was completed. While in Las Vegas, McVeigh also met with Cheyne Kehoe in order to collect money that was owed McVeigh from the sale of meth. Kehoe paid McVeigh $8,000, and they parted ways. He had just taken possession of $7,900 in counterfeit currency. 62 David Paul Hammer McVeigh traveled to Colorado for another meeting with a contact at Executive Security International, who provided some instructions in the area of explosives. While in Colorado at a gas station, an angry manager confronted McVeigh as he paid for "gas and some munchies." The man informed McVeigh that his two $20 bills were fake, McVeigh stated: "It seems that the ink had rubbed ofT." McVeigh was as surprised as the manager, and immediately paid with a good $100 bill and drove away "like a bat outta hell." Avoiding scrutiny by law enforcement, even a "local cop or a county Mountie was my goal," McVeigh said. When recounting this event, he speculated on how such a screw-up could have been disastrous for "the mission." During a check-in call to the Major in March, McVeigh reported on a recent meeting that he had attended with Andreas Strassmeir and his associate Michael Brescia in Elohim City. During that meeting McVeigh learned that the State of Arkansas had set April 19 as the date on which it would execute CSA member Richard Snell. Those at Elohim City and many others in anti-government circles around the country saw the selection of that date as a slap in the face, and as intentional disrespect and dishonor to all of the Waco victims. McVeigh felt there was a certain amount of irony in that event coinciding with his own mission. However, he was strictly focused on the importance of his mission. An execution just couldn't compare. During that same call to the Major, McVeigh reported his selection of Brescia as the person who would assist him in delivering the truck bomb to the target. At Strassmeir's urging, Brescia had readily agreed. In a letter to his sister Jennifer dated March 25, 1995, McVeigh stated that something big was going to happen in the month of the bull. According to her FBI interview statement, Jennifer took this to mean March or April. That letter instructed Jennifer not to send any mail to McVeigh after April 1, as he might not get it in time, or: "G-men might get it out of my box, incriminating you." McVeigh also referenced his sister as being a rock, who would be able to withstand questioning. He advised his sister that she might want to stay away from home by extending her vacation. Deadly Secrets 63 In my conversations with McVeigh, he often spoke of Jennifer and how he trusted her unconditionally. He said she understood why he was carrying out his mission. He showed genuine emotion and concern when speaking about his little sister. The only time I ever saw any anger from McVeigh directed at her was after some media outlets broadcast reports of her working as a stripper and jello-wrestling in a club. McVeigh was angry with the media for reporting she had changed her name, and angry with her for taking up such activities. I quizzed McVeigh about her testimony against him. He said: "I expected her to do what she had to do. Nothing she could say or do could hurt me. I put her in that situation with full knowledge of the consequences." On March 31, 1995, McVeigh rented a room at the Imperial Motel on Route 66 in Kingman. He gave his address as Fort Riley, Kansas. He told me he intentionally used his own name and identification to leave a paper trail. He said he wanted "a blind man to be able to see that trail." According to McVeigh, he wasn't alone at the Imperial Motel, but had a steady stream of visitors, including associates in the Arizona Patriots militia. McVeigh and Poindexter inventoried the ingredients on hand for making the bomb. April 1995: The bombing was now just days away. McVeigh and Poindexter spent the first week of the month in Kingman. McVeigh told me he was surprised that no one in the media ever picked up on the fact that he regularly registered in motels as a single occupant even when others were with him. He did so in order to get a lower rate, and referred to this practice as being "thrifty." Using the alias Daryl Bridges, McVeigh had obtained a telephone calling card from The Spotlight newspaper as part of his cover. Records from that phone account show that between April 5 and 7, McVeigh made nine brief telephone calls from the Imperial Motel to the Arizona chapter of National Alliance. When explaining to me his contacts with members of this organization, McVeigh insisted he knew the feds would backtrack his every move, and it was important that they find the right- wing connections. "I left a map of movements and transactions exactly as instructed," he said. It is widely known that McVeigh placed a call to Andreas Strassmeir at Elohim City on April 5. According to Rev. Millar's daughter-in-law 64 David Paul Hammer Joan, who answered the phone, the caller asked to speak to "Andy." When advised that Strassmeir wasn't available, McVeigh told me he left a message saying: "Tell Andy I'll be coming through." This call is also traced to the Daryl Bridges calling card. During the two weeks leading up to the bombing, McVeigh told me that he was in regular contact with the Major and with Roger Moore. McVeigh said Moore was helpful with arranging last-minute contacts. On April 7, McVeigh left Kingman and drove to Tulsa, where he met with Strassmeir and Brescia. That meeting took place the following day and evening. McVeigh told me they discussed the plan to bomb the Murrah Building, and that he gave Strassmeir $12,000 to be used in a "decoy operation," in which a box-type truck without explosives would be driven to Oklahoma City. McVeigh said the purpose of this decoy truck was to confuse and frustrate investigators after the bombing. McVeigh wanted the decoy truck painted yellow to resemble a Ryder truck. But the truck Strassmeir delivered didn't satisfy McVeigh. He recalled: "It was an ugly mustard yellow, and I wanted it to be as identical to a Ryder truck as possible. A detail such as color is important." Reporter J.D. Cash has verified McVeigh's claims that he met with Strassmeir and Brescia on April 8. Cash was the first reporter to discover the existence of at least five dancers at Lady Godiva's strip club in Tulsa, who identified all three men as being in the club on that date. In an interview with a CBS reporter, the dancers stated they were positive that McVeigh and Strassmeir were together in the club just 11 days before the bombing. Additionally, the bouncer at Lady Godiva's claimed to have seen a faded Ryder truck in the parking lot that night. McVeigh spent most of April 9 in and around Oklahoma City, including a trip to a local flea market. He said: "I wanted to get a feel for the people there. In a matter of days, their lives would never be the same." The Murrah Building was closed that Sunday. McVeigh told me he didn't even drive by the building that day. He met with Richard Guthrie at a local Pancake House restaurant near St. Anthony's Hospital on 10th Street. With Guthrie at the wheel of his tan-colored pickup truck, McVeigh and Guthrie drove around checking the highways and turnpikes leading into and from Oklahoma City. After satisfying Deadly Secrets 65 themselves there were no ongoing road construction projects requiring detours, according to McVeigh, they returned to his vehicle and drove to Kansas in a two-car caravan. Kevin McCarthy and Scott Stedeford were waiting in a Ryder truck at Geary State Fishing Park located south of Junction City, Kansas. McVeigh and Guthrie, traveling in Guthrie's pickup truck, arrived for a meeting in the park on April 10. They had made an overnight stop at the ARA safe house in Pittsburg, Kansas, on the way. Much has been made of a telephone call made from the Imperial Motel in Kingman on April 11. McVeigh told me: "It's very simple. I didn't make the fuckin' call. Poindexter did!" McVeigh told me Poindexter was in Kingman with the explosives and McVeigh's SUV, and that Poindexter then traveled from Arizona to Kansas bringing with him all of the bomb-making materials from a storage locker in Kingman. Two witnesses verify seeing a Ryder truck, a brown pickup truck and a white car for two days at the fishing park at Geary Lake. These witnesses are James Sargent and Georgia Rucker. A third witness, Army Sgt. Tom Herington, reported seeing a Ryder truck at the same location on April 10 -12. All three witnesses agree on these dates. This was several days before McVeigh picked up the Ryder truck he would use to deliver the bomb. According to McVeigh, several members of the ARA camped at Geary State Park for a few days using the decoy truck as a camper for sleeping. This was all a part of the decoy operation. The truck was purposely parked there in plain sight. McVeigh told me that Michael Brescia drove the newly painted decoy truck from Tulsa to Junction City. McVeigh provided conflicting accounts of his whereabouts on Wednesday and Thursday, April 12 and 13. As with much of what he told me, the truth most likely lies somewhere in the middle. If, as McVeigh told me on some occasions, he was at Geary Lake on April 10, meeting with the ARA gang, then the surveillance camera video taken by the FBI from the Terrible Herbst convenience store in Kingman, Arizona, on April 11, which depicts a white male resembling McVeigh, must be someone else. The man is seen in the store alone. He leaves, then returns 11 minutes later. No official source has ever positively 66 David Paul Hammer identified this person as McVeigh. However, the video was used as a part of the government's timeline for McVeigh's movements prior to the bombing. It is possible that McVeigh was, in fact, in Arizona on April 11. On some occasions, he told his legal team that he checked out of his motel in Kingman on Wednesday, April 12. Witnesses place McVeigh at the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City the next day, Thursday, April 13. McVeigh has claimed that he and Michael Fortier were both at the Murrah Building that day, but that neither man went inside. This claim seems to defy logic, however, if McVeigh's statement regarding Fortier 's unwillingness to assist him with the bombing was true. When I confronted McVeigh about Fortier's involvement in the bombing, McVeigh refused to provide straight answers. He only did so when he was angered by something Michael or Lori Fortier did or said that was reported by the media. At those times McVeigh would say of Fortier: "He should be in a cell right here with me." However, most of the time McVeigh appeared to have a certain loyalty toward Fortier. I specifically asked McVeigh: "Tim, how can you take up for the dude? He testified against you and helped the government convict you?" McVeigh replied with a wily grin: "There's more to that story than meets the eye." I pressed harder on this point, reminding McVeigh of our agreement that he would provide truthful, verifiable information. His response was immediate: "Hammer, therein lies the problem. This is something that can never be verified, and the truth is, what difference does it make?" According to Fortier's many FBI interview statements, he has no specific recollection of what he did during the time period from Monday, April 17, through Wednesday, April 19, other than being around his house in Kingman. He stated that two other people observed him and knew of his whereabouts for that time period. They are his wife Lori and his neighbor James Rosencrans, the known drug dealer and FBI informant. Fortier claims he first heard that the Murrah Building had been blown up while watching CAW at a neighbor's house. By Friday, April 14, McVeigh's path becomes easier to follow. On that day, injunction City, Kansas, he purchased a 1977 model Mercury Marquis for $250 from a Firestone tire outlet. Richard Guthrie, known Deadly Secrets 67 for his skills as a shade-tree mechanic, tinkered with the car and assured McVeigh that it was up to the task of transporting him away from Oklahoma City if need be. McVeigh told me the old Mercury was a backup getaway vehicle, to be used only in an emergency if something went wrong. Later that day, McVeigh checked into the Dreamland Motel in Junction City. This older motel just off Interstate 70 was perfect for his needs. He registered under his own name. He received permission to park a truck in the parking lot. McVeigh claimed to have pulled his "thrifty routine" at the Dreamland because he was not staying alone in the room. When I pressed McVeigh as to why he would take a chance of attracting attention over something so trivial, he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled, saying "there was a method to my madness." On Saturday, April 15, McVeigh, Terry Nichols and Richard Guthrie met to plan retrieving the bomb-making materials from a storage facility. It was decided that Brescia and Guthrie, with Nichols' help, would load the materials into the pickup truck and then transport them for off-loading onto one of two Ryder trucks that were to be used by the bombers. McVeigh himself had already paid for the rental of one Ryder truck, using the name Robert Kling. He would take possession of that truck on Monday, April 17. McVeigh told me he rented the second Ryder truck, using the alias Timothy Tuttle, from a Ryder rental agency in St. Paul, Minnesota. This claim has support in FBI files, and in McVeigh's defense team's files. In a memo dated January 7, 1997, issued to Stephen Jones and Rob Nigh under the subject heading "Other Ryder Trucks and Another Grand Jury," the author, Amber McLaughlin, details an FBI interview statement: "According to the attached FBI 302 #1803, there was a grand jury in Minneapolis, Minnesota, investigating the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Late April and May, 1995. On April 26, 1995, they subpoenaed phone records from the Ryder Truck Rental in North St. Paul, Minnesota." There is little doubt that more than one Ryder truck was used in the Oklahoma City Bombing. Interview statements from various people have detailed their accounts of multiple Ryder trucks observed 68 David Paul Hammer in Kansas and Oklahoma City in the days leading up to the bombing and on Wednesday April 19, 1995. McVeigh and Guthrie spent the evening of April 15 in Junction City going over plans for the 200-mile trip to Oklahoma City. They met in a local bar and drank beer. Guthrie reassured McVeigh that the Mercury would be reliable transportation for his limited needs. After several hours they went back to their respective motels. McVeigh stressed to me that everyone in the ARA knew him as Tim Tuttle, not Tim McVeigh. He laughed and proclaimed: "I bet they were surprised to see my perp walk with a strange name attached to the images." This seemed to somehow amuse him. On Easter Sunday April 16, McVeigh picked up the decoy truck that the ARA crew had been using as a camper and parked it at the Dreamland Motel. Witnesses saw what they described as a Ryder truck parked there on that day, a full day before McVeigh took possession of the Ryder truck he had rented locally. Richard Guthrie and the ARA members were enjoying some creature comforts before the next stage of the mission. Roughing it at Geary Lake had left them bored and ready for some relaxation. ARA member Pete Langan had arrived, driving his white Buick, four-door sedan, the exact type of car witnesses said they saw with a Ryder truck at Geary State Park. Later that Easter Sunday, McVeigh, Guthrie and Brescia drove to Oklahoma City. McVeigh and Brescia were in the Mercury Marquis, with Guthrie following in his pickup truck. The pickup was loaded with blasting caps and detonators in taped-up cardboard boxes. McVeigh told me that in Oklahoma City, the getaway car was parked and wiped down for prints in a hasty way: "We didn't want to attract any attention." Once in Oklahoma City McVeigh said they stored this material in a "drive-in warehouse off of west Reno. We stashed it quickly and left. I then called the Major to report on our progress and to insure that the other aspects needed for the bombing would be in place on time." The importance of the warehouse cannot be overstated. During a search of McVeigh's Mercury Marquis after he was identified as the bomber, law enforcement found a handwritten note that contained directions to "EMRICK's Storage." Emrick's Allied Storage is located Deadly Secrets 69 at 4021 N.W. 3rd Street in Oklahoma City. In an FBI interview statement dated June 8, 1995, Special Agent Donna C. Samson reported that most of the military work done by Emrick's was for military personnel working at Tinker Air Force Base. Military storage is long-term storage for government military material and equipment, including vehicles. This storage warehouse is located just a few blocks off West Reno, just as McVeigh described to me. My investigator has verified that Emrick's Allied Storage was in business in 1995. It is unknown why Special Agent Samson and Oklahoma City Police Detective Charles Provines, who accompanied her in her investigation, were focusing on the military aspect of Emrick's Allied Storage. Could it be because McVeigh's actions were, as he claimed, part of a military unit mission, and that he was acting as a government agent? McVeigh placed a call from Oklahoma City to Terry Nichols in the afternoon on that Easter Sunday. He told Nichols that he had car problems and needed him to travel to Oklahoma City to pick him up. McVeigh instructed Nichols to tell his wife Marife that he was in Omaha. McVeigh didn't want Nichols' wife knowing he was in Oklahoma City. Josh Nichols, Terry's son, remembers the call and that McVeigh was screaming in the background. Guthrie and Brescia had left Oklahoma City to meet with Strassmeir and Dennis Mahon in Tulsa. They needed to finalize plans and update Strassmeir on progress made up to that point. After the meeting Guthrie and Brescia drove back to Junction City. Nichol's April 21-22 FBI interview statement contains his account of picking up McVeigh in Oklahoma City, their return trip, and McVeigh's claims that "you will see something big in the future." Nichols said he dropped McVeigh off at the Dreamland Motel in Junction City before returning to his home in Herington in the early hours of Monday, April 17. Back at the Dreamland Motel, McVeigh went to his room, which he was then sharing with Michael Brescia. He had returned from Oklahoma City with Guthrie only an hour or so before. The men slept, showered, and were up and ready for what McVeigh called the "final 48-hour countdown." 70 David Paul Hammer That afternoon, McVeigh and Brescia met at a local McDonalds. They drove to Elliot's Body Shop. McVeigh had already paid the rental on the Ryder truck for a four-day trip to Omaha, Nebraska. The dates for the rental ran from April 17-21. McVeigh and Brescia entered the establishment and, after a brief exchange, some paperwork and conversation, they left, Brescia driving Langan's white Buick and McVeigh in the Ryder truck. I questioned McVeigh at length about whom he was with when he took possession of the Ryder truck. His story never wavered. He insisted he was with Brescia, but that Richard Guthrie had been in the body shop shortly before they arrived. Guthrie had cased the scene for any signs of law enforcement. McVeigh explained: "We were taking extra precautions at each step of the mission." Several witnesses said they saw a Ryder truck at Geary Lake between April 10 and April 17, prior to McVeigh taking possession of the actual bomb truck that Monday afternoon. Up to five men and several vehicles were observed around the Ryder truck during that time. McVeigh said he spent Monday night, April 17, alone at the Dreamland Motel, and left his room there for the final time at around 4:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 18. He drove to a nearby motel where Brescia was waiting. They then drove together to the storage locker in Herington. As planned, Poindexter was there when they arrived in the Ryder truck. Working together, they loaded the truck with empty barrels and drums filled with liquid nitromethane. Using a hand dolly, they were able to move the heavy drums, which weighed approximately 350 to 400 pounds each, up the ramp and into the cargo area. They also loaded crates of other explosives, including tovex and Kinestik, into the SUV that was driven by Poindexter. Other items, including buckets and 55 -gallon plastic drums, also went into the truck. I questioned McVeigh repeatedly about who was at the storage facility that morning. McVeigh said Nichols was a no-show that morning. McVeigh said "Wild Bill" Guthrie and McCarthy provided perimeter security: "They were armed, as we all were, but Wild Bill wasn't going to let some Johnny Q. Citizen walk up on us. He sure as hell wasn't going to let some security guard or cop drive up." McVeigh made wild hand gestures and paced the recreation cage Deadly Secrets 71 as he told me this. It was as if he was reliving that early morning prior to the bombing. It was obvious he was still caught up in the moment. If true, McVeigh's account of the bomb-building operation would significantly alter the story of the crime - and especially the role of Terry Nichols, since, according to the government's case against them, McVeigh and Nichols were supposed to have built the bomb by themselves at Geary Lake on Tuesday, April 18. At one point McVeigh told me that he and Nichols constructed a "half-ass bomb," but that it was not the bomb he used to blow up the Murrah Building. This account is consistent with a sworn declaration dated February 9, 2007, in which Nichols describes in detail the bomb that he and McVeigh constructed. The timeframe is inconsistent, however. McVeigh was obviously not at both Geary Lake and the Herington storage locker on the morning of April 18. Nichols' declaration was filed in court as part of a lawsuit brought by Jesse Trentadue against the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act. Nichols stated: On the morning of April 18, 1995, 1 was at Geary Lake and helped McVeigh construct a bomb. The bomb that I helped McVeigh build that morning did not resemble in any fashion the bomb McVeigh described in American Terrorist. The Bomb was constructed and comprised of the metal and white plastic barrels (six each, they were black metal and white plastic) which I mentioned previously. There were no blue plastic barrels. The bomb was a V shape, not a backwards J shape and it took up only about half of the truck, not almost the entire truck as McVeigh's design would require as described in American Terrorist. The Ammonium nitrate fertilizer used in the bomb was a problem. It had been exposed to water and moisture as a result of being stored since its purchase in the fall of 1994. Consequently, much of the fertilizer had solidified so that it was lumpy. McVeigh broke the bags of solidified fertilizer into smaller chunks 72 David Paul Hammer and dropped them into the barrels. This worked well for the metal barrels with removable tops, but the lumpy fertilizer was a problem for the white plastic barrels, which could only be accessed by a small 3 inch bunghole. McVeigh shoved smaller solidified chunks of ammonium nitrate fertilizer into these plastic barrels through the bungholes. Altogether, between 90 and 92 fifty pound bags of fertilizer were used and 80 went into the barrels. To the rear of the V by the barrels, we stacked the remaining 10 to 12 bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that had been soaked in fuel oil since there was not enough nitromethane. The treated wooden poles were nailed to the floor of the truck to keep the barrels from shifting. As I mentioned earlier, I do not know what McVeigh did with the 7-1/2 cases of Tovex taken from the Marion Quarry and not used in the construction of the bomb at Geary Lake on the morning of April 18, 1995, but McVeigh was planning another bombing later. Although the timeframe does not match, Nichols' sworn statement is consistent with McVeigh's claims that he made more than one bomb and that two Ryder trucks and a decoy truck were used in the mission. Other physical evidence and FBI interview statements substantiate those claims as well. At 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 18, McVeigh, Brescia and Poindexter, in a two-vehicle convoy, met Guthrie and Langan at a McDonald's just off 1-70. Guthrie was driving the second Ryder truck, with the Nichols/McVeigh-constructed bomb inside. Langan drove Guthrie's pickup. McCarthy and Scott Stedeford arrived a short time later driving Langan's Buick. Brescia then left with Langan to retrieve the decoy truck that carried a cargo of weapons, police scanners and communication equipment. The two Ryder trucks driven by McVeigh and Guthrie, followed by Poindexter in the SUV, left Junction City for Oklahoma City. Deadly Secrets 73 Because the events and actions of April 18-19 are most critical, and because as far as the world knows, it was just McVeigh who set off the deadly bomb, I quizzed Timothy McVeigh many times as to who did what and when the day before and the day of the Oklahoma City Bombing. I took notes and would pose suggestive questions to see if McVeigh would change his story. For that reason, I am able to write with confidence that the facts as detailed here are exactly as McVeigh told them to me. He never changed any of the facts as they relate to the ARA members. It should be noted here that Peter Langan has stated many times that he has information about the Oklahoma City Bombing: specifically, that he knows that some of his fellow ARA gang members were McVeigh accomplices in the bombing. Langan has attempted unsuccessfully to parlay this information into a deal to win his freedom from prison. But Langan also says he never personally met Timothy McVeigh, that he was not present in Oklahoma City or personally involved in the Oklahoma City Bombing in any way. Langan has never stated he didn't meet and know Tim Tuttle. From a truck plaza en route to Oklahoma City, McVeigh alerted the Major of their estimated arrival time. McVeigh agreed to meet the Major and his team at the warehouse where the bomb would be assembled. The meeting was set for 11:00 p.m. Tuesday night, April 18. The finalized plans would be discussed and the Major could inspect the finished bomb. After arriving in Oklahoma City, all three vehicles drove to a truck stop off 1-40 where one of the Ryder trucks was parked with the already assembled bomb inside. With Guthrie driving McVeigh's Ryder truck, and with Poindexter and McVeigh trailing, they traveled to the storage warehouse. During the following hours, Poindexter, with the help of McVeigh and Guthrie, built a 7000-pound bomb out of the assembled ingredients. In addition to the homemade elements of the bomb, military grade explosives were added to the mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, known as ANFO. These added explosives were intended to make the bomb more powerful without being easily detectable by investigators. McVeigh told me: "This stuff worried me. It was the only part of the bomb which couldn't have been easily 74 David Paul Hammer homegrown," meaning ingredients that were not available on the open market. Poindexter assured McVeigh that this was what the Major had instructed him to do. By 9:30 p.m. on April 18, the bomb was completed and the three men left the warehouse for something to eat. Before returning to the warehouse for his meeting with the Major, McVeigh dropped Guthrie off at a motel in the area of 1-40 and MacArthur. Guthrie, McVeigh and Brescia had a brief conversation. McVeigh and Poindexter traveled back to the warehouse while Guthrie and Brescia retrieved the McVeigh/Nichols bomb truck from the truck stop. Brescia and other ARA members had rented rooms at the Sands Motel on South Rockwell in Oklahoma City. Guthrie parked one truck in the motel parking lot overnight. The Major, with his associate Roberto, whom McVeigh had met two years before in New Jersey, arrived at the warehouse. Handshakes all around and then an inspection of the bomb. As McVeigh and the Major talked, Roberto walked up behind Poindexter, who stood admiring his work, and, in one swift motion, "cut his throat from ear to ear," McVeigh recalled. "I jumped, but the Major placed his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Soldier, he was only hired help, not one of us.'" McVeigh and Roberto loaded the body into the Ryder truck with the bomb. McVeigh placed a padlock on the door of the truck's cargo bay and they all left the warehouse. McVeigh explained that he had been surprised by Roberto's actions, but that he understood, because in a mission like this anyone was expendable, himself included. During McVeigh's conversations with the Major in the warehouse, the Major said that nothing was being left to chance. McVeigh learned that other members of the elite unit had installed C-4 explosives inside the Murrah Federal Building in order to insure maximum damage from the explosion. These devices, as well as the truck bomb, were not rigged with manual fuses as has been widely speculated upon. In fact, McVeigh had been provided a hand-held transmitter that was to be used in detonating the explosives. At approximately 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning, April 19, McVeigh, Brescia and Guthrie traveled from the Sands Motel to the warehouse. They were dropped off by Pete Langan, who returned to the motel to assemble the rest of the ARA crew. They would provide Deadly Secrets 75 security for the bombing operation. Guthrie, McVeigh and Brescia equipped themselves with headsets and mouthpieces in order to allow for constant radio contact. By 8:00 a.m. the group left the warehouse. McVeigh was driving the Ryder truck with Poindexter's body and the bomb inside. He was accompanied by both Richard Guthrie and Michael Brescia in the passenger seats of the truck. The ARA team, driving the tan pickup truck and white Buick, were already in place at locations near the Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. Brescia exited the truck at a stoplight about a half block away from the Murrah Building and trailed the truck on foot. As McVeigh pulled up in front of the building, Guthrie exited the truck and directed McVeigh as he pulled into the handicapped-parking zone. Brescia, who had caught up on foot, now stood outside the truck with Guthrie. The time was a few minutes before 9:00 a.m. After McVeigh parked the truck, all three men briskly walked away and McVeigh detonated the bomb. For whatever reason - and McVeigh never shed any light on this key question in our conversations - Guthrie and Brescia did not pick McVeigh up in his SUV after the bombing, as they were supposed to do. McVeigh went to Plan B, making his way to the Mercury getaway car. Within 10 minutes of the blast, Timothy McVeigh was headed out of Oklahoma City, leaving in his wake utter devastation, destruction, and massive loss of life that at the time constituted the worst act of terrorism ever to occur on American soil. The blast and its aftermath killed 168 men, women and children and seriously injured at least 509 others. In his mind, McVeigh's mission was a success. Not perfect, but then most missions are not. Approximately 90 minutes after the explosion in Oklahoma City, McVeigh was pulled over as he drove the Mercury getaway car on 1-35 towards Kansas. From all appearances, it was a routine traffic stop. Oklahoma State Highway Patrol Trooper Charles S. Hanger stopped McVeigh for not having a license plate on the Mercury. McVeigh, who was armed with a .45 caliber Glock in a shoulder holster and a knife in his belt, exited the yellow Mercury and walked towards the trooper's patrol car. They met about halfway between the vehicles. During a brief exchange, Trooper Hanger noticed the 76 David Paul Hammer bulge under McVeigh's windbreaker jacket. In short order, and while McVeigh offered no resistance at all, Hanger took him into custody, placed him in handcuffs, searched the Mercury, and confiscated McVeigh's weapon. The Oklahoma City Bomber's fate was sealed. In hindsight, several puzzling questions stand out about McVeigh's arrest. With news of the bombing streaming over the airwaves, McVeigh's behavior and appearance would seem to have drawn intense suspicion. Not only was he armed and headed for the state border just 90 minutes after the bombing. He was wearing a T-shirt bearing a picture of Abraham Lincoln on the front, with presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth's words, "sic, semper, tyrannis" printed on it. The back of the T-shirt featured a picture of a tree with red blood droplets, along with this Thomas Jefferson quotation: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Somehow, though, the trooper did not seem to connect the dots that this prisoner might be the Oklahoma City Bomber. Another puzzling question about the arrest concerns a second vehicle reportedly traveling with McVeigh and pulled over along the highway at the time of his arrest. According to a page-one news story in the Houston Chronicle on May 12, 1995, federal authorities were telling reporters that an automatic camera mounted in Trooper Hanger's car taped the McVeigh arrest. The unnamed federal authorities said the trooper's camera captured a brown pickup truck, pulled over in the background, and that the truck belonged to McVeigh's Arizona chemist friend Steven Colbern. The story, by Dan Thomasson and Peter Copeland of the Scripps Howard News Service, quoted an unidentified federal investigator saying: "The trooper had a hell of a day." According to the news story: "Sophisticated enhancement techniques were used to improve the video until investigators could read the license plate number. The truck, registered to Colbern, contained traces of ammonium nitrate, believed to be the main explosive ingredient used in the bombing." The very same day this story appeared, Friday, May 12, Steven Colbern, then a federal fugitive wanted on firearms charges unrelated to the bombing, was arrested in Arizona. But by the time of his arraignment on May 13, official speculation that Colbern might be Deadly Secrets 77 connected to the bombing had suddenly ended. Arizona U.S. Attorney Janet Napolitano personally appeared at the Colbern arraignment and refused to answer questions about whether the FBI was investigating a link between Colbern and the Oklahoma City bombing. No more information ever surfaced about the brown pickup truck reportedly caught on the McVeigh arrest videotape. In December 2008, when the government released the arrest videotape to the Oklahoma City National Memorial, there were no images of the brown pickup truck on the tape, only images of Trooper Hanger searching the yellow Mercury Marquis after the actual arrest of Timothy McVeigh. Shortly after 11:00 a.m. on the morning of the bombing, McVeigh was booked into the Noble County Jail in Perry, Oklahoma. He was charged with four misdemeanors that included transporting a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, unlawfully carrying a weapon, failure to display a current license plate and failing to maintain proof of insurance. He went through the booking process, attempting to be jovial and friendly with those in the Noble County Sheriff's Department. His actions and demeanor were somewhat out of place, however, considering that a television was broadcasting reports and videotape on the bombing from nearby Oklahoma City. McVeigh was fingerprinted, photographed, dressed in orange jailhouse garb, and placed in a cell. During the booking procedure, Trooper Hanger made an inventory of the evidence he had taken from McVeigh. The April 19, 1995 records of that procedure do not reflect the badge that Hanger took from McVeigh as a part of the arrest. But an FBI interview statement does. The FBI report states that Trooper Hanger turned in a security badge McVeigh had in his possession several days later, after federal authorities had identified McVeigh as the suspect in the Oklahoma City Bombing. This badge is certainly interesting, especially in light of Trooper Hanger's apparent delay in turning it in. McVeigh stressed to me repeatedly that the "FBI or ATF switched those badges. I didn't have a fake-ass security badge that wouldn't fool anyone. I had the official badge given to me by the Major." McVeigh went on to say: "I was never trying to escape capture. My arrest was all a part of the mission. The bombing had to land squarely at 78 David Paul Hammer the feet of someone involved in the anti-government movement. I left a paper trail that even a blind man could follow. I even left a business card on the seat of the patrol car with a handwritten note about dynamite on it." Witnesses at the Noble County Jail claimed that McVeigh made several telephone calls during his stay there. At least one of those calls was reportedly to his friend and comrade Roger Moore. According to Diana Sanders Burke, a former bail bond agent in Wagoner, Oklahoma, Burke had posted bond for Roger Moore in November 1993. She said she had firsthand knowledge that, two years later, Moore attempted to arrange bond for McVeigh while he was confined on the misdemeanor charges in Perry, Oklahoma. Burke told an investigator for Terry Nichols that Moore called a bondsman for the Charles Smith agency to ask about posting bond for McVeigh. According to Burke, Moore told the bondsman McVeigh was not a bad guy and that the feds were just trying to set him up. Telephone records reveal that calls were also made from the Noble County Jail on Thursday, April 20, at 6:37 p.m. and Friday, April 21, 1995, at 11:15 a.m. to bail bondsman Roger Brett Goad, doing business as Coldrion Candy Bail Bonds in Pawnee, Oklahoma. Goad reported that he accepted one collect telephone call from McVeigh on April 20, 1995. McVeigh mentioned that his father and a friend could help in posting bond. Clearly, McVeigh wanted out of jail. Goad informed McVeigh to call back once a judge had set the amount of his bail. Goad said he never heard back from McVeigh. The next day, Friday, April 21, the FBI closed in, naming McVeigh as the Oklahoma City Bomber and parading him before television cameras in a perp walk designed to send the message that the FBI had its man. Still, mysteries lingered about McVeigh's capture. I questioned him about the missing license plate from the getaway car, that puzzling little detail that led to his arrest after such a carefully laid plan. But McVeigh gave conflicting responses. At times he would claim the missing plate was all a part of "the plan." At other times, he would be visibly angry and state that someone had betrayed him, that the license plate had been removed without his knowledge, or that it "just fell off." When I suggested a missing license plate was certainly a way to attract the Deadly Secrets 79 attention of the police, and especially following an event such as the bombing, he looked at me with unbridled hatred in his eyes and said: "Hammer, do you think I'm stupid? Don't you fuckin' think that I'd have better sense than to remove that tag?" When I suggested that maybe someone wanted him to get arrested, he replied: "Of course they did, but it wasn't supposed to happen when and how it did." I suggested to him that perhaps he had only been a pawn or a patsy to be left holding the bag for others. He became furious and exclaimed: "I'm nobody's goddamn patsy." McVeigh then went into the official lone-wolf version of how he, and he alone, had masterminded the bombing, that he was always in control, and that the decisions were his. When reminded of facts to the contrary that he had already provided, which had been verified, McVeigh hollered for a guard and asked to be taken back to his cell. No one has ever cleared up this mystery, but years later, Terry Nichols added his own recollection. In his 2007 sworn declaration, Nichols recounts: "On Thursday, April 20, 1995, I went to the Herington, Kansas storage shed where McVeigh kept some of his things. In that shed I found the rear license plate from the yellow Mercury McVeigh was driving when he was arrested after the bombing. I also found at least one hand grenade. The license plate and hand grenade I threw into a nearby river on Friday morning the 21st (of April, 1995)." Nichols further states: "To this day, I have never understood why McVeigh removed that license plate, which eventually led to his arrest, brought it back to Kansas and deliberately left it in that storage shed among his personal possessions." Timothy McVeigh: mastermind or patsy? My friend, the late J.D. Cash spent many years investigating McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing. Cash was an astute reader of character, and one of the few reporters to actually interview Timothy McVeigh face to face, prior to his trial. This is what he wrote: "On 13 February 1996, I interviewed Mr. McVeigh at El Reno Federal Prison, just outside Oklahoma City. I came away impressed by only one thing: Mr. McVeigh was no leader. I found him to be immature and easily manipulated. His hot buttons were fringe right-wing ideology and 80 David Paul Hammer fantasies involving women. Push those buttons and Sergeant Mac was your boy. The perfect patsy." Cash was not the only person to reach this conclusion. In a McVeigh defense team memo dated April 19, 1996, one year after the bombing, Attorney Dick Burr reported on the group's assessment of McVeigh after a daylong meeting. "We then talked about whether Tim could have been the leader in the bombing," Burr wrote. "At the beginning of this part of the discussion, Si expressed his view that the attorneys should consider not pushing Tim any further about whether he is lying to us. The leadership qualities seen in Tim in the military have more to do with knowledge than leadership. Tim knew things extremely well in the military, however, he had a hard time communicating what he knew. He felt awkward at it. He would get upset whenever anyone did things wrong, not by the book, particularly when the offender was an officer. He was not very good at thinking on his feet. The general sense was that Tim was not likely the person who came up with the idea for the bombing, but that he could very well have been the person who took responsibility for carrying it out. His strength is in carrying out orders." McVeigh's investigator, Richard Reyna, authored a fascinating memo dated December 27, 1995, in which he details an interview he had with McVeigh on December 12 of that year. Reyna advised McVeigh that a reporter had interviewed his first court appointed attorney, John W. Coyle (who was relieved of his duties as defense counsel due to a conflict of interest). Coyle told the reporter that McVeigh said "he was operating within the confines of the United States Government when he did what he did." Coyle also stated that McVeigh told him "that he had been recruited by the government while serving a 4-5 month period in the National Guard." Reyna, the investigator, went on to elaborate further on Coyle's interview with the reporter. Reyna wrote that Coyle said: "Mr. McVeigh was suppose to blow out a few windows in the federal building but that the truck had been switched possibly without his knowledge." According to Reyna, when he reported this to his client: "Mr. McVeigh immediately became angry and yelled out several curse words directed at Mr. Coyle. I immediately asked Mr. McVeigh if there was any truth to what the reporter had reported and Mr. McVeigh Deadly Secrets 81 replied that parts of what (the reporter) said were true and that other parts were untrue. Before I could ask another question, McVeigh again became angry, and began to curse in a loud voice. Mr. McVeigh stated that Mr. Coyle had no business telling anyone, anything about their private discussions." Terry Nichols claims he knew that Timothy McVeigh was working as an undercover agent, because McVeigh told him so. In his sworn declaration, Nichols states: "In December of 1992, Timothy McVeigh told me that while he was serving in the U.S. Army, he had been recruited to carry out undercover missions. McVeigh did not say who recruited him, or specify the nature of his mission, He did say, however, that he was to begin making contacts with a network of people after the first of the year and that he was to take no action in furtherance of this mission until called upon. McVeigh said he would be making his first contact down south." On August 10, 1995, a federal grand jury in Oklahoma City handed down an 11-count indictment in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. That indictment contained eight counts of murder for the deaths of federal law enforcement agents, one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, and one count of destruction by use of explosives. The indictment charged Timothy James McVeigh and Terry Lynn Nichols with all 11 counts. Additionally, Count One of the indictment alleged that McVeigh and Nichols "the defendants herein, did knowingly, intentionally, willfully, and maliciously conspire, combine and agree together and with others unknown to the Grand Jury, to use a weapon of mass destruction." Five years later, after listening to McVeigh's story, I was left wondering: Were these "others unknown" to the grand jury the men McVeigh named in the account of the bombing he gave me? According to the FBI, at the time of McVeigh's trial, and beyond, there was no known link between McVeigh and the ARA bank robbery gang - no reason for the FBI to investigate them. But, as the rest of my investigation will reveal, that was not true - and the FBI knew it. At the very same time federal prosecutors were telling juries that McVeigh and Nichols acted alone, the FBI had compelling evidence as to the identities of others unknown. Conclusive proof was coming: the 82 David Paul Hammer FBI was deliberately hiding the results of a major probe into the ARA's suspected role in the Oklahoma City Bombing. But it would take several more years of digging to uncover the truth. Deadly Secrets 83 CHAMER FOUR Others Un-known Tlhe investigation into the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building began immediately after the blast. It involved hundreds of law enforcement officials from jurisdictions including federal, state, county and city. The FBI was the lead agency, but it received assistance from many others, including first responders and ordinary citizens. By the time of the federal grand jury's indictment in August 1995, federal authorities were locked into their official version of the bombing. Once McVeigh and Nichols became the main suspects, federal investigators seem to have ignored, downplayed, denied or refused to believe others were involved in the conspiracy or the bombing. It defies logic that McVeigh acted alone in the bombing, considering his own statements, eyewitness accounts and, yes, the government's own investigative records. Government investigators knew of many ties between McVeigh and various right-wing extremist groups. However, the investigators appear to have limited their efforts and concentrated on McVeigh and his associates who might advance the official theory of the crime. In fact, government prosecutors failed to release all of the relevant information and files relating to other suspects in the bombing to McVeigh's legal team as they had been ordered to do. 86 Just prior to McVeigh's execution, scheduled for May 16, 2001, it was revealed that thousands of pages of documents, including FBI reports, files and other records, had not been disclosed to McVeigh's attorneys prior to his trial in 1997, or during the appellate process. This blunder was a significant one. At a nationally televised news conference, then Attorney General John D. Ashcroft announced that the execution of Timothy James McVeigh would be postponed until June 11, allowing McVeigh's lawyers time to sort through the documents in question. Ashcroft and the FBI's director insisted that it was only a blunder that had caused this violation of the court's order to disclose all such documents. They assured the public that it was the FBI's incompetence and not some nefarious plot within the Justice Department to withhold documents. Ashcroft went on to state that the materials in question were of no value to McVeigh's defense team. This claim was hotly contested in a bitter battle launched at the eleventh hour. Ultimately, Judge Richard Matsch ruled that the government's failure to provide the documents as previously ordered had not adversely affected McVeigh's right to a fair trial because the information contained within the files would not have altered the outcome of the trial. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver upheld that decision. McVeigh then decided not to pursue the matter to the United States Supreme Court. His decision to waive further appeals led to his execution on June 11, 2001. It is clear that throughout the Oklahoma City Bombing case, government agents refused to seek out other suspects once McVeigh, Nichols and the Fortiers had become their targets. The only real question is why? Based upon my investigation and McVeigh's statements to me, the answer to that question seems obvious. Certain federal law enforcement agents had advance knowledge of the bombing, through information they were receiving from confidential informants. Yet the federal agents failed to take steps to stop the bombing. This is a shocking notion at first glance. But the evidence to support it is compelling, and comes from inside the government itself. For more than a decade, attorney Jesse C. Trentadue has pursued a series of federal Deadly Secrets 87 Freedom of Information requests and lawsuits against the FBI, to force disclosure of government secrets about the bombing. Federal law enforcement documents obtained by Trentadue reveal that prior to the bombing, federal agents knew about a plot that was unfolding in Elohim City, similar to the one McVeigh described to me. Before the bombing, federal agents were tracking the very same players McVeigh named to me: including Elohim City's paramilitary arms trainer Andreas Strassmeir, the white supremacist leader Dennis Mahon, and members of the Aryan Republican Army, as well as, very possibly, McVeigh himself. But when the time came to hold McVeigh and Nichols accountable for their crimes, others appear to have escaped justice. Some may even have been rewarded. Why? To find that out, it's necessary to go to Elohim City. 88 David Paul Hammer CHANTER FIVE Elohim City ^■lohim City, which means "City of God," occupies 400 acres of land ^* in a rugged and mountainous area of Adair County, Oklahoma, B^near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border. If there is one common denominator in Timothy McVeigh's revelations, it might be this reclusive Christian Identity community, devoted to white separatism. The paths of almost all the players in the bomb plot as McVeigh described it crossed here - from McVeigh and Strassmeir, to Mahon and the ARA gang members. On the very day of the bombing, Rev. Millar, the patriarch of Elohim City, was ministering to a notorious white supremacist on Arkansas' Death row, one Richard Snell. In the 1980s, he had plotted to bomb the Murrah Federal Building himself, and Timothy McVeigh knew of those aspirations. Now, on April 19, 1995, Snell, a convicted murderer, was executed on Arkansas' death row, even though Rev. Millar had petitioned Arkansas' governor to move the execution to a less loaded date than the anniversary of the Waco raid. Coincidence? Perhaps not. Rev. Millar presided at Snell 's funeral at Elohim City the day after the bombing. It wasn't an act of defiance, but observers did say the spirit 92 of the funeral was a celebration of Snell's life, and also, the birthday of Adolph Hitler. If that was true, it was a rare celebration that day in Oklahoma, as dazed rescuers in Oklahoma City desperately searched for bodies in the rubble of the Murrah Building. It is true, there was no love lost between Elohim City, with its right-wing ideology, and the federal government. But that very polarity created a close union of sorts. This was the open secret, the other Elohim City: a dysfunctional family of undercover informants reporting to various federal law enforcement agencies about the anti-government activities of residents. In the 1990s, there were thought to be so many informants inside Elohim City, reporting to the FBI, ATF and other federal agencies, that the community became known as Alphabet City. In the most categorical proof that the federal government must have had prior knowledge of the Oklahoma City Bombing, an undercover informant named Carol Howe was reporting on a bombing conspiracy inside Elohim City to her ATF handler for many months prior to the bombing. Howe, a strikingly beautiful young woman from a wealthy family, had briefly been involved with Dennis Mahon. Howe had contacted the dial-a-racist hotline maintained by Mahon in Tulsa. She told J. D. Cash: "I kinda had a relationship with him (Mahon) for a while. We talked about relationships once, and he said he wasn't interested in settling down with a woman. All he wanted to do was blow up federal buildings. It was also at that same meeting that he shoved his hand down my dress and I thought, well, something else, but now that I think about it, I think he was feeling for a wire." Mahon and Andreas Strassmeir were good friends. Mahon had a trailer at Elohim City and visited there often. Mahon was the Oklahoma leader of the White Aryan Resistance. In reports to her handler, ATF Agent Angela Finley-Graham, made during 1994 and 1995, Howe provided information relating to many firearms and conspiracy violations. Howe, also known as "Freya" and "Lady MacBeth," provided over 70 reports to Agent Findley- Graham. Howe also secretly videotaped Mahon, and those videotapes show him discussing weapons and altering them to fully automatic weapons. Additionally, he discussed manufacturing silencers and details on how to build and detonate explosives. Deadly Secrets 93 Howe reported that Strassmeir and Mahon were talking about blowing up federal buildings. They even traveled to Oklahoma City to select potential targets for bombings. Howe, whose confidential informant number was 53270-183 or CI-183, reported all of these activities to the ATF prior to the Oklahoma City Bombing. Agent Findley-Graham filed her first report on Howe's information on August 30, 1994. She captioned the report White Aryan Resistance. Howe later identified Timothy McVeigh, Peter Langan, Michael Brescia, Kevin McCarthy, Scott Stedeford, Mark Thomas and others as having been present at Elohim City in the months leading up to the bombing. According to ATF records, Howe was a paid informant for that agency through at least February 1996. In January 1995, Rev. Millar called together Strassmeir, Brescia and his other soldiers during a Sunday morning service and instructed them to take whatever action was necessary to protect their community from the U.S. government. The Reverend feared a Waco-like raid on the compound. They flew a Branch Davidian flag at Elohim City. Howe's report on this event is dated January 11, 1995. Howe also reported that Mahon and Strassmeir had cased the IRS building in Tulsa and the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in November and December of 1994, and again in February 1995. Mahon has always denied any involvement in the bombing, but he has pointed fingers at others, including Strassmeir. Nevertheless, Mahon told reporters that as a revolutionary he would blow up the Federal Building, but at night when it wasn't occupied. Two important facts stand out relating to Mahon. He was the only person appearing before the grand jury in Oklahoma City who elected to take the Fifth Amendment, which provides that someone may not be forced to give sworn testimony that would incriminate him. Mahon refused to testify about his knowledge or involvement in the bombing. Mahon also claimed never to have been in downtown Oklahoma City. However, when federal agents seized evidence from one of the ARA's storage lockers they discovered a notebook belonging to Richard Guthrie of the ARA. Inside, Guthrie had written an address less than two blocks from where the Murrah Building had once stood. Beside the address was a notation that Guthrie was to meet Mahon there. In a move that shocked even veteran FBI agents, the Justice Department 96 David Paul Hammer destroyed that evidence even before some of the ARA members' appeals were exhausted. Such destruction violates FBI procedures. J.D. Cash had filed a Freedom of Information Act request, and then an appeal, for copies of the documents. His appeal was still pending when the Justice Department destroyed the evidence from the bank robbery case. It was reported in July 1997, that according to investigator Jeff Steinberg, Dennis Mahon himself might have become an ATF informant. Steinberg claims that the ATF had charges on Mahon, but dropped them. "He may have been turned," Steinberg said. Andreas Strassmeir, Elohim City's paramilitary arms trainer, to whom McVeigh attributed a heavy role in the bomb plot, has been alleged to have been an informant for the ATF, and possibly also the German government. During a 1997 federal trial, in which the government unsuccessfully prosecuted Carol Howe, a senior FBI agent added one more surprising name to the bulging rolls of Elohim City federal informants: Rev. Millar himself. Informants, it seems, were everywhere in Elohim City, even — or especially - within the ranks of the bank robbers of the ARA, who were frequent visitors. Most of them, sooner or later, became government informants or protected witnesses. Peter Langan had been a Secret Service informant, who signed on to help capture the fugitive Richard Guthrie, but then double-crossed his federal handlers and teamed up with Guthrie. Shawn Kenny was an FBI informant who eventually turned in Guthrie. Rev. Mark Thomas, Kevin McCarthy and Michael Brescia all became government informants or protected witnesses after the bank robbery gang was busted in 1996. McVeigh himself, if he was telling the truth in his account to me, was feeding the Major information about the bombing conspiracy while participating in ARA bank robberies. There may have been another, darker twist to the informant dynamic inside the ARA. These weren't just informants. They were criminals, committing criminal acts, sometimes, apparently, while in their capacity as informants. A closer look into the gang's membership reveals just how deadly a combination this may have been. Deadly Secrets 97 . wra six The Aryan Republican Army Kl^eter Langan, cofounder of the ARA with Richard Guthrie, has T» described its goal: to "overthrow the government . . . and to set free the oppressed people of North America." Langan was born in 1958. His parents were both U.S. government employees assigned to positions in Vietnam. His father was a CIA operative attached to the International Cooperation Administration as a "safety official." His mother worked at the American Embassy in Saigon. He was a bright, inquisitive, pampered child, the youngest of six children. After returning to the United States, the family lived in Wheaton, Maryland. When Langan's father suffered a massive heart attack and died, Pete was suddenly a boy adrift. He turned to drugs and ran away from home. By age 16 he was involved in his first gunfight. In Daytona Beach, Florida, Langan robbed a man and stole his van. The police, who caught up with Langan soon thereafter, shot him and blew off the tip of his finger. Langan was tried as an adult and served the next four years in what he called "Gladiator School." According to Langan, he was pushed into the Aryan Brotherhood because of a need 100 to survive. The Aryans offered him protection from black and Hispanic gangs that roamed the prison. He was released in 1978. Langan spent the next 10 years bouncing from one job and city to another. He was married for a short time, fathered a son and attempted to live the straight life. Being an ex-con made it difficult to find employment that paid a decent wage. Langan sought out his childhood friend Guthrie and partnered up with him. "Wild Bill" Guthrie had a colorful past. He did a five-year stint in the Navy. He completed his training at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, and graduated from Indian Head, Maryland's prestigious nuclear training facility. Unfortunately for the hotheaded Guthrie, he washed out of the Navy's SEAL program. His Navy career was soon ended when he painted a swastika on a ship, threatened one of his commanding officers and went AWOL. According to Langan, the Navy had figured out that Wild Bill "was a psycho." After doing some time in the brig, Guthrie received a general discharge from the Navy. The U.S. government had trained him to be an explosives expert and then discharged him with a chip on his shoulder. Guthrie and Langan had both grown up in the Wheaton, Maryland area just outside of Washington, D.C. By early 1992, they had reunited and embarked upon a life of petty crime together, first swindling department stores out of money on refunded items that they had stolen. They later robbed a Pizza Hut and traveled the country separately. The robbery took place in Lavonia, Georgia. In early 1992, Langan joined the Ohio chapter of the Aryan Nations. His racist views had been strengthened by his attendance at the Covington Identity Church and by his association with an 18-year-old skinhead named Shawn Kenny. They shared similar beliefs, and Kenny regularly held meetings for Bible study and Aryan Nations teachings at his apartment in Elmwood Place. Following a May, 1992 arrest for the retail scam, Langan and Guthrie traveled to the Aryan Nation's compound in Hayden Lake, Idaho, where they visited with the Rev. Richard Butler, the group's leader, and others. Langan and Guthrie were not impressed by the rhetoric being espoused. As Langan put it: No one spoke with any sincerity of "direct action against the U.S. government or the Jews who control this country." Those in Hayden Lake were losers in the eyes of Langan. Deadly Secrets 101 He and Guthrie had sent funds from their scams to help support direct action by the movement. One positive aspect, at least to Langan's way of thinking, was that his trip to the Aryan Nations compound found him being ordained as a minister of the Christian Identity Church. He felt a personal connection to the Identity ideology. The first members of the ARA were Langan, Guthrie and Shawn Kenny. Initially their revolution took the form of talking about robberies, bombings, assassinations and creating a new government. The trio had an idea, but the ARAs name and mission was far from being materialized as of October 1992, when the three went their separate ways. Wild Bill continued his travels, visiting various Christian Identity groups and meeting leaders, listening to and studying their messages, reading books on the Aryan movement from individuals such as Louis Beam, William Pierce and Thorn Robb. Guthrie visited with Rev. Mark Thomas, Rev. Millar and other figures in the Identity movement. Guthrie's focus was on taking direct action against the U.S. government. He was hell-bent on getting even with those who had rejected him as a military operative. During the investigation of the 1992 robbery of the Pizza Hut in Lavonia, Georgia, Franklin County Sheriff Hugh Roach discovered that Guthrie had made numerous statements bragging about his intentions to kill President George HW Bush. That information was passed along to the Secret Service. They located and raided a mobile home where Wild Bill had been staying, but didn't find him. In November 1992, the feds caught up with Langan at his home in Cincinnati. They busted him on weapons charges, and soon thereafter he was shipped off to Georgia on the robbery charge. While awaiting trial in Georgia, where he faced a 20-year sentence, Langan received visitors in August 1993. The Secret Service needed his help. They were seeking his old friend Wild Bill. They claimed that the word in the Aryan Nations movement was that Guthrie might be planning to assassinate President Bush. Langan readily agreed with the agents that Wild Bill was a psycho and could easily be on a mission to kill the President. After a bit of negotiating, Langan agreed to become a Secret Service informant, to seek out Guthrie and rat him out in exchange for assistance on the charges Langan was facing. The agents met with District Attorney 102 David Paul Hammer Lindsay Tise, who was prosecuting Langan in Georgia. The agents were able to obtain the DA's assistance in arranging for Langan's release from jail to assist the Secret Service. He was given a bus ticket, some cash, and sent back to Ohio. By the early fall of 1993, Langan had ditched his Secret Service contacts and partnered up with Guthrie rather than rat him out. Langan made Wild Bill a full partner in his "army" and bestowed upon him the title of Commander Pavell. Langan became Commander Pedro. They were on a mission. It included the overthrow of the government and extermination or deportation of all non-whites and non-Christians in the United States. They would soon travel to Elohim City for a meeting with others on a similar mission. During Langan's incarceration, Guthrie had teamed up with Shawn Kenny to rob banks. Guthrie had successfully pulled off two robberies in Cincinnati, and Kenny was involved far more than some realize. He joined Guthrie in the planning and other aspects of the robberies, but was never implicated or investigated by authorities. Kenny did eventually admit, while he was an informant for the government, he helped in planning a third bank robbery. Wild Bill also became acquainted with other individuals who became full-fledged members of the ARA. They included Mark Thomas, Kevin McCarthy and Scott Stedeford, whom Guthrie had first met in Pennsylvania at Thomas's farm. Thomas was a well-known figure in the Christian Identity movement, and his message was well received by many youths who visited him on a regular basis. In the 1990s, Thomas, a local Aryan Nations leader, hosted numerous skinhead and neo-Nazi rallies such as White Pride Day and the annual Hitler Youth Festival, where participants engaged in activities such as pagan rituals, flag burnings and cross burnings. During one of these events, Thomas introduced Kevin McCarthy, a teenage bass player in the white power band Day of the Sword, to Pennsylvania native Scott Stedeford, who himself was an artist and rock musician. Thomas was also instrumental in introducing McCarthy and Stedeford to a 24-year-old college student from La Salle University named Michael Brescia. He was a Philadelphia native and rock musician. The three new members of the ARA went on to form the speed metal band called Cyanide. Deadly Secrets 103 Thomas, McCarthy, Stedeford and Brescia traveled separately to Elohim City in the fall of 1994. Thomas and Elohim City's Rev. Millar were old friends. Thomas often encouraged those who attended his gatherings in Pennsylvania to spend time in Elohim City. He actively advised them to undergo the paramilitary training offered there. In Elohim City, McCarthy, Brescia and Stedeford became roommates with Andreas Strassmeir, who instructed them in all types of weapons training. Strassmeir, also known as Mr. Red, had a vigorous routine he put the recruits through. It included months of target practice, live-fire exercises, swimming through icy water in wintertime, and surviving outdoors without water, food or weapons. In no time Brescia became Strassmeir's second in command. Brescia also became engaged to one of Millar's granddaughters with his blessing. Elohim City was now home to at least three of the ARA's members. All ARA members visited Elohim City, and funds from the proceeds of their bank robberies made their way into the City of God. Members of the ARA, working in groups, were responsible for robbing at least 22 banks in seven different states from January 1994 to December 1995. The spree led them across the Midwest to Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. They stole at least $250,000 during their robberies. They robbed banks with a certain flair and even a macabre sense of humor, using diversions such as fake pipe bombs to slow down the police who were pursuing them. The group often wore disguises, such as jackets with FBI emblems and Santa Claus costumes during a robbery at Christmastime. They once robbed a bank in Des Moines leaving behind an Easter basket with a gold-painted pipe bomb. The FBI teletypes and various files on the ARA's bank robberies are designated as the BOMBROB case. The Oklahoma City Bombing is designated as the OKBOMB case in all FBI, ATF and other federal government investigative files. Within days of the Murrah Federal Building bombing, the FBI began investigating links between the ARA and the Oklahoma City Bombing. FBI records demonstrating this fact were hidden by the FBI and not discovered until years later, when attorney Jesse Trentadue uncovered them. The end of the ARA bank robbery spree came with the arrest of its members after Shawn Kenny had been enlisted as an FBI informant. He 104 David Paul Hammer had been under surveillance as early as December 1993, according to a Secret Service report. Agents looking for Guthrie noted he had stayed "with Shawn Kenny, Miamitown, Ohio, when in Cincinnati, Ohio area." A search of Kenny's mobile home in December of that year turned up some other interesting items. "It is noted that Kenny has a full library of survivalist and Aryan type literature and admits to being a member of the Aryan Nations and the Christian Identity movement," the report noted. It also stated: "Kenny advised he owned several weapons which were observed to include a high-powered rifle and a 9mm semi-automatic handgun." It is unknown why no weapons charges were brought against Kenny. He had previously been convicted of a gun-related crime, and convicted felons cannot legally own firearms. In early 1994 Tabatha Kenny, Shawn's wife, contacted a Cincinnati police officer to arrange his arrest for firearms possession and for possessing fraudulent IDs. After his arrest in Hamilton County, Ohio, the files mysteriously disappeared, and there was no record of the arrest anywhere in the system. This could indicate that Kenny was working as an informant for law enforcement as early as the spring of 1994. Timothy McVeigh had several interactions with Kenny during this period. Despite having been convicted of weapons charges and being a convicted felon, Kenny was sworn into the Army on February 5, 1995. His next run-in with the law came in October 1995. Kenny was once again busted on weapons charges, and he agreed to become an FBI informant and to help capture Wild Bill Guthrie. He agreed to arrange a meeting with Guthrie. It has never been explained how Kenny, with his history of anti-government views, felony convictions and on-going criminal activities, was allowed to remain in the Army. The FBI insists that Kenny "voluntarily" assisted them in capturing Guthrie. After a meeting between Guthrie and Kenny on January 15, 1996, Guthrie was arrested following a brief car chase through Green Township, a Cincinnati suburb. A Cincinnati police intelligence report dated February 2, 1996, states: "In late 1995, the FBI began working with an informant in an attempt to locate either or both subjects (Guthrie and Langan). Kenny later testified he had cooperated with Deadly Secrets 105 agents because "just to, I don't know, get this chapter of my life closed and behind me." Soon after his arrest, Guthrie also turned government snitch and informed federal agents where they could find Peter Langan at an ARA safe house in Columbus, Ohio. On January 18, 1996, a cadre of state, local and federal law enforcement officers and agents set out to arrest Langan. As he sat in his van warming up the engine, at least A7 shots were fired at Langan. It must have been a shock to all that he survived the barrage of bullets fired from rifles, shotguns and pistols. As the smoke cleared from the area, Langan was yanked from the van, thrown to the snow-covered ground, beaten, kicked and restrained by the agents on scene. Medics cut away his clothing and treated his gunshot wounds before transporting him to a local hospital where he underwent surgery for those injuries. Langan was then taken to a local police station and chained to a wall, where FBI Special Agent Ed Woods questioned him. Langan claims that he repeatedly requested a lawyer, but that his pleas were denied. In a sworn statement provided by Langan on April 9, 2007, he stated: "Instead of obtaining an attorney for me, Agent Woods insisted on playing phone messages from Guthrie's answering machine on a tape recorder. When Agent Woods taunted me with inferences that my associates had betrayed me, and would testify against me, I had had enough. I told him, 'You're going to have problems with your witnesses because they have the blood of Oklahoma City on their hands.' Agent Woods took note. 'You certainly have my attention now,' he said. This turn of events put an end to the interrogation." Subsequently, Langan's attorney Kevin Dirkin informed his client that the "government wanted to talk to (him) about the Oklahoma City Bombing," according to Langan's statement. Attorney Dirkin referred to this as a proffer or prelude to a plea agreement. In his statement, Langan said: "I was amicable to such a discussion, but I wanted assurances of the terms or details of any type of deal. My attorney later told me the offer had been withdrawn." Following Guthrie's and Langan's arrests, law enforcement agents uncovered a stockpile of weapons, bombs, bomb-making equipment, fake IDs, U.S. Marshal identification photo IDs and badges, police scanners, money, calling cards, handcuffs, Aryan Nations books, 106 David Paul Hammer disguises, wigs, masks, false documents and a videotape made by the ARA in January 1995. These items, along with others, were seized from Langan's and Guthrie's vehicles, homes and storage lockers in several different locations. The ARA videotape, titled Aryan Republican Army: Armed Struggle Underground, was made by Guthrie, Langan, McCarthy and Stedeford. According to Guthrie's statements to the FBI, this was the idea of Langan, who wore a disguise and used the alias Commander Pedro. The tape was intended to be a recruitment tape and spelled out the ARA's activities, including their robberies. Langan tells about the ARA and how the group intended to commit an underground struggle to form an Aryan Republic in North America. He speaks of creating cells that would act individually to wage war against the "Zionist Occupied Government." Langan points to a poster that contains the ARA's hit list - including pictures of Attorney General Janet Reno, FBI Director Louis Freeh, President Bill Clinton and Senator Howard Metzenbaum. Langan then states that those pictured already have death sentences passed against them or have been banished by military tribunal. He also makes mention in the video of his "Serb brothers" and their battle for "ethnic cleansing." Later in the video, the other three ARA members - Guthrie, McCarthy and Stedeford -all wearing Halloween masks, can be seen in the background while Langan asks viewers to work for the revolution and to adhere to the program of Christian Identity. At another point in the video, Langan asks the other members if they are ready for the "courthouse massacre." One member answers in the affirmative, displays a semi-automatic handgun and says there will be many Congressmen and judges there. Langan also proclaims: "We have endeavored to keep collateral damage to a minimum. But as in all wars, some innocents shall suffer. So be it." "Collateral damage." Timothy McVeigh used that very phrase to refer to the children killed in the Murrah Federal Building. The ARA's roadmap to forming their Aryan Republic borrowed heavily from the Irish Republican Army. Langan explains that bank robberies are an appropriate way to finance the ARA's revolution because: "Hymie has been ripping you and your father off, forever. Now you go take it back." Deadly Secrets 107 Richard Guthrie 109 Peter Langan 111 Michael Brescia 113 Shawn Kenny 115 Kevin McCarthy 117 Scott Stedeford 119 Mark Thomas 121 After his arrest, Wild Bill Guthrie spent days being interviewed by the FBI and other government officials from the Justice Department. The ARA had been given a security designation as a domestic terrorist group that was a threat to the United States government. In one of his interviews with the FBI, Guthrie claimed that the ARA video had been prepared in a humorous way, but the tape was serious in its message: to eliminate the government currently in place, to eliminate the Jews, and to repatriate all the lands back to white people. The FBI clearly considered the ARA as a threat. The FBI documents Jesse Trentadue has uncovered relating to the ARA and its connections to McVeigh and the bombing are heavily redacted, but quite revealing. Some reports begin and end with this ominous caution: "Armed and Dangerous: ARA members advocate the violent overthrow of the U.S. Government; are known to be well armed; use explosives; and in the past have fired weapons at agents in an effort to avoid capture." By 1997, all of the ARA gang members were under arrest. On May 22, 1996, Scott Stedeford was arrested by the FBI in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. He was carrying a briefcase that contained a loaded 9mm Ruger semi-automatic handgun, various writings authored by Mark Thomas, a notebook containing code names and phone numbers for unknown individuals and radio frequencies for numerous federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA and ATF. Stedeford refused to be interviewed. On the same day, Kevin McCarthy was arrested by the FBI at his grandmother's house. He immediately began cooperating with the FBI, spilling his guts about the ARAs involvement in bank robberies and its intent to overthrow the U.S. government. McCarthy immediately agreed to become a government witness against the other ARA members. The government would certainly need McCarthy because their other star witness, Richard Lee Guthrie, would be found dead in his Kenton County, Kentucky jail cell on July 12, 1996. His death was ruled a suicide by hanging, but the circumstances were suspicious. He was a U.S. Marshals Service prisoner being housed in protective custody and confined to an isolation cell. In 1997, Mark Thomas and Michael Brescia were arrested separately. In a news conference of sorts, Thomas told a crowd of reporters that McCarthy had been involved in the Oklahoma City Bombing. Thomas 122 David Paul Hammer attributed his knowledge to a statement by Richard Guthrie, who is alleged to have said about McCarthy: "Your young Mr. Wizard took out the Murrah Building." Thomas had once tutored McCarthy in Christian Identity at Thomas' Pennsylvania farm, before McCarthy moved to Elohim City. It was Thomas who had recruited McCarthy into the ARA for the purpose of robbing banks. This statement by Thomas and the public way he had announced it presented the government with a real problem. Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia were relying on McCarthy's testimony to obtain convictions against Langan and other ARA members. Now the feds cut a deal with Thomas in order to silence him. He entered into a plea agreement and became a government witness. The U.S. attorney prosecuting the ARA case appeared at a press conference and announced that Thomas had recanted his statement about McCarthy and that the story had been concocted to get back at McCarthy. Of course, Guthrie's death prevented him from being able to clear up the matter. Unknown to the media at that time, Guthrie may have spoken from the grave because he did leave behind a manuscript relating to the ARA's exploits. In the manuscript, Guthrie mentioned a mysterious getaway driver named "Tim," also known as "Speedy." Another connection to McVeigh? The ARA members who were prosecuted or entered into plea agreements with federal prosecutors were each sentenced to prison for their involvement in bank robberies and/or other related charges. At age 39, Peter Kevin Langan was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. At age 38, Richard Guthrie, pleaded guilty to 19 bank robberies and cooperated with the FBI before his death. He was expected to receive a 30-year sentence in exchange for his cooperation. At age A7, Mark Thomas, the Pennsylvania state leader of the Aryan Nations, who recruited Scott Stedeford, Kevin McCarthy and Michael Brescia into the ARA, was sentenced to a term of just eight years. Stedeford, 29, was sentenced to a term of 30 years for his involvement in the ARA bank robberies. He is currently housed in a federal prison in Pennsylvania with a release date in 2022. Brescia, 25 at the time of his sentencing, received a term of five years for bank robbery. McCarthy, 20, was also sentenced to five years in prison. Thomas, Brescia and McCarthy have all been released from prison. McCarthy and Thomas remain in the U.S. Deadly Secrets 123 Marshal's witness protection program. Langan remains in a maximum- security federal prison serving life. His appeals have been denied, and he has now come forward with information linking some ARA members to the Oklahoma City bombing. However, Langan insists he had no involvement or knowledge of the bombing prior to the event. Shawn Kenny was never charged or prosecuted for the ARA bank robberies. In a 2004 article published in the Cincinnati City Beat, it was reported that Kenny's criminal actions continued while he remained in the Army. Several factors relating to Kenny's acceptance into the U.S. military bear mentioning here. His right-wing political views were readily visible when he testified in court and pointed to the tattoos on his arms. He called one a "crucified skinhead;" the second a "totem kopf," German for "death head." Under the skull is tattooed "SS," the initials for Hitler's storm troopers. U.S. military regulations prohibit recruits who have tattoos of a racist nature. Even more disturbing is that in March 1996, shortly after Kenny had become an FBI informant and cooperating government witness, he was formally charged with assault under Article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and with indecent acts and liberties with a child, Article 134. Kenny provided alcohol to his 11-year-old niece, and inappropriately touched, fondled and kissed her. He served a short administrative suspension and sentence in an Article 15 proceeding. But he was promoted despite his conduct. The Army usually discharges such individuals for such behavior. Kenny's actions took place during his regular stint in the Army. In 2002, after completing his active duty years, he entered the Army National Guard, and in 2004 was promoted to the rank of E-7. He was deployed to Germany for training and then on to Kosovo in 2004. He held the position as a mortar section sergeant. Considering Kenny's associations with the ARA and with Timothy McVeigh, the question arises: Why would the U.S. government train him in the area of explosives? In his 2007 statement, Peter Langan notes that: "Although involved in the robberies, Shawn Kenny was not prosecuted." Again why? The strikingly divergent punishments received by the ARA gang members seems to suggest that another factor, the bombing case, may have played a role as these criminals bargained one by one with federal 124 David Paul Hammer prosecutors - or, in the case of Stedeford, chose not to bargain, or, in Langan's case, failed to come to terms. If McVeigh's account of the bombing is true, the ARA members who cut deals and got light sentences in the bank robbery case - Thomas, McCarthy, Brescia - had heavy liability in the bomb plot. In contrast, Stedeford, who refused to cut a deal, got a long prison sentence, just about the norm for serious bank robbery charges. Guthrie's death, coming as it did just days after he told a reporter he was going to "blow the lid off" the bombing case, suggests he had culpability, that the bombing may have figured in his plea bargain, and that may have caused him remorse. An affidavit by former Cincinnati police officer Matthew Moning goes further. According to Moning, a federal agent told him that Guthrie "committed suicide after being told he was going to be executed for his role in the Oklahoma City Bombing case. He was told that money from his robberies had been tied to that case and that that meant the death sentence." Langan's fate still hangs in the balance, as he continues, so far unsuccessfully, to try to use his information against others to lighten his sentence. As for Shawn Kenny, his case practically smells of a deal. Kenny was rewarded to the maximum, perhaps, for facilitating the arrest of Guthrie, evidently the prize catch in the bank robbery case. But the fact that Kenny escaped all charges in several serious criminal scenarios where there was compelling evidence against him, and even was rewarded with Army promotions, suggests he might have extraordinary leverage with the government. But what? Deadly Secrets 125 CHAPTER SEVEN Andy The German Rndreas Carl Strassmeir was born on May 17, 1959, in Germany to a prominent family with political connections. To this day there is much about Strassmeir, also known as Andy the German and Mr. Red, that remains a mystery. His story has been told in great books such as The Secret Life of Bill Clinton, by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard; In Bad Company, by Mark Hamm; and Others Unknown, by Stephen Jones. Investigative reporter J.D. Cash, now deceased, provided me with much of the background on Strassmeir that is contained herein. Strassmeir is the son of Gunter Strassmeir, former Parliamentary Secretary of State to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Andreas 's uncle was in the German Parliament, and his brother Alexander was on the Berlin City Council. Strassmeir's father also is reported to have ties to the CIA. Andreas Strassmeir served as a lieutenant in the Panzer Grenadiers, the German equivalent of U.S. Special Forces. As an officer, he received advanced training at a military academy in Hamburg. That schooling included intelligence training. One of his military assignments included a stint as a liaison officer with the Welsh Guards. In an interview with the London Sunday Telegraph, Strassmeir stated that part of his 128 work was to detect infiltration by foreign agents and then feed them disinformation. "If we caught a guy, we'd offer him amnesty" Strassmeir said. " We'd turn him and use him to feed false information back to the Warsaw Pact." It was widely believed that Strassmeir was an agent for the German anti-terrorist unit, the GSG-9. The exact reasons why Andreas Strassmeir came to the United States may never be known, but some things have been verified. He came here in the late 1980s with others, for the stated purpose of participating in a re-enactment of the Battle of Gettysburg. He was equipped with authentic period uniforms and was very knowledgeable about the battle. During his visit, Vincent Petruskie, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, provided him hospitality. Strassmeir told the Telegraph during a five-part interview that he came to the U.S. in 1989 to work on a "special assignment" for the Justice Department. "I discussed the job when I was in Washington," he said. " I was hoping to work for the operations section of the DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration]. But it never worked out." Strassmeir also informed attorney Mike Johnston during an interview in Berlin that Petruski is "a former CIA guy who my father had known since he (Petruski) was stationed in Berlin during the Cold War." Pertuski has denied any connection to the CIA. He was interviewed by the editor of New American and stated that as for any CIA connection: "That's totally wrong. . . I'm a retired Air Force officer, that's all." Petruski did admit to having been a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. He served in the Air Force from 1954 to 1975. When asked if he was a friend of Strassmeir's father, Petruski replied: "I've never met his father; we've only spoken over the phone." According to Petruski: Strassmeir was "a mixed up kid, a very immature 34-year-old when he came over here. Andy wanted to work for the U.S. government, DEA, Justice - undercover. [He] thought his background with military and German government would help. I explained he'd need a green card, education, and sat him down with some people in Washington who explained that it wasn't that simple." Apparently the job never materialized, or did it? It is far more likely, considering events that followed, that the Gettysburg story was nothing more than a cover story, which Strassmeir Deadly Secrets 129 would use as he set out to infiltrate the right-wing movement in the U.S. Petruski told Cash that Strassmeir "is what we would call a putz." Cash wasn't buying that claim. His own investigation told a far different story. There was far more to Andy the German than the portrait Petruski was trying to sell as he attempted to distance himself from Strassmeir. Cash's journalistic instincts were exceptional. He could smell a con job from a mile away. Petruski's tale about the DEA job not panning out for the son of his German friend didn't cover jobs for other government agencies such as the FBI or ATF. Strassmeir clearly had an agenda. According to Petruski's statements to Cash: "He [Andreas] went down to North or South Carolina and then to Texas. He was going to school down there." There are FBI records that reveal Strassmeir's presence in Texas in 1989 and 1991. FBI interview statements obtained by online journalist J.M. Berger, who publishes INTELWIRE.com, establish that Strassmeir was a member of the Texas Reserve Militia, also known as the Texas Light Infantry Militia, for several years. Those documents also verify that there were no fewer than four separate FBI informants and three FBI agents inside the TRM simultaneously with the group's membership of 15-50 members during the same time period. The TRM members suspected that Strassmeir was an informant after they followed him to a federal building at night and observed him entering the building after punching a code into a keypad. According to a statement made by Strassmeir in February 1996, he admitted to residing at Elohim City. "I was at Elohim City on and off for about four years, from 1991 until August of 1995," he said. Strassmeir also admitted to being a training instructor for those involved in providing security at Elohim City. He denied being the chief of security. He claimed his history in the military landed him the training position at Elohim City, and he became involved in the security patrol that had been in place upon his arrival. Contrary to his claims, it is a documented fact that regardless of his title, Andy the German, as he was known by those he trained at the Elohim City compound, was in charge of all things weapons-related. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has reported that Strassmeir was responsible for training platoon-sized groups consisting of 30-40 individuals from across the country, every three months or 130 David Paul Hammer so. In Strassmeir's statement he claimed that an elder at Elohim City, Azara Patterson, a former Marine, always held the position of chief of security at the compound. According to Patterson, in an interviewwith J.D. Cash published in the McCurtain Gazette: "Strassmeir went out and replaced all our deer rifles with assault weapons . . . Next, he wanted us to start doing illegal stuff ... a lot of illegal stuff. I kept telling Andy that we were defensive here, and we didn't want any problems with the law." Andy the German conducted paramilitary training and drills for residents and visitors. Many young men in various right-wing groups such as skinheads, KKK, and WAR traveled to Elohim City specifically to train under Strassmeir. The ARA members went to Elohim City, and at least three of them - Brescia, McCarthy and Stedeford - trained under Andy the German. They all three were his roommates, and Brescia became his assistant. Strassmeir's stay at Elohim City was not without interruptions and run-ins with law enforcement. On February 28, 1992, he was arrested, and the Oklahoma State Highway Patrol impounded his car. According to Kenny Pence, the tow-truck driver, Strassmeir ran a roadblock and presented a driver's license belonging to Elohim City resident Peter Ward. Trooper Vernon Phillips instructed Pence to tow the vehicle, an old, burgundy-colored station wagon. The state placed a hold on the car because of "tag or taxes ... or something;" Pence did not specifically recall what. He did, however, remember inventorying the vehicle with the trooper and finding some "strange documents" written in German. According to a statement provided by Pence to McVeigh's defense team on September 5, 1996, Phillips never got a chance to follow up on the documents because "the car got released so quickly." Pence received a phone call stating that Strassmeir had diplomatic immunity. There was some confusion over who owned the vehicle. The owner was said to be Peter Ward, but papers inside the car seemed to indicate it was Strassmeir's. What is clear is that within the span of a couple of hours, Pence received telephone calls from the State Department, from a military base in North or South Carolina, and from attorney Kirk Lyons, who has represented high-profile white supremacists. Eventually Pence received a call from someone in the Oklahoma Department of Public Deadly Secrets 131 Safety, who instructed Pence to release the vehicle to Strassmeir. Pence was told that the Governor's office had become involved. He made adjustments to the towing bill and waited for Strassmeir to retrieve the car. According to Pence, Andy the German arrived clothed in a full-length black coat and spoke with a heavy German accent, which startled Pence. He said that Strassmeir was friendly until he discovered that his papers had been rummaged through and that he "just had an absolute fit." Pence couldn't understand what the guy was saying, but he was furious. Pence explained to Strassmeir that everything in an impounded vehicle is always inventoried carefully in order to protect the belongings of the vehicle owner. He also commented that Strassmeir must have a lot of pull somewhere and he thought it was a "really strange deal." Strassmeir must have decided he needed a driver's license of his own because on August 28, 1992, he received a driver's license issued by the State of Tennessee. He listed his address as 7613 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville. Even stranger is that Strassmeir had an active social security number despite being in the United States illegally. As for his association with Timothy McVeigh, Strassmeir has had remarkably little to say, and nothing about McVeigh in Elohim City. In his February 1996 statement, Strassmeir acknowledged he traveled the gun show circuit in Oklahoma and Arkansas to buy, trade and sell "materials." He admitted to having met Timothy McVeigh, but claimed to have forgotten all about it until McVeigh's defense attorney interviewed him. What is known is that during the months in which McVeigh said Strassmeir was helping plan the bombing, informant Carol Howe's ATF handler was becoming increasingly alarmed by reports on Strassmeir's activities. In 1992, he had supervised the building of bunkers and a weapons storage facility on the Elohim City compound. Now, in early 1995, ATF Agent Finley-Graham had aerial surveillance photographs of Strassmeir with an assault weapon and of the bunkers. On February 7, 1995, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol was flying photo recon over Elohim City at the request of the ATF. The threat level at Elohim City had reached a point at which the ATF in Tulsa had decided to seek arrest warrants for Strassmeir, Dennis Mahon and others. These facts are contained in Finley- Graham's reports. 132 David Paul Hammer This was the beginning of Strassmeir's near arrest. The ATF had clear and convincing evidence against him for conspiracy and weapons violations. The INS had violations against him for being an illegal alien. In mid-February, the ATF issued a Be On The Lookout bulletin for Strassmeir. The BOLO stated: Andreas Strassmeir, W/M, 5/17/59, heavy German accent. Black Hair/Blue eyes. 1" scar on chin, wears cammo fatigues. Possible Tennessee Driver's license. Came to USA in 5/91, passport was good until 8/91. He never left the country. The INS says he does not have an extension of his VISA. Possibly in blue Chevy, late model, tag BSH 346 (not on file), usually has someone driving for him. Carries a .45 auto pistol at all times. He is an illegal alien, ATF wants to be notified if he is stopped and has the gun on him. They will file charges. Contact: Agent Angela Findley, ATF Office. But the arrest never happened. For reasons that still remain unknown, a planned ATF and INS joint raid on Elohim City was stopped in its tracks in February 1995, at the direction of FBI Special Agent in Charge, Bob Ricks, of the Oklahoma City office. This was extremely puzzling. How could this happen? The most plausible explanation would seem to be that Strassmeir was an agent or confidential informant, protected from prosecution. The question is: to whom was he reporting? Was it the FBI, CIA, or ATF? Or was Strassmeir attached to one of the Major's special units? Strassmeir fled Elohim City for North Carolina in August 1995, four months after the bombing, when the spotlight began to shine too brightly on Elohim City, and the neo-Nazis who stayed and trained there. On July 14, 1996, six months to the day after Strassmeir had been smuggled out of the United States by way of Mexico, J.D. Cash wrote in the McCurtain Gazette that a highly placed FBI official had confirmed that Andreas Strassmeir was a paid government informant sent by ATF - the same agency that employed Carol Howe - to infiltrate Elohim City. In an interview with the London Sunday Telegraph, Strassmeir played it just a bit too cool when he all but admitted that he was undercover Deadly Secrets 133 while in the U.S. "The Right-wing in the U.S. is incredibly easy to penetrate if you know how to talk to them," Strassmeir said. He added: "Of course, it's easier for a foreigner with an accent; nobody would ever suspect a German of working for the Federal Government." But some did suspect just that. 134 David Paul Hammer CHAPTER EIGHT Roger Moore In Timothy McVeigh's statements to me, he never indicated that Roger Moore had been anything other than what he seemed: a friendly presence on the gun-show circuit, a like-minded associate who became a useful friend and sometimes host, until, according to McVeigh, Strassmeir and McVeigh targeted Moore for robbery. If McVeigh had any idea that Roger Moore was a government agent, he never told me, or even dropped a hint. But stunning information to that effect comes from another source. Attorney Jesse Trentadue interviewed McVeigh's convicted accomplice, Terry Nichols, face to face in ADX Supermax prison in 2007. Nichols had been trying to tell this story to someone ever since 2004, when he was convicted a second time in state court for the bombing, and received a life sentence. But when Nichols wrote then- Attorney Gen. Ashcroft and offered to tell his story, Ashcroft didn't even answer the letter. More roadblocks followed, including a ban on all media interviews with Nichols. But Trentadue, who had been investigating the bombing case for several years, wanted to hear Nichols' story, and visited him at Supermax as a lawyer. 138 Then and there, Terry Nichols broke his long silence about the crime. Nichols told Trentadue he knew Timothy McVeigh was an undercover agent in a sting operation, because McVeigh told him so. Nichols also told Trentadue that he knew Roger Moore was not the robbery victim he seemed to be, but actually a player in the bomb plot, again because McVeigh told him so. According to Nichols, McVeigh said he and Moore came up with the idea of doing a staged robbery at Moore's home, which would provide money for McVeigh's mission. Later, after studying the case further, Nichols came to the conclusion that Roger Moore's role went deeper than McVeigh knew. Nichols now believes Moore was actually operating as an "agent provocateur" under instructions from someone else who was running the sting. The Major, perhaps? "The truth is Roger Moore is being protected because by revealing the truth it will implicate the federal government (our own gov't) in the OKC bombing!!" Nichols has written. Terry Nichols is no fool. Sitting in Supermax, he knew his status as convicted murderer would present serious credibility problems for his story. He didn't expect Jesse Trentadue to take him at his word. To support his allegations about Moore, Nichols handed over a thick investigative file. Sitting in isolation in his prison cell for several years, Nichols had pored over his memories, investigative files compiled by his defense teams and, in some cases, the FBI. The file Nichols turned over to Trentadue paints a damaging picture of Roger Moore, one likely to leave a reader wondering - as in the cases of Shawn Kenny and Andreas Strassmeir - why this man was apparently never investigated in connection with the Oklahoma City Bombing. I have drawn extensively on the Terry Nichols file for the following summary profile. Roger Edwin Moore was born on December 20, 1934. He was raised in Sioux City, Iowa, and attended school there. After graduating from high school he joined the Air Force where he served for seven years, obtaining the rank of armament sergeant. He was also captain of the rifle team. He married his wife Carol in May of 1955. Moore attended the University of Tulsa, where he earned a Master's Degree in Business Management. While attending graduate school he Deadly Secrets 139 worked for North American Aviation, now Rockwell International, as a manager in the engineering department with a government Top Secret clearance. After living in Tulsa for several years, the Moores moved to Florida, where they resided for the next 20 years. In Florida, Moore became involved in the boat business, selling 36- foot fiberglass boats. The Navy in Vietnam used some of these boats as patrol boats. He also built boats for elite customers who used them for ocean racing. He owned a total of five boat-building companies from 1966 until about 1977, when he sold his businesses and property. The last two companies owned by Moore were Ensign Marine Inc. and Trophy Marine Inc., based in Fort Lauderdale. They were large enough to be publicly traded. Roger Moore and his wife Carol made a tremendous profit off the sale of the businesses, which enabled them to live off the proceeds via investments. Subsequently, Moore began to travel extensively throughout the country looking to establish a ranch. By the 1990s, when he knew Timothy McVeigh, Moore was living for part of the year on his ranch in Royal, Arkansas, with his girlfriend Karen Anderson. Moore met Anderson in 1979 in Fort Lauderdale. They moved to Arkansas several years later. Moore divided his time between the Arkansas ranch and his home in Florida. Anderson was a professional horsewoman and has held a world equestrian title in jumping. She has more recently operated two businesses with Moore, called the American Assault Company and the Candy Store. Karen Anderson has a federal firearms license in the name of Kathy Anderson. Moore does not hold any such license. Their businesses sold ammunition and parts for firearms, at least on the surface. They also sold adult videos. While residing together in Arkansas, Moore and Anderson had some misfortunes that included a theft on August 11, 1986. Their housekeeper, Patricia R. Ciactello, allegedly stole $11,000 in cash and fled the ranch while Moore and Anderson were in town. The Garland County Sheriff's Department issued a warrant for her arrest. Ciacatello was never arrested for the theft. She was alleged to have committed suicide eight years later in Apache Junction, Arizona, near Phoenix, on April 14, 1994. Timothy McVeigh told me he killed this woman as a favor for Roger Moore. 140 David Paul Hammer On October 10, 1986, Layton Noel, a friend of Moore and Anderson who was staying at their ranch, reportedly committed suicide in their garage while they were on a weekend trip to Tulsa. His cause of death was determined to be carbon monoxide poisoning by the Garland County, Arkansas coroner, who investigated the death. The ATF and Arkansas State Police investigated Moore and Anderson in 1989. The police received information from a confidential informant in Florida that Robert Miller (the alias used by Moore at gun shows to protect his real identity) was willing to illegally send hundreds of pounds of C-4 explosives via UPS from Arkansas to Florida. The Garland County Prosecuting Attorney's Office issued a subpoena in May 1989 in order to investigate Moore and Anderson. An ATF special agent was supposed to have his confidential informant in Florida attempt to contact Roger Moore to arrange a shipment of the explosives. But that never happened. The case was closed on May 4, 1989, without any explanation. According to reporter J.D. Cash, Roger Moore agreed to become an ATF informant at that time. Surprisingly, even while Moore was apparently acting as an ATF informant, the Arkansas State Police and the ATF again investigated Moore and Anderson in March 1993, this time for selling illegal weapons via the mail to a convicted felon, Ron Goldberg of Oregon. But an FBI special agent from the Hot Springs, Arkansas, office advised that there were no weapons violations of Karen Anderson's federal firearms license privileges. Therefore, the case was closed. During this same time period, Anderson and Moore were dealing with Steven Colbern, who was a federal fugitive. Anderson sold Colbern .50 and .308 caliber ammunition by mail. Astoundingly, it was Anderson who now took it upon herself to personally introduce Colbern to Timothy McVeigh. Following Anderson's introduction, McVeigh and Colbern became friends, and, according to McVeigh, conducted bomb- making experiments in the summer of 1994 in the Arizona desert near Kingman. No charges were ever filed against Anderson or Moore over their weapons and ammunition dealings with convicted felons Goldberg and Colbern, or for any other state or federal offenses. Like many persons associated with Timothy McVeigh, Moore and Anderson seem to have been protected from prosecution. Deadly Secrets 141 i_l Terry Nichols 143 When the FBI first questioned Anderson about McVeigh and Colbern on May 5, 1995, Anderson claimed not to know Colbern. However, when questioned by the FBI a second time two weeks later on May 17, 1995, her memory improved. She now recalled her dealings with Colbern - not just selling him ammunition and introducing him to McVeigh, but also acting as a mail forwarding person for Colbern, so that his real location would not be known. Anderson also stated that her last contact with Colbern came approximately one month before the Oklahoma City Bombing. A month later, in June 1995, the story of the November 1994 robbery at Roger Moore's Arkansas home broke for the first time, when the FBI released documents related to searches of the homes of McVeigh and Nichols. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette published a series of articles focusing on the robbery and Moore. On June 16, after the media reported Moore's name as the robbery victim, Moore said he believed his life was in danger. At a press conference, Garland County Sheriff Larry Selig said: "Moore fears any perception that he may be cooperating in the Oklahoma City bombing investigation." Moore was in seclusion, but a television reporter from Little Rock managed to interview him at the gate to his property. According to the reporter, Moore said he had met with FBI officials almost 30 times since the bombing. Moore later discounted the number 30, but declined to say how many times the FBI had interviewed him. The big headline in the series - 'Cover' blown - came on June 22, when the newspaper reported on Moore's unsuccessful effort to have the local sheriff's department withhold the robbery report. According to the newspaper, after the report was released over Moore's objection, he made a statement suggesting he was playing or had played some kind of informant role with the FBI. "Whatever I was doing for the FBI is P**** up because they blew my cover," the newspaper quoted Moore as saying. Another strange episode in which Moore reportedly claimed a relationship with the FBI began in the fall of 1993, when Moore had a run-in with Oklahoma State Highway Patrol troopers. He was arrested for shooting at an occupied vehicle during a traffic stop and for possession of drugs. On November 23, 1993, Moore retained Richard McLaughlin, an attorney in Wagoner, Oklahoma, to represent him. 144 David Paul Hammer According to McLaughlin, Moore acted "real snappy and smart" at every court appearance. He was loud and said inappropriate things to the judge, such as, "This is all nonsense." Moore acted as if the charges were the result of a conspiracy among the Oklahoma State Highway Patrol personnel, the District Attorney, the judge, and even McLaughlin himself. Moore lodged a complaint against the state troopers who had arrested him. Moore acted as if he was above the law. On October 25, 1995, Moore came into McLaughlin's office angry and complaining that the lawyer had overcharged him. During that confrontation, McLaughlin told Moore he hoped the government indicted him for financing the Oklahoma City Bombing. In response, according to McLaughlin, Moore got a funny look on his face and stated they would not do anything because he was a "protected witness." There it was from Roger Moore's own mouth, just five months after the bombing. He was a protected witness. Apparently, Moore had disclosed enough to his attorney to cause McLaughlin to think Moore might be prosecutable in the bombing case. If Moore was "protected," as he claimed, was it because he had been secretly informing on someone? Timothy McVeigh? Moore's alleged claim that he was protected seems to have support in various documents that eventually made their way to Terry Nichols for his file. In an FBI interview statement dated February 27, 1996, Special Agent Ronald J. Van Vranken of the Salt Lake City Field Office stated that Utah Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Lubeck had declined to prosecute Roger Moore in August 1991, for Moore's alleged involvement in illegal drug activities targeted by Operation Punchout, a federal undercover drug sting. The reason given on the court-docketing sheet for the failure to prosecute Moore was "insufficient evidence." Unfortunately, Lubeck could not locate his letter declining prosecution of Moore in his files. Time and again Moore seems to have been protected by someone in the federal government. If Timothy McVeigh believed or knew that Roger Moore was a government agent, McVeigh never told his attorneys. But the defense file does contain one very telling document suggesting that by the time of McVeigh's trial, he harbored resentment toward Moore that suggested Deadly Secrets 145 their relationship in the bombing conspiracy went well beyond thief and victim. In December 1995, McVeigh's investigator Richard Reyna met with McVeigh at the federal prison at El Reno. Reyna informed McVeigh that the FBI was increasing the pressure on Moore, "and that it was just a matter of time before Moore decides to cooperate." The investigator also told McVeigh there was no doubt in his mind that "Roger Moore could be a very damaging witness." Reyna went on to say: "I told Mr. McVeigh to wake up and smell the coffee . . . that Mr. Moore was not a stupid man, that if it came down to making a choice about whose ass to save, that McVeigh could kiss his ass goodbye." According to Reyna, the look on McVeigh's face when the investigator delivered this news was one of anger. In response: "Mr. McVeigh stated that if Moore decided to testify against him, there was enough evidence available to sink Roger Moore." Specifically, McVeigh went on to describe some of the explosives Moore had provided him, including Kinestiks, one of the explosives McVeigh told me were final ingredients in the bomb constructed in the warehouse in Oklahoma City. McVeigh told Reyna that Moore had cases of the explosive Kinestik, but that he didn't sell it to just anybody. McVeigh claimed that Moore was anti- government, and told McVeigh he didn't mind selling the explosives to him because he knew McVeigh would "put them to good use." In the sworn declaration Terry Nichols gave Jesse Trentadue in 2007, Nichols claimed - contradicting McVeigh, who told me Guthrie and Brescia were the robbers - that he, Nichols, was the one who personally robbed Roger Moore on November 5, 1994. In the declaration, Nichols elaborated on the link between Roger Moore and the Kinestik explosive McVeigh said he used in the bomb. "Among the things that I took from Moore was a box containing tubes of nitromethane, which forms part of the binary explosive Kinestik," Nichols said, adding that: "I hid those explosives at my home after the bombing. Although Moore denies ever having Kinestik, these explosives that I took that day were in a box addressed to Robert Miller, which was Moore's alias. I also have no doubt that Moore's fingerprints are on that box and/or those explosives." If Jesse Trentadue hadn't followed a long and twisted path of clues all the way to Terry Nichols, everyone might have forgotten about this 146 David Paul Hammer most intriguing piece of explosive evidence, which is now in the custody of the FBI. After Nichols revealed the whereabouts of the nitromethane, FBI agents raided his home in Herington, Kansas, and found the carton of nitromethane right where Nichols said it would be. But curiously, no investigative report on the confiscated nitromethane ever issued from the FBI. Trentadue has requested through the Freedom of Information Act all relevant information as to whose fingerprints were found on the box and the explosives. To date his request has not been answered. It is unknown whether the FBI or ATF even bothered to test for prints. Roger Moore and Karen Anderson have moved from their Arkansas ranch. Moore's actions apparently never aroused the suspicions of the FBI. So far, about the only investigator seriously interested in Roger Moore is a private citizen: Jesse Trentadue. Deadly Secrets 147 CHAPTER NINE Trentadue Blood !esse Carl Trentadue doesn't look like any hillbilly one's mind might conjure up. But after years of battling the FBI over release ^ of government secrets about the Oklahoma City Bombing - secrets Jesse believes may finally explain his brother's suspicious death in the summer of 1995 - he is no doubt running out of patience. Maybe that is bringing out the hillbilly in him. Jesse doesn't wear bibbed overalls, denim work pants, straw hats or caps from the local grain dealership. But his roots run deep into the coal mining camps of West Virginia. His hometown is called, simply, Number 7, West Virginia, a tiny coal mining camp in the hills about halfway between Horsepen, Virginia, and Cucumber, West Virginia. His father went to work in the mine at age 15. His grandfathers on both sides of his family started working in the mines at ages 6 and 12. In addition to coal mining, Jesse's family had another tradition. They served their country in various branches of the U.S. military dating back to the Civil War. Jesse himself served a two-year hitch in the Marine Corps before he enrolled in law school. Jesse's father and grandfathers all died from black lung disease after a lifetime of working in the mines. Coal prices plummeted during the 150 Korean War and a neighboring family from Number 7 moved west to Orange County, California. The Lassaks were Trentadue family friends from up the holler. Mr. Lassaks had "prophesied of a promised land in California." In no time at all the locals of Number 7 received word that Mrs. Lassaks was on the TV game show Queen for a Day, where the woman with the saddest story would win a crown, a case of Chesterfield cigarettes and a washing machine. According to Jesse, "She told a tragic Number 7 story about living in houses with dirt floors and eating fried potato peels, coons, groundhogs and squirrel, and she broke the applause meter." That was enough proof for the folks in and around Number 7, "and about half the entire damned town moved west to Orange County." Jesse's own family was one of those that made the trip. "We headed west on ole' Route 66, just like the Okies did," Jesse says. "We slept beside the car at night. We cooked our meals beside the road." In high school Jesse excelled at sports, but after a football injury he discovered he had another God-given talent. He set the state record in California for being the fastest high-school athlete at running the mile. That feat was good enough to win him a full track and field scholarship at the University of Southern California, where he and his fellow teammate O.J. Simpson made All American. Following graduation, Jesse joined the Marines, served with honor and then attended law school at the University of Idaho. He later moved to Salt Lake City where he earned a reputation as a tough and spirited litigator. He practices law there today. That is, when he's not on the front lines in his role as a tenacious citizen investigator. Jesse's appearance might fool you. He's often seen wearing a Gatsby cap and smoking on a cigar while chewing tobacco at the same time. His neatly trimmed beard and gray-streaked mustache give the appearance of a modern-day gunslinger. He is stocky, with a weather-beaten look, sharp as a tack, yet reserved and watchful. He shows the strain of the past 15 plus years of seeking justice for his brother, Kenneth Michael Trentadue. Kenney's gruesome death in federal custody in Oklahoma City, four months after the bombing, is what drew Jesse into the spider's web of the bombing case. He has been doggedly investigating to solve what he believes was a murder ever since. Deadly Secrets 1 51 Jesse's younger brother Kenney was also a high school athlete. He had dreams of following in his older brother's footsteps. Jesse was three years older and the two brothers had grown up close, sharing hardships and triumphs. An injury put an end to Kenney 's dream of being a distance runner. He dropped out of high school and began hanging around with other boys from their neighborhood. At age 17 he enlisted in the Army. During his stint in the service he became a drug addict. Afterwards he robbed some pharmacies to feed his habit. Kenney worked at numerous jobs, including carpentry and factory work. He then became a bank robber. He wouldn't just rob the tellers, but took down the whole bank. But as Jesse says: "On Kenney 's jobs, the weapons were empty or the firing pins had been removed. Robbery is one thing. Murder is something totally different, and money isn't worth that." Kenney was arrested for the bank robberies. "He didn't cry about it," Jesse says. " He went in, pled guilty, and served his time." Kenney was released from federal prison in 1987, but remained on parole. He had served six years of a 20 -year sentence for robbing a savings and loan. Life on the outside wasn't easy for him, but he cleaned up his act. Kenney got married, bought a home and had steady work in construction. He enjoyed a cold beer after work and lived a law-abiding existence. For some unknown reason, his parole officer instituted a no- alcohol provision to his parole agreement. Kenney appealed the ban, but lost. In protest he stopped reporting to his parole officer. For the next eight years he was a successful member of society. In the spring of 1995, he and his wife Carmen were expecting their first child. On June 10, 1995, about two months after the Oklahoma City Bombing, Kenney was pulled over at the Mexican border while driving his 1986 Chevy pickup. Kenney was on his way home to San Diego after visiting his in-laws in Mexico. He had made this trip routinely without ever encountering difficulties. This stop was different. As a part of the normal crossing procedures, officials at the border ran a criminal computer check on Kenney Trentadue. The National Crime and Information Center reported the 1987 arrest warrant issued for Kenney 's failure to report to his parole officer. He was arrested and transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego. That facility houses federal prisoners temporarily during the adjudication of their charges. 152 David Paul Hammer Kenney was a well-muscled, dark haired man, 5'8" and stocky. His left forearm bore a dragon tattoo. He was in top physical shape after years of working in construction. After waiting for two months in MCC San Diego for a parole revocation hearing, he was unexpectedly transported by the U.S. Marshals Service - via Con Air - to the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Federal Transfer Center, located on the edge of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. Kenney arrived there on August 18, 1995, as a parole violator who faced no more than three to six months in prison, if his parole was actually revoked. His son Vito had just been born two months earlier, nine days after his arrest at the border. On August 19, 1995, Kenney placed a telephone call to Jesse's house. Kenney spoke to his sister-in-law Rita. He reported on being flown to Oklahoma City pending a parole revocation hearing. Rita is an attorney and law professor, and she was surprised that Kenney had been shipped from California to Oklahoma for such a hearing. In that conversation he told her: "It's that jet age stuff." Their conversation was routinely recorded by the BOR Kenney called again that night and spoke with Jesse. "Kenney was in good spirits," Jesse recalls. "We talked about the hearing and he promised to call me back the next night." That call never came. In the early morning hours of August 21, 1995, FTC-Oklahoma City's Acting Warden Marie Carter placed a telephone call to Jesse's mother Wilma Trentadue. The acting warden informed Mrs. Trentadue that her son Kenney, also known as Vance Paul Brockway (an alias from his bank robbing days) had committed suicide. Acting Warden Carter then offered to have Kenney 's body cremated at government expense, something that is unprecedented in the BOP. Mrs. Trentadue declined the offer and informed Acting Warden Carter that her son Jesse was a lawyer and he would contact her. When Jesse finally reached Acting Warden Carter he had to argue with her and insist that an autopsy be performed. That too was mighty peculiar because the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which is part of the Justice Department, mandates an autopsy be conducted on any inmate who dies unexpectedly while in BOP custody. It has never been explained why Kenney Trentadue, a federal prison inmate who had committed federal crimes in California, had been Deadly Secrets 153 incarcerated only in federal prisons in California, who was on parole and reporting to a parole officer in Southern California, was then transferred halfway across the country for a parole revocation hearing. What is clear is that on August 21, 1995, while Kenneth Michael Trentadue was in the custody of agents employed by the U.S. government in Oklahoma City, his lifeless, bloody, battered and tortured body was released to employees from the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's office. However, investigators from that office were not allowed to access the cell where Kenney is alleged to have committed suicide. It would be months before they would be allowed into that cell, and only after it had been cleaned and repainted. Being at the FTC put Kenney Trentadue in close proximity to Timothy McVeigh, who was then being held at the federal prison in El Reno, Oklahoma. Kenney 's death occurred only 11 days after the federal grand jury had issued its indictment against McVeigh, Nichols and Others Unknown. By this time there were any number of people in Oklahoma City and elsewhere who didn't buy into the government's theory of the bombing, or the easy solution and tidy closure of the case with the arrests of the two men who were locked up some 30 miles away. No one could forget the man identified by federal investigators only as John Doe No. 2. Law enforcement officers nationwide had been searching furiously for this unidentified individual who was believed to be one of McVeigh's accomplices. The composite sketch of John Doe No. 2 had been circulated worldwide. The sketch was made from a witness's description of a man seen with McVeigh - who looked nothing like Terry Nichols. McVeigh himself was identified as John Doe No. 1. The police description of John Doe No. 2 was of a man approximately 5'9", muscular, with dark hair and a tattoo of a dragon on his left forearm; he was driving an older model pickup truck. As Jesse Trentadue began investigating his brother's death, he had no idea of the physical resemblance between Kenney and the man known only as John Doe No. 2. It would be years before the significance would become obvious. Five days after Kenney 's death, his battered and bruised body was received by a mortuary in "Westminster, California. His mother Wilma, wife Carmen and sister Donna Sweeney were there to receive him. 154 David Paul Hammer The body was covered with a thick coat of mortician's makeup, but it couldn't hide the numerous injuries, including a gash across Kenney's throat, and bruises on his face and forehead. The women undressed the body and washed away the makeup. It was then that the horrible injuries to Kenney's body were visible. They photographed the body as evidence of the torture Kenney had endured prior to his death. On August 30, Jesse flew to Dallas, where he hand-delivered a letter to the regional director of the BOP. That office oversees the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. He also sent copies of his letter to numerous Justice Department officials. The letter read in part: "I have enclosed as Exhibit A a photograph of Kenneth's body at the funeral . . . This is how you returned my brother to us . . . My brother had been so badly beaten that I personally saw several mourners leave the viewing to vomit in the parking lot! Anyone seeing my brother's body with his bruised and lacerated forehead, throat cut, and blue-black knuckles would not have concluded that his death was either easy or a 'suicide'!" Jesse concluded his letter as follows: "Had my brother been less of a man, your guards would have been able to kill him without inflicting so much injury to his body. Had that occurred, Kenney's family would be forever guilt-ridden with the pain of thinking that Kenneth took his own life and that we had somehow failed him. By making the fight he did for his life, Ken has saved us that pain and God bless him for that." Jesse told me that: "David, Kenney took a whole lot of killin'. Those bastards had a fight on their hands. Kenney gave 'em more than they bargained for. I want every one of them to own up to what they did. We don't want their money. We just want the truth. They might not know it, but I'm one pissed-off hillbilly, and I'm gonna find out who killed my brother and why they did it. I'll never stop fighting for Kenney as long as I'm alive." On September 1, 1995, BOP officials issued a press release announcing that Kenney's death had been ruled a suicide and that the injuries to his body were self-inflicted during his persistent attempts to cause himself serious injury or death. They later attempted to explain away the injuries with an elaborate scenario. Unfortunately for prison officials, that scenario is belied by logic and physical evidence at the scene of the crime. Deadly Secrets 155 Kenneth Trentadue 157 The government contends that Trentadue's "extensive injuries, deposits of blood and, ultimately, hanging and death occurred in quite a short period of time, from approximately 2:38 a.m., at the earliest, to about 3:02 a.m., a space of approximately 24 minutes." There was no blood on the floor of Kenney's cell (709-A) at 2:38 a.m. Nothing was amiss. The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner, Dr. Fred B. Jordan, who is known as a first-rate forensic pathologist, and who also went on to become a president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, testified that in 37 years of practice he had never seen a hanging with so much trauma. It took over three years before Dr. Jordan would eventually rule Kenney's death a suicide, and not until he had been the victim of, as he described it, "Mississippi Burning-style meddling and intimidation." Quoted in a 2006 Salt Lake City newspaper, Dr. Jordan called the local FBI "a bunch of toughs." He added that the Justice Department harassed and pressured him into signing off on the suicide theory. Dr. Jordon felt so threatened by the Justice Department and FBI that he requested a "protective audit" from the IRS because the "friggen FBI . . . might want to frame me in one way or another." Dr. Jordan took to traveling with a gun. An expert hired by the government, nationally recognized pathologist Dr. John Smialek, described Kenney's death as "weird, because of the extensive trauma and massive blood loss." Weird would also explain the government's feeble explanations for Kenney's injuries. The government claims that after guards at the FTC last saw Kenney alive in bed at 2:38 a.m., he used a pencil to write a suicide note on the wall of his cell, but did not sign his own name. Next, he supposedly patiently tore a bed sheet into dozens of strips. He then constructed a ligature from those strips. Once that was completed, Kenney remade his bed, climbed the wall of his cell and wove the bed-sheet rope into a metal vent above his sink. He then tried to hang himself, and was momentarily successful, but the rope broke. Kenny fell, hitting his buttocks on the edge of the sink, but doing no injury to them. The impact of his body on the sink caused him to ricochet across the cell headfirst into the corner of a metal desk at the end of his bunk, producing a major wound on his forehead. 158 David Paul Hammer The government says that the force of that impact caused Kenney to rotate 180 degrees and careen across his cell to smash his head into the wall, creating a second major wound on the right side of his head, leaving blood and hair on the wall of his cell and tearing extensive areas of skin off of his back. Despite striking the desk with such force, the impact did not disturb the coffee cup or any of the papers on the desk. The government next claims that while unconscious from his two head wounds, Kenney rolled over on his stomach and bled profusely, depositing large pools of blood on the floor of his cell. When Kenney regained consciousness, he attempted to get up, but struck the back of his head on the metal stool attached to the desk, causing a third major wound on the back of his head. This third blow to his head further dazed Kenney, who then crawled on all fours with his clothing smearing blood on the floor. The government has never attempted to explain the various injuries to Kenny's knuckles and legs, or the fingerprint impressions on his arms. The government states that Kenney finally got to his feet and staggered around, leaving blood deposits on the walls of his cell. He then stumbled to his bed and lay down to regain his senses. After a while, Kenney used two plastic toothpaste tubes or a plastic knife to cut his throat, leaving no blood on his pillowcase, sheet and blanket. When that second suicide attempt failed, Kenney reconstructed the bed-sheet rope and successfully hanged himself. It is undisputed that Kenney 's fingerprints were found on nothing in his cell but his personal papers. No sheet fibers or threads were found on his body or in his cell. It is also undisputed that Kenney 's clothing is missing! The government contends that before his final suicide attempt, he took a washcloth and wiped his fingerprints from the pencil supposedly used to write the suicide note, from the plastic knife and/or toothpaste tubes he used to slash his throat and from every other item in the cell, except his personal papers. Kenney also carefully cleaned himself and his cell to remove all threads or fibers from the sheets torn to fashion the ligature. He then undressed and hid his bloodstained clothing (inside of a locked solitary confinement cell) so well that it has never been found. Deadly Secrets 159 It is undisputed that sound is amplified within the cells and housing units at the FTC. The government says that Kenney accomplished all of his injuries in absolute silence so as not to alert any nearby inmates or guards, and that he accomplished all of this within 17 minutes, in order to have been hanging more than six minutes, which rendered him dead and not able to be revived, when discovered at 3:03 a.m. Eric Ellis, Dennis Williams, Kimberly Heath and Wiley Creasey were the guards on duty in the Special Housing Unit at the time of Kenney 's death. They all swear that Kenney was alone and that no one entered his cell. These guards also swear they found Kenney hanging and eventually cut him down. The guards said the ligature, which Kenney allegedly used to hang himself with, consisted of two segments: the bed-sheet rope tied to the vent in his cell, which remained after he was purportedly cut down, and the knotted 23 -inch bed-sheet noose that was around Kenney 's neck after he was cut down. Ellis, the guard who claims to have cut Kenney down, said that he cut the noose three to four inches above Kenney 's head and left it around his neck. Tammy Corwine (formerly Tammy Gillis) was a field investigator for the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner when she came to the FTC on the morning of August 21, 1995, to retrieve Kenney 's body. She spoke to the guards, who told her that it was physician assistant Carlos Mier who had cut Kenney down, not them. Corwine then asked Mier who had cut Kenney down, and he said it was the guards. The official story of Kenney 's death just didn't ring true with his brother. Jesse Trentadue vowed to learn the truth. His long investigation has taken him to places he could never have imagined, eventually leading him to discover a link to the Oklahoma City Bombing. Jesse eventually reached a shocking conclusion: that FBI agents tortured and killed his brother during a prison interrogation, apparently in the mistaken belief that Kenneth Trentadue was John Doe No. 2 - McVeigh's unidentified accomplice who got away. If Jesse is right, and federal government employees killed his brother, they didn't realize what they had done by spilling Trentadue blood. Jesse has made it his life's mission to show them. But that has proved to be a long, strange trip - not only Jesse's journey into the sprawling, twisted bombing conspiracy and its various 160 David Paul Hammer alleged players, but also the possible serial murder case Jesse would soon uncover as he began digging into the mystery of his brother's death. Astonishingly, Kenney wasn't the only dead prisoner. Soon Jesse discovered two more whose deaths were carbon copies of Kenney 's. Who could possibly have killed these men - all three in federal custody, all in solitary confinement, all locked inside cells to which only federal correctional officers had keys? Who might seem obvious. But why? Deadly Secrets 161 CHAPTER TEH Cover-Up Tlhe concealment of the circumstances of Kenneth Trentadue's death, which began immediately, would eventually lead all the way to the upper echelons of the Justice Department, and continues to this day. Why would such a massive cover-up be undertaken to protect some rogue prison guards who went over the top with an inmate? As Jesse Trentadue would discover, something much deeper was going on here. The initial autopsy report issued by Dr. Fred B. Jordan, who, at the time was the chief medical examiner for the State of Oklahoma, details the serious injuries that Kenney suffered prior to his death. Dr. Jordan listed the cause of death as "traumatic asphyxia" and the manner of death as "unknown." Dr. Jordan is the same medical examiner whose staff faced the grim task of identifying the victims from the Oklahoma City Bombing. His reputation has consistently been above reproach, and he was hailed as a prosecution witness in the trials of McVeigh and Nichols. From the onset of the Trentadue investigation, Dr. Jordan's staff faced one obstacle after another. The hindrance came from federal employees at all levels. On the morning of August 21, 1995, after the 164 discovery of Kenney's body, Investigator Corwine, from Dr. Jordan's office, was not allowed into cell 709-A of the Federal Transfer Center, where Kenney was alleged to have committed suicide. She was only allowed to peer into the cell through a small window on the door. A few hours later, Chief Investigator Kevin Rowland from Dr. Jordan's office telephoned the FTC and informed Acting Warden Carter that Kenney's death looked like a homicide. Rowland repeatedly asked the acting warden to call in the FBI to investigate the death and to immediately secure the crime scene. When Carter refused, Rowland informed her that he was going to contact the FBI himself. He placed that call at 8:10 a.m. on August 21. Lt. Kenneth W Freeman, the prison's special investigative agent, conducted the Federal Bureau of Prisons' investigation at the FTC. Records obtained by Jesse Trentadue reveal that Lt. Freeman's investigation was fraught with errors, lies, and was an intentional cover- up. Those actions began almost immediately. Pursuant to Oklahoma State statutes, the State of Oklahoma had concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal Government over the FTC. The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner was supposed to have control over the death scene, which could not be disturbed, cleaned or destroyed without his approval. BOP policy required that Kenney's alleged suicide be investigated by a panel of psychologists from other BOP institutions; that a detailed report of the motives and methods of his alleged suicide, known as a psychological reconstruction, be prepared; and that FTC personnel "Shall handle the site with the same level of protection as any crime scene in which death has occurred to insure that available evidence and documentation is preserved to provide data and support for subsequent investigators doing a psychological reconstruction." Before 8:00 a.m., on August 21, officials at BOP Headquarters notified the prison administration at FTC-Oklahoma City that a psychological reconstruction team was on its way to the FTC to investigate. The FTC administration knew that the team would be arriving at the institution that very afternoon. Nevertheless, Kenney's cell was hurriedly cleaned and "sanitized" beforehand. To date, Kenney's is the only so-called suicide within the Federal Bureau of Prisons for which a psychological reconstruction was not conducted. Deadly Secrets 165 FTC inmates Steve Cole, George Orellana and Antoine Gist cleaned Trentadue's cell. They were instructed to scrub down the crime scene, and FTC employees Rosonda Chisholm and Keri Nelson supervised them. The job of sanitizing the cell was completed by 1:50 p.m. on the afternoon of August 21. By intentionally disregarding the specific instructions of the medical examiner's staff, the employees at FTC destroyed crucial physical evidence such as blood splatter. Nelson stated there was blood within four feet of the floor. Located just inside the cell door was a distress button for alerting staff to emergencies within the cell, thereby summoning help. Nelson, Cole, Orellana and Gist later testified there was a bloody handprint near, but not on, the button and that the handprint streaked down the wall, as though a person was collapsing trying to reach the distress alarm. The presence of the handprint was later confirmed through a Luminol test, which allows investigators to detect blood not visible to the naked eye. Prior to the cleanup, Freeman failed to photograph the bloody handprint during his investigation. He also failed to photograph the other blood splatter observed by the inmates and staff in Kenney's cell. It was Freeman's duty to conduct the initial investigation, including preserving evidence. He had been trained in preservation of crime scenes, including the recognition of blood splatter and cast-off, which results during an assault. At approximately 8:30 a.m., on the morning of August 21, Freeman met with his superiors at the FTC. He left that meeting to telephone the Oklahoma City field office of the FBI. Freeman spoke with FBI Special Agent Jeffery Jenkins. Freeman informed Agent Jenkins that Kenney had committed suicide. Freeman did not tell Jenkins about the blood in the cell or the extensive injuries on the inmate's body. Freeman lied, informing the agent that the scene of the suicide had already been cleaned. Why? Freeman then told the agent he would complete his report of the suicide investigation and fax a copy to the FBI. Freeman admitted he never intended to do that investigative report, or to provide a copy to the FBI. He stated that if a guard told him an inmate committed suicide, there was no need for him to conduct an investigation. All he needed to do was "come up with some explanation as to how Kenney Trentadue got the head trauma." Freeman later admitted to having lied to Jenkins and others in order to have the crime scene destroyed. He showed no remorse for his 166 David Paul Hammer actions, stating: "If I have to take a hit for it, so be it." But Freeman certainly was not acting alone. In the early morning hours of August 21, Freeman took a series of photographs of Trentadue and the cell where he died. The negatives of the 35mm photographs and one of two rolls of film mysteriously disappeared. That same morning, Operations Lieutenant Stuart A. Lee also took a series of Polaroid photographs, but they too mysteriously disappeared. It would be years later, and only after all of the official investigations into Kenneth Trentadue's death were concluded, before the missing photographs were discovered by the FBI in its files. In order to somehow support the theory that Kenney committed suicide, a psychologist at FTC left a meeting with his supervisors about the Trentadue case to prepare a report stating that Trentadue had been placed on suicide watch shortly before his death. The psychologist, David Wedeking, later admitted under oath that the report was false and there had been no suicide watch. Somehow, by August 22, within 24 hours of the discovery of Kenney Trentadue's body, the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General completed its first investigation of the Trentadue case, concluding that no "prosecutable federal crime had occurred." On that same date, Kevin Rowland, the investigator from Dr. Jordan's office, filed a murder complaint with the Oklahoma City office of the FBI stating: "That the authorities at FTC's version of victim's (Trentadue) alleged suicide is not consisted with Medical Examiner's report." Two days later, BOP Director Kathleen Hawk-Sawyer formed a board of inquiry to investigate Kenney 's death and the circumstances surrounding it. In a very strange and surprising move, she appointed BOP attorney Michael D. Hood to head the investigation. She instructed Hood to treat all reports prepared by the inquiry team as "attorney work product." This designation meant that the Justice Department investigation was being conducted to defend against any civil litigation brought by the Trentadue family. More importantly, this action was being undertaken by the BOP at the direction of Director Hawk- Sawyer even before the Trentadue family had received Kenney 's body. The Hood-led investigation included a week spent at FTC-Oklahoma City "preserving evidence," including the photographs that disappeared until years later. Deadly Secrets 167 On October 12, 1995, Assistant Director and BOP General Counsel Wallace H. Chaney contacted the BOP's Office of Internal Affairs, which was also investigating Kenney's death. The purpose of Chaney 's e-mail was to warn internal affairs investigators that "there is a great likelihood of a lawsuit by the family of the inmate." In lawyer speak, Chaney was instructing the Office of Internal Affairs to be very careful about any findings it made with respect to the conduct of Justice Department employees in the manner of Kenney's death, since those findings could later be used as evidence against the Justice Department. On November 16, 1995, BOP attorney Ann Tran met with FBI Agent Jenkins to discuss the Trentadue case, the investigation and what jurisdiction the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office had over that investigation. Attorney Tran informed Jenkins that because the FTC was not on federal ground, the Justice Department was "obliged to follow state law," and therefore, "the Medical Examiner is entitled to all information and records pertaining to the deceased in doing their investigation." Jenkins' response to Tran was to say: "He doesn't care about Oklahoma law" . . . and that if the Medical Examiner is "conducting an investigation for Trentadue's brother, then he gets nothing." That same day, BOP Regional Director for the South Central Region, Charles Turnbo, reported this conversation to Director Hawk- Sawyer. After a delay of almost three months, on November 16, 1995, Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Investigator Kevin Rowland was finally allowed to inspect Kenney's cell. Cell 709-A was now supposed to be a secured crime scene, sealed with crime scene tape within the custody and control of the BOP. Investigator Rowland was escorted to Kenney's cell by several DOJ employees, including attorney Tran, Capt. Sheffer, Lt. Freeman and FBI Special Agent Jenkins. In the presence of the Justice Department employees, Rowland asked Jenkins to have the handwriting on the cell wall analyzed. The BOP investigators had concluded that a message scribbled on the cell wall that read, "my mind is no longer its friend, love familia," was a suicide note left behind by Kenney. Rowland returned to the FTC and to Cell 709-A on December 14, 1995. The cell was secured with crime scene tape, but the handwriting had been painted over. The FBI Crime Lab, left with only photographs to work from in order to analyze the writing, reported that "due to the lack of detail 168 David Paul Hammer in the submitted photographs [it] is doubtful if this hand printing will ever be identified with hand printing of a known individual." Who destroyed the original evidence and why has never been determined, but the crime scene was under the control of the Justice Department and its employees within the BOP. Other evidence that mysteriously disappeared included the clothing worn by Kenney at the time of his death. When his body was discovered he was wearing bloodstained khaki pants and a bloodstained T-shirt. The missing photographs would eventually verify this fact. When the body was turned over to the medical examiner at 7:00 a.m. Kenney was dressed in bloodstained boxer shorts. An FBI memorandum states that Agent Jenkins left the clothing in the trunk of his car until it was putrefied, and that "Jenkins took the smelly, bloody clothing out of his car and now had it in the FBI office." The clothing disappeared, and has never been seen since. Agent Jenkins denies this ever occurred. FBI Special Agent Tom Linn provided testimony in the Trentadue case. He provided some revealing details. He stated that on the top bunk mattress two separate types of blood were discovered. One was determined to be Kenney 's blood. The other was not identified, and the FBI did not attempt to identify the unknown blood sample. Additionally, Agent Linn testified that BOP Lt. Freeman had failed to photograph the blood splatter or bloody handprint, and that he failed to collect blood and hair just inside of Kenney 's cell. According to Agent Linn, this evidence "disappeared." The officers arriving at Cell 709-A on the morning of Trentadue's death claim he was hanging and the body was then cut down. There remains a dispute over who actually cut down the body. The noose, which they claim was cut from Kenney 's neck, was turned over to the medical examiner's investigator when the body was retrieved. The noose was provided to an expert with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Douglas J. Perkins, a fabric expert, analyzed the evidence and determined that it had not been cut. The only cut marks made on the ligature were those made by Lt. Freeman on the portion of the bed- sheet rope that he claims was attached to the vent in the cell. There was no evidence that the noose had ever been around Kenney 's neck, and it certainly had not been cut. Deadly Secrets 169 A videotape that BOP staff claim to have made of Kenney's cell and body never made its way into the evidence collected during the investigations. BOP guard Roger T. Groover stated he used a video camera to record the cell and Kenney's hanging body. He testified under oath to the grand jury and to the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General that he videotaped these images, and that the video camera was functioning properly. However, he later admitted he never saw Kenney hanging and never videotaped any hanging body. The Justice Department claims the video camera malfunctioned, resulting in only a two or three-second videotape of no evidentiary importance. Norman I. Perle, a video forensic expert, retained by the OIG, later examined that videotape. Mr. Perle opined the videotape had been erased. The OIG then obtained a second opinion from another forensic video expert, Bruce Koenig, who happened to be a former FBI employee. He gave the opinion that the tape had not been erased, and that the video camera must therefore have malfunctioned. The physician assistant on duty at the FTC at the time of Trentadue's death was Carlos A. Mier. He told federal investigators that he performed CPR on Kenney's body when he arrived at the cell. Mier even signed a sworn affidavit to this effect, detailing the resuscitative efforts he made. He provided similar testimony before the grand jury. Mier later admitted under oath he had lied about performing CPR. He also denied cutting Trentadue down from the vent in the cell and claimed Trentadue was on the floor when he arrived. BOP guard Eric Ellis told investigators that Kenney was "gurgling" when they reached his cell, but that the officer in charge that morning, Lt. Lee, refused to allow the cell door to be opened. Lee claimed he made the decision to wait before opening the cell door because he "knew for sure" that Kenney "was dead and thus not concerned with taking any immediate emergency action." Some of the injuries to Kenney's body found by the medical examiner could not possibly have been self-inflicted. Dr. Jordan found a bruise on Kenney's anal verge, the portion of the body just above the anal opening where the buttocks come together, which did not involve any injury to the surrounding buttocks. Dr. Smialek testified that such injuries to the anal verge without injury to the buttocks only occur as a result of an assault. Forensic pathologist, Dr. Miles Jones, concurred, stating that this injury was most likely the result of Kenney being kicked. 170 David Paul Hammer Other injuries on Kenney's body that were obviously not self-inflicted were the fingertip bruises on his biceps. Dr. Smialek said these injuries were a result of Kenney having been "grabbed while alive." The bruises on the bottom of Kenney's right foot were also not self-inflicted. Such injuries are only produced by severe accidents or as the result of torture. Dr. Jones stated that bruises such as those on the bottom of Kenney's foot would not occur as a result of walking or jumping. Dr. Jones stated that in his professional opinion Kenney's death was a homicide and that he died by strangulation. Dr. Jordan also testified that the ligature marks on Kenney's neck were consistent with strangulation or hanging. Dr. Jordan's decision to change the manner of death in the Trentadue case from "unknown" to suicide came almost three years later, and only after prolonged pressure from the federal government. In a memorandum to the Trentadue case file (number 9504017), Dr. Jordan wrote in detail on December 20, 1995, of his frustrations with federal officials over the Trentadue case. That memorandum reads in part: At approximately 3:00 p.m., not having heard anything from the District of Columbia (United States Attorney Eric Holder) I called Assistant U.S. Attorney, in Oklahoma City, Mrs. Arlen Joplin. I indicated to her my frustration with the lack of communication with the [AG's office.] She led me to believe that they had in fact been called by an assistant U.S. Attorney who basically probably told them to deal with me. I advised her that I felt that the Trentadue problem was a very serious issue that needed the full support of the investigative services of the FBI. I believe I further informed her that last week in frustration I indicated to agent Hunt of the FBI that it could not help but occur to me that perhaps the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons were not expediting this investigation as quickly as we hoped would occur. I told her I thought there was a very serious problem at the prison and approximately at this time Mr. Ryan (United States Attorney in Oklahoma City) also got on the line. I indicated I felt that Mr. Trentadue had been abused Deadly Secrets 171 and tortured and at this point was not sure whether his death could be explained as a suicide, or whether it should be regarded as a homicide. At any event it certainly needs to be investigated as a homicide. Dr. Jordan's suspicions regarding the FBI were right on target. In a December 6, 1995 communication, the FBI's Oklahoma City office reported to FBI Headquarters that Dr. Jordan was a "loose cannon" and that "the Medical Examiner's findings will probably rule that . . . [Trentadue's] death was a homicide." On that same day FBI Special Agent Jenkins reported to FBI Headquarters that "the new Warden at the FTC will not allow any of the guards/officials to take polygraph examinations. The prison guards are represented by a strong union which will probably also object to their members taking a polygraph." The BOP had been pressuring the FBI as well. In a November 16, 1995 communication from BOP South Central Regional Director Charles Turnbo to BOP Director Hawk-Sawyer, he informed her "we're continuing to 'push' the FBI to conclude the investigation on the suicide. . ." DOJ employees were circling the wagons and stonewalling at every juncture. Around this same time the first major news story about the Trentadue case appeared when CNN broadcast an eight-minute story on its national news. An article appeared in The Spotlight that same month. After reading about the case, I contacted Jesse Trentadue in early December 1995. I told him who I was and that in May of that year I had spent over a week in the Special Housing Unit at the FTC, where Kenney died, while I was in transit from Lompoc, California, to Allenwood, Pennsylvania. I told him something else: "Mr. Trentadue, I don't know what happened to your brother, but I know that he could not have committed suicide in his cell on the SCU at the FTC. Those cells are suicide proof. There's no way to reach the vent, which is at the top of a 12-foot ceiling, and even if you could reach it, the air holes are tiny and there would be no way to tie anything through them." This was the beginning of my long association with Jesse. Over the years, he and I stayed in touch and have developed a friendship as we both searched for the truth regarding Kenney 's death. 172 David Paul Hammer During the time when federal officials and others were actively involved in obstructing justice in the Trentadue case, federal prosecutors were preparing their case against Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. Dr. Jordan was a crucial government witness in the Oklahoma City Bombing case, and his refusal to sign off on suicide as the manner of death in the Trentadue case was an ongoing source of friction with some law enforcement officials. In late 1995, Dr. Jordan made a visit to the FTC to personally inspect the cell where Kenney died. During that inspection and while he was at the prison, guards threatened him. The threats were so serious that Dr. Jordan reported them to the FBI, but nothing was ever done about the matter. In February 1996, Oklahoma City Homicide Detective Tom Bevel reviewed some of the evidence in the Trentadue case. He was not shown the original photographs, but rather third-generation copies, as the negatives and one roll of film were missing at that time. He also was not shown the Groover videotape or the Polaroid photographs taken by Lt. Lee. From the limited evidence, however, Bevel concluded that based upon the blood-flow pattern on the body, Kenney had been wearing clothing at the time of his death. Bevel recommended to the FBI that "the inmate's clothing should be examined to determine the type, location and distribution of any blood stains." Obviously, Bevel had not been told of the missing clothing. On April 14, 1996, a BOP assistant director wrote to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in an attempt to head off any inquiry by the Senate Judiciary Committee into the manner of Kenney 's death. BOP Assistant Director Wallace Chaney assured Senator Feinstein that "a representative of the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office came to the institution, reviewed Kenneth Michael Trentadue, and examined the cell. The cell had not been disturbed except for the removal of the body." Chaney 's representation to Feinstein was not true. On July 6, 1996, a federal grand jury was convened to investigate Kenney 's death. However, unlike most grand juries, this one was not conducted by the local U.S. Attorney's Office, but rather by attorneys Kevin Foster and Sheryl Robinson from Main Justice in Washington. Someone at the top wanted total control of the Trentadue investigation and the cover-up. This grand jury was nothing but a show that the Deadly Secrets 173 Justice Department orchestrated from start to finish. Witnesses perjured themselves, evidence was never presented, then turned up in FBI offices years later. One glaring question remains. Why? On January 15, 1997, Dr. William Gormley of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology completed his review of the autopsy of Kenney's body, which Dr. Gormley undertook at the request of Justice Department Civil Rights Division attorneys Kevin Foster and Sheryl Robinson. Dr. Gormley told the attorneys that because of the destruction of the crime scene, he agreed with the medical examiner's conclusion that the manner of Kenney's death should correctly be listed as "unknown." Dr. Gormley went on to say, however, he believed "the deceased was assaulted." On January 28, 1997, then Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder presided over a highly unethical, if not illegal, meeting of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division attorneys conducting the grand jury, and with Torts Branch attorneys who would later defend the Justice Department against a civil lawsuit brought by the Trentadue family. The subject of that meeting was "the Trentadue matter." The meeting took place long before the Trentadue family filed its lawsuit. The notes of the meeting are claimed to be privileged under the "work product doctrine," which means the purpose of the meeting was to defend a civil lawsuit, not to investigate Kenney's death. On March 25, 1997, the Justice Department attorneys conducting the grand jury accused Jesse Trentadue of being on a "campaign to discredit the Federal Government." They held a meeting with certain FBI agents to discuss the possibility of indicting Jesse for "obstruction [of justice] or fraud. . ." The consensus of those present at the meeting was not to open a separate investigation of Jesse Trentadue, because he would have to be notified of the investigation and that he was a target. The Justice Department attorneys and the FBI agreed to secretly investigate Jesse under the guise of investigating Kenney's death. The Justice Department recruited a known FBI informant who was incarcerated within the BOP to assist them. BOP inmate James Hauser agreed to place a "yoke of silence" around Jesse Trentadue's neck by testifying that Jesse had paid inmates to perjure themselves. Hauser was polygraphed, failed the polygraph, but was nevertheless presented to the grand jury to give perjured testimony. 174 David Paul Hammer On April 11, 1997, NBC Dateline aired a show on Kenney Trentadue's death, including interviews with Senator Orrin G. Hatch and Dr. Jordan, the medical examiner. Hatch described the Justice Department's handling of the Trentadue case as "colossal incompetence." The Senator went on to say that the "possibility of cover-up" is "certainly something you can't ignore." In the strongest language, the Senator said: "There are a lot of things that just are phony about this, that just don't add up . . . There is no excuse for anybody covering this up. Now let me tell you something. This case isn't going to go away. Congress isn't going to go away. We want answers. We want to know what happened." Dr. Jordan was equally powerful in his comments on NBC Dateline. When asked if he had ever seen a suicide like, this Jordan responded: "No. Not only have I not seen it in 20, almost 20 years of forensic practice . . . and I presented this informally to colleagues from other states and I have not encountered one who had ever seen anything like this before in a .. .in a suicide." More importantly, Jordan was asked whether some of the trauma to Kenney 's body, such as the bruising on the underside of his arms, was self-inflicted. Dr. Jordan answered: "No, I think that was done by someone else." Following the Dateline program, Dr. Jordan wrote a memorandum to the Trentadue case file stating: "The Dateline program on 11/8 Apr. 97 was completely accurate. . ." Within several weeks of the Dateline broadcast, Senator Hatch had an opportunity to question then Attorney General Janet Reno about the Trentadue case during a Judiciary Committee hearing. Hatch informed Reno that: "It is apparent to me that not only are the facts suspicious, it looks like someone in the Bureau of Prisons or someone having relations with the Bureau of Prisons has murdered this man." The Justice Department attorneys conducting the grand jury contacted Dr. Gormley again on May 29, 1997. They asked him to come and testify before the grand jury in June. They wanted Dr. Gormley to testify that "it might be possible these [Kenney s] injuries are self- inflicted." Dr. Gormley refused and immediately notified the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office of this occurrence. Dr. Gormley told those he spoke with that he was now even more convinced "that this man was murdered." In response to a Freedom of Information request for information about Kenney 's death made by Jesse Trentadue to the FBI, he was Deadly Secrets 1 75 informed on June 27, 1997, that his request was being denied because of the ongoing investigation into the circumstances of his brother's death. The FBI intentionally misled Jesse when it stated: "Please be advised that you are not the target of this investigation." Four days later Dr. Jordan spoke again with an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, which includes Oklahoma City. Dr. Jordan told the Assistant U.S. Attorney in a memo that the "federal Grand Jury [investigating the Trentadue case] is a part of a cover-up," and that he "feel[s] it is likely that this man was killed." Despite BOP employees being the target of the grand jury, the Assistant U.S. Attorney immediately conveyed Jordan's comments to the BOP. On July 3, 1997, Dr. Jordan went on national television and stated that Kenneth Trentadue was "very likely murdered," but because of the destruction of the crime scene, "I am unable to prove it." He further stated that the Justice Department's destruction of evidence in the case was incompetent, or worse, "planned." The grand jury investigation concluded on August 13, 1997, with a no bill of indictment. Those results were then kept secret while the Justice Department put into place a "roll-out plan," which it termed the "Trentadue mission." The paper trail on the roll-out plan is scant. However, e-mails and handwritten notes by those working under Deputy Attorney General Holder in the Justice Department have surfaced. These documents paint a clear picture of a wide-ranging and cynical scheme, run directly by Holder, to quash the Trentadue family's efforts to have Kenney's homicide investigated, and to deflect congressional oversight and media attention from the shocking circumstances of his death. Holder chaired meetings at which the roll-out plan was developed. Those responsible for implementing the plan saw their task as applying major spin treatment to Senator "Hatch and possibly Dorgan," according to Justice Department emails, to dissuade the Senators from further questioning the circumstances of Kenney's death, and to "reach out to the press before or at the same time that we expect Trentadue to do so. The continuing efforts to prepare for the announcement of the no bill of indictment included a memorandum authored by Kathleen Timmons, chief of the FBI's Color of Law Unit. On October 5, 1997, 176 David Paul Hammer Timmons wrote to her superiors within the FBI advising them that "efforts had been underway at DOJ to advise Senator Orrin Hatch of the press release before it is publicly announced." Timmons also reported to FBI Director Louis Freeh and others that she had viewed the "non-existent" Groover videotape, and that as a result of viewing that tape: "There is a potential perjury issue regarding a Bureau of Prisons paramedic who indicated he administered CPR to the deceased Trentadue and the evidence of a videotape does not indicate CPR was administered. Other serious issues are involved in the case regarding BOP personnel's mishandling of the corpse and the potential crime scene and the aftermath of Trentadue's death." Timmons later wrote her FBI superiors expressing her view that because of the lack of efforts to resuscitate the victim, Carlos Mier might face state criminal charges. On October 9, 1997, the Justice Department issued its press release announcing the conclusion of the grand jury, and the decision not to issue any indictment. The press release made no mention of the grand jury having secretly concluded two months earlier. The evening of the press release, as part of the roll-out plan, Deputy Attorney General Holder met with Senator Hatch. The stated purpose of the meeting was to defuse Judiciary Committee oversight and media inquiry into Kenney's death. In fact, one e-mail by a Holder staffer stated that: "we ain't looking for press on this. Hill takes priority." The meeting apparently didn't go exactly as planned by Holder, however, because the next day, Senator Hatch issued a press release stating in part that he intended to "hold an oversight hearing later this year to examine the facts surrounding the death of Mr. Trentadue and the Department's handling of the matter to date." Hatch also gave an exclusive interview later that day to Fox News in which he spoke out against the results of the grand jury and the Justice Department's handling of the case: I met with the Deputy Attorney General just last night on this. . . All of this is very, very upsetting to a lot of people, including myself. Now, we haven't had a hearing on this lately because of the ongoing federal investigation. But now that the federal people have completed their analysis of this and their investigation, Deadly Secrets 177 I think we will hold a hearing between now and the end of the year and just see what we can do to get to the bottom of this. . .There is a lot wrong with this case and I hope somebody will get to the bottom of it. But apparently the federal government hasn't been able to do so. . .Yep, it has the aroma of cover-up . . . And like I say it does look bad. Somebody has not told the truth here and somebody is, in my opinion, covering up. These are the words of Senator Hatch, his direct quote from the Fox News interview. Hatch was then the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, with the authority to convene the hearing he spoke of. Unfortunately, that hearing never happened. It did not take place because, following Senator Hatch's public announcement, at the apparent urging of Assistant Attorney General Holder, a delegation from the FBI approached Oklahoma Senator Don Nickles to ask for his assurances that there would be no Senate investigation. There were two such meetings between Senator Nickles and FBI representatives. The first was on December 4, 1997, and the second was on January 23, 1998. Records relating to these meetings were made public as a part of the Trentadue family's wrongful death civil lawsuit against the Justice Department. Those records reveal that FBI Headquarters and the Justice Department had approved both meetings. The first meeting lasted one hour and 45 minutes. Senator Nickles was not even a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Yet, he is reported to have promised the FBI delegation "that it would be his decision whether a Senate inquiry into this matter would be conducted . . .[and] he was not inclined to initiate such a review." At the conclusion of the second meeting with Senator Nickles, on January 23, 1998, the Senator is reported to have thanked the agents for their time and candidness regarding his questions. The FBI report dated January 28, 1998, concluded with the following: "He also intimated that he had a significant role in determining whether this matter would require Congressional review, and that such action would most likely not be necessary." The FBI officials who met with Senator Nickles included the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Oklahoma City Division, Thomas M. Kuker, Supervisory Special Agent John P. Mabry, Special Agent Tom Linn and CDC Henry C. Gibbons. The first meeting occurred 178 David Paul Hammer in Senator Nickles' Tulsa office and the second at his Oklahoma City office. Prior approval for the meetings was provided by Inspector in Charge John E. Collingwood at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. During the time period from October 9, 1997 through January 1998, both Dr. Jordan and Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch continued to speak out publicly about the very flawed investigation and grand jury decision in the Trentadue case. Following the Justice Department's press release on October 9, 1997, Dr. Jordan issued his own press release in which he said that he personally found the results of the grand jury "disappointing, but not surprising in view of the circumstances." The medical examiner went on to say: "From the outset, the Federal Government through its refusal to cooperate in allowing a thorough technical scene investigation by competent police technical investigation unit assured that adequate scientific answers to how Mr. Trentadue received his myriad of injuries will never be available. The refusal further assured that we will never be able to prove to a reasonable certainty if Mr. Trentadue hanged himself or if another asphyxial mechanism came into play Since scientific investigation is the hallmark of good death investigation in our country, one has to wonder why the Government of the United States took the action that it did in this death investigation." Twelve days later Dr. Jordan spoke by telephone with Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Democrat from North Dakota, about the Trentadue case. Dr. Jordan explained to Senator Dorgan that it was his feeling "that the investigation was crippled, the decedent was at least beaten, we haven't found the truth and probably won't." Dr. Jordan then went on to tell the Senator about his "lack of trust in the federal government. . . and the Department of Justice in particular." On January 17, 1998, Fox News broadcast a story on Trentadue 's death, and Senator Hatch was interviewed for that program. He again stated that he was "disappointed in the grand jury result," and because this case has the "aroma of cover-up." Hatch promised Judiciary Committee hearings. Hatch went further by telling Fox News that "somebody other than Trentadue beat Trentadue up." By March 12, 1998, the Justice Department's harassment and threats to the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner and his staff had reached a Deadly Secrets 179 boiling point. The Oklahoma Attorney General's Office intervened. In a letter written on this date by Assistant Attorney General Patrick Crawley to Justice Department attorneys, he stated: In the investigation into the death of Kenneth Trentadue, all the rules seem to have been set aside. In a sort of Alice Through the Looking Glass' set of circumstances, the truth has been obfuscated by the agendas of various federal agencies (mostly your clients) . . .In the process, your clients prevented the Medical Examiner from conducting a thorough and complete investigation into the death, destroyed evidence, and otherwise harassed and harangued Dr. Jordan and his staff. The absurdity of this situation is that your clients outwardly represent law enforcement or at least some arm of licit government. . .The real tragedy in this case appears to be the perversion of law through chicanery and the misuse of public trust under the guise of some aberrant form of federalism. In the succession of either illegal, negligent or just plan stupid acts, your clients succeeded in derailing the Medical Examiner's examination and, thereby, may have obstructed justice in this case. . . It appears that your clients and perhaps others within the Department of Justice, have been abusing the powers of their respective offices. If this is true, all Americans should be very frightened of your clients and the DOJ. In late 1999, the final federal investigation of Kenney's death concluded, this one by the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General. According to its report, dated November 18, 1999, the OIG found "no credible evidence that BOP or FBI officials conspired to cover-up the circumstances surrounding [Trentadue s] death." The OIG did recommend prosecution of three BOP employees and one FBI agent for allegedly committing perjury. It later became clear, however, from internal documents that the OIG knew these prosecutions would never happen. In advance of its report, an OIG official even consulted with a Justice Department attorney to find just the right language to include 180 David Paul Hammer in the report - "lack of prosecutorial merit" - to signal that the Justice Department would not prosecute anyone. After the report was issued, it was discovered that that former Oklahoma City Homicide Detective Tom Bevel, who had been hired by the Justice Department as an expert witness in its defense against the Trentadue family's lawsuit, actually helped write the OIG report. Four years after the death of Kenney Trentadue, despite an uproar among an impressive list of concerned parties, the various state and federal investigations were over as of 1999. Investigators had singled out various federal employees, but astonishingly, no criminal charges would be filed against anyone for any crime. But for Jesse Trentadue, the investigation was far from over. In fact, the mystery was about to get deeper. Dead prisoner No. 2 would soon surface, opening Jesse's continuing probe of Kenney 's death into a potential serial murder investigation. In late 1999, Jesse was preparing for trial in his family's wrongful death lawsuit against the Justice Department. Within a month of the OIG report being issued, Jesse had received a telephone call from one of his potential witnesses, BOP inmate Alden Gillis Baker, who was being held in the Special Housing Unit at the federal prison in Lompoc, California. Baker was a violent psychopath and the only witness to come forward and testify about Kenney s murder. Baker had provided a sworn deposition in the wrongful death suit Jesse was preparing. BOP records reflect that Kenney Trentadue was placed in the same cell with Baker, who, because of his violence and psychological problems, was to be celled alone. The Justice Department claims Baker and Trentadue never occupied the same cell and that Baker was in fact celled in another part of the institution at the time of Kenney s death. But all permanent records that would show Baker's exact location within the Federal Transfer Center at the time of Kenney 's death have disappeared. These records disappeared from widely dispersed locations, but before they vanished they were apparently in the possession of the FBI, because an FBI memorandum states that "records indicate that Baker and Trentadue occupied cell A709 on 8/20/95 and 8/21/95." In his deposition, Baker said he and Kenney were in separate cells, but he witnessed part of the incident. Baker said he saw three BOP officers in full riot gear go into Kenney s cell, and heard sounds of a Deadly Secrets 181 violent struggle. Baker said he saw the guards leaving the cell, and they were covered with blood. Afterwards, Baker said he heard "moaning" coming from Kenney's cell. Baker had placed the telephone call to Jesse on December 9, 1999, to seek Jesse's help because Baker was being threatened by guards at USP-Lompoc. During that conversation, Baker told Jesse that he had placed a telephone call to Justice Department attorney Peter Schlossman, one of the lawyers representing the government in the Trentadue family's lawsuit. Baker told Schlossman about the threats he was receiving from BOP guards and asked for help. After hearing this, according to Baker, attorney Schlossman asked Baker if he was willing to say that his deposition testimony about having witnessed Kenneth Trentadue's murder was a lie. In response to the question, Baker told Schlossman that his deposition was the truth. Upon hearing this, Baker said Schlossman responded: "I have nothing further to say to you" and hung up the telephone. On August 8, 2000, Alden Baker was found hanging by a bed- sheet rope in his Special Housing Unit cell at USP-Lompoc. The Justice Department contends that Baker's death was a suicide, but it has refused to release any documents or evidence on the matter. The two telephone calls made by Baker where he spoke about the threats made against him were recorded by the BOP. The Justice Department refused to turn that recording over to the Trentadue family. Not only does Baker's death mirror Kenney Trentadue's, but it is exactly what another former FTC inmate, Nick Arcabasso, says he was told would happen to him if he continued to speak out about having heard FTC guard Rodney DeChamplain admit that "he killed Trentadue." Arcabasso said he was told he would "just be found swinging from a bed sheet." Prior to the time of Baker's death, Jesse Trentadue had filed a motion for a protective order, to insure that Baker not be harmed. That motion was pending at the time of Baker's death. The circumstances certainly captured Jesse's attention. The death was a carbon copy of Kenney's, and it silenced a witness who might have been extremely compelling. Jesse had no way of knowing it at the time, but Alden Baker was only the second of three dead prisoners in Jesse Trentadue's path. The third was the one who might hold the key to solving the whole mystery of 182 David Paul Hammer Kenneth's death. But that discovery was still several years down the road. On May 1, 2001, the Trentadue family's lawsuit was decided by the Honorable Timothy Leonard, a federal judge with the U. S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. The judge ruled in favor of the Trentadues and entered a $1.1 million judgment against the Justice Department. The judgment was for the intentional infliction of emotional distress upon Kenneth Trentadue's family by the Justice Department. Because of perjury and destruction of evidence, however, the court was unable to find Trentadue's death was a homicide. The court did issue a scathing criticism about several Justice Department employees who had testified at the trial. "The testimony of PA Mier, Lt. Freeman and BOP Guard Robert Garza raise serious questions as to their truthfulness and reveal a lack of respect for the solemnity of sworn proceedings," the judge wrote. "From the time of Trentadue's death up to and including the trial these witnesses seemed unable to comprehend the importance of a truthful answer." The court's statement about these Justice Department employees is not surprising. The earlier determination by the OIG, which was ignored by Attorney General Reno and Deputy Attorney General Holder, had found that the Justice Department employees had lied to officials, destroyed or mishandled evidence, and obstructed justice. They were all given a get-out-of-jail-free card and protected from prosecution. The Justice Department appealed the court's judgment twice. After prolonged appeals, the judgment was reduced to $1 million and paid to the Trentadue family in 2008. Jesse told me: "This was never about money. All we ever wanted was to know the truth about Kenney and for those bastards who killed him to be held accountable." To learn the truth, there was more digging to do - a lot more. Deadly Secrets 183 CHAPTER ELEVEN Searching For John Doe No. 2 ^■arly on in his investigation into Kenney's death, Jesse Trentadue ^* received a telephone call that he paid scant attention to. The Um caller, who didn't identify himself, said: "Look, your brother was murdered by the FBI. There was an interrogation that went wrong." The anonymous caller also said: "He fit a profile." There was a mention of bank robberies and bank robbers, but no real details. Jesse put the call out of his mind and pursued facts he could verify. In January 2000, 1 passed on a message from Timothy McVeigh to Jesse Trentadue. I had been exchanging information with McVeigh for several months as a part of our bargain relating to my book. At recreation I'd shown McVeigh a series of photographs taken by the Trentadue family of Kenney's body, depicting his many injuries. McVeigh had mentioned the murder at the FTC previously, and I had informed him of my friendship with Jesse. McVeigh was the first person to point out a possible connection between Kenney's murder and the possibility that Kenney was mistaken for John Doe No. 2, who McVeigh claimed was Richard Guthrie. McVeigh said: "The first time I saw a picture of Trentadue and learned of his death, I knew instantly that someone thought he was Richard 186 Guthrie and that them good 'ole boys in Oklahoma killed him because they thought he was involved in Oklahoma City." If true, this could be the breakthrough Jesse needed. Considering the source, Jesse was interested but skeptical. According to McVeigh, he had first learned about Kenney's murder through his correspondence with a reporter with the Oklahoma Gazette published in Oklahoma City. That reporter, Phil Bacharach, later published some of McVeigh's letters in the May 2001 issue of Esquire magazine. Bacharach had reported for the Gazette on the mysteries surrounding the Trentadue case. I explained to Jesse what McVeigh had told me, and that Richard Guthrie was one of the bank robbers known as the Midwest Bank Bandits, and a member of the Aryan Republican Army. Jesse remembered the anonymous caller from years before, and the substance of that call. Could there be a connection between the Oklahoma City Bombing investigation and his brother's murder? The thought seemed preposterous at first, but nothing about Kenney's case had made any sense. Jesse had never understood why there had been such a massive cover-up by the federal government. Why would top-level officials go to such great lengths to hide the truth about one prisoner's death? Far- fetched as it seemed, if true, McVeigh's lead could provide the answer to all those questions. The physical description of the Oklahoma City Bombing suspect known as John Doe No. 2, and widely disseminated by law enforcement, was of a muscular man, with dark complexion, 185 pounds and approximately 5'8" to 5'10" tall, possibly driving a brown pickup truck. An eyewitness stated that John Doe No. 2 had a very distinctive and unusual tattoo, possibly a serpent or a dragon. Kenney Trentadue was 5'7" tall, weighed 175 pounds, had a sun- tanned complexion, full head of hair, mustache, and was "built like a bull and strong as an ox," according to Jesse. Most strikingly, the report on Kenney's arrest at the Mexican border includes mention of a distinctive dragon tattoo on Kenney's arm. McVeigh's information looked more and more intriguing. Still, Jesse was pursuing multiple leads. He placed John Doe No. 2 in his large collection of clues, and waited for something more to materialize. Deadly Secrets 187 Three years later, in 2003, the phone call came. It was ace investigative reporter J.D. Cash, calling Jesse for the first time. The Trentadue case, Kenney's photographs and other information had been widely reported, not just in Oklahoma, but nationally. Cash knew the case. Also, though Jesse didn't know this, Cash and I had talked a few weeks earlier on the phone, and I had shared the information about the McVeigh tip on John Doe No. 2. Cash was excited, a reporter chasing a hot story. He told Jesse he had been doing deep research on Richard Guthrie and the ARA. Cash had some questions about Kenney, and asked Jesse if he was sitting down. Cash wanted to know about Kenney's tattoo. What type of vehicle was he driving when he was arrested at the border? Cash and Jesse compared information, and Jesse soon understood just how closely Kenney resembled the co-leader of the Aryan Republican Army. Richard Lee Guthrie stood 5 '7" tall, weighed 175 pounds and had a dark complexion. He had a stocky solid build, a full head of hair and a mustache. But there was more. Kenney and Guthrie were both bank robbers. Without a doubt, Cash told Jesse, the FBI had immediately targeted ARA members as potential suspects in the bombing. All you had to do was read the newspaper to know this. Within days of the bombing, there were front-page articles in The New York Times, The Kansas City Star and U.S. News and World Report, about possible links between the ARA bank robberies, McVeigh and the bombing. Apprehending these fugitive unidentified bank robbers now became even more of a priority for the FBI. As Cash learned, FBI agents and analysts now embarked on an ambitious mission: to identify all known bank robbers within the United States. A data bank was established to organize the information. All known facts relating to the BOMBROB case were entered into the system. That included terms used by the robbers, physical descriptions, weapons used, and escapes from the hold-up scenes. A computer program then compared those facts to known individuals previously convicted or suspected of committing bank robberies. Any cases that involved similar facts were flagged for further 188 David Paul Hammer investigation. Cash learned that one name flagged was that of Kenneth Michael Trentadue, also known as Vance Paul Brockway. Cash told Jesse that the FBI had Kenney's photograph, artists' renderings of the then-unidentified ARA bank robbery suspects, and, of course, the composite sketch of John Doe No. 2. Though Kenney Trentadue had no involvement in the bombing, he fit the FBI's profile perfectly, right down to the signature moves he made while committing his bank jobs. During his bank robberies in the early 1980s, Kenney used a firearm and this language: "Get down, get down. This is a robbery, let's not make it a homicide." Little did the victims know that Kenney had disabled his weapon to ensure it couldn't actually be discharged. Guthrie and his crew used similar phrases, such as, "Get down, get down, no alarms, no hostages," during their bank heists. Other similarities included: no one being harmed during the robberies, only money from the tellers or within easy access being taken, and fast- paced robberies that took only a minute or two from start to finish. Some of the ARA robberies featured only one gunman inside of the bank, the same as with Kenney's crimes. Jesse listened intently. Finally, after eight long years, he was connecting the dots. It was becoming deadly clear how Kenney Trentadue might have gotten swept up in the manhunt for possible accomplices of Timothy McVeigh. When Cash sent Jesse photographs of Richard Guthrie, Jesse laid one next to a photo of Kenney. They were look-alikes. This stunning discovery would focus Jesse's investigation going forward. He now believed that Timothy McVeigh was right on target about Kenney being mistaken for John Doe No. 2. Before, Jesse had struggled in the dark, confronting one mystifying question after another as to the surprising behavior of the federal government in concealing the circumstances of Kenney's death. Now, Jesse was beginning to fathom an extremely disturbing possibility: somewhere inside the government, some unknown players had been secretly involved in the Oklahoma City Bombing. Afterwards, those players apparently moved swiftly and ruthlessly to cover their tracks, so that Timothy McVeigh would be left shouldering responsibility as the lone mastermind. Deadly Secrets 189 2 Men Sought In Connection With The Oklahoma City Bombing D escribed as being between 5-9 and 5-10. Weighing between 175 and 180 lbs. Visible tattoo below the sleeve of a tee-shirt. D escribed as being between 5-10 and 5-11 Weighing between 180 and 185 lbs. John Doe No. 1 John Doe No. 2 191 The first time I saw a picture of Trentadue and learned of his deaths I iuiew instantly that someone thought he was Richard Guthrie and that them good ole boys in Oklahoma killed him because they thought he was involved in Oklahoma City. - Timothy McVeigh U.S. Department of Justice MCVEIGH Timothy 12076-064 James ATE I McVeigh's prison ID 193 One man, who knew too much, stood in the way. That was John Doe No. 2, an accomplice of McVeigh's — seen with him in the Ryder truck delivering the bomb. This man might have known enough to unravel the whole story of the bomb plot, and lead back to its prime movers. If Jesse could find the government insiders involved in the bombing, he knew he would have his brother's killers in his grasp. But not so fast: Dead prisoner No. 3 had now surfaced as part of the mystery, complicating everything. One glaring fact from J.D. Cash jumped out at Jesse. Richard Guthrie was dead by an alleged suicide. He was found hanging in a jail cell. Struck by the similarities between the supposed suicides of Kenney, Alden Baker, and now Guthrie, Jesse couldn't ignore the possibilities. I still remember Jesse's words: "David, I don't believe in coincidences, and especially not when it comes to them sum' bitches involved with killin' Kenney!" Jesse was adamant in his conviction that something just didn't add up here. I personally have looked into Guthrie's supposed suicide, which occurred on July 12, 1996, in the Kenton, Kentucky County Jail. Guthrie was awaiting disposition of the federal bank robbery cases against him. He was being held in an isolation cell in a special housing unit, away from other inmates and in protective custody. Records from the jail and from the U.S. Marshals Service relating to Guthrie and his suicide are surprisingly lacking in detail. Apparently, if the records are to be believed, Guthrie was on a 20-minute watch by jail guards. He was confined to cell 973 alone on July 12. According to guards and the official jail logs, Guthrie was found hanging from a bed sheet in his cell at 6:06 a.m. by a deputy jailer doing a round. The official log states: "6:06 a.m. Long round made. Started at 971 went to 766. Looked and saw Richard Guthrie hanging. Call for back up to cell 973. Deputy [name blacked out] helped me to get him down. We start CPR on him and life squad was called.' That same log shows that the jailers last made a round known as a short round at 5:22 a.m., and the previous long round had been conducted at 5:00 a.m. These facts indicate that Guthrie wasn't being checked every 20 minutes. More importantly, the incident reports prepared by the deputy jailers contain contradictory information as to whether Guthrie was cut down from the vent, whether the noose was 194 David Paul Hammer untied, and when the guards last checked on him. Cell 973 was actually an isolation cell and is listed as 1-973 on the logs. Another inmate was confined to cell 1-972. His identity remains unknown and there is no record that he was ever interviewed about Guthrie's alleged suicide. The Kenton County Coroner's report states in part that Guthrie was a federal prisoner, and that the type of death suspected is "hanging." The autopsy summarized the circumstances of the death as follows: "Prisoner - in isolation. Last seen @0600 found at 0606 hanging from vent, bed sheet around neck." If the timeline reported to the coroner is correct, and Guthrie was last seen alive at 6:00 a.m. and found dead six minutes later at 6:06 a.m., then he managed to use a bed sheet to hang himself in a span of six minutes. According to forensic experts, it takes six minutes to die from hanging. How then could the jailers not have discovered Guthrie in time to revive him? How could Guthrie have tied the sheet to the vent and then hanged himself for at least six minutes, when he only had a total of six minutes from start to finish? According to the final report from the Kenton County Coroner dated August 8, 1996: "A post mortem examination was performed on the body of Richard Guthrie at St. Luke's-East on July 12, 1996. The Final Anatomic Diagnosis states: "Body as a whole, Hanging, History of Suspension, Ligature Mark, Comment: The Cause of Death, In My Judgment is Due to Asphyxia Due to Hanging." Records reveal that Guthrie was not taking any prescription drugs, yet the coroner's laboratory data show that Guthrie had a positive toxicology report. That report disclosed that "high levels of acetaminophen (23 mg/L) were found in blood. Phenypropanolamine and pseudoephedrine were detected in the urine by TLC and GOMS." The investigations into Guthrie's death were conducted by the Kenton County Sheriff's Department and by the Covington Police Department. According to the Covington Police Department reports, they did very little in the way of an investigation. The initial officer arrived at 6:30 a.m., and his investigation was completed and the case cleared by 8:00 a.m., two hours later. His investigation included viewing the cell and interviewing the two jailers who had discovered Guthrie's body. A crime scene specialist also inspected and photographed cell 973. That person collected as evidence a bed sheet, legal papers, some books, a $20 bill and a sealed envelope. No fingerprints were taken, no fibers Deadly Secrets 195 were collected, and no testing for blood was done. On the desk in the cell several pills were found. These were never tested, although they were collected and photographed. The specialist arrived at the scene at 6:50 a.m. and left with the detective in charge at 8:25 a.m. The envelope in Guthrie's cell contained two letters and, according to correspondence from Detective Charles Vallandingham to the U.S. Marshals Service, and his attached report, the letter was: "[Ajddressed to the victim's brother. The letter was opened at HQby Specialist [name blacked out]. The letter appeared to have been written by the victim and in it he explained to his brother and girlfriend that he was going to commit suicide." That letter was never tested or examined to determine if Guthrie had actually written it. Guthrie had no documented history of mental illness, depression or suicide attempts. The investigative report by the Covington Police Department states: "This investigation is complete, pending the results of the Autopsy." That report is dated the same day as Guthrie's death. Case opened, solved and closed within the span of a few hours. Richard Lee Guthrie was a high-profile inmate in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. He had been arrested by the FBI and wanted by the Secret Service. He had been involved in a plot to overthrow the U.S. government and was a protected witness waiting to testify against his fellow bank robbers. However, not one single federal law enforcement officer ever verified or investigated the death of Richard Guthrie. That is unheard of in such a situation. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Guthrie had been in contact with Judy Pasternak, a reporter with The Los Angeles Times, Midwest Bureau. In a letter from the reporter to Guthrie dated three days prior to his death, she invited Guthrie to share his story and unique perspective with her. She played to his ego and commented on their shared suburban Washington, D.C., upbringing. Guthrie had been in contact with Pasternak about his intentions to write a book about the ARA. He even wrote in his unfinished manuscript of a driver he called "Speedie" and "Tim," who had been involved in some of the ARA bank robberies. The tell-all book wasn't completed and never will be. Guthrie's untimely death ended all that he could have revealed about himself, the ARA and the Oklahoma City Bombing. 196 David Paul Hammer There is no evidence that Guthrie actually killed himself. He had already made a plea bargain with federal prosecutors in order to shorten his prison sentence for the bank robberies. No serious attempt was made to determine what occurred in cell 973 at the Kenton County Jail. If the Trentadue family had not insisted upon an autopsy when Kenney was alleged to have committed suicide, had they not taken pictures of his tortured body, and had Jesse not undertaken his own investigation, then Kenney Trentadue 's death would have been just another so-called suicide by a federal prisoner. Just like Richard Lee Guthrie and Alden Gillis Baker. Three hangings, all with connections to the Oklahoma City Bombing investigation, each an alleged suicide by an inmate in federal custody. Coincidences? I don't think so, and neither did Jesse Trentadue. Even for a veteran trial attorney who thought he had seen it all, this was heavy. Jesse Trentadue, relentless seeker of justice for his brother, reluctant sleuth into the Oklahoma City Bombing case, now was looking at a possible serial murder case, targeting federal prisoners Deadly Secrets 197 CHAPTER TWEWE A Quest For Answers It was 2003 when Jesse had that first phone conversation with J.D. Cash. This was post-9/11. The World Trade Center terror strike had eclipsed the Oklahoma City Bombing, with a larger body count and New York City's location at the center of gravity of American prestige in the eyes of the world. There was a new normal in the way America thought about terrorism. In our small group, there was a new normal too, but this was almost surreal. We now believed - the lawyer, the reporter J.D. Cash and myself, the inmate investigator - that if we could uncover the whole truth, the Oklahoma City Bombing story might turn out to be bigger news than anyone imagined. Behind the federal government's stonewalling about Kenney's death, and the deliberate narrowing of the cast of bombing perpetrators to just McVeigh and Nichols, we believed we glimpsed the shadow of an enormous scandal, one reaching all the way to the upper echelons of official Washington. Needless to say, we were in a distinct minority. We needed bulletproof evidence to have any of hope of proving a very different reality of the Oklahoma City Bombing from the one everyone knows so well. But we were energized by how far we had come. In our separate circles, we 200 now dug deep for hard evidence that would verify the story Timothy McVeigh told me. Jesse's principal means of uncovering secrets about the bombing has been the federal Freedom of Information Act. Beginning in late 1995, Jesse has used that law's power over federal agencies to trigger the release of hundreds of documents. Most of these documents have been heavily "redacted," or blacked out, so that confidential names and information are deliberately rendered unreadable. As a result, in some cases, whole documents are indecipherable. But in 2005, in a FOIA lawsuit before U.S. District Court Judge Dale A. Kimball in Salt Lake City, Jesse struck gold. At first, the FBI denied it had any files responsive to Jesse's very specific request for documents. But Jesse met the FBI stonewall with a courtroom surprise. An FBI insider had leaked him two bombshell teletypes - issued by FBI Director Louis Freeh himself. Under the rules of FOIA, the FBI should have delivered these teletypes when it told the court it had no relevant files. With egg on their faces, attorneys for the FBI and Justice Department were forced to admit they had been mistaken. Or, in Jesse's opinion: "They fiat out lied. They seem to believe that the law and even a court's order doesn't apply to them." Belatedly, the FBI released the documents, in redacted form. The first teletype was issued by FBI Director Freeh some eight months after the bombing, on January 4, 1996, to a number of FBI field offices. The subject line is: "OKBOMB; EID; MAJOR CASE 117; 0-0: OKLAHOMA CITY." The body of the teletype focuses on the relevance of leads in the bank robbery case for the bombing investigation. "Prior Bureau communications stated that several common characteristics utilized by the robbers in the BOMBROB investigation included the use of Spanish terminology and the renting of getaway vehicles in the names of prominent FBI officials," Freeh wrote. Also pointed out was the possibility that one of the robbers may have had prior military law enforcement or explosives training. The teletype also contains several references to an FBI undercover operation at Elohim City before the bombing. For the first time, this teletype contains clear evidence that the informant operation was Deadly Secrets 201 conducted by civil rights attorney Morris Dees' organization, the Southern Poverty Law Center. The four-page teletype discusses a number of SPLC informants, including one from Cincinnati apparently associated with the Midwest Bank Bandits and another at Elohim City. According to the Elohim City informant, before the bombing, McVeigh telephoned Elohim City a number of times, including on April 5, 1995, asking for someone - name redacted - and attempting to recruit others to "assist in the OKBOMB attack." Based on the fact that the redacted person's name contains 23 letters and/or spaces, Jesse concluded the person McVeigh was calling was Andreas Carl Strassmeir. If that assumption is correct, and Strassmeir is the name blacked out, then this teletype appears also to disclose - for the first time - that McVeigh telephoned Strassmeir again on April 17, just two days before the bombing. This second call makes it hard not to at least suspect, as the FBI said it had no reason to, that McVeigh and Strassmeir were somehow associated. The second teletype from FBI Director Freeh, leaked to Jesse by his secret FBI source, was dated August 23, 1996. This teletype concerns a domestic terrorism investigation being conducted out of the FBI's Philadelphia field office. The subject of the teletype is, again, suspected connections between members of the Aryan Republican Army and Timothy McVeigh. In this five-page teletype, Director Freeh talks at length about information provided by ARA leader Richard Guthrie after his arrest, including Guthrie having "admitted to paying [someone whose name has been blacked out but is seven letters long - as is M-C-V-E-I-G-H] money derived from bank robberies and identified [again blacked out a person whose name is seven letters long] as an accomplice in certain bank robberies." This teletype repeatedly refers to "OKBOMB subject Timothy McVeigh" as well as "BOMBROB subjects" - proving that within the FBI a link was clearly being secretly pursued. This teletype also covers the April 1995 phone calls McVeigh placed to Andreas Strassmeir's residence in Elohim City, as well as an April 16, 1995, telephone call from Strassmeir's residence in Elohim City to 202 David Paul Hammer Mark Thomas' home in Pennsylvania, where Stedeford, McCarthy and Guthrie would eventually gather after the bombing. The teletype also states that there was apparently an informant among this group who "consented to wearing a body recorder and transmitter." The implications of the FBI and the Southern Poverty Law Center working hand and glove inside Elohim City were stunning, and certainly might suggest why the FBI would want to keep this teletype secret. But J.D. Cash had been hot on the trail of this story for some time. In December 2003, Cash tracked down Morris Dees and questioned him at a press conference at Southeastern Oklahoma University in Durant, Oklahoma. Dees confirmed that someone from his organization was inside Elohim City on April 17, 1995, and that the SPLC "network" had established that McVeigh visited Elohim City multiple times. When Cash pressed Dees to explain what his staff person was doing at a white supremacist training camp, Dees responded: "If I told you what we were doing there, I would have to kill you." Soon after this on-the-fly remark, Dees and the SPLC stopped giving interviews about the Oklahoma City Bombing. The disclosure of the Louis Freeh teletypes in Jesse's FOIA lawsuit, Trentadue v. the FBI, wasn't just a victory. It marked a turning point in Jesse's investigation. He now had conclusive proof that the OKBOMB and BOMBROB cases were clearly connected inside the FBI. Despite its public position to the contrary, the FBI had secretly linked and investigated McVeigh, the ARA and the Elohim City conspiracy. The official story of Timothy McVeigh, lone mastermind of the Oklahoma City Bombing, was beginning to crumble. Disclosure of the teletypes also left little room for the federal government to credibly argue it had no prior warning of the Oklahoma City Bombing. The FBI Director himself was reporting in these teletypes on an undercover FBI informant operation in place prior to the bombing. Even discounting the other known informant, Carol Howe, who was simultaneously feeding information to the ATF, how is it possible that the FBI did not know what was coming? By now, though, there was certainly no discounting the advance warning Howe had provided the federal government. Jesse had Deadly Secrets 203 uncovered a sealed court transcript from a federal prosecution of Howe, and presented it to Judge Kimball in the FOIA case. On April 24, 1997 - the very same day Timothy McVeigh's trial opened in Denver — Howe's ATF handler Angela Findley-Graham had testified about Howe's informant activities. Findley-Graham was asked specifically about prior warning from Howe. Here is Findley- Graham's testimony: Q. And Ms. Howe told you about Mr. Strassmeir's threats to blow up Federal buildings, didn't she? A: In general, yes. Q: And that was before the Oklahoma City bombing? A: Yes. Findley-Graham was asked about Howe's report of a trip made by Andreas Strassmeir and others from Elohim City to Oklahoma City, presumably to scout the Murrah Federal Building as a potential bomb target. Here is Findley-Graham's testimony: Q: And this trip to Oklahoma City by these Elohim City residents occurred before the bombing in Oklahoma City, actually just by about a few weeks, didn't it? A: No, it would be months. Q: Oh, when did that occur? A: The fall of 1994. Q: And you are sure about that? A: Yes. But perhaps the most startling testimony from Findley-Graham concerned the fact that the government was not being truthful in the McVeigh prosecution when it said that there were no informants at Elohim City. Here is Findley-Graham's testimony: Q: Well, had you heard government statements that there was never an informant at Elohim City in the fall of 1994? A: I haven't heard that. 204 David Paul Hammer Q: You've never seen those reports that the government took the position in connection with the McVeigh trial - A: No, I haven't. Q: You would know that to be untrue though, that statement? A: Yes, I would know that. This line of questioning led the government attorney to ask that the proceedings be sealed. The surprising reason: to prevent the information from falling into the hands of the McVeigh defense team. Even more surprisingly, U.S. District Court Judge Michael Burrage granted the motion. "With that McVeigh trial going on, I don't want anything getting out of here that would compromise that trial in any way," the judge said. The defense attorney immediately asked: "What do you mean by compromise? Do you mean shared with the McVeigh lawyers?" To which the judge gave this shocking reply: Yes, or something that would come up, you know. We have got evidence that the ATF took a trip with somebody that said buildings were going to be blown up in Oklahoma City before it was blown up or something of that nature and try to connect it with McVeigh in some way or something. And so it was that Angela Findley-Graham's testimony, compellingly disputing the government's case against McVeigh as the lone-wolf mastermind, was buried in a Tulsa courtroom, never to be heard by the McVeigh jury. But Jesse's FOIA case exposed this testimony. Together with the Louis Freeh teletypes, the Findley- Graham transcript put solid evidence on the record as to prior government knowledge of the Oklahoma City Bombing from multiple sources. After reviewing the Louis Freeh teletypes obtained by Jesse, former Deputy Assistant FBI Director Danny Coulson called for reopening the bombing investigation. Coulson was one of the original investigators in the OKBOMB case. J.D. Cash interviewed him in November 2005. During that interview, Coulson stated: "I have had significant experience conducting investigations, and in Deadly Secrets 205 my view this case is not over." He went on to say: "For years I've believed Elohim City was important to this case, and I think we now know that Tim McVeigh had contacts there. That is key to this complicated case. Any future investigation should focus strictly on McVeigh's associates within that group." Coulson went further: "Based upon my investigation following the bombing of the Murrah Building on April 19, 1995, and these new documents from the FBI turned up in the Utah case, it's clear to me that further investigation is required. Families of victims and the American people deserve answers to many unanswered questions about the bombing. It is my opinion that a new investigation would only be successful if conducted through the auspices of a federal grand jury." Coulson continued to speak out regarding the need for a renewed investigation into the bombing. In March 2007, he appeared in a BBC documentary, and while on camera he said: "We have victims here and victims' families, and we don't know the answers. And the answer is frankly a federal grand jury." While Jesse was pressing his FOIA lawsuit in Salt Lake City, J.D. Cash was working other angles. Cash developed ARA member Peter Langan, now in prison, as a source and, through him, uncovered fresh evidence of just how closely the FBI had tied McVeigh to the ARA. An elaborate web of phone records in the FBI's possession placed McVeigh and various members of the robbery gang in close proximity time and time again, as the bank robbers pulled off their 20-some robberies across the Midwest, beginning the year before the bombing. Cash learned that the FBI was literally dogging Timothy McVeigh's tracks in search of the ARA connection. A May 1995 memo from the St. Louis office of the FBI instructed its crime lab to compare Timothy McVeigh's shoes, if possible, with shoe impressions taken from the crime scene of an ARA robbery in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Cash and his writing partner Roger Charles re-investigated another ARA robbery, in Overland Park, Kansas, on September 24, 1994. They discovered that the composite sketch of the robber who accompanied Richard Guthrie that day didn't look anything like his usual partner in crime, Peter Langan. Instead, the sketch bore a remarkable resemblance to Timothy McVeigh. The reporters confirmed 206 David Paul Hammer McVeigh was in Wichita 10 days before, because he was caught on videotape selling gold coins there. They also found evidence of phone calls by McVeigh from Marion, Kansas, just two days before the bank job in Overland Park. The reporters sought out Professor Mark Hamm, who has written extensively on the ARA and the bombing case, and he gave his opinion that Guthrie's accomplice that day was McVeigh. Peter Langan filled Cash in on the FBI's highly unusual processing of the ARA's Ohio safe house after Langan's capture in 1996. Inside, among other promising evidence, the FBI reported finding six blasting caps and two items described as a "Christmas Package." These very possibly belonged to Timothy McVeigh, since he was known to have wrapped blasting caps in Christmas paper for transport across country in his car. Here, well before McVeigh's trial, the FBI had its hands on potentially highly incriminating evidence linking McVeigh and his bomb to the ARA. But instead of closing in, the FBI appeared to look the other way, allowing firefighters to destroy the blasting caps and, presumably, the telltale Christmas packages. Two more items retrieved from the ARA safe house bear mentioning because of Terry Nichols' disclosures. No one has ever documented a link between Roger Moore and the ARA. Yet inside the safe house in Ohio, again, well before Timothy McVeigh's trial, the FBI found a driver's license that might have done just that. The name on the license was "Robert Miller," which was Roger Moore's gun-show circuit alias. When reporters asked the FBI to see that license, however, the FBI refused to release a copy. According to Langan, there was another link to Moore inside the safe house: a videotape of properties under surveillance by the ARA, including footage of Roger Moore's ranch in Arkansas. Langan says the FBI took that videotape into its possession, but it has never been released. Danny Defenbaugh, a retired FBI agent who was one of the chief investigators in the OKBOMB case, reviewed FBI documents and reports relating to the ARA bank robberies and their possible connection to the bombing in 2004 at the request of the Associated Press. According to Defenbaugh, neither he nor any of the investigators in the case had ever been informed of the reports or the evidence outlined therein. He went on to say: "If the evidence is still there it should be checked out." Deadly Secrets 207 He added: "If I were still in the bureau, the investigation would be re- opened." Others calling for further investigation into the Oklahoma City Bombing case include some of those hardest hit by the bombing: victims and survivors. V.Z. Lawton, who was injured in the blast, is a member of the Oklahoma City Bombing Committee headed by former state Senator Charles Key. That group wants another federal grand jury to investigate all of the evidence that has surfaced. Kathy Wilburn Sanders, who lost her two grandsons, has published a book entitled After Oklahoma City, which chronicles her own investigation into the bombing. Jannie Coverdale, who lost her two grandsons in the blast, has become a tireless advocate for further investigation of neglected leads in the case. One of the mysteries Jannie considers most significant is the so- called "extra leg" recovered from the rubble of the Murrah Building. In the summer of 1995, the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office issued a press release confirming that there was an unidentified left leg, dressed in a combat boot and the remnants of camouflage fatigues, and that the leg probably belonged to a white male. However, several weeks later, after a daylong meeting with federal prosecutors, the FBI and others, the medical examiner's office issued a second press release claiming that it had made a mistake and that the leg in question belonged to a black female. Eventually, the medical examiner's office determined that the leg belonged to Airman First Class Lakesha Levy, who had been buried in Louisiana. Her body was exhumed. In her casket was a left leg that was detached from her body. The question then became: If that leg wasn't Levy's, whose was it? When questioned at McVeigh's trial by defense attorney Stephen Jones, Oklahoma State Medical Examiner Dr. Fred Jordan acknowledged that there was an unidentified left leg in the case. He stated: "The truth of the matter is we had eight victims with traumatically amputated left legs missing, and we have nine left legs. We have one too many." Dr. Jordan furthered testified that all attempts to identify the owner of the left leg had failed, and that the identification process even included DNA testing. 208 David Paul Hammer McVeigh's defense team had consulted with various experts in forensic pathology in England, who had firsthand experience with bombing cases. The expert who testified at McVeigh's trial was Dr. T.K. Marshall, who is a living legend amongst pathologists. He pointed out to Jones that in his experience, victims' relatives always come forward to claim the remains of their loved ones. Thus unclaimed remains are highly unusual. Dr. Marshall had viewed photographs of the extra leg and studied the medical examiner's reports. At McVeigh's trial, Dr. Marshall gave riveting testimony about the leg, stating: "The working assumption has to be, until excluded, that the leg in question belonged to a bomber." If the story McVeigh told me was true, that he and Roberto placed Poindexter's body in the back of the bomb truck, it is very possible that the extra leg was just as Dr. Marshall had testified. It belonged to one of the bombers. Jannie Coverdale wants to make sure no one forgets this sensational moment from McVeigh's trial. "That extra leg belonged to one of the bombers, and that was proven in court," she says. "But the government doesn't want anyone to know that because it blows a hole in their official story." But as Jesse Trentadue knew better than anyone, it would take more than unanswered questions from ex-agents, victims and survivors to overturn a narrative that by 2005 was now an established chapter of American history. To prevail, the citizen investigations would need allies in Washington, D.C. A formidable one was about to enter the story. From the time of Kenney's death, the Trentadue family began petitioning its local U.S. Congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, from Orange County, California, to look into the case. The Congressman knew of the lengths to which the Trentadue family had gone to find out the truth. Congressman Rohrabacher knew of the family's horrific ordeal and understood the gravity of torture. The Congressman knew that Kenney's mother Wilma paid to have large billboards picturing Kenney's disfigured body posted at bus stops to publicize what had happened. The Congressman knew of Jesse Trentadue's million-dollar wrongful death judgment against the government, and knew that Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah had gone so far as Deadly Secrets 209 to say, on the record, that Kenney's death looked like murder and smelled like a cover-up. Duty called, and Congressman Rohrabacher answered in June 2006, by opening a congressional investigation into the Oklahoma City Bombing. "We need to answer some very serious questions in order to have confidence that the truth of this monstrous crime is fully known," the Congressman said. Finally, after all these years, powers that be in Washington, D.C., would re-investigate the bombing and, possibly, shed light on Kenney's death. Congressman Rohrabacher investigated for six months and filed a sharply worded 14-page report. He concluded that: the FBI ignored credible eyewitness reports on John Doe No. 2, dropped the manhunt for the unidentified McVeigh accomplice too soon, gave Andreas Strassmeir a pass to leave the country when it should have investigated him, and ignored the alarmingly specific warnings of ATF informant Carol Howe about Strassmeir and WAR leader Dennis Mahon casing the Murrah Building on multiple occasions in early 1995. The Congressman made a point of mentioning Kenneth Trentadue by name in the report, noting that the circumstances of Kenney's death were "very disturbing." To Jesse Trentadue, all of this was familiar ground. But in one vitally important area - the story Timothy McVeigh told me, of his association with the Aryan Republican Army — Congressman Rohrabacher broke new ground, and delivered some sensational evidence. He and his investigators interviewed Michael Brescia, Scott Stedeford, Peter Langan and Mark Thomas of the ARA, and found serious cause for suspicion. Congressman Rohrabacher reported that in his interview with Langan, he backed away from previous claims to have information about the bombing, and now denied any knowledge. Mark Thomas also denied any knowledge about the bombing, contradicting his previous statements. The committee did not report on its interviews with Brescia or Stedeford, except to say that, over time, the ARA members had changed their stories. The most stunning information came from the one bank robber the committee could not locate. Kevin McCarthy was missing. Not only that. When the congressional staffers tried to find McCarthy, they confronted an unyielding stonewall at the Justice Department. 210 David Paul Hammer Here is how Congressman Rohrabacher reported his staffs painstaking attempts to interview McCarthy: Law enforcement officials told subcommittee staff that, after serving 5 years in federal prison for his role in the robberies, McCarthy was released on probation and returned to his native Philadelphia. However, a federal probation officer in Philadelphia could find no record of McCarthy in the federal probation system. A confidential law enforcement source informed the subcommittee that McCarthy was in some type of federal witness protection program and even located him living in Newton, Pennsylvania. When pressed for details a week later, this same source told staff that he could no longer help with this matter, that it was "above his pay grade." Continuing to try and locate McCarthy, the subcommittee chairman contacted the head of the Department of Justice's federal witness protection program. The official confirmed that in the past McCarthy had been in the program but had no information on his current status. Similarly, the subcommittee also discovered, through a private source, that McCarthy is no longer attached to the Social Security Number he had at the time of entry into the federal prison system. From the extensive details of the search for McCarthy included in the report, it was clear that Congressman Rohrabacher was shocked by the indication that someone inside law enforcement was deliberately hiding this criminal from him. After all, Kevin McCarthy was the man whom Mark Thomas had implicated in the bombing as early as 1997. And later, in a 2007 sworn declaration, Peter Langan would state categorically that he knew McCarthy was one of McVeigh's accomplices on April 19, 1995, that McCarthy lied to the FBI when he presented his purported alibi, and that the FBI knew McCarthy's alibi was false. Deadly Secrets 211 Kevin McCarthy: Missing in 2006 213 Congressman Rohrabacher didn't hold back in exposing the cover- up. He blasted the Justice Department for hiding McCarthy, and hiding the truth about the Oklahoma City Bombing: These facts raise questions about whether McCarthy is, in fact, still under some sort of federal protection as well as why the Department of Justice was unable or unwilling to help find him. It is astonishing that officials from the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies were unwilling to permit congressional investigators to question a former bank robber with a possible connection to a large-scale terrorist attack. For Jesse Trentadue and his investigation, Congressman Rohrabacher s report marked another turning point. The Rohrabacher Report put a congressional stamp on Jesse's long effort. The revised story of the Oklahoma City Bombing had reached Washington, D.C. There, a United States Congressman had boldly begun the rewrite. Congressman Rohrabacher signed off on his investigation with these memorable words: "This inquiry would have been significantly more complete with greater cooperation from federal law enforcement. Congressional investigators should not face such resistance in doing their job, which is to find the facts and determine the truth." Finally, the truth seemed to matter to someone in Washington. It was almost 2007 when the Rohrabacher Report was issued. A milestone date was already on the horizon: April 19, 2010, would mark the 15 th anniversary of the bombing. Legal battles, as Jesse well knew from his long career, unfold at a remarkably slow pace. Frequently it takes decades to win such a contest. Sometimes, the battle outlives the warriors. It was time to plan to finish this project. In one sense, the bombing anniversary was an artificial deadline, but in another, it was imperative. In different ways, this research has engulfed Jesse's life and mine. We have lived and breathed it for many years, Jesse more than I. Reporter J.D. Cash died in 2007. His passing left a hole that can never be filled. All of us close to this investigation carry the dread that we also may go to our graves without the truth. 214 David Paul Hammer Afflictions of middle age remind both Jesse and me that the clock is ticking. In 2007, Jesse was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a mild case, to be sure, which doesn't slow his demanding trial schedule one bit, but still, is a reminder of mortality. My diabetes continues to take its toll. I've been hospitalized three times with heart trouble, and my eyesight is failing. Actually, the deadline was my imperative, one result of the year I lived through in 2004, when I came within three days of being executed by lethal injection on June 8, 2004. As Jesse says, he won't quit until he dies. But ever since finishing my book Secrets Worth Dying For and receiving an eleventh-hour stay of execution, life looks different to me, even on death row. I knew I needed closure. So I made a promise to myself, and to Jesse and Kenneth Trentadue. By the time of the 15 th anniversary, I would finish my part of our investigation. Our next move completely backfired. Jesse won approval from Judge Kimball, the judge in the FOIA lawsuit, to take videotaped depositions of Terry Nichols and me so that the judge, and the American public, could decide for themselves whether we were telling the truth about what we know about McVeigh and the bombing. By now Jesse's theory of the crime against his brother was specific and chilling, and closely followed the outline of McVeigh's story as he told it to me. In Trentadue v. the FBI, before Judge Kimball, Jesse charged that the FBI had secretly been part of a sting operation with the Southern Poverty Law Center in Elohim City that targeted McVeigh, Strassmeir and the ARA. After the bombing, FBI agents killed Kenneth Trentadue during a prison interrogation, in the mistaken belief that he was John Doe No. 2. Relying on this crime theory, Jesse had demanded every piece of paper the FBI had in its files on the various players in the scenario as he laid it out. Over several years, Judge Kimball had reviewed scores of secret documents turned over in the case by the FBI - including some apparently so sensitive that Jesse himself never got to see them. To this day, only the judge and the FBI know what information those documents contain. Based on those documents and other evidence, Judge Kimball approved the depositions. He said he did so because he Deadly Secrets 215 believed what Nichols and I would say might provide new information Jesse needed to demand more documents - and get them. To insiders in our investigation, this was a stunning invitation from a federal judge. We knew that whatever secrets the judge had read in those documents about the players in and around Elohim City they must be dangerous. Judge Kimball went to the outer limits of his jurisdiction to say yes to depositions in a FOIA case. We believe he acted out of grave concern for America. The depositions never happened. After the FBI and the Justice Department vehemently objected, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit overruled Judge Kimball. Once again, Terry Nichols and I were silenced by the very federal agency that stands to be exposed in wrongdoing if we are ever allowed to speak: the Justice Department. Again, that one glaring question: Why? Why would the Justice Department and the FBI go to such extreme lengths just to stop two inmates from telling America their stories? While Jesse was preparing for the depositions that never happened, he kept the pressure on the government to uncover more documents. In 2008, Jesse filed a fresh FOIA request zeroing in on surveillance videotapes from the day of the bombing, and also on Andreas Strassmeir's possible intelligence connections. In June 2009, in response to the request relating to Strassmeir, the CIA delivered a sensational response. This seemed to reveal, perhaps beyond any other single piece of evidence Jesse has uncovered, just how monumental are the secrets the government is keeping about the bombing. The CIA reported that it had found 26 documents that were responsive to Jesse's request focusing on Strassmeir. The CIA was refusing to turn the documents over, however. Here is why: The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which reviewed the documents at CIA request, advised that releasing them "could cause grave damage to our national security." This was no ordinary FOIA rejection letter. This was code red: The CIA was saying the secrets about Andreas Strassmeir could jeopardize national security. A few months later, in September 2009, the FBI weighed in with another dramatic response to the other part of Jesse's latest FOIA 216 David Paul Hammer request: for surveillance tapes made of the Murrah building on the day of the bombing. Strange but true: As Jesse learned, all these years later, the FBI is still keeping secret hundreds of surveillance tapes. Curiously, except for one clip from one tape, prosecutors did not place these tapes into evidence at the trials of McVeigh and Nichols. What if these tapes captured images of McVeigh accomplices? What if the tapes could positively identify John Doe No. 2, whom witnesses said they saw in the Ryder truck with McVeigh? None of these questions was answered by the FBI's release of tapes, however. In a development strikingly reminiscent of the most famous government tapes scandal, Watergate, the FBI released only 22 of 244 tapes in its possession, covering only 7 of the 11 camera locations sought by Jesse. The tapes show the chaos immediately after the bombing. They are blank in the minutes before the blast. These tapes appear to have been edited. Missing were all the tapes Jesse requested from cameras mounted at the front of the Murrah Federal Building, and cameras showing the building's parking lot - in other words, the tapes that would have recorded images of the crime, as opposed to nothing of interest. Once again, the real story is what is missing: four cameras in four locations going blank at basically the same time on the morning of April 19, 1995. "There ain't no such thing as a coincidence," Jesse said after viewing the tapes. The FBI claims the security cameras did not record just prior to the blast or during the blast because "they had run out of tape" or "the tape was being replaced." One interesting aspect of all the tapes is that they spring back on right after the 9:02 a.m. blast, but there is no footage of the truck pulling up to the building, parking, or of the passenger exiting the truck, as seen by eyewitnesses. According to Jesse: "The absence of footage from these crucial time intervals is evidence that there is something there that the FBI doesn't want anybody to see." As Jesse's campaign for release of the tapes continued in the months leading up to the 15 th anniversary of the bombing, Jesse pressed harder, demanding to inspect unedited videtoapes, and confronting Justice Department lawyers with photographic evidence of cameras mounted Deadly Secrets 217 on the Murrah Building the morning of the bombing, cameras that would have captured the Ryder truck. Jesse had some more leverage to turn up the pressure: a Secret Service log that describes a missing video sequence from one of the tapes that has apparently been edited. An entry in this log, written by a Secret Service agent on April 24, 1995, references "suspects" - plural - exiting the Ryder truck 3 minutes and 6 seconds before the bomb blast. Suspects, plural? Whoa. Timothy McVeigh and ... who else? McVeigh supposedly delivered the bomb in the Ryder truck by himself, with no passenger. And Terry Nichols was in Kansas that day. For Jesse, the answer was as simple as it was explosive. The man caught on tape getting out of the truck with McVeigh was Richard Guthrie: John Doe No. 2 and, most unluckily for Kenneth Trentadue, a man who shared so many physical traits with Kenney, it may have cost him his life. That tape was a prize worth fighting over, and Jesse clearly had another fierce fight on his hands. But he was already pondering a most interesting possibility - a way to move his investigation to another level. If Jesse could prove to U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups in the FOIA case that the FBI edited or altered one of the surveillance tapes, or held onto one or more tapes it should have turned over, that would prove bad faith. Such a ruling could open the door to FBI subpoenas - and to America finally learning the whole truth about who was with McVeigh in the Ryder truck. There is no statute of limitations on murder. 218 David Paul Hammer CHAPTER THIRTEEN Writing On The Wall It's April. A famous poet called this the crudest month. The 15 th anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing is now just days away. A grief-stricken circle of mourners with permanent gaping holes in their lives will soon gather at the haunted space that once was the Alfred P. Murrah Building to remember their dead. Jannie Coverdale will be there for Aaron and Elijah, who would be 20 and 18 now if they hadn't been slaughtered at ages 5 and 3 by the bomb blast that destroyed America's Daycare Center, on the second floor of the Murrah Building. Jannie had every reason to believe this was the safest place in the world for her two little grandsons. But the daycare center wasn't safe from Timothy McVeigh. The bomb killed 19 children under the age of 6. Jannie Coverdale, like many other survivors, will never forget the horror of discovering what had happened. "I took off running, and two of my co-workers went with me," she says. "We ran up on the 4 th Street side. The damage to the building wasn't too bad. But then we went around on 5 th Street. The building, including the daycare center, was gone." 222 For many of the survivors, downtown Oklahoma City holds horrible and everlasting memories. Kathy Wilburn-Sanders, grandmother of Chase and Colton, ages 2 and 3, says that the debris from the blast "entombed the children" and that the Murrah Building became the "deathbed of its victims." All the survivors I have spoken to define their lives by the date and time of the blast. There are only two periods of time for them, before April 19, 1995, and after. Kathy 's accounts of the moments and days after the bombing, before the bodies of her grandsons were located and identified, are filled with references to time, losing time and experiencing time as agony. She says her last memories of Chase and Colton are "etched" in her mind "forever." Jannie Coverdale will never forget the moment she learned her grandsons were dead. She had been sitting in a church for most of four long days, waiting for news with other families whose husbands, wives and children were missing. "I remember screaming at God," she says. "I remember telling Him that I would never serve Him again, because I had begged Him to just let them be alive. ... I remember going into another room in the church and looking out of the window, and, as far as I could see, I saw nothing but sadness, and I knew I was seeing into the future, and that was my life I was looking at." The Oklahoma City Bombing National Memorial, where the survivors will commemorate their loved ones on the anniversary of the bombing, contains 168 chairs, each with the name of a victim. The chairs mark each victim's approximate location at the time they died. Light shines from underneath each empty chair at night. The Gates of Time mark the space in front of the Murrah Building where the Ryder truck bomb detonated. Two 13 -ton yellow bronze structures resembling doors are marked with inscriptions over the entrances to the memorial grounds. The inscription on the east reads, "9:01 AM," and the one on the West, "9:03 AM." The moment of the explosion, 9:02 AM, isn't memorialized. A lovely elm tree spreads its branches protectively over one area of the courtyard. This has become known as the "Survivor Tree" because it miraculously withstood the devastating blast, when whole buildings around it were destroyed. The tree symbolizes the courage of those who lived on after the bomb. Deadly Secrets 223 Even here, however, at ground zero of the official story of the bombing, there is a reminder that something is wrong with this picture. On a wall of the old Journal Record Newspaper building that survived the blast, a team of first responders memorialized their shocked reaction, graffiti-style: "Team 5, 4-19-95. We Search For the truth. We seek Justice. The Courts Require it. The Victims Cry for it. And GOD Demands it!" The bombing memorial and grounds are stately, impressive and grand in the way of heroic federal monuments. But these raw words - scrawled by rescuers who were witnessing human horror they could never have imagined - go to the heart of the matter. For some survivors, this is the real memorial, because 15 years after the fact, it stands as a stern reminder that the whole truth has not been found, and justice has not been done. Over the years, Ruth Schwab, a victim, has reluctantly come to share this belief. Ruth was a coworker of V.Z Lawton, at the federal Housing and Urban Development Department office in the Murrah Building. She was badly disfigured in the bombing. She lost an eye and underwent reconstructive surgery. Weirdly, years afterward, she remembers glass pushing its way out of her body one day in the shower. "It hurts right before it comes out," she says. "I will always feel the effects . . . They will not go away." All of this makes it especially hard for Ruth to face the belief she has come to: that, somehow, the government that was supposed to protect her, knew about the Oklahoma City Bombing in advance, and allowed it to happen. Ruth says she tried for years to ignore what she was hearing about a cover-up, but eventually the information became too much to ignore. "The fact is that they knew there was going to be a bomb," she says. "Everyone knew! . . . That blows me away. The day-care. They could have done something . . . anything . . . That was a heart-breaker." As always, my experience of the anniversary of the bombing will be very different from that of the mourners, because of where I sit. They, I imagine, will mostly be remembering the nightmare: where they were at 9:02, how they found out, burying their dead. But I wasn't there. The part I witnessed was the retribution, in June of 2001, when Timothy 224 David Paul Hammer McVeigh walked past my cell here on death row and gave me the nod on his way to the death chamber. Sometimes, when I think about that moment, I still wonder if Timothy McVeigh was really executed at all. One of the reasons he made the bargain with me that he did, to tell his story, was that he needed an experienced jailhouse lawyer to help prevent the autopsy on his body that was standard procedure after an execution. That was my end of the bargain, and I kept it. There was no autopsy on Timothy McVeigh. I don't know whether it was his paranoia, or something more, but as McVeigh's execution date approached, he told me he wasn't sure he was going to die. He spoke of a scenario in which the Major or members of his team would infiltrate the execution process and replace the lethal drugs with other substances. According to McVeigh, the CIA and other U.S. agencies involved in covert missions have developed drugs that create the illusion of death in the human body and disguise all signs of life. These drugs would be administered in the execution process. Once McVeigh's body was released to his legal representative, a squad of medical personnel would revive him. He would then undergo reconstructive surgery, and be rewarded for his efforts and loyalty to those he served. Sometimes, when think I about "Operation Elm Tree," which was the code name prison administrators gave McVeigh's execution, this outlandish scenario pops to mind. A memorandum from one of McVeigh's lawyers, dated August 30, 1995, raises a similar possibility. That memo, prepared by Randy Coyne, reports that McVeigh raised the "possibility of a plea bargain. He said the government could use me for a special mission. They could say they executed me. They want to punish me. They wouldn't have to worry about losing me. . ." According to Coyne, McVeigh acknowledged that this scheme had an extremely remote chance, but said, "I won't deny it's a possibility." This is far-fetched for sure, but it does reveal McVeigh's mindset very early on, just days after his indictment, before the elaborate grooming and massaging of his role in the bombing in preparation for his trial. Jannie Coverdale was one of survivors who watched the execution on closed circuit TV in Oklahoma City - at the Federal Transfer Center, as a matter of fact, where Kenney Trentadue was killed. Jannie Deadly Secrets 225 describes the execution this way: "I sat in that room and watched Tim, and I still don't know if he's dead or not. He was covered from his feet to his neck with a white sheet. We couldn't see his arms, so we don't know if anything was going on or not. What I do know is that his eyes were open, after he was supposed to have died. I've heard all kinds of tales. But I believe that had he been working for the government, then he is still alive." Another witness, Chrissy Titsworth Luna, remembers it differently: "I watched the man die via closed circuit at the Federal Transfer Prison in Oklahoma City. And that sorry SOB, when asked if he had anything to say, just turned his head to the right, then left and looked up and said nothing, and they injected him, and you could see him trying to fight off the sleeping agent and blowing out his mouth and then it was over . . . that fast. Before he died he told his Dad, 'I could tell them I'm sorry, but I'd be lying.'" Two eyewitnesses, two different takes. If we knew for sure which was right, we'd be that much closer to the truth. If, if, if. This fascinating, spiraling investigation might best be summed up as The Big If. I admit there were times along the way when I thought Jesse and I were close to solving the Oklahoma City Bombing. Instead, what we have accomplished, I believe, is something else — something remarkable. After 15 years of investigating, we have opened up the deepest, darkest cold case of all time, the most mysterious unsolved mystery, the mother of all true crime stories. The clues to crack this case are here, inside this book. A treasure trove of them are waiting to give up secrets to forensic examination, from boxes of explosives that might be tied to the bombing, to hundreds of surveillance tapes of the Murrah Building that might contain images of John Doe. No. 2, to ARA surveillance videotape of Roger Moore's ranch, to the handprint, mystery blood spot and writing on the wall of Kenneth Trentadue's cell, to rental records on multiple Ryder trucks and, most astoundingly, to the "extra leg" from the Murrah Building rubble that Timothy McVeigh's story suggests belonged to the man who built the bomb. The list of leads is long, extremely inviting and virtually untouched by professional investigative hands. Bottom line: Contrary to what the FBI has kept very quiet until now, the Oklahoma City Bombing case 226 David Paul Hammer is not closed. What is needed now, to solve it and finally answer the cry for justice on the wall, is a serious investigation by a body powerful enough to force the FBI to give up its deadly secrets. These secrets have been well kept by a long parade of confidential government informants, who were paid both for their information and their silence. But there are so many of them, who know so much about the matters we have investigated. It only takes one person speaking out to break the chain of silence. Someone knows who was behind the Oklahoma City Bombing. Someone knows who killed Kenneth Trentadue. In the right hands, the evidence in this book will lead straight to that person. My hope, for the sake of Kenney, who very possibly was Victim No. 169, is that someone with subpoena power will reflect on the facts as they are presented here, and take action. With some measure of closure, I can now say that my work on this case is complete. I have reported the story Timothy McVeigh told me, and verified the information I could. I am well aware that my prisoner status challenges my credibility from word one. That is why I have relied heavily on documents to test the McVeigh story, so readers can judge it for themselves. As for Kenneth Trentadue 's death - and possibly Guthrie's and Baker's as well - 1 have followed the fascinating leads McVeigh provided as far as I could. As a prisoner myself, Kenney 's case cried out to me from the moment I first read about it. What happened to Kenney is every prisoner's worst nightmare. When I volunteered to help Jesse get to the bottom of Kenney 's case, I did so out of a prejudice I won't deny. No man, no matter what he's done, should face a squad of federal police at 3:00 in the morning, alone in a cell with no way to defend himself, leaving behind nothing but a bloody handprint on the wall, where he died grasping desperately for a panic button just out of reach. What Kenney Trentadue had done wrong, it should be remembered, was to have a few beers after work when his parole officer said don't. This isn't supposed to happen in America. This is why prisoners everywhere know Kenney 's name and what happened to him. In prison-speak, it's called "getting Trentadued." Deadly Secrets 227 Finding a way to tell this story has been challenging. Reporters can't interview me. A federal court of appeals blocked my offer to tell my story via videotaped deposition, so the public could see and hear me and judge for themselves. Last fall, I confronted one more roadblock. In September 2009, two men who identified themselves as FBI agents visited me here on Federal Death Row. They had something to offer me — my life. It went like this. If I would not publish this book, the Justice Department would halt its effort to seek the reinstatement of the death penalty in my case. Otherwise, and I quote: "We will use the full might of the federal government against you." This book is my answer. I have already received more than I have given from my work on this case with Jesse Trentadue. He is a loyal brother to Kenney and a true friend to me. Through our work together, and especially my writing of this book, I have experienced something almost miraculous. Even on death row, the truth will set you free. 228 David Paul Hammer SOMEONE KNOWS 231 Someone who will read this book knows the answe to the mysteries investigated in these pages: Who were Timothy McVeigh's accomplices, who were never brought to justice in the Oklahoma City Bombing? / Who killed Kenneth Trentadue in the federal detention center in Oklahoma City on August 21, 1995? .ity Victims and survivors of the Oklahoma City Bombing deserve to know the truth. They need your help. I www.deadly-secrets.com Sources will remain anonymous. 233 About the Author Death row inmate David Paul Hammer is a criminal legend. After a childhood in Oklahoma marked by poverty and abuse, Hammer left home at age 14. He worked odd jobs, became addicted to drugs, got married, fathered a child, and wound up in prison at 19 for robbery and a violent hostage-taking incident. Except for two escapes, he has been incarcerated ever since. In prison, Hammer developed into a master con artist, using a brilliant mind to conduct lucrative, imaginative scams from his prison cell. But he also furthered his education by earning his GED and collegiate associate degrees in criminal justice, psychology and paralegal studies. He is a skilled jailhouse lawyer and social activist. By 1984, Hammer had accumulated a staggering 1,230-year sentence for various crimes. In 1996, he killed a cellmate and received the death penalty. That set the stage for a strange twist of fate. David Paul Hammer of Oklahoma and Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City Bomber, would soon become fellow inmates on Federal Death Row in Indiana. During the two years leading up to McVeigh's execution in 2001, Hammer observed McVeigh closely, talked to him in depth about his crime, and took notes. Hammer was ready to put his considerable talents to use in the writing of this book. Hammer has written two previous books: The Final Escape, his autobiography, and Secrets Worth Dying For: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing. In 2004, Hammer came within three days of death by lethal injection, before an appeals court granted him a stay of execution. His case is still pending. 235 Acknowledgments I am indebted to so many people for this book. I could never have written it without the assistance from people on the outside. I want to especially thank Jesse C. Trentadue, who has become my brother and my friend. Without his guidance and investigative efforts we wouldn't have uncovered as much as we have so far. Many journalists have assisted me over the years, but none more so than J.D. Cash and Lt. Colonel Roger Charles (U.S. Marines Retired). They have reported on the Oklahoma City Bombing since day one. They shared their knowledge, writings and opinions with me and they verified many facts for me. We lost J.D., but his spirit and memory lives on and he will never rest in peace until the truth behind Oklahoma City is exposed. In recent years the investigative efforts of Wendy S. Painting have allowed me to be secure in my command of the facts that McVeigh told me. She has spent considerable time, resources and more interviewing witnesses and reviewing the McVeigh defense file at the University of Texas in Austin. She has generously provided me with copies of documents that I could never have obtained on my own. A very special debt of gratitude goes to Jannie Coverdale. Jannie is an extraordinary woman. Her strength, wisdom and kindness show through to all who meet her. She means the world to me. I value her friendship and I am forever grateful to her. I also want to thank Andre Kellner and Eva, for all of their efforts to make this book a reality. They continue to work on my behalf to insure that the world knows about this book. And, last but certainly not least, I want to thank Debbie Ashton. Her skills and knowledge have made the writing process much easier. I'm most grateful. To the many others who have helped me with this project, I thank you. 237
| i don't know |
"Which food item is named after the Tamil word for ""pepper water""?" | List and Etymology of Indian Words in English | ILU English
Lesson Plans & Ideas
List and Etymology of Indian Words in English
Indian words in English, popularly known as Anglo-Indian words, form a major category among the foreign words in English Language. Most of the Indian words in English crept into the English language during the British rule of India. These Indian words reflect the cultural diversity of India and are from different languages. Anglo Indian words in English language can be divided into three main categories:
Sanskrit Words in English: Most of the Indian words in English have an etymological connection to Sanskrit. But it has to be noted that very few of the English words of Sanskrit origin have entered the English language directly. Most of them came into English from their transformed versions in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali or Marathi.
Hindi and Urdu Words in English: English words of Hindi origin form the major category of Indian words in English even though most of them are derived from Sanskrit.
Tamil and Malayalam Words in English: Most of the English words relating to South Indian life and culture came into the English language from Tamil and Malayalam. Many of them were first adopted into Portuguese and French. From these languages they gradually entered the English language.
The following is an extensive list of Indian words in English. Search by word or language to find the meaning and etymology of Indian words in English.
Word
from Bengali adda, a group of people
a place where people of same interests gather for conversation.
Ahimsa
from Sanskrit ahimsa, which means "not-harmful".
alvar
sink, be absorbed (as in contemplation)
Ambarella
from Sanskrit: ambarella, a kind of tree. Entered English through Sinhalese
Amrita
from Sanskrit amrutam, nectar of everlasting life.
anaconda
possibly from Tamil yaanai kondra, "that which killed an elephant".The word may have entered English through Sinhalese henakandaya, "whipsnake".
anicut
from Tamil anaikattu, ("anai"=dam, "kattu"=building/structure)
Aniline
from Sanskrit nili. Entered English through German: Anilin, French: Aniline and Portuguese: Anil from Arabic al-nili and Persian nila,
Apadravya
from Sanskrit apadravya which refers to a male genital piercing where a barbell passes through the penis. Mentioned in Indian literature in theKama Sutra
ape
from the Tamil word for a monkey, kapi, i.e., swift, nimble, active. It was first transformed to api and later to 'ape'
arhat
from Sanskrit arhat which means "deserving".
Aryan
from Sanskrit Arya-s "noble, honorable". Entered English through Latin Ariana, from Greek Areia.
Asana
from Sanskrit asana which means "seat", a term describing yoga postures.
Ashram
from Sanskrit asrama, a religious hermitage.
Atman
from Sanskrit atman meaning "essence".
Atoll
from Sanskrit antala. Probably entered English through Maldivean:
Aubergine
from Sanskrit vatigagama, meaning aubergine or eggplant in American English. Probably entered English through Catalan alberginera, via Arabic ( al-badinjan) and Persian ( badin-gan) ultimately
Avatar
from Tamil "avataram" and Sanskrit avatara, which means "descent". Refers to the human incarnation of God . Thus, Krishna and Rama were two of the ten avatars of Vishnu.
Ayurveda
from Sanskrit ayurveda, which means "knowledge of life".
baboo
from Hindi babu, meaning "father"
Bahasa
from Sanskrit bahuvrihih, a composite word, meaning 'much rice.'
Bandanna
from Hindi Bandhna,() which means to 'tie-dye,' a mode of dyeing in which the cloth is tied in different places, to prevent the parts tied from receiving the dye.
A bright yellow or red silk handkerchief with diamond shaped spots left white while dyeing.
bandy
from the Tamil word 'vandy' which means 'vehicle'.
ox-cart
from Hindi Bangri , a ring of coloured glass worn on the wrist by women.
Banyan
from Hindi baniyaa and Sanskrit vanij, which means "a merchant".
Basmati
from Hindi ultimately from Sanskrit vasa, meaning 'fragrant'
Batik
A textile dyeing technique in which areas not to be dyed are coated with wax producing an irregular, mottled motif or pattern.
Bazaar
from Hindi and Persian, a permanent market or street of shops.
Bazaar
Indian and Middle Eastern term for a marketplace or a group of shops; in the West it refers to a charity sale of trinkets and other items.
begum
From Urdu begam which comes from Eastern Turkish bigim meaning "princess"
Beryl
from Sanskrit vaidurya, and Prakrit (veluriya). Actually of Dravidian origin, maybe from the name of Belur. Probably entered English through Old French beryl, via Latin beryllus, Greek
betel
from Malayalam vettila and Tamil vettrilai where "vettru"=plant name and "ilai"=leaf.
Bhakti
from Sanskrit bhakti, which means "loyalty".
Bhang
from Hindi bhang, which is from Sanskrit bhanga "hemp".
Bidi
from Hindi bidi which comes from Sanskrit vitika.
birka
from Hindi burqa which came from persian / Arabic
biryani
from Hindi biryani which camefrom Persian biryan meaning "fried, roasted"
Blighty
from Hindi and Urdu vilayati "foreign", ultimately from Arabo-Persian "provincial, regional".
Home' indicating Britain (as a term of endearment among British troops stationed in Colonial India):
bo (tree)
from Sanskrit bodhi- "perfect knowledge". Entered English through Sinhalese Buddhist usage.
Bodhisattva
from Sanskit bodhi; "perfect knowledge" + sattva; "being"
Bottle
from Urdu Botul, rigid container.
Brahmin
from Sanskrit brahmana, from brahman.
Brinjal
from Persian badingan, probably from Sanskrit bhantaki.
Buddha
from Sanskrit buddha, which means "awakened, enlightened", refers to Siddhartha Gautama, founder of Buddhism. Also refers to one who is enlightened.
Bungalow
from Hindi bangla & Urdu bangla, literally, "(house) in the Bengal style". Derived from the Bengali word for hut,bangala.
A small house of only one storey, usually surrounded by a large verandah.
Calico
from the place name Calicut, India. The fine cotton stuffs of Malabar was originally mentioned by Marco Polo in the 14th century.
candy
from Sanskrit. khanda "piece (of sugar)," and Tamil kantu, kattu, or katta "to harden, condense". The word was gradually transformed to Persian qand "cane sugar," Arabic qandi, and Old French cucre candi "sugar candy".
crystalized sugar
Possibly from Malayalam or Tamil kasu
catamaran
from Tamil kattumaram ("kattu"=tie up, "maram"=tree/wood)
chakra
from Sanskrit chakra; "wheel".
Charpoy
A lightweight cot or bed, common throughout India. Usually a simple structure, it can sometimes be an elaborate creation, carved and painted.
Cheetah
from Hindi cita, , meaning "variegated" and Sanskrit chitraka, or chitrakaya, 'having a speckled body.' Also from Tamil 'chiruthai'.
cheroot
from Tamil suruttu, meaning 'rolled' which was transformed to French cheroute.
Chili
The pod of the red pepper (capsicum). The plant came to India from South America.
Chint or Chintz
The overall-patterned, often flower-covered, block-printed cotton fabric that has become synonymous with English-style decorating. Originally from the Sanksrit chitra, means variegated or speckled.
chintz
from Hindi chint which comes from Sanskrit citra "many-colored".
The overall-patterned, often flower-covered, block-printed cotton fabric that has become synonymous with English-style decorating.
Chit
from Hindi Chitthi, a letter or note. The Tamil people use shit for a ticket, or for a playing-card.
Chuddar
from Sanskrit chatram which means screen, parasol etc. Entered English through Urdu chaddar (cloth).
Chukar
from Sanskrit chakorah. Came to English via Hindi chakor and Urdu chukar.
Chukker
from Sanskrit chakra, and Hindi chakkar, "a circle, a wheel".
Chutney
from Hindi chatni, meaning "to crush"
A spicy relish often made from mangoes, chili peppers, or tomatoes. The word is derived from the Hindi catni.
Citipati
from Sanskrit chiti-pati, which means "a funeral pyre lord".
A kind of Dinosaur
probably from Malayalam kayar, Tamil '' "kayiru" for rope or thread or to be twisted.
congee
from Tamil kanji
coolie
Possibly from cooli a Tamil word for "labour". Alternatively, it could refer to a tribe from Gujarat, whose members were frequently employed as manual laborers.
cooly
from Tamil kuli hire, hireling
copra
from the Malayalam word koppara, coconut kernel or Tamil kopparai / koppara or Telugu word kobbera
corundum
from a Tamil word for 'ruby', kuruntham or kuruvintham
cot
from Tamil kattil (bedstead) and Sanskrit khatva which became Hindi khat
cowrie, cowry
from Sanskrit kaparda, Mahrati kavadi and Tamil kotu (shell). Entered English via Hindi and Urdu kauri (small shell).
Crimson
from Old Spanish cremesin, via Medieval Latin cremesinus from Arabic qirmiz "a kermes", which is ultimately from Sanskrit krmi-ja literally: "red dye produced by a worm."
Crocus
from Sanskrit kunkumam which later became Persian and Arabic kurkum, which mean saffron or saffron yellow, Aramaic kurkama, Hebrew karkom, and Greek crocus.
Cummerbund
from Hindi and Urdu kamarband , meaning "waist binding" [ultimately from Persian ]
curry
from Tamil kari which means 'sauce'
A spicy dish made of meat, fish or vegetables cooked with ground spices, red pepper and turmeric.
Cushy
probably from Hindi khushi, - Urdu "easy, happy, soft" [ultimately from Persian]. But some sources suggest an origin from "cushion"
Dacoit
from Hindi Dakait, a robber belonging to an armed gang.
dal
from Hindi dal meaning "split pulse"
Das
from Sanskrit daasa, a slave or servant.
Datura
from Hindi dhatura "jimson weed" which is ultimately from Sanskrit dhatturah, a kind of flowering plant.
Dekko
From Hindi dekho, "look"
from Dekho, the imperative 'look', ( ) meaning look at or study something. (UK slang for 'a look')
Deodar
from Hindi deodar which comes from Sanskrit devadaru, a kind of tree.
Deva
from Sanskrit deva, which means "a god", similar to Latin deus, which means 'god'.
Devi
from Sanskrit devi, which means "a goddess".
Dhal
from Hindi dal which comes from Sanskrit dalah, meaning cotyledon of a pea pod, a type of Indian food. Also refers to lentils.
Dharma
from Pali dhamma and Sanskrit meaning "conformity to one's duty and nature" and "divine law".
Dhoti
from Hindi ultimately from Sanskrit dhunoti, traditional garment of men's wear in India.
Dhurrie
A flat woven cotton carpet
Dinghy
from Hindi and Bengali dingi "a tiny boat", which is probably from Sanskrit dronam.
A rowing boat
Dolly
from the Hindi word dali.
a gift or presentation of fruit, flowers, vegetables or sweets, sometimes arranged in a basket or tray.
Doolally
from the town of Deolali, where British troops were stationed before returning to England and developed "camp fever" from boredom
mad, insane
from Hindi dungri, a place-name.
A coarse cotton fabric that was traditionally worn by the poor.
Durbar
from Hindi and Persian durbar. The court of an Indian prince.
a ceremonial audience chamber.
from Sanksrit eka which means "one"
Ganja
from Hindi "Elephant bull" ultimately from Sanskrit ganja, which means "hemp".
Garam Masala
from Hindi and Urdu a garam masaalaa, literally "warm ( = hot) mixture".
Gaur
from Hindi "white" which comes from Sanskrit gaurah.
Gavial
from Hindi ghariyal which Is ultimately from Sanskrit ghantikah, a kind of crocodile.
Gayal
from Sanskrit gauh which entered English through Bengali , a kind of animal.
Gharry
from Sanskrit gartah. Entered English via Hindi gaadi, a kind of vehicle.
ghat
from Hindi ghat which means "quay"
Ghee
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit ghritam "sprinkling".
ginger
from Tamil inciver which is the combined form of inci = ginger and ver = root. May be also from Sanskrit shringaveram "horn-bodied"
godown
from Tamil Kittangi (kidangu/kodangu) which means 'store room', Kannada gadangu and Telugu gidangi. May have entered English via Malay gudang.
Gondwanaland
from Sanskrit gondavana, the name of a forest.
Guar
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit gopali, an annual legume.
Gunny
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit goni "sack".
Gurkha
from Nepalese gorkha, which is ultimately from Sanskrit goraksa, "a cowherd".
Guru
from Hindi guru "teacher, priest,". Ultimately from Sanskrit guru-s "one to be honored, teacher," literally "heavy, weighty,"
an expert in a field.
Gymkhana
from Urdu & Hindi gend-khana (ball-house) .khanah in Persian means "house, dwelling". The term originally referred to a place where sporting events and contests were held to test the skill of the competitors.
In English-speaking countries, a gymkhana refers to a multi-game equestrian event performed to display the training and talents of horses and their rider
Hanuman
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit Hanuman (), name of a Hindu mythological God.
Hare Krishna
from Sanskrit Hare () "oh God!" and Krishna (), name of Hindu god.
harijan
from Sanksrit harijana which is a combination of Hari "Vishnu" + -jana "community"
hatha yoga
from Sanksrit hatha which means "force, violence" and yoga
Himalaya
from Sanskrit himalayah, which means "adode of snow".
Hindi
from Hindi Hind which is ultimately from Sanskrit sindhu, which means "a river". Entered English via Persian Hindu "Sind".
Hindu
from Hindi Hindu which means "an Indian". Comes from Persian hind which was used to denote people from Sindh.
hookah
from Urdu hukkah which comes from Arabic huqqah; "vase, bottle".
howdah
from Urdu haudah which came from Arabic haudaj.
I am
from Sanskrit Aham
Jackal
from Sanskrit srgalah "the howler" and Middle Indic shagal, which later became Persian shaghal and Turkish chakal.
jackfruit
from the Malayalam and Tamil name for the fruit chakka (). The word entered English through Portuguese jaca.
Jaconet
modification of Sanskrit jagannaath, from Jagannath (Puri), [India], where such cloth was first made.
Jaggery
from Sanskrit sarkara and Tamil/Malayalam chakkara which was later transformed to Portuguese jagara, jagre.
Jaggery
from Malayalam chakkara which came from Sanskrit sarkara which was derived from proto-Dravidian. Entered English through Portuguese jagara, jagre.
Jinnah cap
Named after Pakistani statesman Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
A hat shaped like a fez but made of real or imitation karakul and worn by Pakistani Muslims on occasion. It is called a "Karakulli topi" (Topi meaning cap).
Jodhpurs
Named after the Indian city of Jodhpur , where similar garments are worn by Indian men as part of everyday dress.
Full-length trousers, worn for horseback riding, that are close-fitting below the knee and have reinforced patches on the inside of the leg.
Jodhpurs
Riding breeches that fit close to the leg from the knee to the ankle. These are worn with a low pair of boots. They are modelled after similar trousers worn in Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
Juggernaut
from Hindi and sanskrit Jagannath (Sanskrit: jagannatha), a form of Vishnu particularly worshipped at the Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha where during Rath Yatra festival thousands of devotees pull temple carts some 14m (45 feet) tall, weighing hundreds of tons through the streets. Early European visitors witnessed these festivals and returned with reports of religious fanatics committing suicide by throwing themselves under the wheels of the carts.
A metaphor for something immense and unstoppable because of institutional or physical inertia; or impending catastrophe that is foreseeable yet virtually unavoidable because of such inertia.
Jungle
from Hindi jangal "a desert, forest" which came from Sanskrit jangal, which means "arid".
Jute
from Bengali jhuto which is ultimately from Sanskrit juta-s, which means "twisted hair".
kabaddi
From the Tamil word (-) "kai" (hand), "pidi" (catch), which can be translated into "Holding Hands"
Kama Sutra
from Sanksrit kama "love" and sutra 'rein or technique'.
Karma
from Sanskrit karma, which means "work, fate".
Kedgeree
A dish of recooked fish, served for breakfast.
Kermes
from Sanskrit krumija meaning "worm-made." which later became Persian qermez , Arabic: qirmiz and French Kermes.
Khaki
from Hindi khaki "of dust colour, dusty, grey", Urdu [ultimately from Persian].
khalsa
from Urdu khalicah which comes from Arabic khalic; "pure, real".
Kos
from Hindi kos which is ultimately from Sanskrit krosah, which means "a call, a shout".
Krait
from Hindi karait which is ultimately from Sanskrit , a kind of snake.
Kshatriya
from Sanksrit kshatriya; 'the ruling class' which comes from kshatra; "rule, authority".
Lac, lakh
from Sanskrit laksha and Prakrit lakkha which became Hindi lakh Persian and came to English through Urdu .,
Lacquer
from Sanskrit laksha which became Arabic lakk, Portuguese Laca and French Laque.
resin
from Sanskrit langulam. Enterd English through Hindi.
Lantern
from Urdu Lal ten , meaning 'lighting device'.
lascar
fromUrdu lashkar "army'. Entered English through Portuguese.
Lilac
from Sanskrit nila, which means "dark blue". Later became Persian nilak meaning "bluish" and entered English throughArabic lilak.
lingam
from Sanskrit linga which means "distinctive mark, penis"
Loot
from Sanskrit lota-m or lunthati meaning "he steals". Entered English through Hindi loot, which means 'a booty, stolen thing'.
Madras
A colourful plaid-patterned textile made of silk or cotton, or both, and coloured with vegetable dyes. It takes its name from the southern city of Madras.
Maharajah
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit maha-raajan, which means "a great king".
Maharani
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit maharajni which means "consort of a maharajah".
Maharishi
from Sanskrit maha-rishi, which means 'a great sage'.
Mahatma
from Sanskrit mahatman, which means "a great breath, soul".
Mahayana
from Sanskrit maha-yana, which means "a great vehicle".
Mahout
from Hindi (variant of ) which is ultimately from Sanskrit mahamatrah.
Mandala
from Sanskrit mandala, which means "a disc, circle".
Mandarin
from Hindi mantri "a councillor" which is ultimately from Sanskrit mantri, which means "an advisor". Came to English from Portuguese mandarim.
Mango
derived from Tamil "Maangaay" a Tamil word for an unripe mango.
mango
from Tamil maangaai and Malayalam 'maangaai' where maa=big and kaai=unripe fruit.
Mantra
from Sanskrit mantra which means "a holy message, chanting or text".
Maya
from Sanskrit maya, a religious term which means 'illusion'.
Mithras
from Sanskrit mitrah, which means "a friend".
Mogul
from Hindi and Urdu. from the Persian rulers of India like Akbar and Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal.
An acknowledged leader in a field,
Moksha
from Sanskrit moksha, liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth, heaven.
mongoose
from Marathi mangoos and Telugu mangisu
Moringa
from Tamil and Malayalam murungai , the word for drumstick.
Mugger
from Hindi and Urdu magar which ultimately comes from Sanskrit makara, a sea creature like a crocodile, which attacks stealthily.
mullah
from Urdu mulla which comes from Arabic mawla
mulligatawny
from Tamil milagu-tanneer from milagu black pepper and tanneer, water
A curry-flavoured soup.
Named after the Pakistani town of Multan. A kind of rug prevalent there.
Mung bean
from Hindi mug Tamil mungu, and Pali/Prakrit mugga which ultimately comes from Sanskrit mudgah, a kind of bean.
Musk
from Sanskrit muska-s meaning 'testicle', from a diminutive of mus (mouse). It was transformed to Persian mushk and then to and Late Greek moskhos. Entered Middle English as muske from Middle French musc which in turn came from Late Latin Muscus.
Mynah
from Hindi maina and Sanskrit madana-s, which means "love".
nabob
from Urdu nawwab "deputy governor".Entered English through French.
Nainsook
from Hindi nainsukh and Urdu which are ultimately from Sanskrit nayanam-sukh, meaning "pleasing to the eyes".
Namaste
from Hindi namasthe which is ultimately from Sanskrit namaha-te, which means "I bow to you".
nan
from Romani nak "nose"
Nard
from Sanskrit naladam which later became Greek nardos and Latin nardus. Entered English through Old French narde.
Narghile
from Sanskrit naarikelah. Entered English through French Narguile and Persian narghileh.
Nark
from Hindi nak which is ultimately from Sanskrit nakra. Came to English from Romany nak "a nose".
navigate
possibly from Tamil (navai) which came to Middle English as navigate, through Latin navigo, from navis (ship) + ago (do), from Proto-Indo-European where nau maens 'boat'.
Neem
through Hindi nim ultimately from Sanskrit nimbah, a kind of tree.
Nilgai
from Hindi nilgaai meaning blue cow which is ultimately from Sanskrit nila-gauh, an ox-like animal.
Nirvana
from Sanskrit nirvana-s which means "extinction, blowing out".
one
from Tamil word onnu which means 'one'. Tamil people pronounce onnu almost similary to one in English
Opal
from Sanskrit upalah.Came to English through French opalle which in turn came from Latin opalus and Greek opallios.
Orange
from Tamil narantham (orange), or naarangam (mandarin-orange), with + = naaraththangaay. Later it was transformed to Sanskrit naranga, Persian narang, Arabic naranj, Italian arancia, Latin orenge, and Old French orenge.
pagoda
perhaps from Tamil pagavadi (house belonging to a deity) and Sanskrit bhagavati (goddess) or from Portuguese pagode which comes from a corruption of Persian butkada (but=idol + kada=dwelling).
Pajamas, Pyjamas
from Hindi pajamas "Leg clothing" and Urdu payjamah which comes from Persian pay "foot" + jamah "garment".
A pair of loose trousers tied at the waist.
palanquin
from Sanskrit palyanka; "bed". Later became Javanese pelangki and entered English through Portuguese
Palmyra
from Tamil Pannamarrum/Pannai, (Marram = Tree)
pandal
from Tamil paraiyar, plural of paraiyan "drummer".
outcast
pariahdom
from Tamil paraiyar, plural of paraiyan ( a caste whose members are drummers ). The name of the caste is derived from parai, a festival drum.
Pashmina
from Hindi , Urdu , ultimately from Persian .
patchouli
from Tamil pachchai (green), and ellai (leaf).
A small southeast Asian shrub.
pepper
from Sanskrit pippali; "berry". Entered English through Latin.
Polo
The game of hockey on horseback originated in Persia. It was played in the extreme west of the Himalayas till it was adopted in Calcutta around 1864, and quickly spread across the lower provinces, and to Kashmir, where summer visitors took it up. It soon made its way to England where it was first played in 1871, and later, to the US.
poon
from Tamil punnai, pinnai, Malayalam punna names for Calophyllum inophyllum
Poori
from Hindi poori, from Sanskrit (pura) or "cake".
poppadom, papadum
from Malayalam or Tamil pappatam, which ultimately comes from Sanskrit parpata (a kind of thin cake made of rice or pease-meal and baked in grease). Entered English via Hindi-Urdu or Punjabi.
portia tree
from Tamil puvarasu, a kind of flowering tree.
Prakrit
from Sanskrit prakrta which means "natural, vulgar"
prize
from Hindi Pakka , cooked, ripe, solid.
UK slang for 'genuine'.
Punch
from Hindi and Urdu panch , meaning "five". The drink was originally made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices. The original drink was named paantsch.
A kind of drink.
from Hindi Pandit, meaning a learned scholar or Priest.
Punkah
From Hindi pankah; 'fan'
Purdah
A Hindi word from the Persian parda, an area in the house reserved for women and screened from the sight of men by a curtain.
purdah
from Hindi and Urdu pardah "veil, curtain". Derived from the Persian parda, an area in the house for women that was screened from the sight of men by a curtain.
puttee
from Hindi patti "band(age)" which is derived from Sanskrit patta "bandage".
Raga
from Sanskrit ragah, color, passion, melody". Used to denote melodic modes used in Indian classical music. Came to English via Hindi.
Raita
from Sanskrit rajikatiktakah. Came to English via Hindi rayta,
a south Asian condiment and side dish made of yogurt and vegetables.
Raj
from Hindi and Pali/Prakrit rajja ultimately from Sanskrit rajya, which means "a king" or "kingdom." Raj means kingdom or domain of a ruler.
Rajah
from Hindi and Sanskrit rajan, which means "a king".
rakshasa
from Sanskrit rakshasa which means "demon". Derived from rakshas; "to be guarded against".
Ramtil
from Hindi and ultimately from Sanskrit ramatilah, which means "a dark sesame".
Rani
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit rajni, consort of a rajah.
Rice
from Sanskrit vrihi-s (rice), derived from proto-Dravidian which can be found in Tamil as arici. Entered English via Old French ris and Italian riso from Latin oriza, which is from Greek oryza, where it came through an Indo-Iranian tongue.
Roti
from Hindi & Urdu roti "bread"; akin to Prakrit rotta "rice flour", Sanskrit rotika "kind of bread".
Rupee
from Hindi rupiya which is ultimately from Sanskrit rupyakam, an Indian silver coin.
Rye
from Sanskrit raja; a gypsy. Entered English via Romani.
Saccharo
from Sanskrit sarkara and Pali sakkhara which became Greek . Came intoEnglish via Latin Saccharon.
Sadhu
from Sanskrit sadhu meaning "good man."
sahib
from Urdu sahib which comes from Arabic cahib "friend"
Samadhi
from Sanskrit samadhi, which means "putting together".
Sambal
from Sanskrit sambhrei which underwent transformation as Tamil campal. Entered English through Afrikaans where it came from Indonesian.
Sambar
form Hindi ultimately and Sanskrit sambarah, a kind of Asian deer.
samosa
from Sanskrit sam-sara, which means "passing through".
Sandal, sandalwood
from Sanskrit chandanam meaning 'wood for burning incense'. This word means sandalwood, and is not related to sandals which is a type of footwear. Entered Middle English as sandell from French sandale which in turn came from Medieval Latin sandalum, Medieval Greek sandalion and Arabic and Persian ;
Sandhi
from Sanskrit samdhih; "junction' - a wide variety of phonological processes.
Sangha
from Sanskrit sangha, a community of Buddhist monks and nuns.
Sanskrit
from Sanskrit samskrtam "put together, perfected, well-formed".
Sapphire
from Sanskrit sanipriya which literally means 'Sacred to Saturn (Shani)'. The word underwent many transformations as Hebrew sapir, Greek sappheiros, Latin sapphirus, and finally entered English via Old French saphir.
Sari
from Hindi sari and Prakrit sadi, finally from Sanskrit sati "garment".
Sarong
from Sanksrit saranga "variegated". An old Indian form of dress. Entered English through Malay sarung.
The chief form of dress in Java and Malaya.
Sattva
from Sanskrit sattvah, which means "truth".
Satyagraha
from Sanskrit satyagraha, which means "insisting on truth". Combined form of satya "truth" + graha "pertinacity"
sepoy
from Urdu sipahi "horseman" which comes from Persian sipah "army"
serpent
from Tamil 'Sarppam'.
Shaman
from Sanskrit sramana-s and Prakrit "a Buddhist monk". Entered English through Russian which in turn came from Tungus shaman, and Chinese sha men,
Shampoo
Derived from Hindi and Hindustani champo (),the imperative form of champna, to knead and press the muscles with the view of relieving fatigue.
Shawl
From Urdu and Persian sal, probably from Shaliat, the name of a town in India. May be also from from Sanskrit satI, which means "a strip of cloth". Entered English through Persian shal.
A piece of fabric worn by women over the shoulders or head or wrapped around a baby.
shri
from Sanskrit sri "Lakshmi" which also means prosperity.
shrub (drink), Sherbet, Sorbet
from Urdu name of a drink which comes from Arabic shurb "beverage, juice". Derived from shariba; "drink".
Siddha
from Sanskrit siddhah, which means "achieved, accomplished".
Sikh
from Hindi sikh 'a disciple', which is ultimately from Sanskrit sikshati which means "studies".
Singapore
from Sanskrit Simhapuram, literally "the lion city". Came to English language from Malay Singapura.
Singh
from Sanskrit simhah which means 'a lion', and Tamil singam. Entered English via Hindi Singh.
Sinhala
from Sanskrit Simhala which means "Sri Lanka".
Sinhalese
from Sanskrit simhala which means "of lions".
sitar
from Hindi sitar which originally meant"three-stringed".
soma
from Sanskrit soma; 'Vedic liquor'.
Sri Lanka
from Sanskrit: which means "venerable island."
Stupa
from Sanskrit stupah which means "crown of the head".
Sudra
from Sanskrit sudra
sugar
from Tamil sakkarai and Sanskrit sharkara which means "ground or candied sugar". The word was later transformed to Persian shakar, Arabic: sukkar, Medieval Latin succarum, Italian zucchero, and entered English from Old French sucre.
Sunn
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit sana, a kind of Asian plant.
Sutra
from Sanskrit sutram which means "thread, string".
Suttee
from Sanskrit sati, which means "an honorable woman". Entered English through Hindi.
Swami
from Sanskrit svami, which means "a master". Entered English through Hindi swami.
Swastika
from Sanskrit svastika, which means "one associated with well-being, a lucky charm that gives well-being".
Taka
from Sanskrit tankah. Entered English through Maithili and Bengali
Talipot
from Sanskrit talapatram, a kind of tree. Came to English through Hindi, Indonesian and Malay talipat.
tandoor
from Urdu tandur which comes from Turkish tandir and Arabic tannur "oven" .
tank
possibly from Gujarati tankh which means 'water reservoir'
Tantra
from Sanskrit tantram, which means "weave".
teak
from Malayalam thekku, and Tamil thekku. Entered English via Portuguese teca.
Teapoy
from Hindi tipai and Urdu tipai,which originated as a Sanskrit compound of tri, (three) and pada (foot).
Tendu
from Sanskrit and Hindi tainduka. Came to English via French
Thug
from Marathi and Hindi thag which is ultimately from Sanskrit sthaga, meaning 'a scoundrel'.
tikka
from Sanskrit tilah, a kind of plant.
Toddy
from Hindi tari and Sanskrit tala, a Dravidian origin is also probable.
Toddy (also Hot toddy)
from Hindi Tari , juice of the palm tree.
Tola
from Sanskrit tula; 'the scale' and Hindi tola, a traditional Indian unit of mass.
Toon
from Hindi tun and Sanskrit tunnah, a kind of tree.
Tope
from Hindi top probably from Prakrit thupo, which came from Sanskrit stupah.
tutenag
from Tamil thuthanaagam meaning "raw zinc".
Tutty
from Sanskrit tuttham meaning "blue vitriol". A Dravidian origin is also probable. Entered Middle English as tutie from Old French, which in turn came from Medieval Latin tutia, Arabic tutiya, and Persian .
Typhoon
from Hindi and Urdu toofaan. A cyclonic storm.
Upanishad
from Sanskrit Upanishad. A combination of upa "near" + nishad "lie down".
veda
| Mulligatawny |
"Which group had number one hits in the seventies with ""Tiger Feet"", ""Lonely this Christmas"" and ""Oh Boy""?" | List and Etymology of Indian Words in English | ILU English
Lesson Plans & Ideas
List and Etymology of Indian Words in English
Indian words in English, popularly known as Anglo-Indian words, form a major category among the foreign words in English Language. Most of the Indian words in English crept into the English language during the British rule of India. These Indian words reflect the cultural diversity of India and are from different languages. Anglo Indian words in English language can be divided into three main categories:
Sanskrit Words in English: Most of the Indian words in English have an etymological connection to Sanskrit. But it has to be noted that very few of the English words of Sanskrit origin have entered the English language directly. Most of them came into English from their transformed versions in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali or Marathi.
Hindi and Urdu Words in English: English words of Hindi origin form the major category of Indian words in English even though most of them are derived from Sanskrit.
Tamil and Malayalam Words in English: Most of the English words relating to South Indian life and culture came into the English language from Tamil and Malayalam. Many of them were first adopted into Portuguese and French. From these languages they gradually entered the English language.
The following is an extensive list of Indian words in English. Search by word or language to find the meaning and etymology of Indian words in English.
Word
from Bengali adda, a group of people
a place where people of same interests gather for conversation.
Ahimsa
from Sanskrit ahimsa, which means "not-harmful".
alvar
sink, be absorbed (as in contemplation)
Ambarella
from Sanskrit: ambarella, a kind of tree. Entered English through Sinhalese
Amrita
from Sanskrit amrutam, nectar of everlasting life.
anaconda
possibly from Tamil yaanai kondra, "that which killed an elephant".The word may have entered English through Sinhalese henakandaya, "whipsnake".
anicut
from Tamil anaikattu, ("anai"=dam, "kattu"=building/structure)
Aniline
from Sanskrit nili. Entered English through German: Anilin, French: Aniline and Portuguese: Anil from Arabic al-nili and Persian nila,
Apadravya
from Sanskrit apadravya which refers to a male genital piercing where a barbell passes through the penis. Mentioned in Indian literature in theKama Sutra
ape
from the Tamil word for a monkey, kapi, i.e., swift, nimble, active. It was first transformed to api and later to 'ape'
arhat
from Sanskrit arhat which means "deserving".
Aryan
from Sanskrit Arya-s "noble, honorable". Entered English through Latin Ariana, from Greek Areia.
Asana
from Sanskrit asana which means "seat", a term describing yoga postures.
Ashram
from Sanskrit asrama, a religious hermitage.
Atman
from Sanskrit atman meaning "essence".
Atoll
from Sanskrit antala. Probably entered English through Maldivean:
Aubergine
from Sanskrit vatigagama, meaning aubergine or eggplant in American English. Probably entered English through Catalan alberginera, via Arabic ( al-badinjan) and Persian ( badin-gan) ultimately
Avatar
from Tamil "avataram" and Sanskrit avatara, which means "descent". Refers to the human incarnation of God . Thus, Krishna and Rama were two of the ten avatars of Vishnu.
Ayurveda
from Sanskrit ayurveda, which means "knowledge of life".
baboo
from Hindi babu, meaning "father"
Bahasa
from Sanskrit bahuvrihih, a composite word, meaning 'much rice.'
Bandanna
from Hindi Bandhna,() which means to 'tie-dye,' a mode of dyeing in which the cloth is tied in different places, to prevent the parts tied from receiving the dye.
A bright yellow or red silk handkerchief with diamond shaped spots left white while dyeing.
bandy
from the Tamil word 'vandy' which means 'vehicle'.
ox-cart
from Hindi Bangri , a ring of coloured glass worn on the wrist by women.
Banyan
from Hindi baniyaa and Sanskrit vanij, which means "a merchant".
Basmati
from Hindi ultimately from Sanskrit vasa, meaning 'fragrant'
Batik
A textile dyeing technique in which areas not to be dyed are coated with wax producing an irregular, mottled motif or pattern.
Bazaar
from Hindi and Persian, a permanent market or street of shops.
Bazaar
Indian and Middle Eastern term for a marketplace or a group of shops; in the West it refers to a charity sale of trinkets and other items.
begum
From Urdu begam which comes from Eastern Turkish bigim meaning "princess"
Beryl
from Sanskrit vaidurya, and Prakrit (veluriya). Actually of Dravidian origin, maybe from the name of Belur. Probably entered English through Old French beryl, via Latin beryllus, Greek
betel
from Malayalam vettila and Tamil vettrilai where "vettru"=plant name and "ilai"=leaf.
Bhakti
from Sanskrit bhakti, which means "loyalty".
Bhang
from Hindi bhang, which is from Sanskrit bhanga "hemp".
Bidi
from Hindi bidi which comes from Sanskrit vitika.
birka
from Hindi burqa which came from persian / Arabic
biryani
from Hindi biryani which camefrom Persian biryan meaning "fried, roasted"
Blighty
from Hindi and Urdu vilayati "foreign", ultimately from Arabo-Persian "provincial, regional".
Home' indicating Britain (as a term of endearment among British troops stationed in Colonial India):
bo (tree)
from Sanskrit bodhi- "perfect knowledge". Entered English through Sinhalese Buddhist usage.
Bodhisattva
from Sanskit bodhi; "perfect knowledge" + sattva; "being"
Bottle
from Urdu Botul, rigid container.
Brahmin
from Sanskrit brahmana, from brahman.
Brinjal
from Persian badingan, probably from Sanskrit bhantaki.
Buddha
from Sanskrit buddha, which means "awakened, enlightened", refers to Siddhartha Gautama, founder of Buddhism. Also refers to one who is enlightened.
Bungalow
from Hindi bangla & Urdu bangla, literally, "(house) in the Bengal style". Derived from the Bengali word for hut,bangala.
A small house of only one storey, usually surrounded by a large verandah.
Calico
from the place name Calicut, India. The fine cotton stuffs of Malabar was originally mentioned by Marco Polo in the 14th century.
candy
from Sanskrit. khanda "piece (of sugar)," and Tamil kantu, kattu, or katta "to harden, condense". The word was gradually transformed to Persian qand "cane sugar," Arabic qandi, and Old French cucre candi "sugar candy".
crystalized sugar
Possibly from Malayalam or Tamil kasu
catamaran
from Tamil kattumaram ("kattu"=tie up, "maram"=tree/wood)
chakra
from Sanskrit chakra; "wheel".
Charpoy
A lightweight cot or bed, common throughout India. Usually a simple structure, it can sometimes be an elaborate creation, carved and painted.
Cheetah
from Hindi cita, , meaning "variegated" and Sanskrit chitraka, or chitrakaya, 'having a speckled body.' Also from Tamil 'chiruthai'.
cheroot
from Tamil suruttu, meaning 'rolled' which was transformed to French cheroute.
Chili
The pod of the red pepper (capsicum). The plant came to India from South America.
Chint or Chintz
The overall-patterned, often flower-covered, block-printed cotton fabric that has become synonymous with English-style decorating. Originally from the Sanksrit chitra, means variegated or speckled.
chintz
from Hindi chint which comes from Sanskrit citra "many-colored".
The overall-patterned, often flower-covered, block-printed cotton fabric that has become synonymous with English-style decorating.
Chit
from Hindi Chitthi, a letter or note. The Tamil people use shit for a ticket, or for a playing-card.
Chuddar
from Sanskrit chatram which means screen, parasol etc. Entered English through Urdu chaddar (cloth).
Chukar
from Sanskrit chakorah. Came to English via Hindi chakor and Urdu chukar.
Chukker
from Sanskrit chakra, and Hindi chakkar, "a circle, a wheel".
Chutney
from Hindi chatni, meaning "to crush"
A spicy relish often made from mangoes, chili peppers, or tomatoes. The word is derived from the Hindi catni.
Citipati
from Sanskrit chiti-pati, which means "a funeral pyre lord".
A kind of Dinosaur
probably from Malayalam kayar, Tamil '' "kayiru" for rope or thread or to be twisted.
congee
from Tamil kanji
coolie
Possibly from cooli a Tamil word for "labour". Alternatively, it could refer to a tribe from Gujarat, whose members were frequently employed as manual laborers.
cooly
from Tamil kuli hire, hireling
copra
from the Malayalam word koppara, coconut kernel or Tamil kopparai / koppara or Telugu word kobbera
corundum
from a Tamil word for 'ruby', kuruntham or kuruvintham
cot
from Tamil kattil (bedstead) and Sanskrit khatva which became Hindi khat
cowrie, cowry
from Sanskrit kaparda, Mahrati kavadi and Tamil kotu (shell). Entered English via Hindi and Urdu kauri (small shell).
Crimson
from Old Spanish cremesin, via Medieval Latin cremesinus from Arabic qirmiz "a kermes", which is ultimately from Sanskrit krmi-ja literally: "red dye produced by a worm."
Crocus
from Sanskrit kunkumam which later became Persian and Arabic kurkum, which mean saffron or saffron yellow, Aramaic kurkama, Hebrew karkom, and Greek crocus.
Cummerbund
from Hindi and Urdu kamarband , meaning "waist binding" [ultimately from Persian ]
curry
from Tamil kari which means 'sauce'
A spicy dish made of meat, fish or vegetables cooked with ground spices, red pepper and turmeric.
Cushy
probably from Hindi khushi, - Urdu "easy, happy, soft" [ultimately from Persian]. But some sources suggest an origin from "cushion"
Dacoit
from Hindi Dakait, a robber belonging to an armed gang.
dal
from Hindi dal meaning "split pulse"
Das
from Sanskrit daasa, a slave or servant.
Datura
from Hindi dhatura "jimson weed" which is ultimately from Sanskrit dhatturah, a kind of flowering plant.
Dekko
From Hindi dekho, "look"
from Dekho, the imperative 'look', ( ) meaning look at or study something. (UK slang for 'a look')
Deodar
from Hindi deodar which comes from Sanskrit devadaru, a kind of tree.
Deva
from Sanskrit deva, which means "a god", similar to Latin deus, which means 'god'.
Devi
from Sanskrit devi, which means "a goddess".
Dhal
from Hindi dal which comes from Sanskrit dalah, meaning cotyledon of a pea pod, a type of Indian food. Also refers to lentils.
Dharma
from Pali dhamma and Sanskrit meaning "conformity to one's duty and nature" and "divine law".
Dhoti
from Hindi ultimately from Sanskrit dhunoti, traditional garment of men's wear in India.
Dhurrie
A flat woven cotton carpet
Dinghy
from Hindi and Bengali dingi "a tiny boat", which is probably from Sanskrit dronam.
A rowing boat
Dolly
from the Hindi word dali.
a gift or presentation of fruit, flowers, vegetables or sweets, sometimes arranged in a basket or tray.
Doolally
from the town of Deolali, where British troops were stationed before returning to England and developed "camp fever" from boredom
mad, insane
from Hindi dungri, a place-name.
A coarse cotton fabric that was traditionally worn by the poor.
Durbar
from Hindi and Persian durbar. The court of an Indian prince.
a ceremonial audience chamber.
from Sanksrit eka which means "one"
Ganja
from Hindi "Elephant bull" ultimately from Sanskrit ganja, which means "hemp".
Garam Masala
from Hindi and Urdu a garam masaalaa, literally "warm ( = hot) mixture".
Gaur
from Hindi "white" which comes from Sanskrit gaurah.
Gavial
from Hindi ghariyal which Is ultimately from Sanskrit ghantikah, a kind of crocodile.
Gayal
from Sanskrit gauh which entered English through Bengali , a kind of animal.
Gharry
from Sanskrit gartah. Entered English via Hindi gaadi, a kind of vehicle.
ghat
from Hindi ghat which means "quay"
Ghee
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit ghritam "sprinkling".
ginger
from Tamil inciver which is the combined form of inci = ginger and ver = root. May be also from Sanskrit shringaveram "horn-bodied"
godown
from Tamil Kittangi (kidangu/kodangu) which means 'store room', Kannada gadangu and Telugu gidangi. May have entered English via Malay gudang.
Gondwanaland
from Sanskrit gondavana, the name of a forest.
Guar
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit gopali, an annual legume.
Gunny
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit goni "sack".
Gurkha
from Nepalese gorkha, which is ultimately from Sanskrit goraksa, "a cowherd".
Guru
from Hindi guru "teacher, priest,". Ultimately from Sanskrit guru-s "one to be honored, teacher," literally "heavy, weighty,"
an expert in a field.
Gymkhana
from Urdu & Hindi gend-khana (ball-house) .khanah in Persian means "house, dwelling". The term originally referred to a place where sporting events and contests were held to test the skill of the competitors.
In English-speaking countries, a gymkhana refers to a multi-game equestrian event performed to display the training and talents of horses and their rider
Hanuman
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit Hanuman (), name of a Hindu mythological God.
Hare Krishna
from Sanskrit Hare () "oh God!" and Krishna (), name of Hindu god.
harijan
from Sanksrit harijana which is a combination of Hari "Vishnu" + -jana "community"
hatha yoga
from Sanksrit hatha which means "force, violence" and yoga
Himalaya
from Sanskrit himalayah, which means "adode of snow".
Hindi
from Hindi Hind which is ultimately from Sanskrit sindhu, which means "a river". Entered English via Persian Hindu "Sind".
Hindu
from Hindi Hindu which means "an Indian". Comes from Persian hind which was used to denote people from Sindh.
hookah
from Urdu hukkah which comes from Arabic huqqah; "vase, bottle".
howdah
from Urdu haudah which came from Arabic haudaj.
I am
from Sanskrit Aham
Jackal
from Sanskrit srgalah "the howler" and Middle Indic shagal, which later became Persian shaghal and Turkish chakal.
jackfruit
from the Malayalam and Tamil name for the fruit chakka (). The word entered English through Portuguese jaca.
Jaconet
modification of Sanskrit jagannaath, from Jagannath (Puri), [India], where such cloth was first made.
Jaggery
from Sanskrit sarkara and Tamil/Malayalam chakkara which was later transformed to Portuguese jagara, jagre.
Jaggery
from Malayalam chakkara which came from Sanskrit sarkara which was derived from proto-Dravidian. Entered English through Portuguese jagara, jagre.
Jinnah cap
Named after Pakistani statesman Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
A hat shaped like a fez but made of real or imitation karakul and worn by Pakistani Muslims on occasion. It is called a "Karakulli topi" (Topi meaning cap).
Jodhpurs
Named after the Indian city of Jodhpur , where similar garments are worn by Indian men as part of everyday dress.
Full-length trousers, worn for horseback riding, that are close-fitting below the knee and have reinforced patches on the inside of the leg.
Jodhpurs
Riding breeches that fit close to the leg from the knee to the ankle. These are worn with a low pair of boots. They are modelled after similar trousers worn in Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
Juggernaut
from Hindi and sanskrit Jagannath (Sanskrit: jagannatha), a form of Vishnu particularly worshipped at the Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha where during Rath Yatra festival thousands of devotees pull temple carts some 14m (45 feet) tall, weighing hundreds of tons through the streets. Early European visitors witnessed these festivals and returned with reports of religious fanatics committing suicide by throwing themselves under the wheels of the carts.
A metaphor for something immense and unstoppable because of institutional or physical inertia; or impending catastrophe that is foreseeable yet virtually unavoidable because of such inertia.
Jungle
from Hindi jangal "a desert, forest" which came from Sanskrit jangal, which means "arid".
Jute
from Bengali jhuto which is ultimately from Sanskrit juta-s, which means "twisted hair".
kabaddi
From the Tamil word (-) "kai" (hand), "pidi" (catch), which can be translated into "Holding Hands"
Kama Sutra
from Sanksrit kama "love" and sutra 'rein or technique'.
Karma
from Sanskrit karma, which means "work, fate".
Kedgeree
A dish of recooked fish, served for breakfast.
Kermes
from Sanskrit krumija meaning "worm-made." which later became Persian qermez , Arabic: qirmiz and French Kermes.
Khaki
from Hindi khaki "of dust colour, dusty, grey", Urdu [ultimately from Persian].
khalsa
from Urdu khalicah which comes from Arabic khalic; "pure, real".
Kos
from Hindi kos which is ultimately from Sanskrit krosah, which means "a call, a shout".
Krait
from Hindi karait which is ultimately from Sanskrit , a kind of snake.
Kshatriya
from Sanksrit kshatriya; 'the ruling class' which comes from kshatra; "rule, authority".
Lac, lakh
from Sanskrit laksha and Prakrit lakkha which became Hindi lakh Persian and came to English through Urdu .,
Lacquer
from Sanskrit laksha which became Arabic lakk, Portuguese Laca and French Laque.
resin
from Sanskrit langulam. Enterd English through Hindi.
Lantern
from Urdu Lal ten , meaning 'lighting device'.
lascar
fromUrdu lashkar "army'. Entered English through Portuguese.
Lilac
from Sanskrit nila, which means "dark blue". Later became Persian nilak meaning "bluish" and entered English throughArabic lilak.
lingam
from Sanskrit linga which means "distinctive mark, penis"
Loot
from Sanskrit lota-m or lunthati meaning "he steals". Entered English through Hindi loot, which means 'a booty, stolen thing'.
Madras
A colourful plaid-patterned textile made of silk or cotton, or both, and coloured with vegetable dyes. It takes its name from the southern city of Madras.
Maharajah
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit maha-raajan, which means "a great king".
Maharani
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit maharajni which means "consort of a maharajah".
Maharishi
from Sanskrit maha-rishi, which means 'a great sage'.
Mahatma
from Sanskrit mahatman, which means "a great breath, soul".
Mahayana
from Sanskrit maha-yana, which means "a great vehicle".
Mahout
from Hindi (variant of ) which is ultimately from Sanskrit mahamatrah.
Mandala
from Sanskrit mandala, which means "a disc, circle".
Mandarin
from Hindi mantri "a councillor" which is ultimately from Sanskrit mantri, which means "an advisor". Came to English from Portuguese mandarim.
Mango
derived from Tamil "Maangaay" a Tamil word for an unripe mango.
mango
from Tamil maangaai and Malayalam 'maangaai' where maa=big and kaai=unripe fruit.
Mantra
from Sanskrit mantra which means "a holy message, chanting or text".
Maya
from Sanskrit maya, a religious term which means 'illusion'.
Mithras
from Sanskrit mitrah, which means "a friend".
Mogul
from Hindi and Urdu. from the Persian rulers of India like Akbar and Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal.
An acknowledged leader in a field,
Moksha
from Sanskrit moksha, liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth, heaven.
mongoose
from Marathi mangoos and Telugu mangisu
Moringa
from Tamil and Malayalam murungai , the word for drumstick.
Mugger
from Hindi and Urdu magar which ultimately comes from Sanskrit makara, a sea creature like a crocodile, which attacks stealthily.
mullah
from Urdu mulla which comes from Arabic mawla
mulligatawny
from Tamil milagu-tanneer from milagu black pepper and tanneer, water
A curry-flavoured soup.
Named after the Pakistani town of Multan. A kind of rug prevalent there.
Mung bean
from Hindi mug Tamil mungu, and Pali/Prakrit mugga which ultimately comes from Sanskrit mudgah, a kind of bean.
Musk
from Sanskrit muska-s meaning 'testicle', from a diminutive of mus (mouse). It was transformed to Persian mushk and then to and Late Greek moskhos. Entered Middle English as muske from Middle French musc which in turn came from Late Latin Muscus.
Mynah
from Hindi maina and Sanskrit madana-s, which means "love".
nabob
from Urdu nawwab "deputy governor".Entered English through French.
Nainsook
from Hindi nainsukh and Urdu which are ultimately from Sanskrit nayanam-sukh, meaning "pleasing to the eyes".
Namaste
from Hindi namasthe which is ultimately from Sanskrit namaha-te, which means "I bow to you".
nan
from Romani nak "nose"
Nard
from Sanskrit naladam which later became Greek nardos and Latin nardus. Entered English through Old French narde.
Narghile
from Sanskrit naarikelah. Entered English through French Narguile and Persian narghileh.
Nark
from Hindi nak which is ultimately from Sanskrit nakra. Came to English from Romany nak "a nose".
navigate
possibly from Tamil (navai) which came to Middle English as navigate, through Latin navigo, from navis (ship) + ago (do), from Proto-Indo-European where nau maens 'boat'.
Neem
through Hindi nim ultimately from Sanskrit nimbah, a kind of tree.
Nilgai
from Hindi nilgaai meaning blue cow which is ultimately from Sanskrit nila-gauh, an ox-like animal.
Nirvana
from Sanskrit nirvana-s which means "extinction, blowing out".
one
from Tamil word onnu which means 'one'. Tamil people pronounce onnu almost similary to one in English
Opal
from Sanskrit upalah.Came to English through French opalle which in turn came from Latin opalus and Greek opallios.
Orange
from Tamil narantham (orange), or naarangam (mandarin-orange), with + = naaraththangaay. Later it was transformed to Sanskrit naranga, Persian narang, Arabic naranj, Italian arancia, Latin orenge, and Old French orenge.
pagoda
perhaps from Tamil pagavadi (house belonging to a deity) and Sanskrit bhagavati (goddess) or from Portuguese pagode which comes from a corruption of Persian butkada (but=idol + kada=dwelling).
Pajamas, Pyjamas
from Hindi pajamas "Leg clothing" and Urdu payjamah which comes from Persian pay "foot" + jamah "garment".
A pair of loose trousers tied at the waist.
palanquin
from Sanskrit palyanka; "bed". Later became Javanese pelangki and entered English through Portuguese
Palmyra
from Tamil Pannamarrum/Pannai, (Marram = Tree)
pandal
from Tamil paraiyar, plural of paraiyan "drummer".
outcast
pariahdom
from Tamil paraiyar, plural of paraiyan ( a caste whose members are drummers ). The name of the caste is derived from parai, a festival drum.
Pashmina
from Hindi , Urdu , ultimately from Persian .
patchouli
from Tamil pachchai (green), and ellai (leaf).
A small southeast Asian shrub.
pepper
from Sanskrit pippali; "berry". Entered English through Latin.
Polo
The game of hockey on horseback originated in Persia. It was played in the extreme west of the Himalayas till it was adopted in Calcutta around 1864, and quickly spread across the lower provinces, and to Kashmir, where summer visitors took it up. It soon made its way to England where it was first played in 1871, and later, to the US.
poon
from Tamil punnai, pinnai, Malayalam punna names for Calophyllum inophyllum
Poori
from Hindi poori, from Sanskrit (pura) or "cake".
poppadom, papadum
from Malayalam or Tamil pappatam, which ultimately comes from Sanskrit parpata (a kind of thin cake made of rice or pease-meal and baked in grease). Entered English via Hindi-Urdu or Punjabi.
portia tree
from Tamil puvarasu, a kind of flowering tree.
Prakrit
from Sanskrit prakrta which means "natural, vulgar"
prize
from Hindi Pakka , cooked, ripe, solid.
UK slang for 'genuine'.
Punch
from Hindi and Urdu panch , meaning "five". The drink was originally made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices. The original drink was named paantsch.
A kind of drink.
from Hindi Pandit, meaning a learned scholar or Priest.
Punkah
From Hindi pankah; 'fan'
Purdah
A Hindi word from the Persian parda, an area in the house reserved for women and screened from the sight of men by a curtain.
purdah
from Hindi and Urdu pardah "veil, curtain". Derived from the Persian parda, an area in the house for women that was screened from the sight of men by a curtain.
puttee
from Hindi patti "band(age)" which is derived from Sanskrit patta "bandage".
Raga
from Sanskrit ragah, color, passion, melody". Used to denote melodic modes used in Indian classical music. Came to English via Hindi.
Raita
from Sanskrit rajikatiktakah. Came to English via Hindi rayta,
a south Asian condiment and side dish made of yogurt and vegetables.
Raj
from Hindi and Pali/Prakrit rajja ultimately from Sanskrit rajya, which means "a king" or "kingdom." Raj means kingdom or domain of a ruler.
Rajah
from Hindi and Sanskrit rajan, which means "a king".
rakshasa
from Sanskrit rakshasa which means "demon". Derived from rakshas; "to be guarded against".
Ramtil
from Hindi and ultimately from Sanskrit ramatilah, which means "a dark sesame".
Rani
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit rajni, consort of a rajah.
Rice
from Sanskrit vrihi-s (rice), derived from proto-Dravidian which can be found in Tamil as arici. Entered English via Old French ris and Italian riso from Latin oriza, which is from Greek oryza, where it came through an Indo-Iranian tongue.
Roti
from Hindi & Urdu roti "bread"; akin to Prakrit rotta "rice flour", Sanskrit rotika "kind of bread".
Rupee
from Hindi rupiya which is ultimately from Sanskrit rupyakam, an Indian silver coin.
Rye
from Sanskrit raja; a gypsy. Entered English via Romani.
Saccharo
from Sanskrit sarkara and Pali sakkhara which became Greek . Came intoEnglish via Latin Saccharon.
Sadhu
from Sanskrit sadhu meaning "good man."
sahib
from Urdu sahib which comes from Arabic cahib "friend"
Samadhi
from Sanskrit samadhi, which means "putting together".
Sambal
from Sanskrit sambhrei which underwent transformation as Tamil campal. Entered English through Afrikaans where it came from Indonesian.
Sambar
form Hindi ultimately and Sanskrit sambarah, a kind of Asian deer.
samosa
from Sanskrit sam-sara, which means "passing through".
Sandal, sandalwood
from Sanskrit chandanam meaning 'wood for burning incense'. This word means sandalwood, and is not related to sandals which is a type of footwear. Entered Middle English as sandell from French sandale which in turn came from Medieval Latin sandalum, Medieval Greek sandalion and Arabic and Persian ;
Sandhi
from Sanskrit samdhih; "junction' - a wide variety of phonological processes.
Sangha
from Sanskrit sangha, a community of Buddhist monks and nuns.
Sanskrit
from Sanskrit samskrtam "put together, perfected, well-formed".
Sapphire
from Sanskrit sanipriya which literally means 'Sacred to Saturn (Shani)'. The word underwent many transformations as Hebrew sapir, Greek sappheiros, Latin sapphirus, and finally entered English via Old French saphir.
Sari
from Hindi sari and Prakrit sadi, finally from Sanskrit sati "garment".
Sarong
from Sanksrit saranga "variegated". An old Indian form of dress. Entered English through Malay sarung.
The chief form of dress in Java and Malaya.
Sattva
from Sanskrit sattvah, which means "truth".
Satyagraha
from Sanskrit satyagraha, which means "insisting on truth". Combined form of satya "truth" + graha "pertinacity"
sepoy
from Urdu sipahi "horseman" which comes from Persian sipah "army"
serpent
from Tamil 'Sarppam'.
Shaman
from Sanskrit sramana-s and Prakrit "a Buddhist monk". Entered English through Russian which in turn came from Tungus shaman, and Chinese sha men,
Shampoo
Derived from Hindi and Hindustani champo (),the imperative form of champna, to knead and press the muscles with the view of relieving fatigue.
Shawl
From Urdu and Persian sal, probably from Shaliat, the name of a town in India. May be also from from Sanskrit satI, which means "a strip of cloth". Entered English through Persian shal.
A piece of fabric worn by women over the shoulders or head or wrapped around a baby.
shri
from Sanskrit sri "Lakshmi" which also means prosperity.
shrub (drink), Sherbet, Sorbet
from Urdu name of a drink which comes from Arabic shurb "beverage, juice". Derived from shariba; "drink".
Siddha
from Sanskrit siddhah, which means "achieved, accomplished".
Sikh
from Hindi sikh 'a disciple', which is ultimately from Sanskrit sikshati which means "studies".
Singapore
from Sanskrit Simhapuram, literally "the lion city". Came to English language from Malay Singapura.
Singh
from Sanskrit simhah which means 'a lion', and Tamil singam. Entered English via Hindi Singh.
Sinhala
from Sanskrit Simhala which means "Sri Lanka".
Sinhalese
from Sanskrit simhala which means "of lions".
sitar
from Hindi sitar which originally meant"three-stringed".
soma
from Sanskrit soma; 'Vedic liquor'.
Sri Lanka
from Sanskrit: which means "venerable island."
Stupa
from Sanskrit stupah which means "crown of the head".
Sudra
from Sanskrit sudra
sugar
from Tamil sakkarai and Sanskrit sharkara which means "ground or candied sugar". The word was later transformed to Persian shakar, Arabic: sukkar, Medieval Latin succarum, Italian zucchero, and entered English from Old French sucre.
Sunn
from Hindi which is ultimately from Sanskrit sana, a kind of Asian plant.
Sutra
from Sanskrit sutram which means "thread, string".
Suttee
from Sanskrit sati, which means "an honorable woman". Entered English through Hindi.
Swami
from Sanskrit svami, which means "a master". Entered English through Hindi swami.
Swastika
from Sanskrit svastika, which means "one associated with well-being, a lucky charm that gives well-being".
Taka
from Sanskrit tankah. Entered English through Maithili and Bengali
Talipot
from Sanskrit talapatram, a kind of tree. Came to English through Hindi, Indonesian and Malay talipat.
tandoor
from Urdu tandur which comes from Turkish tandir and Arabic tannur "oven" .
tank
possibly from Gujarati tankh which means 'water reservoir'
Tantra
from Sanskrit tantram, which means "weave".
teak
from Malayalam thekku, and Tamil thekku. Entered English via Portuguese teca.
Teapoy
from Hindi tipai and Urdu tipai,which originated as a Sanskrit compound of tri, (three) and pada (foot).
Tendu
from Sanskrit and Hindi tainduka. Came to English via French
Thug
from Marathi and Hindi thag which is ultimately from Sanskrit sthaga, meaning 'a scoundrel'.
tikka
from Sanskrit tilah, a kind of plant.
Toddy
from Hindi tari and Sanskrit tala, a Dravidian origin is also probable.
Toddy (also Hot toddy)
from Hindi Tari , juice of the palm tree.
Tola
from Sanskrit tula; 'the scale' and Hindi tola, a traditional Indian unit of mass.
Toon
from Hindi tun and Sanskrit tunnah, a kind of tree.
Tope
from Hindi top probably from Prakrit thupo, which came from Sanskrit stupah.
tutenag
from Tamil thuthanaagam meaning "raw zinc".
Tutty
from Sanskrit tuttham meaning "blue vitriol". A Dravidian origin is also probable. Entered Middle English as tutie from Old French, which in turn came from Medieval Latin tutia, Arabic tutiya, and Persian .
Typhoon
from Hindi and Urdu toofaan. A cyclonic storm.
Upanishad
from Sanskrit Upanishad. A combination of upa "near" + nishad "lie down".
veda
| i don't know |
The tombs of almost all British monarchs are located within the UK. One of the few exceptions is William I (The Conqueror). Near which French town or city is his burial place? | Westminster Abbey (Pepys' Diary)
Westminster Abbey
City of London wall and Great Fire damage – Hollar's 1666 map after the Fire
Wikipedia
This text was copied from Wikipedia on 15 January 2017 at 3:24AM.
Westminster Abbey
Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster
Western façade
85 feet (26 m) [1]
Floor area
225 feet (69 m) [1]
Bells
Location within Central London
Coordinates
Official name: Palace of Westminster , Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church
Type
Official name: Westminster Abbey (The Collegiate Church of St Peter)
Designated
1291494 [3]
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster , London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster . It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral . Since 1560, however, the building is no longer an abbey nor a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England " Royal Peculiar "—a church responsible directly to the sovereign. The building itself is the original abbey church.
According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, a church was founded at the site (then known as Thorn Ey (Thorn Island) ) in the 7th century, at the time of Mellitus , a Bishop of London. Construction of the present church began in 1245, on the orders of King Henry III . [4]
Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, every English and British monarch, with the exceptions of Edward V and Edward VIII , have been crowned in Westminster Abbey. [4] [5] There have been at least 16 royal weddings at the abbey since 1100. Two were of reigning monarchs ( Henry I and Richard II ), although, before 1919, there had been none for some 500 years. [6]
Contents
17 External links
History
The first reports of the abbey are based on a late tradition claiming that a young fisherman called Aldrich on the River Thames saw a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to be quoted to justify the gifts of salmon from Thames fishermen that the abbey received in later years. In the present era, the Fishmonger's Company still gives a salmon every year. The proven origins are that in the 960s or early 970s, Saint Dunstan , assisted by King Edgar , installed a community of Benedictine monks here.
1042: Edward the Confessor starts rebuilding St Peter's Abbey
St Peter's Abbey at the time of Edward's funeral, depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry
Between 1042 and 1052, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peter's Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first church in England built in the Romanesque style. The building was not completed until around 1090 but was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week before Edward's death on 5 January 1066. [7] A week later, he was buried in the church; and, nine years later, his wife Edith was buried alongside him. [8] His successor, Harold II , was probably crowned in the abbey, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later the same year. [9]
The only extant depiction of Edward's abbey, together with the adjacent Palace of Westminster , is in the Bayeux Tapestry . Some of the lower parts of the monastic dormitory, an extension of the South Transept, survive in the Norman undercroft of the Great School, including a door said to come from the previous Saxon abbey. Increased endowments supported a community increased from a dozen monks in Dunstan's original foundation, up to a maximum about eighty monks, [10] although there was also a large community of lay brothers who supported the monastery's extensive property and activities.
Construction of the present church
Construction of the present church was begun in 1245 by Henry III [11] who selected the site for his burial. [12]
Layout plan dated 1894
North entrance of Westminster Abbey
The abbot and monks, in proximity to the royal Palace of Westminster, the seat of government from the later 12th century, became a powerful force in the centuries after the Norman Conquest. The abbot often was employed on royal service and in due course took his place in the House of Lords as of right. Released from the burdens of spiritual leadership, which passed to the reformed Cluniac movement after the mid-10th century, and occupied with the administration of great landed properties, some of which lay far from Westminster, "the Benedictines achieved a remarkable degree of identification with the secular life of their times, and particularly with upper-class life", Barbara Harvey concludes, to the extent that her depiction of daily life [13] provides a wider view of the concerns of the English gentry in the High and Late Middle Ages .
The proximity of the Palace of Westminster did not extend to providing monks or abbots with high royal connections; in social origin the Benedictines of Westminster were as modest as most of the order. The abbot remained Lord of the Manor of Westminster as a town of two to three thousand persons grew around it: as a consumer and employer on a grand scale the monastery helped fuel the town economy, and relations with the town remained unusually cordial, but no enfranchising charter was issued during the Middle Ages. [14] The abbey built shops and dwellings on the west side, encroaching upon the sanctuary.
The abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings. None were buried there until Henry III, intensely devoted to the cult of the Confessor, rebuilt the abbey in Anglo-French Gothic style as a shrine to venerate King Edward the Confessor and as a suitably regal setting for Henry's own tomb, under the highest Gothic nave in England. The Confessor's shrine subsequently played a great part in his canonisation . The work continued between 1245 and 1517 and was largely finished by the architect Henry Yevele in the reign of Richard II . Henry III also commissioned unique Cosmati pavement in front of the High Altar (the pavement has recently undergone a major cleaning and conservation program and was re-dedicated by the Dean at a service on 21 May 2010). [15]
Henry VII added a Perpendicular style chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1503 (known as the Henry VII Chapel or the "Lady Chapel"). Much of the stone came from Caen , in France ( Caen stone ), the Isle of Portland ( Portland stone ) and the Loire Valley region of France ( tuffeau limestone ).
16th and 17th centuries: dissolution and restoration
In 1535, the abbey's annual income of £2400–2800 (equivalent to £1,320,000 to £1,540,000 as of 2015), [16] during the assessment attendant on the Dissolution of the Monasteries rendered it second in wealth only to Glastonbury Abbey .
1540–1550: 10 years as a cathedral
Henry VIII assumed direct royal control in 1539 and granted the abbey the status of a cathedral by charter in 1540, simultaneously issuing letters patent establishing the Diocese of Westminster . By granting the abbey cathedral status, Henry VIII gained an excuse to spare it from the destruction or dissolution which he inflicted on most English abbeys during this period.
After 1550: difficult times
Westminster diocese was dissolved in 1550, but the abbey was recognised (in 1552, retroactively to 1550) as a second cathedral of the Diocese of London until 1556. [17] [18] [19] The already-old expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul" may have been given a new lease of life when money meant for the abbey, which is dedicated to Saint Peter , was diverted to the treasury of St Paul's Cathedral .
The Nave of Westminster Abbey.
The abbey was restored to the Benedictines under the Catholic Mary I of England , but they were again ejected under Elizabeth I in 1559. In 1560, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a " Royal Peculiar " – a church of the Church of England responsible directly to the Sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop – and made it the Collegiate Church of St Peter (that is, a non-cathedral church with an attached chapter of canons , headed by a dean.) The last of Mary's abbots was made the first dean.
It suffered damage during the turbulent 1640s, when it was attacked by Puritan iconoclasts , but was again protected by its close ties to the state during the Commonwealth period. Oliver Cromwell was given an elaborate funeral there in 1658, only to be disinterred in January 1661 and posthumously hanged from a gibbet at Tyburn .
1722–1745: Western towers constructed
The abbey's two western towers were built between 1722 and 1745 by Nicholas Hawksmoor , constructed from Portland stone to an early example of a Gothic Revival design. Purbeck marble was used for the walls and the floors of Westminster Abbey, even though the various tombstones are made of different types of marble. Further rebuilding and restoration occurred in the 19th century under Sir George Gilbert Scott .
A narthex (a portico or entrance hall) for the west front was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in the mid-20th century but was not built. Images of the abbey prior to the construction of the towers are scarce, though the abbey's official website states that the building was without towers following Yevele's renovation, with just the lower segments beneath the roof level of the Nave completed.
Until the 19th century, Westminster was the third seat of learning in England, after Oxford and Cambridge. It was here that the first third of the King James Bible Old Testament and the last half of the New Testament were translated. The New English Bible was also put together here in the 20th century. Westminster suffered minor damage during the Blitz on 15 November 1940. Then on May 10/11 1941, the Westminster Abbey precincts and roof were hit by incendiary bombs. All the bombs were extinguished by ARP wardens but one of them ignited out of reach among the wooden beams and plaster vault of the lantern roof (1802) overt the North Transept. Flames rapidly spread burning beams and molten lead began to fall on the wooden stalls, pews and other ecclesiastical fixtures 130 feet below. Despite the falling debris, the staff dragged away as much furniture as possible before withdrawing. Finally the Lantern roof crashed down into the crossing, preventing the fires from spreading further.
In the 1990s, two icons by the Russian icon painter Sergei Fyodorov were hung in the abbey. [20] On 6 September 1997, the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales , was held at the Abbey. On 17 September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to set foot in the abbey. [21]
Flag of Westminster Abbey, featuring the Tudor arms between Tudor Roses above the attributed arms of Edward the Confessor
Layout of Westminster Abbey, 2008
Westminster Abbey by night, 2014
Coronations
King Edward's Chair .
Since the coronations in 1066 of both King Harold and William the Conqueror , every English and British monarch, with the exceptions of Edward V and Edward VIII , has been crowned in Westminster Abbey. [4] [5] In 1216, Henry III could not be crowned in London when he came to the throne, because the French prince Louis had taken control of the city, and so the king was crowned in Gloucester Cathedral . This coronation was deemed by Pope Honorius III to be improper, and a further coronation was held in Westminster Abbey on 17 May 1220. [22] The Archbishop of Canterbury is the traditional cleric in the coronation ceremony.
King Edward's Chair (or St Edward's Chair), the throne on which English and British sovereigns have been seated at the moment of crowning, is housed within the Abbey and has been used at every coronation since 1308. From 1301 to 1996 (except for a short time in 1950 when it was temporarily stolen by Scottish nationalists ), the chair also housed the Stone of Scone upon which the kings of Scots are crowned. Although the Stone is now kept in Scotland, in Edinburgh Castle , it is intended that the Stone will be returned to St Edward's Chair for use during future coronation ceremonies.
Royal weddings
29 April 2011: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge , grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, was married to Miss Catherine Middleton [23]
Dean and Chapter
Westminster Abbey is a collegiate church governed by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster , as established by Royal charter of Queen Elizabeth I dated 21 May 1560, [24] which created it as the Collegiate Church of St Peter Westminster, a Royal Peculiar under the personal jurisdiction of the Sovereign. The members of the Chapter are the Dean and four canons residentiary; they are assisted by the Receiver General and Chapter Clerk. One of the canons is also Rector of St Margaret's Church , Westminster, and often also holds the post of Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons .
In addition to the Dean and canons, there are at present two full-time minor canons: one is precentor , and the other is sacrist . The office of Priest Vicar was created in the 1970s for those who assist the minor canons. Together with the clergy and Receiver General and Chapter Clerk, various lay officers constitute the college, including the Organist and Master of the Choristers , the Registrar, the Auditor, the Legal Secretary, the Surveyor of the Fabric, the Head Master of the choir school , the Keeper of the Muniments and the Clerk of the Works, as well as 12 lay vicars, 10 choristers and the High Steward and High Bailiff.
The 40 Queen's Scholars who are pupils at Westminster School (the School has its own Governing Body) are also members of the collegiate.
The two minor canons as well as the organist and Master of the Choristers are most directly concerned with liturgical and ceremonial matters.
Burials and memorials
The cloister and garth .
Henry III rebuilt the abbey in honour of a royal saint, Edward the Confessor , whose relics were placed in a shrine in the sanctuary. Henry III himself was interred nearby, as were many of the Plantagenet kings of England, their wives and other relatives. Until the death of George II of Great Britain in 1760, most kings and queens were buried in the abbey, some notable exceptions being Henry VI , Edward IV , Henry VIII and Charles I who are buried in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle . Other exceptions include Richard III , now buried at Leicester Cathedral , and the de facto queen Lady Jane Grey , buried in the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London . Most monarchs and royals who died after 1760 are buried either in St George's Chapel or at Frogmore to the east of Windsor Castle.
From the Middle Ages, aristocrats were buried inside chapels, while monks and other people associated with the abbey were buried in the cloisters and other areas. One of these was Geoffrey Chaucer , who was buried here as he had apartments in the abbey where he was employed as master of the King's Works. Other poets, writers and musicians were buried or memorialised around Chaucer in what became known as Poets' Corner . Abbey musicians such as Henry Purcell were also buried in their place of work.
Subsequently, it became one of Britain's most significant honours to be buried or commemorated in the abbey. [25] The practice of burying national figures in the abbey began under Oliver Cromwell with the burial of Admiral Robert Blake in 1657. [26] The practice spread to include generals, admirals, politicians, doctors and scientists such as Isaac Newton , buried on 4 April 1727, and Charles Darwin , buried 26 April 1882. Another was William Wilberforce who led the movement to abolish slavery in the United Kingdom and the Plantations, buried on 3 August 1833. Wilberforce was buried in the north transept, close to his friend, the former Prime Minister, William Pitt . [27]
During the early 20th century it became increasingly common to bury cremated remains rather than coffins in the abbey. In 1905 the actor Sir Henry Irving was cremated and his ashes buried in Westminster Abbey, thereby becoming the first person ever to be cremated prior to interment at the abbey. [28] The majority of interments at the Abbey are of cremated remains, but some burials still take place - Frances Challen, wife of the Rev Sebastian Charles, Canon of Westminster , was buried alongside her husband in the south choir aisle in 2014. [29] Members of the Percy Family have a family vault, The Northumberland Vault , in St Nicholas's chapel within the abbey. [30]
In the floor, just inside the great west door, in the centre of the nave, is the tomb of The Unknown Warrior , an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during the First World War . He was buried in the abbey on 11 November 1920. This grave is the only one in the abbey on which it is forbidden to walk. [31]
At the east end of the Lady Chapel is a memorial chapel to the airmen of the RAF who were killed in the Second World War . It incorporates a memorial window to the Battle of Britain , which replaces an earlier Tudor stained glass window destroyed in the war. [32]
Funeral procession of Diana, Princess of Wales at Westminster
On Saturday September 6, 1997 the formal, though not "state" funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales , was held. It was a royal ceremonial funeral including royal pageantry and Anglican funeral liturgy. A second public service was held on Sunday at the demand of the people. The burial occurred privately later the same day. Diana's former husband, sons, mother, siblings, a close friend, and a clergyman were present. Diana's body was clothed in a black long-sleeved dress designed by Catherine Walker , which she had chosen some weeks before. A set of rosary beads was placed in her hands, a gift she had received from Mother Teresa . Her grave is on the grounds of her family estate, Althorp , on a private island. [33]
In 1998 ten vacant statue niches on the façade above the Great West Door were filled with representative 20th century Christian martyrs of various denominations. Those commemorated are Maximilian Kolbe , Manche Masemola , Janani Luwum , Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia , Martin Luther King Jr. , Óscar Romero , Dietrich Bonhoeffer , Esther John , Lucian Tapiedi , and Wang Zhiming . [34] [35]
On Tuesday April 9, 2002 the ceremonial Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was held in the Abbey. She was interred later the same day in the George VI Memorial Chapel at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle next to her husband, King George VI , who had died 50 years previously. At the same time, the ashes of the Queen Mother's daughter, Princess Margaret , who had died on 9 February 2002, were also interred in a private family service. [36]
Schools
Westminster School and Westminster Abbey Choir School are also in the precincts of the abbey. It was natural for the learned and literate monks to be entrusted with education, and Benedictine monks were required by the Pope to maintain a charity school in 1179. The Choir School educates and trains the choirboys who sing for services in the Abbey.
Organ
The organ was built by Harrison & Harrison in 1937, then with four manuals and 84 speaking stops, and was used for the first time at the coronation of King George VI . Some pipework from the previous Hill organ of 1848 was revoiced and incorporated in the new scheme. The two organ cases, designed and built in the late 19th century by John Loughborough Pearson , were re-instated and coloured in 1959. [37]
In 1982 and 1987, Harrison and Harrison enlarged the organ under the direction of the then abbey organist Simon Preston to include an additional Lower Choir Organ and a Bombarde Organ: the current instrument now has five manuals and 109 speaking stops. In 2006, the console of the organ was refurbished by Harrison and Harrison, and space was prepared for two additional 16 ft stops on the Lower Choir Organ and the Bombarde Organ. [37] One part of the instrument, the Celestial Organ, is currently not connected or playable.
As of 2016, the Organist and Master of the Choristers is James O'Donnell .
Bells
The bells at the abbey were overhauled in 1971. The ring is now made up of ten bells, hung for change ringing , cast in 1971, by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry , tuned to the notes: F#, E, D, C#, B, A, G, F#, E and D. The Tenor bell in D (588.5 Hz) has a weight of 30 cwt, 1 qtr, 15 lb (3403 lb or 1544 kg). [38]
In addition there are two service bells, cast by Robert Mot, in 1585 and 1598 respectively, a Sanctus bell cast in 1738 by Richard Phelps and Thomas Lester and two unused bells—one cast about 1320, by the successor to R de Wymbish, and a second cast in 1742, by Thomas Lester. [38] The two service bells and the 1320 bell, along with a fourth small silver "dish bell", kept in the refectory, have been noted as being of historical importance by the Church Buildings Council of the Church of England. [39]
Chapter house
Chapter house
The chapter house was built concurrently with the east parts of the abbey under Henry III, between about 1245 and 1253. [40] It was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1872. The entrance is approached from the east cloister walk and includes a double doorway with a large tympanum above. [40]
Inner and outer vestibules lead to the octagonal chapter house, which is of exceptional architectural purity. It is built in a Geometrical Gothic style with an octagonal crypt below. A pier of eight shafts carries the vaulted ceiling. To the sides are blind arcading, remains of 14th-century paintings and numerous stone benches above which are innovatory large 4-light quatre-foiled windows. [40] These are virtually contemporary with the Sainte-Chapelle , Paris. [40]
The chapter house has an original mid-13th-century tiled pavement. A door within the vestibule dates from around 1050 and is believed to be the oldest in England. The exterior includes flying buttresses added in the 14th century and a leaded tent-lantern roof on an iron frame designed by Scott. The Chapter house was originally used in the 13th century by Benedictine monks for daily meetings. It later became a meeting place of the King's Great Council and the Commons, predecessors of Parliament.
The Pyx Chamber formed the undercroft of the monks' dormitory. It dates to the late 11th century and was used as a monastic and royal treasury. The outer walls and circular piers are of 11th-century date, several of the capitals were enriched in the 12th century and the stone altar added in the 13th century. The term pyx refers to the boxwood chest in which coins were held and presented to a jury during the Trial of the Pyx , in which newly minted coins were presented to ensure they conformed to the required standards.
The chapter house and Pyx Chamber at Westminster Abbey are in the guardianship of English Heritage , but under the care and management of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. English Heritage have funded a major programme of work on the chapter house, comprising repairs to the roof, gutters, stonework on the elevations and flying buttresses as well as repairs to the lead light.
Museum
The Westminster Abbey Museum is located in the 11th-century vaulted undercroft beneath the former monks' dormitory in Westminster Abbey. This is one of the oldest areas of the abbey, dating back almost to the foundation of the church by Edward the Confessor in 1065. This space has been used as a museum since 1908. [41]
Exhibits
The exhibits include a collection of royal and other funeral effigies (funeral saddle, helm and shield of Henry V), together with other treasures, including some panels of mediaeval glass, 12th-century sculpture fragments, Mary II's coronation chair and replicas of the coronation regalia , and historic effigies of Edward III, Henry VII and his queen, Elizabeth of York , Charles II, William III, Mary II and Queen Anne.
Later wax effigies include a likeness of Horatio, Viscount Nelson , wearing some of his own clothes and another of Prime Minister William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, modelled by the American-born sculptor Patience Wright . During recent conservation of Elizabeth I's effigy, a unique corset dating from 1603 was found on the figure and is now displayed separately.
A recent addition to the exhibition is the late 13th-century Westminster Retable , England's oldest altarpiece, which was most probably designed for the high altar of the abbey. Although it has been damaged in past centuries, the panel has been expertly cleaned and conserved.
Development plans
In June 2009 the first major building work at the abbey for 250 years was proposed. A corona —a crown-like architectural feature—was intended to be built around the lantern over the central crossing , replacing an existing pyramidal structure dating from the 1950s. This was part of a wider £23m development of the abbey expected to be completed in 2013. [42] [43] On 4 August 2010 the Dean and Chapter announced that, "[a]fter a considerable amount of preliminary and exploratory work", efforts toward the construction of a corona would not be continued. [44] In 2012, architects Panter Hudspith completed refurbishment of the 14th-century food-store originally used by the abbey's monks, converting it into a restaurant with English Oak furniture by Covent Garden-based furniture makers Luke Hughes and Company .k
A project that is proceeding is the creation of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries in the medieval triforium of the abbey. The aim is to create a new display area for the abbey's treasures in the galleries high up around the abbey's nave. To this end a new Gothic access tower with lift has been designed by the abbey architect and Surveyor of the Fabric, Ptolemy Dean . It is planned that the new galleries will open in 2018.
Transport
"Abbey Development Plan Update" . Westminster Abbey. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
References
Bradley, S. and N. Pevsner (2003) The Buildings of England – London 6: Westminster, New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 105–207. ISBN 0-300-09595-3
Mortimer, Richard ed., Edward the Confessor: The Man and the Legend, The Boydell Press, 2009. Eric Fernie, 'Edward the Confessor's Westminster Abbey', pp. 139–150. Warwick Rodwell, 'New Glimpses of Edward the Confessor's Abbey at Westminster', pp. 151–167. Richard Gem, Craftsmen and Administrators in the Building of the Confessor's Abbey', pp. 168–172. ISBN 978-1-84383-436-6
Harvey, B. (1993) Living and Dying in England 1100–1540: The Monastic Experience, Ford Lecture series, Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-820161-3
Morton, H. V. [1951] (1988) In Search of London, London: Methuen. ISBN 0-413-18470-6
Trowles, T. (2008) Treasures of Westminster Abbey, London: Scala. ISBN 978-1-85759-454-6
External links
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Westminster Abbey
City of London wall and Great Fire damage – Hollar's 1666 map after the Fire
Wikipedia
This text was copied from Wikipedia on 15 January 2017 at 3:24AM.
Westminster Abbey
Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster
Western façade
85 feet (26 m) [1]
Floor area
225 feet (69 m) [1]
Bells
Location within Central London
Coordinates
Official name: Palace of Westminster , Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church
Type
Official name: Westminster Abbey (The Collegiate Church of St Peter)
Designated
1291494 [3]
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster , London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster . It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral . Since 1560, however, the building is no longer an abbey nor a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England " Royal Peculiar "—a church responsible directly to the sovereign. The building itself is the original abbey church.
According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, a church was founded at the site (then known as Thorn Ey (Thorn Island) ) in the 7th century, at the time of Mellitus , a Bishop of London. Construction of the present church began in 1245, on the orders of King Henry III . [4]
Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, every English and British monarch, with the exceptions of Edward V and Edward VIII , have been crowned in Westminster Abbey. [4] [5] There have been at least 16 royal weddings at the abbey since 1100. Two were of reigning monarchs ( Henry I and Richard II ), although, before 1919, there had been none for some 500 years. [6]
Contents
17 External links
History
The first reports of the abbey are based on a late tradition claiming that a young fisherman called Aldrich on the River Thames saw a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to be quoted to justify the gifts of salmon from Thames fishermen that the abbey received in later years. In the present era, the Fishmonger's Company still gives a salmon every year. The proven origins are that in the 960s or early 970s, Saint Dunstan , assisted by King Edgar , installed a community of Benedictine monks here.
1042: Edward the Confessor starts rebuilding St Peter's Abbey
St Peter's Abbey at the time of Edward's funeral, depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry
Between 1042 and 1052, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peter's Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first church in England built in the Romanesque style. The building was not completed until around 1090 but was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week before Edward's death on 5 January 1066. [7] A week later, he was buried in the church; and, nine years later, his wife Edith was buried alongside him. [8] His successor, Harold II , was probably crowned in the abbey, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later the same year. [9]
The only extant depiction of Edward's abbey, together with the adjacent Palace of Westminster , is in the Bayeux Tapestry . Some of the lower parts of the monastic dormitory, an extension of the South Transept, survive in the Norman undercroft of the Great School, including a door said to come from the previous Saxon abbey. Increased endowments supported a community increased from a dozen monks in Dunstan's original foundation, up to a maximum about eighty monks, [10] although there was also a large community of lay brothers who supported the monastery's extensive property and activities.
Construction of the present church
Construction of the present church was begun in 1245 by Henry III [11] who selected the site for his burial. [12]
Layout plan dated 1894
North entrance of Westminster Abbey
The abbot and monks, in proximity to the royal Palace of Westminster, the seat of government from the later 12th century, became a powerful force in the centuries after the Norman Conquest. The abbot often was employed on royal service and in due course took his place in the House of Lords as of right. Released from the burdens of spiritual leadership, which passed to the reformed Cluniac movement after the mid-10th century, and occupied with the administration of great landed properties, some of which lay far from Westminster, "the Benedictines achieved a remarkable degree of identification with the secular life of their times, and particularly with upper-class life", Barbara Harvey concludes, to the extent that her depiction of daily life [13] provides a wider view of the concerns of the English gentry in the High and Late Middle Ages .
The proximity of the Palace of Westminster did not extend to providing monks or abbots with high royal connections; in social origin the Benedictines of Westminster were as modest as most of the order. The abbot remained Lord of the Manor of Westminster as a town of two to three thousand persons grew around it: as a consumer and employer on a grand scale the monastery helped fuel the town economy, and relations with the town remained unusually cordial, but no enfranchising charter was issued during the Middle Ages. [14] The abbey built shops and dwellings on the west side, encroaching upon the sanctuary.
The abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings. None were buried there until Henry III, intensely devoted to the cult of the Confessor, rebuilt the abbey in Anglo-French Gothic style as a shrine to venerate King Edward the Confessor and as a suitably regal setting for Henry's own tomb, under the highest Gothic nave in England. The Confessor's shrine subsequently played a great part in his canonisation . The work continued between 1245 and 1517 and was largely finished by the architect Henry Yevele in the reign of Richard II . Henry III also commissioned unique Cosmati pavement in front of the High Altar (the pavement has recently undergone a major cleaning and conservation program and was re-dedicated by the Dean at a service on 21 May 2010). [15]
Henry VII added a Perpendicular style chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1503 (known as the Henry VII Chapel or the "Lady Chapel"). Much of the stone came from Caen , in France ( Caen stone ), the Isle of Portland ( Portland stone ) and the Loire Valley region of France ( tuffeau limestone ).
16th and 17th centuries: dissolution and restoration
In 1535, the abbey's annual income of £2400–2800 (equivalent to £1,320,000 to £1,540,000 as of 2015), [16] during the assessment attendant on the Dissolution of the Monasteries rendered it second in wealth only to Glastonbury Abbey .
1540–1550: 10 years as a cathedral
Henry VIII assumed direct royal control in 1539 and granted the abbey the status of a cathedral by charter in 1540, simultaneously issuing letters patent establishing the Diocese of Westminster . By granting the abbey cathedral status, Henry VIII gained an excuse to spare it from the destruction or dissolution which he inflicted on most English abbeys during this period.
After 1550: difficult times
Westminster diocese was dissolved in 1550, but the abbey was recognised (in 1552, retroactively to 1550) as a second cathedral of the Diocese of London until 1556. [17] [18] [19] The already-old expression "robbing Peter to pay Paul" may have been given a new lease of life when money meant for the abbey, which is dedicated to Saint Peter , was diverted to the treasury of St Paul's Cathedral .
The Nave of Westminster Abbey.
The abbey was restored to the Benedictines under the Catholic Mary I of England , but they were again ejected under Elizabeth I in 1559. In 1560, Elizabeth re-established Westminster as a " Royal Peculiar " – a church of the Church of England responsible directly to the Sovereign, rather than to a diocesan bishop – and made it the Collegiate Church of St Peter (that is, a non-cathedral church with an attached chapter of canons , headed by a dean.) The last of Mary's abbots was made the first dean.
It suffered damage during the turbulent 1640s, when it was attacked by Puritan iconoclasts , but was again protected by its close ties to the state during the Commonwealth period. Oliver Cromwell was given an elaborate funeral there in 1658, only to be disinterred in January 1661 and posthumously hanged from a gibbet at Tyburn .
1722–1745: Western towers constructed
The abbey's two western towers were built between 1722 and 1745 by Nicholas Hawksmoor , constructed from Portland stone to an early example of a Gothic Revival design. Purbeck marble was used for the walls and the floors of Westminster Abbey, even though the various tombstones are made of different types of marble. Further rebuilding and restoration occurred in the 19th century under Sir George Gilbert Scott .
A narthex (a portico or entrance hall) for the west front was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens in the mid-20th century but was not built. Images of the abbey prior to the construction of the towers are scarce, though the abbey's official website states that the building was without towers following Yevele's renovation, with just the lower segments beneath the roof level of the Nave completed.
Until the 19th century, Westminster was the third seat of learning in England, after Oxford and Cambridge. It was here that the first third of the King James Bible Old Testament and the last half of the New Testament were translated. The New English Bible was also put together here in the 20th century. Westminster suffered minor damage during the Blitz on 15 November 1940. Then on May 10/11 1941, the Westminster Abbey precincts and roof were hit by incendiary bombs. All the bombs were extinguished by ARP wardens but one of them ignited out of reach among the wooden beams and plaster vault of the lantern roof (1802) overt the North Transept. Flames rapidly spread burning beams and molten lead began to fall on the wooden stalls, pews and other ecclesiastical fixtures 130 feet below. Despite the falling debris, the staff dragged away as much furniture as possible before withdrawing. Finally the Lantern roof crashed down into the crossing, preventing the fires from spreading further.
In the 1990s, two icons by the Russian icon painter Sergei Fyodorov were hung in the abbey. [20] On 6 September 1997, the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales , was held at the Abbey. On 17 September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to set foot in the abbey. [21]
Flag of Westminster Abbey, featuring the Tudor arms between Tudor Roses above the attributed arms of Edward the Confessor
Layout of Westminster Abbey, 2008
Westminster Abbey by night, 2014
Coronations
King Edward's Chair .
Since the coronations in 1066 of both King Harold and William the Conqueror , every English and British monarch, with the exceptions of Edward V and Edward VIII , has been crowned in Westminster Abbey. [4] [5] In 1216, Henry III could not be crowned in London when he came to the throne, because the French prince Louis had taken control of the city, and so the king was crowned in Gloucester Cathedral . This coronation was deemed by Pope Honorius III to be improper, and a further coronation was held in Westminster Abbey on 17 May 1220. [22] The Archbishop of Canterbury is the traditional cleric in the coronation ceremony.
King Edward's Chair (or St Edward's Chair), the throne on which English and British sovereigns have been seated at the moment of crowning, is housed within the Abbey and has been used at every coronation since 1308. From 1301 to 1996 (except for a short time in 1950 when it was temporarily stolen by Scottish nationalists ), the chair also housed the Stone of Scone upon which the kings of Scots are crowned. Although the Stone is now kept in Scotland, in Edinburgh Castle , it is intended that the Stone will be returned to St Edward's Chair for use during future coronation ceremonies.
Royal weddings
29 April 2011: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge , grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, was married to Miss Catherine Middleton [23]
Dean and Chapter
Westminster Abbey is a collegiate church governed by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster , as established by Royal charter of Queen Elizabeth I dated 21 May 1560, [24] which created it as the Collegiate Church of St Peter Westminster, a Royal Peculiar under the personal jurisdiction of the Sovereign. The members of the Chapter are the Dean and four canons residentiary; they are assisted by the Receiver General and Chapter Clerk. One of the canons is also Rector of St Margaret's Church , Westminster, and often also holds the post of Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons .
In addition to the Dean and canons, there are at present two full-time minor canons: one is precentor , and the other is sacrist . The office of Priest Vicar was created in the 1970s for those who assist the minor canons. Together with the clergy and Receiver General and Chapter Clerk, various lay officers constitute the college, including the Organist and Master of the Choristers , the Registrar, the Auditor, the Legal Secretary, the Surveyor of the Fabric, the Head Master of the choir school , the Keeper of the Muniments and the Clerk of the Works, as well as 12 lay vicars, 10 choristers and the High Steward and High Bailiff.
The 40 Queen's Scholars who are pupils at Westminster School (the School has its own Governing Body) are also members of the collegiate.
The two minor canons as well as the organist and Master of the Choristers are most directly concerned with liturgical and ceremonial matters.
Burials and memorials
The cloister and garth .
Henry III rebuilt the abbey in honour of a royal saint, Edward the Confessor , whose relics were placed in a shrine in the sanctuary. Henry III himself was interred nearby, as were many of the Plantagenet kings of England, their wives and other relatives. Until the death of George II of Great Britain in 1760, most kings and queens were buried in the abbey, some notable exceptions being Henry VI , Edward IV , Henry VIII and Charles I who are buried in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle . Other exceptions include Richard III , now buried at Leicester Cathedral , and the de facto queen Lady Jane Grey , buried in the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London . Most monarchs and royals who died after 1760 are buried either in St George's Chapel or at Frogmore to the east of Windsor Castle.
From the Middle Ages, aristocrats were buried inside chapels, while monks and other people associated with the abbey were buried in the cloisters and other areas. One of these was Geoffrey Chaucer , who was buried here as he had apartments in the abbey where he was employed as master of the King's Works. Other poets, writers and musicians were buried or memorialised around Chaucer in what became known as Poets' Corner . Abbey musicians such as Henry Purcell were also buried in their place of work.
Subsequently, it became one of Britain's most significant honours to be buried or commemorated in the abbey. [25] The practice of burying national figures in the abbey began under Oliver Cromwell with the burial of Admiral Robert Blake in 1657. [26] The practice spread to include generals, admirals, politicians, doctors and scientists such as Isaac Newton , buried on 4 April 1727, and Charles Darwin , buried 26 April 1882. Another was William Wilberforce who led the movement to abolish slavery in the United Kingdom and the Plantations, buried on 3 August 1833. Wilberforce was buried in the north transept, close to his friend, the former Prime Minister, William Pitt . [27]
During the early 20th century it became increasingly common to bury cremated remains rather than coffins in the abbey. In 1905 the actor Sir Henry Irving was cremated and his ashes buried in Westminster Abbey, thereby becoming the first person ever to be cremated prior to interment at the abbey. [28] The majority of interments at the Abbey are of cremated remains, but some burials still take place - Frances Challen, wife of the Rev Sebastian Charles, Canon of Westminster , was buried alongside her husband in the south choir aisle in 2014. [29] Members of the Percy Family have a family vault, The Northumberland Vault , in St Nicholas's chapel within the abbey. [30]
In the floor, just inside the great west door, in the centre of the nave, is the tomb of The Unknown Warrior , an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during the First World War . He was buried in the abbey on 11 November 1920. This grave is the only one in the abbey on which it is forbidden to walk. [31]
At the east end of the Lady Chapel is a memorial chapel to the airmen of the RAF who were killed in the Second World War . It incorporates a memorial window to the Battle of Britain , which replaces an earlier Tudor stained glass window destroyed in the war. [32]
Funeral procession of Diana, Princess of Wales at Westminster
On Saturday September 6, 1997 the formal, though not "state" funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales , was held. It was a royal ceremonial funeral including royal pageantry and Anglican funeral liturgy. A second public service was held on Sunday at the demand of the people. The burial occurred privately later the same day. Diana's former husband, sons, mother, siblings, a close friend, and a clergyman were present. Diana's body was clothed in a black long-sleeved dress designed by Catherine Walker , which she had chosen some weeks before. A set of rosary beads was placed in her hands, a gift she had received from Mother Teresa . Her grave is on the grounds of her family estate, Althorp , on a private island. [33]
In 1998 ten vacant statue niches on the façade above the Great West Door were filled with representative 20th century Christian martyrs of various denominations. Those commemorated are Maximilian Kolbe , Manche Masemola , Janani Luwum , Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia , Martin Luther King Jr. , Óscar Romero , Dietrich Bonhoeffer , Esther John , Lucian Tapiedi , and Wang Zhiming . [34] [35]
On Tuesday April 9, 2002 the ceremonial Funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother was held in the Abbey. She was interred later the same day in the George VI Memorial Chapel at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle next to her husband, King George VI , who had died 50 years previously. At the same time, the ashes of the Queen Mother's daughter, Princess Margaret , who had died on 9 February 2002, were also interred in a private family service. [36]
Schools
Westminster School and Westminster Abbey Choir School are also in the precincts of the abbey. It was natural for the learned and literate monks to be entrusted with education, and Benedictine monks were required by the Pope to maintain a charity school in 1179. The Choir School educates and trains the choirboys who sing for services in the Abbey.
Organ
The organ was built by Harrison & Harrison in 1937, then with four manuals and 84 speaking stops, and was used for the first time at the coronation of King George VI . Some pipework from the previous Hill organ of 1848 was revoiced and incorporated in the new scheme. The two organ cases, designed and built in the late 19th century by John Loughborough Pearson , were re-instated and coloured in 1959. [37]
In 1982 and 1987, Harrison and Harrison enlarged the organ under the direction of the then abbey organist Simon Preston to include an additional Lower Choir Organ and a Bombarde Organ: the current instrument now has five manuals and 109 speaking stops. In 2006, the console of the organ was refurbished by Harrison and Harrison, and space was prepared for two additional 16 ft stops on the Lower Choir Organ and the Bombarde Organ. [37] One part of the instrument, the Celestial Organ, is currently not connected or playable.
As of 2016, the Organist and Master of the Choristers is James O'Donnell .
Bells
The bells at the abbey were overhauled in 1971. The ring is now made up of ten bells, hung for change ringing , cast in 1971, by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry , tuned to the notes: F#, E, D, C#, B, A, G, F#, E and D. The Tenor bell in D (588.5 Hz) has a weight of 30 cwt, 1 qtr, 15 lb (3403 lb or 1544 kg). [38]
In addition there are two service bells, cast by Robert Mot, in 1585 and 1598 respectively, a Sanctus bell cast in 1738 by Richard Phelps and Thomas Lester and two unused bells—one cast about 1320, by the successor to R de Wymbish, and a second cast in 1742, by Thomas Lester. [38] The two service bells and the 1320 bell, along with a fourth small silver "dish bell", kept in the refectory, have been noted as being of historical importance by the Church Buildings Council of the Church of England. [39]
Chapter house
Chapter house
The chapter house was built concurrently with the east parts of the abbey under Henry III, between about 1245 and 1253. [40] It was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1872. The entrance is approached from the east cloister walk and includes a double doorway with a large tympanum above. [40]
Inner and outer vestibules lead to the octagonal chapter house, which is of exceptional architectural purity. It is built in a Geometrical Gothic style with an octagonal crypt below. A pier of eight shafts carries the vaulted ceiling. To the sides are blind arcading, remains of 14th-century paintings and numerous stone benches above which are innovatory large 4-light quatre-foiled windows. [40] These are virtually contemporary with the Sainte-Chapelle , Paris. [40]
The chapter house has an original mid-13th-century tiled pavement. A door within the vestibule dates from around 1050 and is believed to be the oldest in England. The exterior includes flying buttresses added in the 14th century and a leaded tent-lantern roof on an iron frame designed by Scott. The Chapter house was originally used in the 13th century by Benedictine monks for daily meetings. It later became a meeting place of the King's Great Council and the Commons, predecessors of Parliament.
The Pyx Chamber formed the undercroft of the monks' dormitory. It dates to the late 11th century and was used as a monastic and royal treasury. The outer walls and circular piers are of 11th-century date, several of the capitals were enriched in the 12th century and the stone altar added in the 13th century. The term pyx refers to the boxwood chest in which coins were held and presented to a jury during the Trial of the Pyx , in which newly minted coins were presented to ensure they conformed to the required standards.
The chapter house and Pyx Chamber at Westminster Abbey are in the guardianship of English Heritage , but under the care and management of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. English Heritage have funded a major programme of work on the chapter house, comprising repairs to the roof, gutters, stonework on the elevations and flying buttresses as well as repairs to the lead light.
Museum
The Westminster Abbey Museum is located in the 11th-century vaulted undercroft beneath the former monks' dormitory in Westminster Abbey. This is one of the oldest areas of the abbey, dating back almost to the foundation of the church by Edward the Confessor in 1065. This space has been used as a museum since 1908. [41]
Exhibits
The exhibits include a collection of royal and other funeral effigies (funeral saddle, helm and shield of Henry V), together with other treasures, including some panels of mediaeval glass, 12th-century sculpture fragments, Mary II's coronation chair and replicas of the coronation regalia , and historic effigies of Edward III, Henry VII and his queen, Elizabeth of York , Charles II, William III, Mary II and Queen Anne.
Later wax effigies include a likeness of Horatio, Viscount Nelson , wearing some of his own clothes and another of Prime Minister William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, modelled by the American-born sculptor Patience Wright . During recent conservation of Elizabeth I's effigy, a unique corset dating from 1603 was found on the figure and is now displayed separately.
A recent addition to the exhibition is the late 13th-century Westminster Retable , England's oldest altarpiece, which was most probably designed for the high altar of the abbey. Although it has been damaged in past centuries, the panel has been expertly cleaned and conserved.
Development plans
In June 2009 the first major building work at the abbey for 250 years was proposed. A corona —a crown-like architectural feature—was intended to be built around the lantern over the central crossing , replacing an existing pyramidal structure dating from the 1950s. This was part of a wider £23m development of the abbey expected to be completed in 2013. [42] [43] On 4 August 2010 the Dean and Chapter announced that, "[a]fter a considerable amount of preliminary and exploratory work", efforts toward the construction of a corona would not be continued. [44] In 2012, architects Panter Hudspith completed refurbishment of the 14th-century food-store originally used by the abbey's monks, converting it into a restaurant with English Oak furniture by Covent Garden-based furniture makers Luke Hughes and Company .k
A project that is proceeding is the creation of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries in the medieval triforium of the abbey. The aim is to create a new display area for the abbey's treasures in the galleries high up around the abbey's nave. To this end a new Gothic access tower with lift has been designed by the abbey architect and Surveyor of the Fabric, Ptolemy Dean . It is planned that the new galleries will open in 2018.
Transport
"Abbey Development Plan Update" . Westminster Abbey. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
References
Bradley, S. and N. Pevsner (2003) The Buildings of England – London 6: Westminster, New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 105–207. ISBN 0-300-09595-3
Mortimer, Richard ed., Edward the Confessor: The Man and the Legend, The Boydell Press, 2009. Eric Fernie, 'Edward the Confessor's Westminster Abbey', pp. 139–150. Warwick Rodwell, 'New Glimpses of Edward the Confessor's Abbey at Westminster', pp. 151–167. Richard Gem, Craftsmen and Administrators in the Building of the Confessor's Abbey', pp. 168–172. ISBN 978-1-84383-436-6
Harvey, B. (1993) Living and Dying in England 1100–1540: The Monastic Experience, Ford Lecture series, Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-820161-3
Morton, H. V. [1951] (1988) In Search of London, London: Methuen. ISBN 0-413-18470-6
Trowles, T. (2008) Treasures of Westminster Abbey, London: Scala. ISBN 978-1-85759-454-6
External links
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Which is the largest landlocked country in the world with an area of over a million square miles? | The 20 Biggest Countries in the World
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By Matt Rosenberg
Here's a listing of the twenty largest countries in the world by area, in both square kilometers and square miles.
Russia: 17,075,200 km2 (6,591,027 mi2)
Canada: 9,984,670 km2 (3,854,082 mi2)
United States: 9,631,418 km2 (3,717,727 mi2)
China: 9,596,960 km2 (3,704,426 mi2)
Brazil: 8,511,965 km2 (3,285,618 mi2)
Australia: 7,686,850 km2 (2,967,124 mi2)
India: 3,287,590 km2 (1,269,009 mi2)
Argentina: 2,766,890 km2 (1,068,019 mi2)
Kazakhstan: 2,717,300 km2 (1,048,877 mi2)
Algeria: 2,381,740 km2 (919,352 mi2)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the: 2,345,410 km2 (905,328 mi2)
Mexico: 1,972,550 km2 (761,404 mi2)*
| Kazakhstan |
What is the largest landlocked state in the USA with an area of just under 150,000 square miles? | what is the largest landlocked country - Find Answers Here!
what is the largest landlocked country
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Although Bolivia has been landlocked since the War of the Pacific in 1879, it still maintains its navy, which patrols Lake Titicaca and Bolivia's larger rivers. - Read more
A double landlocked country is a country that is bordered by other landlocked countries. The largest landlocked country, on the other hand, is Kazakhstan. - Read more
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The tombs of almost all Britih monarchs are located within the UK. One of the few exceptions is George I. Near which German town or city is his burial place? | Rome and Romania, Roman Emperors, Byzantine Emperors, etc.
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Sources
Discussion of the period covered by this page, with sources on Roman and "Byzantine" history, upon which the actual tables and genealogies are based, may be found in " Decadence, Rome and Romania, the Emperors Who Weren't, and Other Reflections on Roman History ." One Roman source not mentioned there is the handy Who Was Who In The Roman World, edited by Diana Bowder [1980, Washington Square Press, Pocket Books, 1984]. That was the first book I ever saw that organized Roman Emperors into logical dynastic or event centered groups. Another source I have recently enjoyed is Justinian's Flea by William Rosen [Viking, 2007], not the least because it cites this very webpage [note 2:36, p.331]. Otherwise, it is a fine book with a good appeciation of Late Antiquity, and with some details that I have already added here. Other sources are given here at the points where they are used. This page is continued and supplemented by the material in "Successors of Rome: Scotia" , "Successors of Rome: Germania" , "Successors of Rome: Francia" , "Successors of Rome: The Periphery of Francia" , "Successors of Rome: Russia" , "The Ottoman Sultâns" , and "Modern Romania" . Related earlier history may be found at "Historical Background to Greek Philosophy" and "Hellenistic Monarchs" , and the "Consuls of the Roman Republic" .
, that could be transliterated from Greek as "Doukas," is written "Ducas." The epithet of Basil II, "Bulgaroktonos,"
, "Bulgar Slayer," is rendered "Bulgaroctonus." This is contrary to increasing usage among Byzantinists and Classicists but is, as Warren Treadgold says [A History of the Byzantine State and Society, Stanford University Press, 1997, p. xxi], what the Romans would have done themselves when writing in the Latin alphabet -- and in fact used to be the academic practice, as we see examples of almost all such Latinized names in older scholarly and popular work. In the 19th century, a scholar disinclined to use Latin forms would simply give the words in Greek. It could be assumed that educated readers at least knew the Greek alphabet. No such assumptions could be made now.
Since this page uses the Latin alphabet, and since the Roman Empire originally used Latin as its universal language, never forgotten in Greek Romania (however annoying or hostile contemporary "Latins" might become), Latinate forms are the practice here. Some say that this is a "detour" through Latin, but that is the historic and customary route by which Greek words came into English, which is a historic language of Latin Francia . In fact, the Greek versions of the names of significant figures should be given in Byzantine histories, but this is not done. Since standard Greek lexicons, like Liddell and Scott, do not have proper names, and probably would not have them for the Mediaeval period anyway, there is a serious lacuna in references sources for the history of Romania. And those who insist on transcribing rather than Latinizing Greek words and names must face the problem than transcription systems, discussed by Treadgold, are ambiguous, especially in the absence of accents, and usually do not enable the reader to reconstruct the Greek writing. Because of the problems with transcribing Greek, and because of the need for a reference with actual Greek words, Greek names and words are not being added extensively to this page.
Exceptions to Latinization would be, (1) for Greek words that simply have Latin translations. Thus, Greek Rhômaîoi, "Romans," corresponds to Latin Romani -- not "Rhomaeoe." Latinization will occur, however, when the Greek word is part of a compound. For instance Tsar Kalojan of Bulgaria was called the "Roman Killer,"
, Rhômaioktónos. This would Latinize as Rhomaeoctonus. And (2) when Greek words are transcribed, not primarily for logical "use" in English (or even Latin) sentences, i.e. to indicate their referents, but to phonetically render Greek words from examples of Greek itself, as I have in fact just used Rhômaîoi, and Rhômaioktónos. The reference is thus first of all to the words, where we want to represent the Greek language (some of whose characteristics may be lost in Latin), rather to what the word (in Greek, Latin, or English) is used for. Transcription involves compromises. The practice elsewhere usually doesn't include accents, even through they are a proper part of Greek orthography -- and indeed were originated in order to write Greek. With accents, the use of the circûmflex to distinguish êta from epsilon and ômega from omicron (where the macron is not available in basic HTML) introduces an ambiguity; and where êta or ômega may otherwise take an ácute or gràve accent (which here have priority), another ambiguity is introduced. Issues of Greek pronunciation and spelling are examined elsewhere .
The maps are originally those of Tony Belmonte, edited to eliminate references to "Byzantium" and with corrections and additions. Tony's historical atlas (with Tony) disappeared from the Web. It was painstakingly reassembled by Jack Lupic, but then his site has disappeared also. Corrections and additions are based on The Penguin Atlas of Ancient History (Colin McEvedy, 1967), The Penguin Atlas of Medieval History (Colin McEvedy, 1961), The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History (Colin McEvedy, 1992), The Anchor Atlas of World History, Volume I (Hermann Kinder, Werner Hilgemann, Ernest A. Menze, and Harald and Ruth Bukor, 1974), and various prose histories. My graphics programs do not seem to be quite as sophisticated as Tony's, so maps I have modified may not look as professionally done as his originals. Other maps are not based on Tony's at all and may consequently look even less professional.
I. FIRST EMPIRE, "ROME,"
27 BC-284 AD, 310 years
Trajan was most conspicuous for his justice, for his bravery, and for the simplicity of his habits. He was strong in body, being in his forty-second year when he began to rule, so that in every enterprise he toiled almost as much as the others; and his mental powers were at their highest, so that he had neither the recklessness of youth nor the sluggishness of old age. He did not envy nor slay any one, but honored and exalted all good men without exception, and hence he neither feared nor hated any one of them. To slanders he paid very little heed and he was no slave of anger. He refrained equally from the money of others and from unjust murders. He expended vast sums on wars and vast sums on works of peace; and while making very many urgently needed repairs to roads and harbors and public buildings he drained no one's blood for any of these undertakings... For these deeds, now, he took more pleasure in being loved than in being honoured. His association with the people was marked by affability and his intercourse with the senate by dignity, so that he was loved by all and dreaded by none save the enemy.
Dio Cassius (c.150-235 AD), Roman History, Book LXVIII, Translated by Earnest Cary, Loeb Classical Library, Dio Cassius, VIII, Harvard U. Press, 1925, 2005, p.369-371.
In the second century of the Christian era, the Empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilised portion of mankind. The frontiers of that extensive monarchy were guarded by ancient renown and disciplined valour. The gentle but powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. Their peaceful inhabitants enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth and luxury.... During a happy period (A.D. 98-180) of more than fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines.
Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I, Modern Library, p.1
Now what shall I say of this, that whereas so many have borne the name of Caesar, there have appeared among them so few good [paucos bonos] emperors? For the list of those who have worn the purple [purpuratorum] from Augustus to the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian is contained in the public records. Among them, however, the best were Augustus himself, Flavius Vespasian, Titus Flavius, Cocceius Nerva, the Deified Trajan, the Deified Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Antoninus, Severus the African, Alexander the son of Mamaea, the Deified Claudius, and the Deified Aurelian.
The Scriptores Historiae Augustae (c.150-235 AD), Historia Augusta, Volume III, Translated by David Magie, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard U. Press, 1932, 1998, p.277-279.
The "First Empire" is what often would be considered the entire history of the "Roman Empire." It is definitely the end of the Ancient World. If "Rome" means paganism, bizarre Imperial sex crimes, and the Pax Romana, then this would indeed be it. A later Empire that is Christian, more somberly moralistic, and more beset with war, sounds like a different civilization, which it is, and isn't. That the earlier civilization didn't "fall" but merely became transformed is a truth that both academic and popular opinion still hasn't quite come to terms with. If the decadence of pagan religion and despotic emperors was going to be the cause of the "fall" of Rome, then it certainly should have fallen in the Crisis of the Third Century . That it didn't would seem almost like a disappointment to many. But the greatest of the 3rd century Emperors, like Aurelian, don't get popular books, movies, and BBC television epics made about them. They begin to pass into a kind of historical blind spot. The Pax Romana seems real enough in certain places, but there were not many reigns without some major military action. As long as these were remote from Rome, people would have thought of it as peace. Once Aurelian rebuilt the walls around Rome, things had obviously changed. Indeed, perhaps Rome did "fall" in the Third Century, if by the "Roman Empire" we mean a state ruled, controlled, and centered in the City of Rome. Somewhere between Decius and Diocletian, that was lost. The Emperors ceased to live at Rome, there was not much happening there that influenced events, and even the Army was mostly recruited elsewhere. The Empire decentered and turned inside out, something that popular discourse and even many historians have failed to either recognize or acknowledge.
A. "PRINCIPATE," 27 BC-235, 261 years
1. JULIO-CLAUDIANS
A. Vitellius
69
The Roman Empire "officially" begins by tradition in 27 BC when Octavian receives the title "Augustus" -- which then becomes the name by which we know him. We might think that the Empire, Imperium,
begins with Augustus becoming Emperor, Imperator, but that is not the case. Imperator simply means "commander," and this had long been in use with a specific meaning. An imperator was someone with a military command and imperium, which meant both military and civil authority in the area of his command. This made Julius Caesar essentially the dictator of Gaul , once he had conquered it. That was dangerous, indeed fatal, for the Republic; but in those terms Julius Caesar began the creation of the Roman Empire already as an "emperor." So, while we think of "Augustus" as the name of the first Emperor, it was simply a title, whose import was well remembered by subsequent Emperors. It accompanies the institutional changes that were effected or completed by Augustus.
The institution thus created now gets called the "Principate," from Princeps, "Prince" (literally, "comes first"). The idea of the Principate is that the forms of the Republic are retained, and the Emperor superficially is simply still an official of the Republic. Augustus was not a king. He did not even hold the Republican office of Dictator, as Julius Caesar had. But Augustus otherwise assembled offices and authority sufficient to explain the power that he had actually obtained by force. In principle, Rome is still SPQR, Senatus Populusque Romanus, "the Senate and the People of Rome." This institution continues for some centuries, and there never was a subsequent question that the Emperor might become a King, as had been widely feared, expected,
or desired with Julius Caesar. In time, the Emperor came to be regarded as superior to any mere king, as the reach and authority of many Emperors was indeed great beyond precedent or (local) comparison.
While it seems natural and obvious to take Augustus as the successor to Julius Caesar and his new Imperial government as the successor to the Roman Republic, there was another way of looking at this. The astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (c.100-c.170 AD), who was concerned about the dating of astronomical observations, laid the foundation for all ancient chronology with the Canon of Kings , a list of rulers beginning with the Babylonian King Nabonassar in 747 BC. The Canon thus starts off with Babylonian Kings (and some Assyrians thrown in), jumps to Persian Kings in 538 BC, to Alexander in 332 BC, to the Ptolemies in Egypt in 305 BC, and finally to Augustus, at the death of Cleopatra, in 30 BC. It continues to the reign of Antoninus Pius. These particular connections occur because (1) the Babylonians had the most advanced astronomy of their age, (2) Babylonian records continued seamlessly into the Persian and Hellenistic periods, (3) elements of this, including considerable data, had been translated into Greek, and (4) Ptolemy himself operated in Alexandria, where these translated Babylonian records were freely available, where Greek astronomy itself reached maturity, and where Ptolemy had at hand the simplest calendar of the Ancient World, the Egyptian 365 day year , which continued to be used in astronomy until the introduction of Julian Day Numbers . Thus, we have the curious mixture of an astronomer whose name is in Latin and Greek, who lives in Egypt, and who uses the Era of a Babylonian King (Nabonassar) in conjunction with the Egyptian calendar. This all is striking for Ptolemy's willingness to use the best of all that was available to him -- though it may still surprise some, as we now know independently from Egyptian records, that the astronomy of the Egyptians themselves, except for (or perhaps because of) their year, had less to offer than the Babylonian. Thus, Augustus may be seen as more than a Roman ruler, as, indeed, the successor to the universal equivalents of the eponymous archons (the Athenian officials used for purposes of dating) for all of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and European civilization. From Antoninus Pius, the Canon could easily be continued with Roman Emperors all the way to 1453, using a clue of the numbering given by the Venerable Bede , who has Maurice as the 54th Emperor. Even the presence of the Latin Emperors present no anomaly, since Assyrian Kings were interpolated with Babylonian Kings. The last ephemeral Western Emperors , so important for the mythology of the "Fall" of Rome, were, of course, simply ignored by Bede. The Canon can then obviously be continued from 1453 with the Ottomans , who make for a succession in Constantinople in an even more seamless fashion than Augustus takes over from Cleopatra. The Canon of Kings, then, as a succession of Kings, will end in 1922, when no monarch conquers or replaces Mehmed VI. It is a moment, indeed, in the aftermath of World War I, when the idea of monarchy alone as a legitimate form of government, without popular and parliamentary qualifications, pretty much ends.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City contains the Temple of Dendur, which was relocated from Egypt and opened on display in 1978. This was built in the reign of Augustus, around 15 BC.
The cartouches on the temple mostly just contain the hieroglyphs
, "Pharaoh," which seems like a very perfunctory way of representing the Roman Emperor as King of Egypt. High up on the gate, however, and around on the side, I have noticed more complete names, only parts of which I have been able to read, including
, glyphs that clearly spell out "Caesar." So there was an effort here, as with the Ptolemies, to Egyptianize foreign rule, and a final era of overlap between Ancient Egypt and the later civilizations that, through Christianity and then Islam, erase the ancient religion, culture, and then language of Egypt. What remains of all of those, with the Christian Copts, is under physical assault by Islamists in modern Egypt even as I write.
This map, for the year of the death of Augustus, is the last in the series prepared for the Hellenistic Age , the period that Augustus himself had terminated in 30 BC. Noteworthy are the surviving vassal kingdoms under Roman control: Armenia , the Bosporan Kingdom , Numidia , Judaea , Cappadocia , Emesa , Nabataean Petra , Commagene , Iberia , Thrace, and Palmyra. Edessa , at this point a Parthian vassal, will soon pass under Roman control. Palmyra will briefly play a signifiant role in Roman history in the Third Century . Armenia will often find itself pulled between Rome and Parthia, then Rome and Sassanid Persia , and subsequently several other larger political conflicts right down to our own day.
The Principate is the period that fits everybody's main idea of the "Roman Empire." Caligula and Nero, and Robert Graves's version of Claudius, are objects of endless fascination, moralizing, guilty pleasure, and not-so-guilty pleasure. Whatever these emperors were actually like, this approach began with the Romans themselves, with Suetonius's list of Tiberius's sexual perversions, lovingly reproduced in Bob Guccione's silly movie Caligula (1979, 1991). Whether Tiberius was really guilty of anything of the sort is anyone's guess, but we don't hear much in the way of such accusations about subsequent Emperors, except for a select few, like Caracalla and Elagabalus. Meanwhile, Augustus had secured the Rhine-Danube frontier, and Claudius conquered most of Britain. Augustus originally wanted an Elbe-Danube frontier, but one of his armies (of three legions) was caught in a catastrophic ambush and destroyed. The Romans gave up on the Elbe permanently. Only Charlemagne , by the conquest of Saxony, would secure what Augustus had wanted. The shadow of the Republic persisted during this period, and someone like Claudius could still dream of restoring full Republican government. The year 69 pretty much ended these dreams, since the first free-for-all scramble for the throne revealed that the army, and only the army, would determine who would be Emperor. Strangely enough, despite the occasional anarchy, this would be a source of strength for the Empire, since the state always did the best with successful soldiers at its head. Unsuccessful soldiers faced the most merciless reality check (whether killed by the enemy or by their own troops); but purely civilian Emperors, like Honorius , could endure one disaster after another without their rule necessarily being endangered.
The Roman Army under Augustus contained 28 Legions (Legio, Legiones), not counting the Praetorian Guard. At some 5500 men each, this gives a full strength Army of 154,000 men. However, this does not count the Auxilia, units like cavalry and others that consisted of those who are not Roman citizens (though they gained citizenship from service). The entire Army, therefore, was more like 300,000 men, less than half of what it would number in the Late Empire . In his attempt to extend Roman power to the Elbe, Augustus lost three Legions at the battle of the Teutoburger Wald in 9 AD. The numbers of the lost Legions were never used again (likewise with the Legions later disbanded for rebellion). All the Legions were originally simply numbered. Once they begin acquiring epithets (cognomen, cognomina), like Legio X Fretensis, we start getting more than one Legion with the same number, but with different epithets, e.g. Legio III Gallica, Legio III Cyrenaica, Legio III Augusta pia fidelis, Legio III Italica concors, and Legio III Parthica. This is a little confusing. The logic of the matter is that eventually the legions begin to be numbered in relation to their cognomen, not in the absolute count of the Army. Thus, Septimius Severus raised legions for his attack on the Parthians (195 AD), which quite logically are numbered Legio I Parthica, Legio II Parthica, & Legio III Parthica. Eventually there would also be Legio IV Parthica, Legio V Parthica, & Legio VI Parthica, but these were not raised by Severans. We find all the numbers used up to XXII (Legio XXII Primigenia pia fidelis), but then Trajan raised Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix. I suspect that he used "XXX" because 29 Legions already existed, despite the numbers used.
Legions of the Roman Army
The office of the Roman Consuls, and dating by them, continues under the Empire until Justinian . They can be examined on a popup page .
The abbreviations used in the full names of the Emperors can be found elsewhere with the discussion of the tria nomina . Emperors are commonly known by particular parts of their names, or by nicknames, e.g. Caligula, "little boot," or Caracalla, "little hood" -- both names given them as children in the army camps of their fathers (Germanicus and Septimius Severus, respectively).
The family of the Julio-Claudians seems like one of the most complicated in history. This chart eliminates many people in the family to focus on the descent and relation of the Emperors. Caligula and Nero are descendants of Augustus, through his daughter Julia (from his first marriage); but Claudius and Nero are also descendants of Mark Antony, who of course committed suicide, shortly before Cleopatra, rather than be captured after his defeat by Augustus.
The use of crowns to indicate the emperors is at this point anachronistic, but it is convenient. The crown for Christian Roman Emperors, which of course will not occur until Constantine, is shown with a nimbus, like deified earlier Emperors, because they are always portrayed with halos, like Saints, and are said to be the "Equal to the Apostles,"
, isapóstolos. Indeed, not just Christians Emperors, but Empresses and their children are shown with halos. This is not something that ones sees in Western Europe.
4. KINGS OF NUMIDIA
c.22 AD-40
Roman Province
No less that four foreign cultures have been planted into North Africa over the centuries. The Kingdom of Numidia was originally promoted by Rome as an ally against the Carthaginians. In the Second Punic War (218-201), Masinissa went from fighting effectively for Carthage to an alliance with Rome. His cavalry is largely what enabled Scipio Africanus to defeat Hannibal at Zama in 202. He was then supported by the Romans in eliminating his Numidian rivals. However, when he wanted to marry the wife of the great Numidian king Syphax, the Carthaginian princess Sophonisba, the Romans demanded that she be handed over to them. Masinissa enabled her to poison herself instead. Rome supported Masinissa the rest of his life. He died shortly before Carthage itself was exterminated in 146. Numidian allies thus enabled Rome to overthrow the first foreign culture in North Africa, the Phoenician (or "Punic" to the Romans). The Numidians then, of course, discovered what being an "ally" of Rome really meant, and war resulted as later Kings tried to preserve their independence -- especially the War of Jugurtha (112-105). Like the native kingdoms of Anatolia, Numidia was soon converted into a Roman province, opening the way for the introduction of a Latinate culture. If no other events had intervened, North Africa today would probably boast its own Romance language, like Spanish or French. This, however, was not to be. The Vandals interrupted Roman rule, but not long enough to make any lasting difference, if Islam had not soon arrived. When it did, this became the most durably planted foreign culture, with a large colonial element, as the Fatimid Caliphs of Egypt later directed an invasion of ethnic Arab tribes -- in revenge for North African defection from the Fatimids, and from the Shi'ite cause. The last culture planted was that of France, beginning with the occupation of Algeria in 1830. Eventually, something like 30% of the population of Algeria was French colonials, who began to fight as the era of de-colonization threatened their position. This brought about the fall of the French Fourth Republic in 1958. Interestingly, the two greatest French Existentialist writers and philosophers were on opposite sides of the issue. Jean Paul Sartre had become a dogmatic Marxist who demanded Algerian independence at any cost, while Albert Camus, whose most famous book, The Stranger, is set in Algeria, could not so easily dismiss the poor French farmers who had lived in Algeria for nearly a century -- Camus also suspected that Sartre's doctrinaire leftism concealed a bit of collaboration with the Germans in World War II. The return of Charles de Gaulle to power in 1958 ushered in harsh medicine about Algeria. De Gaulle decided that France should cut her losses, and the colony was abruptly granted independence in 1962. This began a bitter exodus of the French colonials and the nauseating torture and massacre of all those Algerians who were associated with the colonial regime. The cycle of terrorism continues even today, as leftist ideology has collapsed into an unhappy civil conflict between military rule and Islamic fundamentalism, and frightened Algerians have increasingly fled....to France. Unfortunately, the French economy, with stupefying labor law, has created national double digit unemployment, far higher in the heavily Moslem immigrant community, which is then supported by the French welfare state in public housing projects that have become virtual No Man's Lands outside many French cities. The idle and resentful unemployed then turn to....Islamic fundamentalism.
5. LEADERS & KINGS OF JUDAEA
Hasmoneans
Agrippa II
King, 50/53-100?
Jewish Revolt & War, 66-73: Destruction of Jerusalem, 70 AD; Fall of Masada, 73; Revolt of Bar Kokhba, 132-135
The success of the great struggle of the Maccabees to free the Jews from the Seleucid Kings is still commemorated in the holiday of Hanukkah, based on an incident when the Temple was reconsecrated after the liberation of Jerusalem. Little oil was available for the Temple lamps, but what there was burned miraculously for eight days. The burning of candles for Hanukkah coincides, however, with similar fire rituals of many people at the darkest time of the year, in December, and Hanukkah has also taken on the gift-giving attributes of Christmas -- exemplifying the adaptation of religious rituals to several purposes. Explanations of Hanukkah often awkwardly refer to the "Syrians" instead of to the Seleucid Greeks -- but it would certainly seem more politic today to risk offending the Greeks than to have the modern Syrians, who had nothing to do with the Seleucids, feel accused of ancient tyranny. Modern Israel and Syria have enough recent issues to deal with.
The hard won independence of Judaea fell within a century to Rome, which for a time, as elsewhere, tolerated a fiction of local rule -- the Herodian dynasty owed its power entirely to Roman favor. This did not mollify the Messianic hotheads, who inevitably sparked a rebellion that led to the final destruction of the Temple, the end, in a sense, of ancient Judaism, massacres and mass suicides, as at Masada, and the increasing Diaspora of Jews into the Roman world. Out of this also came the story of a peaceful Messiah, who had been executed and resurrected, whose cult eventually overwhelmed Rome itself, transforming Hellenistic Romanism into a culture of both Athens and Jerusalem. Jews themselves derived little enough benefit from this transformation, since Pauline Christianity had repudiated the ritual requirements of the Law and the new religion became increasingly estranged from the old. Once the new religion became the State Religion of Rome, the rigor with which Judaism had rejected the old gods now became public policy, to their own disability. Christianity never had the provision found in Islam, however grudging, for the toleration, within limits, of kindred religionists.
The fate of Jews in Christendom, as of the basic attitude of Christianity to Judaism, thus became a matter of dispute. Where Christianity began as sect of Judaism, perhaps just a continuation of the Essenes described in detail by
Josephus, some post-Pauline Christians wanted Judaism repudiated completely and the Hebrew Bible simply rejected. The most elaborate version of this turned up in Gnosticism , where the God of the Old Testament was reduced to a minor and malevolent deity. The "Jealous" God of Judaism was not regarded as having the right attitude to be the true Father of Jesus. The Orthodox decision in the matter was that the God of the Old Testament was indeed the God of the New Testament, the Jews were indeed the Chosen People, and that the Covenants with Abraham, etc. were not only valid in their own right but essential links to the New Covenant established by Jesus. No less an authority than St. Augustine said that Jews must be tolerated so that the Biblical prophecies of the Coming of Christ would be preserved by a disinterested, or even hostile, source. Augustine, interestingly, did not doubt that Jews could be trusted to faithfully preserve the Hebrew text of the Bible -- as they did. Now, Christianity granting a role for Judaism in Christianity is very patronizing to Judaism, but it did provide a ground for the toleration of Judaism, which no other principle at the time did (no one having heard of Liberal society). There were shameful exceptions to this toleration, but through the Middle Ages the overwhelming majority of Church authorities staunchly condemned attacks on the Jews. The Popes themselves even refuted, twice, the "blood libel" that Jews used Christian blood for Passover matzos (which would have been a grotesque violation of Jewish dietary laws anyway).
The genealogy of the Hasmonaeans is from The Complete World of The Dead Sea Scrolls (Philip R. Davies, George J. Brooke, & Phillip R. Callaway, Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2002, p.42). The incestuous marriages of the children and grandchildren of Herod the Great, perhaps typical of a Hellenistic dynasty, like the Ptolemies , were very hard to understand.
The chart in my edition of Josephus (The Jewish War, Penguin Classics, 1960, p.410) did not make things very clear, but then my colleague Don Smith helped straighten things out for me. There seems to be some question about the parentage of Herodias and Agrippa I -- with Davies, Brooke, & Callaway going for Aristobulus. Aristobulus and his brother Alexander, descendants of the Hasmonaeans through their mother, were both executed by Herod.
Since Mediaeval Jews shared in the continuing trade and commercial culture of the Middle East, and were often its only representatives in impoverished and ruralized Latin Europe, they became fatefully associated in European eyes with the commercial and financial practices that Europeans at once needed, wanted, misunderstood, and resented.
A similar problem later occurred all over again in Eastern Europe, where the Kings of Poland were eager to bring in a more sophisticated population, unwelcome in Western Europe, to develop the country and strengthen the throne. Such resentments in time found theoretical expression in Marx's view that the Jews embodied the archetype of grasping and exploitive capitalism. This made them class enemies, but that was soon enough converted into race enemies when Marxism mutated into Fascism and Naziism. Jews who thought they had escaped the class and race animus in the Soviet Union soon came to be suspected, purged, and, increasingly, murdered by Stalin, while Hitler, of course, decided to kill them all. This helped promote the idea, not surprisingly, that all Jews should return to Palestine and found a Jewish State, which is what happened. After 2000 years, however, the Zionists found that they didn't have a lot in common with the modern Arabic speaking population of the place they returned to -- rather than learn Arabic, they even decided to revive Hebrew, which was already dying out as a spoken language in the days of the Hasmoneans, and which some Jews refused to speak as being a sacred language (they still speak Yiddish). After sixty years, this conflict between Israel and Arab Palestinians has still not been resolved.
By some estimates, e.g. Paul Johnson in his A History of the Jews [HarperPerennial, 1988], Jews constituted as much as 10% of the population of the Roman Empire. I am not familiar with the basis of this estimate, but I am familiar with the difficulty of estimating Roman population at all. I find so high a figure inherently improbable. Judaea, although the "land of milk and honey" in the Bible, is a pretty barren place. This is not going to support a large population, especially on the basis of ancient agriculture. That there should be as many Jews there as, for instance, Egyptians is impossible. Of course, a large part of the estimate is based on the Diaspora population. Even in the time of the Ptolemies , Alexandria already had a very large Jewish population. But that is a key point: the Diaspora population is mostly going to be urban; but the urban population of the Roman Empire is unlikely to have been more than 20% of the whole. Even today, 85% of the population of Tanzania, whose growth was ruined by the socialism of its post-independence government, is still in agriculture. If the population of the Empire was as much as 20% urban, and Jews were 10% of the population, then Jews would have to constitute nearly half of the population of every city, especially including Rome itself (with a population of a million or more people). That is nothing like the impression we get from the records, where so large a group in Rome would be felt on a constant basis. So this "10%" seems like a gravely inflated figure, though we may never have a really accurate one.
I now see Lea Cline, of the American Academy in Rome (and evidently a graduate student in Classics from the University of Texas at Austin), saying that the Jewish population of Rome in the 1st century AD was probably about 30,000 people (I say literally saw her, on the "Naked Archaeologist"). The basis for this are records for the number of "synagogal communites" present in the city. Since, from records about numbers of bakeries, tenements, etc., the population of Rome can be estimated as at least a million people, this puts the Jewish population at no more than 3%. This sounds more like it, especially when the Jewish population of Rome is liable to reflect both an urban concentration of Roman Jews and the special concentration effected by the importance of the Roman capital itself -- Jews had been there since well into the Hellenistic Period. If it is impossible that the percentage of Jews in Rome could be lower than in the Empire as a whole, that gives us a good ground for evaluating the percentage given by Paul Johnson.
The maps here begin with Rome at its height under Trajan. Trajan's occupation of lower Mesopotamia was impressive but brief. After taking Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital, "he conceived a desire to sail down to the Erythraean Sea" [i.e. the Persian Gulf -- Dio Cassius, Book LXVIII, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard U. Press, 1925, 2005, p.415]. Sailing down the Tigris to "the Ocean," he wished he were, like Alexander, on his way to India, "if I were still young" [p.417]. Indeed, he would die within the year (117 AD). Visiting Babylon in order to sacrifice to Alexander at the place of his death, "he mostly saw nothing but mounds and stones and ruins" [p.417]. It had been long since Babylon had been an important city. Putting down revolts in Mesopotamia, it is not clear how much Trajan really intended to retain, since he installed his own candidiate for Parthian King (Parthamaspates) in Ctesiphon. In any case, Trajan had added upper Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Dacia to the Empire. This, as it happened, involved all the most organized states on the borders of Rome, excepting only Kush . The Pax Romana thus was often a matter of war on the frontiers in order to preserve the peace within. But when Hadrian withdrew from some of Trajan's conquests, he was then troubled by the revolt of Bar Kochba in Judaea.
7. FLAVIANS & ANTONINES
Decimus Clodius Albinus
in Britain & Gaul, 193-197
The Flavians Vespasian and Titus were both great soldiers and, to the Roman historians, virtuous and admirable men. Unfortunately, Titus's brother Domitian was not quite of the same stamp, and then went on to reign longer than his father and brother.
He was succeeded by a fraternity of soldiers who adopted each other to secure competent and peaceful succession. The "Five Good Emperors" (in boldface) became the ideal of generations, all the way to Gibbon, for peaceful and benevolent government. Trajan was the first Emperor born in the provinces (Spain) and briefly, with his Mesopotamian campaign, expanded the Empire to its greatest extent. In the Middle Ages, Trajan had such a powerful reputation for goodness that the story began to circulate that God had brought him back to life just so he could convert to Christianity. Dante even includes that in the Divine Comedy. Antoninus Pius became the only Roman Emperor in 1500 years to be called "the Pious," but we really know precious little about his reign. This may simply illustrate the principle that goodness and peace, the height of the "Pax Romana," is boring.
, "To Rome" [cf. The Ruling Power: A Study of the Roman Empire in the Second Century After Christ Through the Roman Oration of Aelius Arisides, James H. Oliver, The American Philosophical Society, 1953]. This speech is not of much interest to Classicists and is rarely mentioned in treatments of the Roman Empire of this period, yet it expresses profound changes that are in the works. Aelius is a Greek who now has become wholeheartedly Roman. There is not a trace of irony or cynicism in his praise of Rome. After achieving some fame, Aelius later became friendly, at Smyrna where he settled, with Marcus Aurelius. Since "To Rome" is in Greek, as was the diary of Marcus, we see a growth in Greek literature which will flower in the Second Sophistic and which will begin to overshadow secular literature in Latin. Culturally, Rome is becoming increasingly Greek, a trend that will culminate in the Graecophone Romania of the Middle Ages, where "To Rome" will be much admired and studied both for its language and style and for its patriotic sentiments. Neither of these is particularly appealing either to Classicists or to most Byzantinists, for the virtues of its language and its loyalties tend to leave both cold: Classicists are disdainful of Attic Greek unless it was written in the 5th century BC, while Byzantinists are sometimes uncomfortable being reminded that "Byantines" to themselves were still
, Rhômaîoi, Romans. Aelius thus represents the sort of cultural and historical reality about Rome that does not quite fit in with the accustomed narratives and consequently is generally ignored.
The Pax Romana ended under Marcus Aurelius, the closest thing to a "philosopher king" until Thomas Jefferson , but also a very competent general, who smashed a major German invasion across the Danube, while consoling himself with Stoicism for the miseries of war, plague, and personal loss. Marcus's only real failure was to leave the Empire to his worthless son, Commodus -- dying in a place of modern note, Vienna (Vindobona). Hereditary succession, although eventually stabilized in Constantinople, would prove a dangerous principle at many moments in Roman history. The incompetence and viciousness of Commodus then set off his assassination and the second great free-for-all fight for the throne, in 193. This was not without its comic aspect, when the Praetorian Guard killed the disciplinarian Pertinax and literally put the throne up for sale. The wealthy Didius Julianus made the best bid but had no other ability to secure his rule. He was murdered as Septimius Severus, a notably humorless man, approached Rome -- and then also abolished (temporarily) the Guard.
When Jerusalem fell to Titus in 70 AD, the Temple and most of the city were demolished. The furniture and sacred vessels of the Temple, including, Josephus says, the red curtains of the Inner Sanctuary, were carried off to Rome -- portrayed on the Arch of Titus. They remained there until 455, when the Vandals sacked the city and removed their loot to Carthage. When Belisarius overthrew the Vandals for Justinian in 533 and found the items from the Temple in Carthage, they were sent back to Constantinople . Since it has previously been noted that the Ark of the Covenant, despite Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), was not carried off to Tanis, one might wonder what subsequently happened to it. Although Josephus speaks of Titus taking away "the Law," he describes nothing like the Ark. Later, Mediaeval sources (e.g. Mirabilia Urbis Romae, c.1143, The Marvels of Rome, Italica Press, New York, 1986, p.29) speak of the Ark having been in Rome, but this was long, long after the fact. It must not be forgotten, however, that the Temple had once before been destroyed, by Nebuchadnezzar , in 587 BC. It is not clear that anything of the Temple survived, and so the Ark could well have been destroyed then -- or concealed on the Temple Mount, where the Templars supposedly found it.
The map shows the disposition of the Legions shortly after the end of the Jewish War. One Legion from the campaign, Legio X Fretensis, remains in Judaea, while the other two that were given to Vespasian at the beginning of the campaign, Legio V Macedonica and Legio XV Apollinaris, have returned to the stations on the Danube. Some sources say that there were four legions involved in the Jewish War, but I have found no indentification of what the fourth would have been. Britain, of course, has now been added to the Empire. My sources disagree on the station and numbering of some of the Legions. The revolt of Civilis in 69-70 led to the disbanding in 70 AD of four legions that participated in the revolt: Legio I Germana (or Germanica), Legio IV Macedonica, Legio XV Primigenia, and Legio XVI Gallica. These are indicated on the first map of the Army given above .
Of particular interest in the disposition of the Legions in the reign of Antoninus Pius is Legio VI Victrix. On the first map above, it is to be found in Spain. Next it is on the Rhine. Now it is in the North of Britain. In the reign of Marcus Aurelius the Prefect of Legio VI Victrix will be one Lucius Artorius Castus. As discussed below , this man and his name -- Artorius -- may figure in the legends of King Arthur. Otherwise, we see that Dacia has been added to the Empire.
The concentration of Legions around Judaea again is in the aftermath of Bar Kochba's Revolt (132-135). This figures in the mystery about Legio IX Hispana. Previously attested in Britain, Legio IX Hispana has disappeared from the list of legions by 165 AD. Much of what we hear about it is speculation. Since the legion had been posted in Britain, one notion is that it was wiped out by the Picts. We even see this in a recent movie, The Eagle [2011]. There is no evidence from the period, however, that any legion was wiped out in Britain. Equally speculative is the suggestion that Legio IX Hispana was among the units sent to suppress the Bar Kochba revolt and that it was wiped out there. Again, there is no evidence for either event. Instead, since the legion does disappear from the records and is never revived, which means that something bad must have happened to it, we might ask if there is any evidence that any legion was wiped out or disbanded during the period before 165 AD. Well, yes. In 161, the Parthians occupied Armenia and defeated the governor of Cappadocia, Aelius (or Marcus Sedatius) Severianus, at Elegeia on the Euphrates, wiping out his legion. Severianus, who had been assured of victory by a shady "prophet," Alexander of Abonutichus, commited suicide. The Parthians then defeated the governor of Syria, Attidius Cornelianus. This set off a Parthian War (161-166), for which the Emperor Lucius Verus was present in the East, even though the campaign was prosecuted by other generals, resulting in the sack and burning of Ctesiphon in 166. The identity of the legion of Aelius Severianus is not specified in the sources; but if we know that a legion was destroyed, and we know that Legio IX Hispana disappears from the record, when that only happens if a legion is wiped out in battle or disbanded because of rebellion, the inference seems reasonable that this was the legion. What other legion would have been wiped out at Elegeia? So speculation about the Picts or Bar Kochba seems superfluous.
A curious footnote to the period of the Antonines is an entry in the Chinese History of the Later Han Dynasty , the
. It is recorded that in the year 166 an embassy arrived in Lo-Yang from a ruler of
, "Great Ch'in," named Andun. This had come up from Vietnam after, apparently, travelling by sea from the West.
Andun looks like it might be "Antoninus," which could mean either Antoninus Pius or Marcus Aurelius, both of whom used the name. Thus, "Great Ch'in" is usually taken to mean Rome, and the embassy was sent to explore ways to redirect the silk trade around the route, the Silk Road through Central Asia, dominated by the Parthians . If so, nothing came of it. The possibility of any communication between the great contemporary Empires of Rome and the Han is tantalizing. My impression has been that Chinese attempts, like the embassy of 97 AD sent by Pan Ch'ao , to establish some communication overland were frustrated by the Parthians. Since we know that the Romans had knowledge of and trade with India and Ceylon , and that Chinese pilgrims like Fa-Hsien went by sea from India to China (399-414), it is not at all impossible or unlikely that some Romans, in the days of the Kushans in India, could have done what the Hou Hanshu says. The History was actually written in the 5th century, and the Chinese were aware that Iranians, which by then meant the Sassanids , were still frustrating attempts at direct trade with "Great Ch'in."
222-235
Persian War, Roman defeats but mutual losses, 230-232
It took a little time for Septimius to put down all the would-be Emperors in the provinces, but he did so with determination and ferocity. The virtues of nobility reputed to Trajan, of culture to Hadrian, of piety to Antoninus, and of philosophy to Marcus Aurelius were all missing in Septimius Severus. Born in North Africa, Punic ( Phoenician ) seems to have been the first language of Severus, and he never lost the accent. This makes it look like Severus was the first Roman Emperor who was not of ethnic Latin derivation. His marriage to the Syrian Julian Domna, of Emesa (Homs), also blew away previous Roman scruples about Roman rulers being associated with Eastern Princesses -- the memory of Cleopatra long put such unions in bad favor. Soon, few Emperors would be of demonstrable Latin derivation.
Severus also doesn't seem to have considered anything other than hereditary succession, despite having a particularly nasty son, Caracalla, as the candidate. His attempt to balance Carcalla with his brother Geta simply got Geta murdered. Another factor, however, was the loyalty inspired in the troops to the family. Septimius had bluntly advised his sons, in the Greek we have from Dio Cassius:
,
,
, Homonoeîte, toùs stratiôtas ploutízete, tôn allôn pántôn kataphroneîte, "Stick together [be of one mind]; enrich the soldiers; be contemptuous of [put out of mind] all the others" [Dio Cassius IX, Roman History, Books LXXI-LXXX, translated by Earnest Cary, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1927, 2001, pp.270-273]. Caracalla, although not sticking with his brother, maintained his popularity reasonably well, until he terrified enough soldiers to precipitate his inevitable murder. This led to the brief and unsuccessful reign of Macrinus (also a North African) and his son, until loyalty to the Severan family prevailed. Macrinus was the first Roman Emperor who never visited Rome during his reign. Meanwhile, the relatively successful campaign of Severus against Parthia, despite the subsequent Parthian defeat of Macrinus, may have weakened the regime enough to allow for the coup of the Sassanid Persians, who would be much more trouble for the Romans than the Parthians had ever been. Septimius Severus himself was one of the two Roman Emperors ( Constantius Chlorus was the other) to die (a natural death) at York (Eboracum) in Britain.
The Severan "family" turned out to be the entirely matrilineal creation of Severus' sister-in-law, Julia Maesa, who brought her two grandsons, entirely unrelated to Severus, to the throne.
The bizarre Elagabalus (sometimes "Heliogabalus"), styling himself the god of his grandmother's Emesan solar cult (and engaging gladiators in combats more amorous and carnal than Commodus had contemplated), and then the amiable and reasonably effective Alexander thus wrapped up the dynasty. Alexander was killed after the overdue reality check of battle, against the newly aggressive Sassanids (224-651). He was not that bad, but evidently not good enough for his own troops, who killed him and his mother -- that his mother was along with him on a military campaign probably seemed no better to the soldiers then than it does now. Elagabalus and his mother were also killed together. Elagabalus, indeed, seems to have been the last truly "fun" Roman Emperor in terms of the pagan sexual antics otherwise fondly remembered from Caligula. The transvestism and bi-sexuality of Elagabalus, however, may have gone beyond even Caligula.
An intellectual revival took place in the time of the Severans. This is called the "Second Sophistic," and in its most general form it represents a revival of Greek literature, and a concern for the Greek literary heritage, after a temporary eclipse by Latin authors. The Second Sophistic was actually named by Philostratus, in his The Lives of the Sophists. The presence and influence of Philostratus at Court was a function of the interests of Julia Domna, his patron. He says that Julia attracted a circle of mathematicians and philosophers. However, this actually meant something more like "astrologers and sophists," and the revival, as philosophy, was more of a retrospective on ancient philosophy than a movement that contributed much that was original or of interest to it. Nevertheless, such an inspiration and preoccupation has been compared to similar concerns in the Renaissance .
In retrospect, the Second Sophistic on its literary side is dated to the previous century, where we see a surge of Greek literature and a decline in Latin authors. It is not an accident that Cassell's New Latin Dictionary, of which I have the 1959 edition [Funk & Wagnalls, New York], only gives the vocabulary of classical authors from "about 200 B.C. to A.D. 100." Frederic M. Wheelock's Latin [Barnes & Noble, 1956, 1966; revised as Wheelock's Latin by Richard A. LaFleur, HarperResource, 2000] lists Tactitus (d.117) and Juvenal (d.127) as the last secular Latin authors. Their "Silver Age" is followed by "The Patristic Period," which lists Latin Fathers of the Church but refers to no secular literature and no secular authors in Latin until Dante(!). This implies that authors like Ammianus Marcellinus (d.395), Orosius (c.418), Boethius (d.524), and Cassiodorus (d.585), and Jordanes (c.551), were insignificant -- likewise for Isidore of Seville (d.636), who nevertheless is quoted by Wheelock (pp.211-212). But secular Latin authors did become rare after 100 AD, and both Orosius and (St!) Isidore had concerns that were as much religious as secular. Ammianus, a Greek himself, wrote his history in Latin out of worry that the genre might die out -- as it would, indeed, in its most sophisticated form, with him. Meanwhile, Greek literature, in turn, flowers, as we get Plutarch (d.120), Arrian of Nicomedia (c.87-c.145 AD, Consul 129), Pausanius (c.150), Lucian (d.180), Aelius Aristides (117-181), Dio Cassius (d.229), and others (not to mention the long tradition of Neoplatonic philosophers ) -- who are never confused with or obscured by the Greek Fathers -- through the rest of the history of Rome and Romania.
A characteristic of the Second Sophistic, such as we see in Arrian, the 2nd century historian, philosopher, and official (he repelled the Alans from Cappadocia -- and he transcribed the teachings of Epictetus the Stoic ), and the others, is the movement to write in Attic Greek , rather than in the Koiné of the Hellenistic Period. This is usually dismissed as an affectation and a frivolity. Perhaps it was, but it is also directly comparable to the concern of Renaissance writers to restore the "purity" of Ciceronian Latin over the received Mediaeval Latin that had survived to their time. Renaissance writers are rarely belabored for affectation because of this. And indeed, where Greek and Latin are taught today, the student, as it happens, begins with Attic Greek and Ciceronian Latin. The focus on Attic Greek in education, which began with the Second Sophistic, thus continued straight through the Middle Ages and has been in full flood through all of modern education in Classical Greek. When Greek speaking refugees fled the Ottoman Conquest, they did not teach Italians the spoken Greek of their time but the Attic Greek whose example and literature they respected. Indeed, Renaissance scholars could not have read Thucydides or Plato otherwise. The "purity" of the Greek language remains the political issue in Modern Greece .
More than an affectation, this Atticizing tradition accompanies the circumstance that the earliest and most interesting and some of the most important literature in these languages, especially for new scholars, is in the Attic and Ciceronian dialects -- from Thucydides and Plato to Caesar and Cicero himself. Preserving the archaic language meant that the authors could still be read in their own words. Perhaps Classicists are somehow annoyed that the Ancient and Mediaeval authors in Greek actually agree with them that the surpreme models of the Greek language are in Attic.
These are the languages, our Classical languages of Western civilization, and their literature, that we do not want forgotten, if the root values and experience of our civilization are not to be forgotten. But their existence is in greater danger in our time than ever before: a Shakespeare with "little Latin and less Greek" is a scholar of Classics compared to most graduates of modern universities. Latin used to be taught in my high school, but now it is not even offered in the college where I taught for 22 years.
One reason today for disparagement of the Second Sophistic, although this will not be an issue for Classicists, may in part be the antipathy in academic linguistics for written language and unconcern for the preservation of the literary heritage embodied in Classical Languages. This may accompany a self-hating, anti-Western bias that is often evident in both linguistics and other academic literature when the animus curiously tends to be focused on Greek and Latin rather than on Classical Arabic, Sanskrit , or Classical Chinese , whose preservation and use are generally exempted from criticism. The politically correct are happy to destroy their own tradition but sensitive (and cowardly) about doing this where accusations could be made of ethnocentrism, Eurocentrism, " Islamophobia ," or racism.
The disposition of the Legions in the Severan Army now is looking pretty familiar. Warren Treadgold [Byzantium and its Army, 284-1081, Sanford, 1995, p.45] says that the Army of 235 AD contains 34 legions plus the Praetorian Guard. On the map above, I only show 33, as gleaned from maps in the sources cited. Treadgold estimates the total Army, legions plus auxiliaries, at around 385,000 men. In the sources given, the legions are only named by A.H.M. Jones [The Later Roman Empire, 284-602, Volume II, Johns Hopkins, 1986, pp.1438-1444]. Jones tentatively places Legio IV Italica in Mesopotamia, which would raise the total legions to 34, as in Treadgold. These are the last days of the Classic Army of the Principate. After the Crisis of the Third Century, the structure, constituents, and even command ranks of the Roman Army are going to be very different. The traditional legions persist by name, but they are absorbed into command structures where they eventually lose their old identity.
It is noteworthy that in my sources on the Severan Army, the Legions are named by Jones and by Adrian Goldsworthy in The Complete Roman Army [Thames & Hudson, 2003], but neither Goldworthy nor the other sources cited on the map give the locations of the Severan Legions. Jones places them in the text, in the context of the Army of the Dominate. Recently, The Roman Army, the Greatest War Machine of the Ancient World, edited by Chris McNab [Osprey Publishing, 2010], does not have a list of any Legions, so the neglect of the Severan Army is less conspicuous. But the McNab book is curious in that the "Later Empire" is dated to begin in 200 AD, right in the middle of the reign of Septemius Severus, even though in the text the discussion of the Later Army begins with Alexander Severus or Constantine [p.206]. Thus the period the Severans is, after a fashion, cut out of the history altogether. No source, except Jones again, bothers with the Legions of the Army of the Dominate, which mulitply in number and are smaller than the Legions of the Principate but whose identity often continues, even in the place of their previous posting, as with the Legio II Augusta and Legio VI Victrix in Britain.
Legions of the Roman Army
So why the lacuna or the short shrift for the Severan Army? Well, it may be that Classicists are beginning to lose heart. Interest in the Empire declines, step by step, as we move away from the Julio-Claudians. The Antonines still draw a good bit of enthusiasm, with Marcus Aurelius and Commodus turning up in some Hollywood movies. But treatments like that are swamped by the popular representations of Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. And then, after Commodus, silence. Even the two hour History Channel special, "Roman Vice," ended with Nero, passing up the chance to treasure one of the most vicious Roman Emperors of all, Caracalla, and one of the bizarre, Elagabalus. Earlier popularizing authors may have shied away from the extremes of the behavior of Elababalus, who did things that used to be taboo in polite conversation; but that is no excuse now, when that should be one of the most appealing things about him. It is as though there is a sense of unease. The closer we get to Constantine, about whom feelings are so mixed, confused, and generally hostile, it is as though a force field begins to be felt that inhibits movement. The great drama of the Tetrarchy, with the extraordinary personalities and events involved, leaves modern historical fiction, and Hollywood, cold. The most that the public gets for the period are the tendentious, preposterous, and ahistorical speculations and misrepresentations of The Da Vinci Code. Even the straight historical treatments on the cable networks, which do remind us that people like Aurelian, Diocletian, Majorian, and Justinian at least exist, are usually no less tendentious, as I have occasion to note here.
Rome and Romania Index
B. CRISIS OF THE THIRD CENTURY, 235-284, 49 Years
This map looks like it should be from the Fifth Century . The Goths, not yet divided, are here, but they come in part by boat, which we will not see with them later. The Franks here duplicate the later course of the Vandals , through Gaul, Spain, and North Africa, but without the same effects. Later, the Franks will not be a principal invader but will be the ultimate beneficiary of the invasions. The Alemanni also will be less active later, remaining in Germany and leaving their name as the word for "German" in Romance languages. Rome is weakened by revolt in the West and a Palyrmene takeover in the East. But in this era Roman institutions prove resilient enough to restore the status quo ante (with troubling strategic withdrawals). But the Germans remain across the Rhine and Danube, growing in numbers and sophistication. One might even say that all this was a dress rehearsal for the later invasions. In the theater, if the dress rehearsal goes poorly, the opening will go well. This is what happened.
The Gallic Empire of Postumus began under Gallienus. Postumus, of course, probably would rather have overthrown the Emperor, but he was not able to defeat him and was otherwise involved with fighting Germans. In best Third Century tradition, he was killed by his troops. This form of succession continued until Tetricus and his son surrendered to Aurelian, on condition of their peaceful retirement. This episode echoes the attempt of the usurper Constantine "III" in the Fifth Century, though that failed to suppress the Germans in that era and merely served to absorb the attention of Roman forces that could have been better used, in conjunction with those of Constantine himself, against the common enemy.
The Palmyrene Empire had a very different origin and course from that in Gaul. Odaenath, the King of Palmyra (c.260-266), was a Roman ally. After the capture of Valerian, he actually defeated and expelled the victorious Persians. This earned him Roman gratitude and titles, like Dux Romanorum. It also left him as the de facto ruler of the East. Odaenath was murdered and succeeded by his wife Zenobia, who then joins Cleopatra and Boudicca (Boadicea), if not Dido, in the ranks of the conspicuous and romantic female enemies of Rome. This grew gradually, as Roman weakness tempted Zenobia's ambition. When she moved into Egypt and Asia Minor in 269-270, trouble was definitely brewing, but it was her proclamation of her son Vaballathus as Emperor that brought Aurelian out against her. She was exhibited in Aurelian's Triumph but then allowed to live out her life on a pension in Rome. Palmyra became a Roman outpost. Today, its ruins are extensive, beautiful, and evocative, out in the emptiness of the Syrian desert, next to the Oasis and the small modern city. The Oasis gave the city its importance as an essential link in the caravan short-cut across the desert from Mesopotamia to Syria. Even greater enemies of Rome have far less to show for themselves today.
Palmyra has entered modern history in the ugliest way. In 2015, the savage forces of the "Islamic State" (ISIS or ISIL) captured the town from the Syrian government. They executed the lead archaeologist of the site along with dozens of other people, apparently including women and children. And, like their previous action in Iraq, following the precedent of the Tâlibân in Afghanistan , they began to destroy ancient buildings, particularly temples. The impressive ruin of the Temple of Bêl, which stands by the road into both the ancient and the modern town, is shown in the photograph above. Its walls are all but intact. Above the recessed altar was a beautiful roseate ceiling. A stair within the walls led up to the top, affording an impressive view of the area. But the (literally) bloody fanatics of ISIS blew up the building and reduced it to rubble, so that nothing, apart from the entrance pylon, remains. This was a United Nations World Heritage Site, and one of the most evocative jewels of ancient history. It tells us whose these people, invoking Islam , really are. To be sure, their eagerness to cut the heads off civilian hostages, on camera, stamps them as evil in a way whose like may not have been seen since Auschwitz , but their contempt for the past, for history, for art, and for beauty staggers the mind in a unique way. They are openly proud of it, as even the Nazis never were for their crimes.
Having visited Palmyra twice in 1970, my photographs are now perhaps significant historical records -- in a tradition going back to the Ruins of Palmyra, a survey by Robert Wood published in 1753. And since my photographs are all slides, they will need to be converted to digital format. It is extraordinary to now have vandalism of the city by people who seem to actually hate the past, even while they vainly hope that a revived Islam will give them the power that the Islamic world has otherwise been unable to achieve through conventional political and economic means. Or they may actually want nothing more than death and destruction, if this serves to bring on the Apocalypse. In those terms, they may have no positive goals at all.
Maximinus I Thrax
M. Aurelius Carinus
283-285
The chaos that had threatened in some earlier successions (in 69 and 193) now arrived in 238, when we can say that there were five Emperors in one year. Maximinus Thrax may have been the second Emperor who never visited Rome. He was on his way there, because the Senate had recognized the usurpation of the Gordians in Africa, when the Praetorian Guard murdered him at Aquileia. Meanwhile, of course, Gordian II had been killed in battle by a Maximinus loyalist, the governor of Numidia. Gordian I committed suicide. So neither Gordian made it to Rome either. The confused Senate elected the Senators Balbinus & Pupiens Co-Emperors. When the Guard murdered them in turn, only their nomination of Gordian III as Caesar provided for a reasonable succession. If only that were the end of problem.
The complexity of the following period can only be appreciated, or even understood, by reviewing the " Crisis of the Third Century " chart. Few Emperors reigned long or died natural deaths. Gordian III's six years would count as lengthy for the period, but his murder would prove all too typical. The musical chairs of murders did not help prepare the Empire for increased activity by the Germans and Persians.
Decius and Herennius were killed in battle by the Goths in 251 -- the only Roman Emperors to die in battle (against external enemies) besides Julian (against the Persians, 363), Valens (against the Goths again, 378), Nicephorus I (against the Bulgars, 811), and Constantine XI (with the fall of Constantinople to the Turks, 1453). These Emperors are now marked with a "killed in battle" icon --
. Valerian's relatively long and promising reign ended with the unparalleled ignominy of being captured by Shapur I -- the only Roman Emperor captured alive by a foreign enemy until Romanus IV in 1071. These Emperors are now marked with a "captured by foreign enemy" icon --
-- which is the Egyptian hieroglyph of a bound prisoner, used in words for "rebel" and "enemy." Some other rulers were also captured by foreign enemies -- the Latin Emperor Baldwin I (by the Bulgarians), the Emperor of Thessalonica, Theodore Ducas (by the Bulgarians), and the Prince of Achaea, William II (although he was captured, not by a foreign enemy, but by the forces of Nicaea ). Valerian was kept prisoner and subject to various humiliations until executed. His skin was then flayed (unless he had been flayed alive), stuffed, and kept for later display to Roman emissaries. In any case, this is what we are told by later Romans, such as Lactantius, and questions have been raised about the reliability of these accounts, for which there is no contemporary or Persian evidence. Valerian, however, certainly never returned home.
Valerian's son Gallienus then endured one invasion and disaster after another, with the Empire actually beginning to break up. Nevertheless, Gallienus rebuilt the army and, excluding Senators from legionary commands, put in place the generals who, although his own murderers, conducted the reconstruction of the Empire. He thus now tends to get some credit, even with the apparent collapse around him. Despite a short reign (and a natural death), Claudius II began to turn things around by defeating the Goths, commemorated with a column that still stands (but is rarely seen in history books) in Istanbul. His colleague Aurelian then substantially restores the Empire, only to suffer assassination, initiating a new round of revolving Emperors. This finally ended with Diocletian, who picked up reforming the Empire, militarily, politically, and religiously, where Aurelian had left off.
Amid all the other upheavals of this period, one that that escapes the notice of popular culture, and often that of historians also, is how the Empire ceases to be a possession of the City of Rome. The political structure of the Roman State turns inside out, with the City becoming a backwater and the provinces and the frontiers becoming the centers of political life. We begin to get the phenomenon of Emperors who rarely, or never, even visit the City. They certainly do not live there. For the time being, the equivalent of an administrative Capital of the Empire simply moves with the military camps of the Emperors. Once things settle down a bit in the following years, we begin to see new seats for the Court(s) and new administrative centers, from Nicomedia and Milan, to Antioch and Trier, Sirmium and York -- all culminating in the founding of Constantinople. Yet it is rare to vanishing to see this profound truth of Roman history ever asserted in a public voice; and we usually find even the historically literate laboring under the impression that the fate of the Empire hangs on events in the City, right down to the day when the barbarians burst in on the Last Emperor in 476. Of course, as we shall see, nothing of the sort happened in 476, and in fact nothing of significance happened at all in the City of Rome during that year.
Not much in the way of dynasties in this period. Many Emperors, of course, wanted to associate their sons with them to arrange for their succession; but in the violent ends
of most Emperors, the sons usually died with them. Gordian III, Gallienus, and Carinus are the principal exceptions, ruling in their own right after the death of fathers or, with Gordian, uncle and grandfather.
The invasions and political troubles of the Third Century shook the religious and philosophical certainties upon which Rome had previously thrived. Exotic religious cults, like Mithraism and Christianity, now began to exert wide appeal; and a profound shift occurred in philosophy. We no longer hear much of Stoics or Epicureans, but whole new perspectives and concerns are ushered in by the mystical Egyptian Plotinus (d.270), who even enjoyed some Imperial patronage under Gordian III, Philip the Arab, and Gallienus. He makes the Second Sophistic look superficial indeed.
With his return to the epistemology and metaphysics of Plato and Aristotle, Plotinus, as such the founder of Neoplatonism, picks up the mainstream of development of the Western philosophical tradition, which had somewhat detoured in the Hellenistic Period through revivals of Presocratic doctrine (Heraclitus for the Stoics, Atomism for the Epicureans). Plotinus's student, disciple, Boswell, and editor Porphyry (d.>300), who first enjoyed patronage from Aurelian, promoted Neoplatonic principles, wrote an introduction to Aristotle's logical works, the Isagoge, which became an indispensable text in the Middle Ages, and even began organizing the defense of traditional religion in his Against the Christians, whose arguments he gave in a presentation to the Emperor Diocletian, urging him to suppress the religion. But the Neoplatonic version of traditional religion now looks much more of a piece with Christian sensibilities than with things like the peculiar and archaic practices examined by Frazer in The Golden Bough. Constantine would later order Against the Christians burned. The cultural and intellectual sea change of the period, soon followed by Diocletian's reforms and then Constantine, usher in the distinctive world of Late Antiquity. Classicists start to become nervous and irritable.
II. SECOND EMPIRE, EARLY "ROMANIA,"
284 AD-610 AD,
Era of Diocletian 1-327, 326 years
Thus Constantine, an emperor and son of an emperor, a religious man and son of a most religious man, most prudent in every way, as stated above -- and Licinius the next in rank, both of them honoured for their wise and religious outlook, two men dear to God -- were roused by the King of kings, God of the universe, and Saviour against the two most irreligious tyrants and declared war on them. God came to their aid in a most marvellous way, so that at Rome Maxentius fell at the hands of Constantine, and the ruler of the East [i.e. Maximinus Daia] survived him only a short time and himself came to a most shameful end at the hands of Licinius, who at that time was still sane.
Eusebius of Caesarea (c.260-c.339), The History of the Church [translated by G.A. Williamson, Penguin Books, 1965, p.368]
L'altro che segue, con le leggi e meco,
sotto buona intenzion che fé mal frutto,
per cedre al pastor si fece greco:
The next who follows, with the laws and me,
with a good intention which bore bad fruit,
made himself Greek, to cede [the West] to the Pastor. ora conosce come il mal dedutto
dal suo bene operar non li è nocivo,
avvegna che sia 'l mondo indi distrutto. Now he knows how the evil derived
from his good action does not harm him,
though the world should be destroyed thereby.
Dante Alighieri (1265�1321), The Divine Comedy, Paradiso, XX:55-60 [Charles S. Singleton, Princeton, Bollingen, 1975, pp.224-225, translation modified], speaking of Constantine in the Heaven of Jupiter and of the "Donation of Constantine" (Constitutum Donatio Constantini) to the Pope -- a document later exposed (1440) by Lorenzo Valla (c.1407-1457) as a forgery.
Rome, queen of the world, thy fame shall never perish,
for Victory, being wingless, cannot fly from thee.
Anonymous, "On [New] Rome," [The Greek Anthology, Volume III, Book 9, "The Declamatory Epigrams," Number 647, The Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1917, p.358-359]
The "Second Empire" is a period of transformation whose beginning and end seem worlds apart. Even at the beginning, however, Classicists find themselves becoming uncomfortable, in large part because they are now rubbing shoulders with Byzantinists, Mediaevalists, and, worse, historians of religion and, gasp, even of the Church. In the Middle Ages, this was regarded as a triumphant period, when the Roman Empire was redeemed and ennobled with its conversion to and transformation by Christianity -- becoming a "Romania" whose name is now not even familiar as the name of the Roman Empire. In Modern thought, this construction tends to be reversed, with the superstition and dogmatism of Christianity dragging the Classical World down into the Dark Ages. At the same time, however, there is still a strong attraction to the idea of blaming the collapse of the Empire on the characteristics of pagan Roman society -- slavery, the Games, sexual license, corruption, etc. Since this is more or less the Christian critique of pagan society, we have the curious case of critics maintaining the perspective of Christian moralism even while rejecting Christianity as the appropriate response. This not entirely coherent approach also results in the doublethink of moral satisfaction with the "fall" of the (Western) Empire in 476 while carefully ignoring the survival and resurgence of the Empire in the East. The truth, as it happens, is one of continuity. The very same institutions, both Roman and Christian in sum and detail, that failed in the West in the face of the German threat, did just fine in the East, long outlasting, and in two dramatic cases defeating, the German successor kingdoms. Nevertheless, these were hard times, and worse lay ahead. What neither Trajan nor Constantine nor Justinian could have anticipated were the blows that would fall next.
A. "DOMINATE," 284-379, 95 years
1. TETRARCHS
[Domitius Alexander]
Usurper 308-311, Africa
Intrinsically one of the most interesting and important periods in Roman history, the Tetrarchy unfortunately suffers from the relative poverty of the sources we have for it. Despite the rich literature of the 4th century, Diocletian never got a Tacitus or Suetonius, and what Ammianus Marcellinus may have said about him is now lost. Part of this may be because history moved so quickly after Diocletian. He could still have been alive when Constantine legalized Christianity, and it was, of course, Constantine whom subsequent Christian writers wanted to glorify. But Diocletian created a system that was the closest to a constitutional order than Rome ever had. Its enemy was hereditary succession, which had triumphed in Constantine, if imperfectly, by the end of the period. So here, not just in religion, we have a turning point. The succession by appointment, adoption, or marriage of the Antonines is now seen for very nearly the last time. The complexity of this, and of events, can be seen, not just in the following genealogy, but in the Chart of the Tetrarchy . As the first Emperor with a very clearly Greek name --
, Dioclês, before being Latinized to Diocletianus (although we shouldn't forget the Greek name of Philip the Arab and his son) -- Diocletian foreshadows the later Greek character of the Empire. It is also from this point that the status of the
Emperor is elevated far beyond that of a mere official to a being with semi-divine status, altering the form of government from the "Principate" to "Dominate," from Dominus, "Lord." The Roman Court now begins to adopt the structures and ritual of the Persian Court , where the Great King has always been semi-divine. The symbolic accouterments of the Emperor, like the Purple (Porphyrius) robe and red shoes, become fixed until the Fall of Constantinople. The fiction that the Emperor is actually a kind of Republican official is now gone -- although the ultimate executive offices of the Republic, the Consulates, survive until Justinian.
He is a Monarch in form and substance. This elevation was simply transformed, not rolled back or abolished, by the Christianization of the office. Indeed, Christian Emperors, beginning with Constantine, would always be portrayed with halos, like saints, and were called the "Equal to the Apostles." European monarchs never went that far.
At right is an extraordinary group in porphyry of the Tetrarchs. This was looted from Constantinople in 1204 and placed at a corner of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice . Its origin was subsequently forgotten, and Peter Brown says it "was long mistaken for Christian crusaders, and even worshipped as statues of St. George!" [The World of Late Antiquity 150-750, HBJ, 1971, p.22]. Where it came from was recently proven when the foot that is obviously missing from the figure on the right was discovered in situ in Istanbul, before the Bodrum Camii (Jami-i, "its mosque"), previously the Myrelaion Church, in the original Philadelphion square [cf. Constantine, Roman Emperor, Christian Victor, by Paul Stephenson, The Overlook Press, New York, 2010, p.199].
In 305 Diocletian actually retired from office, going to live at his retirement villa (more like city) at Spalatum (Split) near Salonae (Solin) in Dalmatia (now Croatia ) -- see J.J. Wilkes, Diocletian's Palace, Split: Residence of a Retired Roman Emperor [Oxbow Books, Oxford, 1986, 1993]. This may have been at the urging of Galerius, who was eager for full power, and was taken with ill grace by Maximian, who tried to return to power twice and was finally killed (by Constantine). Diocletian's joy at his retirement, and the famous celebration of his cabbage, I discuss elsewhere as a paradigm of
Epicureanism . Although Constantius Chlorus became the senior Augustus, both of the new Caesares are apponted by Galerius from among his own supporters. This was improper and involved passing over the competent sons of Constantius and Maximian (Constantine and Maxentius), apparently because Galerius didn't like either of them. It is hard to know why Constantius consented to these proceedings, and they proved to be the source of fatal conflict in the Tetrarchy.
As it happened, Constantius died, and Constantine was presented by his troops as an Emperor fait accompli. Maxentius then revolted, dragged his father into it, and then at least co-opted Constantine to this development.
By 308, Severus had been captured and killed moving against Maxentius, and Galerius had also failed to unseat him. Galerius then called a conference at Carnuntum on the Danube in Upper (Superior) Pannonia (just down the river from modern Vienna, Roman Vindobona).
Diocletian was invited to the meeting was even offered the throne, but he declined it -- saying he would rather grow vegetables -- specifically his cabbages. This extraordinary forbearance on the part of Diocletian, especially his obvious determination to "cultivate his garden," ought to have made him a saint to Epicureans , especially later, Modern ones. Curiously, it did not. Thus, Diocletian seems to have the approval of neither Christians nor non-Christians. Possibly, secularists dislike him for the forms of the Dominate that prepared the way for the later Christian Monarchy.
The result of the conference was the demotion of Constantine to Caesar (again), the appointment of Licinius as Augustus, the second retirement of Maximian, and the condemnation of Maxentius as an outlaw. The appointment of Licinius, who had never been a Caesar, was again an improper proceeding and reflected the custom of Galerius to use his own supporters, despite the implicit rules governing succession in the Tetrarchy. Constantine and Maximinus Daia were soon calling themselves Augusti anyway, and so the Tetarchy became a system of four equals, with Galerius preserving some precedence until his death.
A noteworthy act at the conference at Carnuntum was the dedication of an altar to the god Mithras, as the fautor imperii, "protector of the Empire." Mithraism considered Mithras to be a sun god, associated and assimilated with Sol Invictus, the "Unconquered Sun," whose cult existed independently of Mithras and had been promoted since Aurelian. Mithraism, although popular in the Army (only men were initiated), was not an Imperial or prestige cult, until this dedication, Deo Soli Invicto Mithrae, "to the god Mithras the Unconquered Sun." We might see this as one of the last acts in the development of state paganism, before Constantine becomes a patron of Christianity and gods like Mithras disappear.
Licinius was the presumptive Augustus of the West, but he never moved toward Italy or made any attempt to overthrow Maxentius. This was left for Constantine. Meanwhile, Maxentius had whipped up enthusiasm at Rome with the promise that, after a century, he would return the seat of Government there and would restore the withering Praetorian Guard to its status and privileges as the Life Guard of the Emperor. Enthusiasm faded, however, as Maxentius' status as a rebel isolated Italy and compelled him to raise taxes -- the City had treasured, as we might imagine, its tax exempt status. So Constantine was not unwelcome when Maxentius was defeated and killed. Constantine did, indeed, pay a bit more attention to Rome than the previous Tetrarchs; but then it would be Constantine (after Licinius had killed Maximinus Daia, and Constantine Licinius) who would found an entirely new Capital for the Empire at Constantinople. Rome itself would never return to its previous position, and Italy would continue to be ruled, as under Maximian, from Milan (and then Ravenna) [ note ].
One of the most famous aspects of Diocletian's rule is the famous "Edict on Maximum Prices" of 301 AD, which fixed prices of many basic commodities. Since Diocletian himself explains the law as needed to prevent some from profiteering off of the basic needs of others, this is turns out to be relevant to many modern debates. The " greed " of those who make a profit while prices rise is still a point of useful political appeal for many politicians and leftist activists. It looks, however, like prices, especially agricultural prices, were rising under Diocletian because the tax burden had become so large that many people simply abandoned their farms -- Diocletian also tried forbidding this. Since Dioceltian himself was not a sympathetic person to Christian writers, the charge of "greed" tends to get turned around, as the contemporary writer Lactantius, appointed by Diocletian himself as a professor of Latin literature in Nicomedia, the capital, says, "...Diocletian with his insatiable greed..." Lactantius' account of bureaucratic excess and behavior could apply in many modern situations:
The number of recipients began to exceed the number of contributors by so much that, with farmers' resources exhausted by the enormous size of the requisitions, fields became deserted and cultivated land was turned into forest. To ensure that terror was universal, provinces too were cut into fragments; many governors and even more officials were imposed on individual regions, almost on individual cities, and to these were added numerous accountants, controllers and prefects' deputies. The activities of all these people were very rarely civil... [J.J. Wilkes, Diocletian's Palace, Split: Residence of a Retired Roman Emperor, op. cit., p.5]
Not only now are there whole countries where the dependent classes exceed the numbers of the productive classes (e.g. Italy or France), but in the United States the fate of the Social Security system will probably be sealed when the number of beneficiaries exceeds the number of contributors. These modern systems, although voted in by popular majorities who like "free lunch" welfare politics, are run by bureaucrats whose behavior, of course, is "very rarely civil" either to contributors or beneficiaries. And modern bureaucrats are protected from accountability by "Civil Service" status and their own politically active and powerful public employee labor unions. Yet politicians rarely characterize or criticize such people for their own self-interest or greed, although this phenomenon is now well understood and described in Public Choice economics. While the behavior of the bureaucrats is understandable, the harshest truth is that, with sovereignty no longer invested in a autocrat like Diocletian, the ultimate "greed" today is derived from the voters.
The map reflects some recent developments in scholarship. Previously, the Goths were regarded as already divided into the Visigoths and Ostrogoths , with the Ostrogoths developing an "empire" that was thought to have stretched all the way back to the Baltic Sea. This culminated under King Ermanaric (i.e. "King [riks] Herman," where "Herman" itself is from [h]er[i], "army," and man, "man"), who committed suicide when defeated and subjugated by the Huns around 370. Now it looks like, for all their divisions, the Goths were not divided, or identified, in the terms that later became familiar for the Kingdoms in Spain and Italy. Ermanaric was King of the Greuthungi, and it is unlikely that he ruled a domain that stretched to the Baltic. Indeed, it doesn't even look like it even reached the Don in the east. The Goths who were granted asylum on Roman territory in 376 were the Tervingi, led by Alavivus and Fritigern. After their revolt, however, the Greuthungi joined the Tervingi. With some other Gothic groups, these all became the Visigoths. The Ostrogoths developed later, around a core led by the Amal dynasty. These changes in view are now recently explained by Peter Heather in The Fall of the Roman Empire [Oxford, 2006]. Although the Huns subjugated all the Goths but the Visigoths, the Goths nevertheless exercised considerable cultural influence on them. Thus, we find Attila with a Gothic name, "Little Father." But while atta was the Gothic word for "father," it is curious that ata is still the Turkish word for "father." Indeed, adda was Sumerian for "father." Winfred P. Lehmann (A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1986, p.46) explains these correspondences as a coincidence of "nursery words" -- "No need to assume borrowing in spite of earlier attestations, such as Hitt[ite] attas, which Puhvel [Hittite etymological dictionary, 1984] derives 'from infantile language'" [p.46]. This strikes me as a bit unsatisfactory, though perhaps no more than the alternative: that this is another fragment of evidence for a connection between Indo-European and Altaic languages, and Sumerian.
2. CONSTANTIANS
Fl. Jovianus
363-364
If the Tetrarchy was a major turning point in Roman history, with Constantine we are right around the corner and looking down a very different avenue of time. Here is where the die-hard paganophile Romanists check out, and where the Byzantinists check in. But the changes that take place are mostly, as they had been for some time, gradual. Even Constantine's Christianity was a gradual affair. He did not actually convert until on his deathbed; and although he outlawed pagan sacrifice, he did not close the temples or otherwise show disrespect or hostility to the old gods, and in fact seems to have long still invoked
Sol Invictus, the "Unconquered Sun" of Aurelian and Diocletian. He may have imagined a sort of syncretism such as had been common in the old religions but that was not going to be tolerated in Christianity -- indeed, an element of syncretism remains in the name of the Holy Day of the week for Christianity, "Sunday," which Constantine himself called "the day celebrated by veneration of the sun itself" (diem solis veneratione sui celebrem). Even if Constantine banned blood sacrifice (it is not clear that he did, but is often said to have), this reformed a practice of worship whose critique went back at least to Heraclitus, who marveled how spilled blood, otherwise polluting, could be thought clean and sacred .
When Constantinople was built, the old acropolis was left alone. Indeed, it may have been left alone for much of the Middle Ages -- I am only aware of a couple of Mediaeval institutions in the area. One was the Church and Monastery of St. George of Mangana, which had a hospital attached. Another was a complex built by Alexius Comnenus with an orphanage and a home for old soldiers, the blind, and other disabled persons. It sounds like there was room for Alexius to build these institutions. In the Eighth century there is a reference to the Kynegion, an arena that survived from earlier Roman animal fighting shows. The comment in the Brief Historical Notes is that the ancient pagan statues in the arena still contain dangerous powers. A statue is supposed to have deliberately fallen on and killed a man named Himerios in the reign of Philippicus Bardanes [cf. Judith Herrin, Byzantium, The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire, Princeton & Oxford, 2007, p.123]. The astonishing thing is that any such statues should still have been there almost four hundred years after Constantine. In the same way, a statue of Athena is supposed to have still been standing on the acropolis when the Fourth Crusade arrived in 1203. Remarkably, this may have been the bronze statute of Athena Promachus which had stood in the open on the Acropolis at Athens, reportedly visible from out to sea, and was moved to the new city by Constantine (Anthony Kaldellis denies this, but without explanation; cf. The Christian Parthenon, Cambridge, 2009, p.106). The statue was finally only then thrown down because some thought that by her outstretched hand she was beckoning to the Crusaders. It is now hard to tell what may have been on the acropolis all that time because the site was finally put to a new use by the Ottomans , who built the great Topkapï Palace there. It is certainly the right place for such a building, and so one is a little surprised to learn that no secular building, as far as we know, was put there all the years of Romania.
The impression is of much other Classical statuary in Constantinople. This is confirmed in a remarkable text, the Patria of Constantinople, according to Hesychios Illoustrios, from the 10th century, which details much in the way of the buildings, statues, and lore of Constantinople [Accounts of Medieval Constantinople, the Patria, translated by Albrecht Berger, Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard, 2013]. We learn from the Patria that a statue of Hera stood in the Forum of Constantine [p.51], and this is confirmed quite by accident. The matter comes up because the Latin Emperors pulled it down to melt it for the bronze. The source of our information, the contemporary historian Niketas Choniates, consequently called the Franks "these barbarians, haters of the beautiful." But they were just desperate for money, and they treated much other art the same way, even looting the metal roofs from many buildings. Unfortunately, when the Emperor Constans II had visited Rome in 663,
also needing money, he stripped the bronze roof and ornaments from the Pantheon and other buildings, unintentionally creating the precedent for the Crusaders! But it turns out that Constans didn't take all the bronze from the Pantheon. Later, looking for bronze to make the altar canopy, the baldacchino, for St. Peter's Basilica, the great sculptor Gian Lorzenzo Bernini was given permission by Pope Urban VIII to "strip the ancient bronze cladding from the portico" of the Pantheon [Robert Hughes, Rome, A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History, Vintage, 2012, p.285]. So Constans had left some.
Earlier, we get a similar revealing reference.
Arethas of Patras , Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia in the late 9th century (d.c.932), noted in the margin of his copy of the orations of Aristides (which we possess) that an ivory statue of Athena, mentioned by Aristides, must be the one still standing in the Forum of Constantine (like the statue of Hera) by the entrance to the Senate [cf. the Patria, p.51]. He adds that across the Forum from this statue is one of Thetis, with crabs decorating her hair [N.G. Wilson, Scholars of Byzantium, Duckworth, 1983, 1996, p.124 -- there is no reference to Thetis in the Patria]. We have no clue about the subsequent fate of these statues.
The earliest mention of anything of the sort, by Lactantius again, is that Constantine had a dream where he was shown the "cypher of Christ," the Greek letters Chi and Rho, which he caused to be put on the shields of his soldiers. Later versions thus increase the dramatic and miraculous elements of the event, using what later would become the most symbolic of Christianity, the Cross. Using a Christian symbol in any form, however, and for any reason, would have been dramatic enough.
What Constantine was like as a person and what his motives were in favoring Christianity is now a matter influenced more by modern debates than by the historical record. In this, the evaluation of Constantine is much like that of the Egyptian "heretic" King Akhenaton , about whose real personality there is little historical information. Was Akhenaton a mystical dreamer? A fanatic? An earnest reformer? A cynical manipulator? Similar questions can be asked about Constantine. Especially noteworthy are projections of Protestant anticlericalism back onto Akhenaton (good -- attacking the power of the priests of Amon) or Constantine (bad -- creating the power of Catholic priesthood).
Less strictly Protestant, but its ideological successor, is the New Age naturalism and rationalism that favors the Gnostics as true and proper Christians and views Constantine as an oppressor who built his oppressive patriarchal, supernaturalistic, and clericalist ideology into the structure of the Catholic Church. This leads off into farcical conspiracy theories such as we see in The Da Vinci Code [2003], where little effort is expended on historical accuracy.
In general, Mediaeval and Modern evaluations of Constantine are going to be broadly different. In the Middle Ages, Constantine, the initial great protector and patron of Christianity, was seen as one of the best of rulers, noble, good, wise, and pious. That he was made a Saint in the Eastern Church but not in the Western may have been due to a few too many murders in his resumé (his son Crispus, his wife Fausta, and his brother-in-law and co-ruler Licinius, who had been granted protection after his surrender) -- or to Papal disinclination to honor the founder of Constantinople, the seat of the Pope's Patriarchal rival . Nevertheless, we find Dante placing Constantine in favored glory in Heaven (The Divine Comedy, Paradiso, XX:55-60). His main complaint was that Constantine had made the Pope ruler of the Western Empire -- according to the fraudulent "Donation of Constantine " (Constitutum Donatio Constantini), a text used by the Papacy to bolster its claims to secular authority until exposed (1440) by Lorenzo Valla (c.1407-1457) as a forgery. Modern evaluations, in turn, may reflect the noted Protestant hostility towards the Catholic Church or the rationalistic critique of religion, and especially of its supernatural aspects, dating from the Enlightenment.
The modern perspectives provided little reason to view Constantine either with admiration or even compacency, with the potential for real hostility to emerge. Thus, a recent British television series on Roman history dramatized Constantine in terms borrowed from the Godfather movies [1972, 1974, 1990].
As we see Constantine piously reading to the Ecumenical Council at Nicaea the new Creed (the Nicene ) formulated there, his men are off, in the best tradition of the Corleones, murdering Licinius (as they later would Licinius' young son, Constantine's own nephew). This seems to involve the judgment that Constantine was essentially a gangster, to whom religion was really no more than a cynical device in power politics. But before we get all weepy about Licinius, we should remember that in a bit of housecleaning he had murdered not only the wife, eight-year-old son, and seven-year-old daughter of Maximinus Daia, but also the widow, Prisca, of Diocletian, Valeria, the daughter of Diocletian and widow of Galerius (who, on his deathbed, had entrusted his old friend Licinius with her protection), her adopted son, and, just to be sure, the son of the hapless and probably otherwise forgotten Caesar and Augustus Severus. If Constantine executed this man, we might not exactly want to congratulate him, but we certainly cannot see Constantine's behavior as any worse. If Constantine was at all like the Corleones, this is no more than the way the Tetarchy worked, as least in its final stages. Right from the beginning, however, when Constantine, inspired by Christianity, finds success in battle, the principle has more to do with the ideology of Sol Invictus, who presides over military victory, than with the particular non-violent teachings of the "Prince of Peace." This might not strike many as very good Christianity, but it also true that Christianity never made pacifists or quietists of Christian rulers. Whether St. Louis or Abraham Lincoln , Christian rulers would always hope, like Joshua, for God's help in war.
Unlike Akhenaton we do have extensive contemporary comment about Constantine, as well as letters and decrees from his own hand. According to Diana Bowder [Who Was Who in the Roman World, Washington Square Press, 1980]:
Hot-tempered and generous, a man of action impatient with theological niceties or outraged by some flagrant example of oppression, superstitious like all his contemporaries but endowed with a grandiose sense of being God's vice-regent on earth, the founder of the Christian Empire is for us a vivid personality... A strong and effective ruler and reformer, he shares with Diocletian the main credit for the very existence of the later Roman Empire, and the long years of stable government in his reign made possible a genuine renaissance of civilian life and the fine arts. [pp.141-142]
Of course, his foundation of Constantinople made possible,
not only the very existence of the later Roman Empire, but the survival of Romania there right through the Middle Ages, until 1453. Various details are noteworthy, such as the introduction of the gold solidus (called in the West the bezant), a coin that became the "dollar of the Middle Ages" and survived undebased from the year 310 until at least 1034 -- 724 years. This compares favorably with the durability of other historical coinage. The British Pound Sterling was fixed at 113 grains of pure gold from 1717 to 1931 -- 214 years. So Constantine's coin beats it in duration by 510 years. Not bad. This is a tribute, of course, not so much to Constantine, but to the conscientiousness of his successors -- and to Constantine himself to the extent that he substantially founded their regime. With Constantine's personality, it seems of a piece with that of his fellow Tetrarchs, and the biggest mistake one could make is to construe it in terms of later theological controversies or with retrospecive ideals, whether Christian or rationalistic.
There is an interesting variation in the pronunciation in English of Constantine's name. British usage tends to render the "i" as the customary long English vowel "i" -- the equivalent of the word "eye" or the first person pronoun "I." We could represent this as the "Constanteyen" Constantine. American usage tends to use the "Continental" version of the vowel "i," i.e. as in French, Spanish, or Italian. We could represent this as the "Constanteen" Constantine. Since in Latin "Constantine" is Constantinus (with all Continental vowels),
Systems of Imperial Names
Maximian
*forms that do not occur
we already have the French device of replacing the Latin case ending with a simple "e" which then becomes silent. While there is obviously no "correct" pronunciation in this respect, it does strike me as affected when Americans use the British pronunciation.
There is something else curious about Constantine's name. It is, as it happens, purely Latin in origin. The verb constô, "to stand firm... remain the same, unaltered," which gives us the English nouns "constant" and "constancy," underlies all the names of the dynasty: Constantius, Constantinus, Constans. The latter is simply the active participle of the verb. However, in Latin Europe, Francia , these names are only very rarely found -- except as variants, like "Constance," for women. In Romania, Russia , and Modern Greece , "Constantine" is quite common. We tend to think of it as a Greek name. To be sure, there were three Kings of Scotland named "Constantine," but this may have been based on the Gaelic element Conn, "chief," as in "Connor."
So why was "Constantine" in such disfavor in the West? Perhaps for the same reason that the Latin Church does not recognize Constantine as a Saint -- it represented a kind of challenge to the Papacy . Until the end of Romania, there were many Emperors still named Constantine in Constantinople (eventually eleven of them, and six Patriarchs of Constantiople -- as well as two Patriarchs named "Constantius"), none of them happy to agree to claims of Papal supremacy and authority. A Latin priest thus might not have favored the name of a child that might remind him of this conflict. There was only one Pope (708-715, and one anti-Pope, 767-768) named "Constantine," well before the age of exaggerated Papal claims.
Constantine's Empire went to his three sons, who might have shared it with their cousins, but killed most of them instead. The sons, however, ended up with no heirs themselves, and the last family member on the throne, Julian, was one of the cousins who had escaped the massacre. Julian, whose own writings have been preserved, is one of the better known but stranger figures of the century. Quixotically trying to restore paganism, he only seemed to demonstrate that the old gods were spent and nobody's heart was really in it anymore. Although apparently a fine enough military commander against the Franks, Julian's short reign ended with another Quixotic effort, against Persia. It was not so much the war itself as the ill conceived scale of the invasion, which left Julian all but stranded with his army, deep in Mesopotamia, with the Persians avoiding battle but constantly harassing him. Somehow this had not happened to Alexander , Trajan , Heraclius , or the forces of the Caliph Omar . It cost Julian his life, and his religious cause, since the Christian Jovian was then chosen by the Army.
3. VALENTIANS
Fl. Eugenius]
392-394 W
Revolt by Arbogast with figurehead Eugenius; restores Altar of Victory to Roman Senate; defeated at Frigidus River, 394
394-395 W
Outlaws taking of auspices from entrails, 384; Closes pagan temples, including the Serapeum, the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and the Temple of Vesta in Rome, 388-392; removes Altar of Victory from Roman Senate; divides Empire between Honorius & Arcadius
Jovian did not last long (apparently killed by carbon monoxide poisoning from a charcoal heater -- still a danger in the modern world), and the Army chose another Christian. With Valentinian, and his brother Valens with whom he divided the Empire, the Christian nature of Romania was sealed. But the future seemed secure enough. Valentinian was vigorous and competent, even if his brother wasn't so much. Unfortunately, Valentinian died, apparently of a heart attack (or perhaps a cerebral hemorrhage) in a fit of anger over the insolence of some representatives from the Huns. With Valens as the senior Emperor, he didn't wait for assistance before moving to put down a revolt by the Visigoths, who had recently been admitted as refugees from the Huns but were now rising up against mistreatment by their hosts. The resulting battle was close and hard fought but turned into a catastrophic rout, with Valens himself falling. Gratian appointed Theodosius as the new Eastern Emperor to restore the situation (marrying him to his sister), which seems to have about the most useful thing he accomplished, before his murder.
Meanwhile there was a fateful development in the governance of the West. When Valentinian died, Gratian had already been raised to the status of Augustus and clearly was the legitimate Emperor of the West. However, the Frankish Magister Militum Merobaudes raised Gratian's young brother Valentinian (II) to the Purple. There was no particular reason to repudiate this action, except that it was obviously a ploy by Merobaudes to create a puppet Emperor. The success of this coup was a chilling precursor to the eventual Fall of the Western Empire, whose final Emperors became the futile play things of Germanic commanders. Merobaudes confirmed his disloyal intentions at the death of Gratian, when he threw his support to the usurper Magnus Maximus. Theodosius defeated and killed both of them at Aquileia in 388. Valentinian II's own death drew Theodosius west (again) to put down the usurper Eugenius -- who, apparently for the first time now, was merely the hand-picked figurehead of the German Master of Soliders, Arbogast -- another death knell for the Western Empire. At the Frigidus River in 394 Theodosius put his Visigothic allies, faithfully honoring their treaty with the Empire, in the forefront of the battle. The slaughter of the battle, on a scale with Gettysburg, soured the Visigoths on the value of their cooperation. They would soon become a loose cannon within the Empire, shattering essential supports of Roman power as the tribe rolled around.
Thus, things in the West went steadily down hill after Valentinian I, with a troubling weakness of the (Western) Throne in comparison to powerful Germanic soldiers. Although the Battle of Adrianople need not have fundamentally affected the strength of the Empire, it acquires great symbolic meaning in retrospect because of the more permanent damage subsequently done by the Visigoths and the profound weakening of the Empire that attended it. For the genealogy of the Valentinians, see that of the Theodosians below .
It is in the reign of Valentinian II that we find the classic De Re Militari of Flavius Vegetius Renatus, the most important study of military science for many centuries. This is often favorably compared to the Chinese strategist Sun Tzu , but Vegetius provides us with a much more thorough and discursive treatment. Unlike Sun Tzu, however, Vegetius did not have the chance to direct armies himself, much less produce victories commensurate with the wisdom of his advice. Nor does he give us a military historian's analysis of the battles of his era, which would have included the Battle of Adrianople. This is a grave loss to history and military science, especially as it allows false lessons to be drawn from Adrianople (as discussed elsewhere ).
A great earthquake on Crete in 365, which thrust up the coast some 20 feet, has recently become a matter of interest for modern geologists. An account of it by Ammianus Marcellinus includes what may be the first detailed description in history of the phenomenon of a tsunami,
:
...the solid frame of the earth shuddered and trembled, and the sea was moved from its bed and went rolling back. The abyss of the deep was laid open; various types of marine creatures could be seen stuck in the slime, and huge mountains and valleys which had been hidden since the creation in the depths of the waves then, one must suppose, saw the light of the sun for the first time. [Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire, (A.D.354-378), Penguin Classics, 1986, p.333]
Not realizing that the sea would come back, people wandered down to the revealed places. As the water "burst in fury" and surged up onto the land on its return, thousands were killed, towns were leveled, and "the whole face of the earth was changed" [ibid.]. As far away as Alexandria, the tidal wave tossed ships onto the tops of buildings; and Ammianus himself later inspected a decaying ship that had been carried inland ad secundum lapidem, "to the second milestone," near Mothone (or Methone) in the Peloponnesus. Edward Gibbon, contemptuous of the Late Empire and its historian, and apparently never having heard of such phenomena, didn't believe Ammianus:
Such is the bad taste of Ammianus (xxvi.10), that it is not easy to distinguish his facts from his metaphors. Yet he positively affirms that he saw the rotten carcass of a ship, ad secundum lapidem, at Methone, or Modon, in Peloponnesus. [The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I, Modern Library, p.899].
Tsunamis are not so rare, however, that it is not in the living memory of many to have seen the seafloor bared or ships thrown about in just the manner described. In the massive 1883 volcanic eruption of Karakatoa (Krakatoa, Krakatau) in
Indonesia , the Dutch steamship Berouw was lifted by a tsunami from its harbor in Sumatra and swept inland 3.3 km, i.e. two miles (ad secundum lapidem), up the Koeripan River, where it was permanently deposited in the jungle, at an elevation of 30 feet. Tsunamis of spectacular and deadly effect have recently occurred in Indonesia in 2004 and now in Japan in 2011 -- where, with live video from news helicopters, large ships were tossed some distance inland, and the draw down of the ocean was visible and photographed in Hawai'i and California. The response of some people in 2004 was to go out to collect the fish that were flopping around where the sea had left them stranded. The earthquake of 365 also came hard on the heels of a massive earthquake in Galilee in 363, whose effects can still be seen in walls that were thrown down in Petra , which may have been abandoned about this time. Damage from the earthquakes of 363 and 365 would have overlapped in Anatolia and around the eastern Mediterranean. The modern historian might do well to consider how the death and destruction of these great earthquakes may have weakened the resources of the area on the crucial eve of the struggle with the Visigoths.
Rome and Romania Index
B. CRISIS OF THE FIFTH CENTURY, 379-476, 97 Years
The map shows the key incursions that would fatally undermine the Western Empire. After the death of Theodosius I, and the division of the Empire (for the last time) between
Honorius in Milan (and then Ravenna, 402) and Arcadius in Constantinople, the Visigoths begin to roll around in the Balkans. The movement of the Visigoths began to resemble the literal effects of a "lose cannon" to destroy the structure of the Roman Empire, revealing the fatal failure of Theodosius to destroy, rather than temporary coöpt, the tribe. In the course of dealing with this, Stilicho evidently stripped the Rhine frontier of troops. When the Suevi, Alans, and Vandals crossed the frozen Rhine on New Year's Eve of 407, nothing stood in their way when they looted their way across Gaul and Spain. As they settled down in Spain, the Visigoths arrived in Italy. Later in 407, the usurper Constantine took his troops out of Britain, simultaneously to secure Gaul and to establish himself as Emperor. When Stilicho is murdered, his forces, largely German, disintegrate. Honorius, secure in Ravenna -- as Rome, after a fashion, burned -- was able to do nothing about the Visigoths or the other invaders, and he had to tell the British (410) they were on their own. Britain substantially drops out of history for a while.
1. THEODOSIANS, WEST
[Petronius Maximus]
455 W
Vandals invade Africa, 428, take Hippo, 430, repulsed from Carthage, 435; Suevi defeat Andevotus, Count of Spain, at the Jenil River, 438, take M�rida, 439, Seville, 441; Vandals take Carthage, 439; Visigoths provide troops for expedition against Vandals, and fleet of 1100 cargo & troop ships arrives from Constantinople in Sicily, but expedition cancelled, 441; Council IV, Chalcedon, Monophysitism condemned, 451; Attila the Hun halted at Châlons, 451; Aëtius stabbed to death by Valentinian, 454; Valentinian assassinated, Petronius elevated and killed, Rome sacked by Vandals, 455
Theodosius may have been called "Great" mainly for establishing Athanasian Orthodoxy and for actions against paganism like closing and sometimes destroying temples and ending the Olympic Games (which, however, seem to have continued in some form for another century). Otherwise, he did get the Goths under some kind of control and left the Empire, to all appearances, sound and prepared for the future.
Unfortunately, there were two very serious problems. One was that the Goths remained a unified and aggressive tribe within the Empire, ready to begin rampaging again at any time. Another was that Honorius and Arcadius, the two sons between whom Theodosius divided the Empire, were young and inexperienced. Leaving the Army in the hands of the German Magister Militum Stilicho set the stage for all the evils of divided authority and palace intrigue. The result of this would be disaster. When the times called for a strong soldier Emperor, there wasn't one -- and there would not be one for some time, perhaps not until Heraclius .
Feeling exposed to the Goths at Milan, Honorius moved his Court to Ravenna in 402. This was a fateful step. It made Ravenna the administrative capital of Italy for the rest of the history of the Western Empire, for the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths , and for the history of the "Byzantine" Exarchate in Italy, until its fall to the Lombards in 751. Ravenna was thus the capital of Italy for 349 years. This is usually overlooked in the tendentious narrative of the "Fall of Rome," as is the glorious art and architecture placed there, anomalously during what is represented as the "Dark Ages." The form of the Exarchate, with a corridor from Rome to Ravenna, subsequently became the Papal States , from 754 until 1870 -- 1116 years.
Ravenna thus possesses a important place in general history and art history that is rarely addressed in popular or general academic culture. Despite the role of Ravenna, several of the last Western Emperors, with their political horizon reduced to Italy, did spend significant time at Rome. Valentinian III seems to have been there for eight years, about a quarter of his reign, including its last five years. Petronius Maximus (455) spent his whole, brief reign in Rome; and Anthemius (467-472) was killed there. Some scholars think this means that too much emphasis has been placed on Ravenna; but considering how little awareness there is of the city, its monuments, and its history, certainly in popular culture and in scholarship outside the specialty of Late Antiquity, it is hardly possible to say that anything sensible is served by deliberately placing less emphasis on it.
Unfortunately, the military strength of Ravenna's position allowed Honorius to view the course of the Goths in Italy, and their siege of Rome, with some complacency. On the other hand, the time spent by Valentinian III at Rome, especially in his last years, may reflect growing concern at the threat from the Vandals . Since the government had originally been drawn to the North of Italy because of the threat to the frontiers, it is not surprising that attention would be pulled back to Rome because of a threat from Carthage. If this was Valentianian's thinking, it was a good idea but ended up collapsing in chaos. Valentianian killed Aëtius, was himself assassinated, and then his ephemeral successor, Petronius Maximus, was killed while fleeing the City, leaving the Vandals unopposed. Having botched the defense of Rome, the government of Avitus , drawing on the power of the Visigoths, returned to Ravenna and the North.
Some uncertainty remains about exactly when Honorius moved to Ravenna. Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis says:
At the time of the Visigothic invasion of Italy of 402, Honorius and his advisors seem to have felt that Milan was too hard to defend, and so the emperor moved to Ravenna; the first imperial decree to have been issued at Ravenna is dated December 6, 402. The year 402 appears in almost every modern account as a pivotal date in Ravenna's history, even though no contemporary authors mention such a transfer in that year. [Ravenna in Late Antiquity, Cambridge, 2010, p.46]
In a footnote, Deliyannis cites Zosimus (d.circa 501), who "mentions Honorius's change of residence to Ravenna as happening in 408" [note 12, p.320]. However, although she leaves the impression that the date of 402 is based on the imperial edict (from the Theodosian Code), the Chronicle of Theophanes positively asserts that Honorious "moved to Ravenna, a coastal city in Italy" in the Annô Mundi year 5895, i.e. 402/403 AD [The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, Byzantine and Near Eastern History AD 284-813, Translated with Introduction and Commentary by Cyril Mango and Roger Scott with the assistance of Geoffrey Greatrex, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997, 2006, p.117]. We do not know, of course, the basis of the assertion of Theophanes, writing in the 9th century. It may have been in the very same imperial edict, or in historical sources now lost. Nevertheless, the date of the edict is not consistent with the (perhaps corrupt) date from Zosimus.
Archbishops of Ravenna
With the Goths running wild, and an alliance of German tribes crossing the frozen Rhine on New Year's Eve of 407, the institutions were not prepared to bounce back the way Rome had in the 3rd Century. The center of Roman resistance was the commander Stilicho, who had been entrusted with his office by Theodosius. But neither the Eastern Court nor Honorius liked the authority possessed by Stilicho. The result was, after being the only leader to resist the Germans, Stilicho was tried and executed. As earlier with the rebellion of the Visigoths, the Romans turned on the Germans in the Army; but the purge did not strengthen the Army, as later it would in the East under Leo. Instead, the surviving Germans decamped to the Visigoths; and, unlike with the Isaurians under Leo, there was no one to replace them. Honorius never contested any action of the Goths, who only left Italy when they ran out of steam.
As with Stilicho, a similar characteristic moment came when the commander Aëtius, sometimes called "the Last Roman," who had defeated the Huns at Châlons-sur-Marne (Campus Mauriacus or the Catalaunian Plains, with substantial help from the Visigoths , whose King Theodoric I was killed), was murdered by the incompetent and jealous Emperor Valentinian III, with his own hand. Very personal. Valentinian's own murder, as the Vandals symbolically arrived to plunder Rome, then left the throne completely at the mercy of the next person to get control of the Army -- who would be the German Ricimer. Ricimer could not himself, as a German, become Emperor, so he could only retain power by keeping the Emperors as figureheads, or killing them. This was not a formula for retrieving the situation. The Theodosian dynasty thus ends in the West with a combination of triumph, betrayal, and chaos.
One of the most interesting people in the diagram is the Empress Galla Placidia, the daughter of Theodosius I, wife of Athaulf, King of the Visigoths, wife of Constantius III, and mother of Valentinian III. According to J.B. Bury, she was buried at her own mausoleum in Ravenna, where "her embalmed body in Imperial robes seated on a chair of cypress wood could be seen through a hole in the back [of her sarcophagus] till A.D. 1577, when all the contents of the tomb were accidentally burned thourgh the carelessness of children" [History of the Later Roman Empire Vol. 1, Dover, 1958, pp. 263-264]. It seems that said children, holding a candle within the observation hole to look in, dropped it. It is remarkable that something of the sort had not happened earlier (as Howard Carter was lucky in 1922 that he did not drop the candle he held up, in the last days before electric flashlights, to first look into Tutankhamon's Tomb ). The idea of an observation port into a tomb may seem strange, but there is even such a feature in the tomb of Sir Richard Burton and his wife.
Although the mausoleum and its decorations remain in excellent condition, some now question whether the Empress or any other Theodosians had ever been buried there. Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis says, "When Galla Placidia died in Rome, she was probably [?!] buried in the imperial mausoleum at St. Peter's"; but she only cites a secondary source for this -- and I am otherwise unaware that there was an imperial mausoleum at St. Peter's. She does conclude that the sarcophagi in the "Mausoleum of Galla Placida" (always given in quotes) were indeed fifth century products contemporary with the building, and were intended for Theodosian burials by Placida herself. Exactly who was buried there, however, was a matter of later tradition and legend [op.cit. p.82]. Deliyannis, however, does not even discuss Bury's assertions:
Into this charming chapel Placidia removed the remains of her brother Honorius and her husband Constantius, and it was her own resting place. The marble sarcophagus of Honorius is on the right, that of Constantius, in which the body of Valentinian III. was afterwards laid, on the left. [Bury, op.cit. p.263]
Bury, unfortunately, also only cites secondary sources, while Deliyannis denies that there is any contemporary information about the burials, providing various versions of traditional assignments [cf. note 247, p.334]. We are thus left with more questions than answers in this matter. There is a certain logic, however, that Placida would be buried in the mausoleum that she arguably built herself.
Mosaics in the mausoleum already show the books of the Bible bound in codices (sing. codex), i.e. familiar bound books rather than scrolls. Scrolls continued to be current for some time -- mosaics at Ravenna include figures standing side by side where one holds a scroll, the other a codex -- and it is probably difficult for people to think of "Romans" using books rather than scrolls; but this is not the only case where general perceptions fail to keep up with the changing times of Late Antiquity.
Equally influential in the East was Empress St. Pulcheria Augusta,
, sister of Theodosius II and (apparently celibate) wife of Marcian. She is supposed to have requested the transfer of the Hodêgêtria Icon from Jerusalem, although it is otherwise said to have actually been fetched by her sister-in-law, St. Aelia (Athenais) Eudocia Augusta, with whom here was some rivalry and inversely varying fortunes of political influence. Pulcheria was instrumental in the calling and conduct of both the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (431), which condemned Nestorianism, and the Fourth at Chalcedon (451), which condemned Monophysitism. Her influence on subsequent Christian theology, and the problem of Schisms in the Church, was therefore immense. In conflict with the Patriarch Nestorius , soon to be exiled, she claimed the right to enter of the Holy of Holies of (the old) Sancta Sophia Church.
This era of miserable collapse nevertheless contained instances of formidable intellectual development and important figures in the history of philosophy . St. Augustine of Hippo (395-430), whose name still evokes strong reactions even in our own day, and who died as the Vandals were besieging Hippo, still stands as the most prolific author in the Latin language, with 93 surviving works to his credit, not counting numerous sermons and letters. This is a positive embarrassment for Classicists, who are usually not very interested in Latin literature after 100 AD and who would rather think that the writing from Augustine's era was all by half-literate, ignorant, and bigoted Patristic Fathers writing in Vulgar Latin. Unfortunately for this conceit, Augustine himself, inspired by Cicero, was a student of Classical Latin rhetoric and taught it at Carthage, Rome, and Milan (the Capital, remember) before he ever thought of converting to Christianity. The study of Latin without the study of Augustine involves a certain self-imposed blindness.
As with Constantine, there are curious alternatives in the pronunciation of Augustine's name. By analogy with Constantine, we might expect the alternatives "Augusteyen" and "Augusteen." I have never hear the former ever used. The later is the vulgar pronunciation, especially as used for the city of St. Augustine, Florida. Scholars, on the other hand, in both history and philosophy, seem to prefer "Augústin," with a short "i" and the accent on the second syllable, contrasting with the first syllable for "Aúgusteen." I find this perplexing, since the short "i" violates the ordinary rules of spelling in both British and American English, where a final "e" almost always indicates that the preceding vowel is long. If this is an affectation, I do not know how or when it got started.
Meanwhile, another North African author, far less accomplished as a writer, nevertheless made an epochal contribution to the character of education in the Middle Ages. This was the obscure Martianus Capella. Capella, a pagan and apparently a practicing lawyer at Carthage, seems to have died before the Vandal invasion. His seminal contribution to learning, The Marriage of Philology and Mercury, created the system of the Seven Liberal Arts: the trivium (hence "trival"), of grammar, rhetoric, and logic, and the quadrivium, of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. Capella even included a system of astronomy in which Mercury and Venus orbited the sun. This later caught the attention of Copernicus . Capella was popularized by Cassiodorus and hence made his way into subsequent education, such as with Isidore of Seville -- who, like Capella, is often called an "Enyclopedist." Capella, however, may not have been entirely original. In the East, where versions of the Liberal Arts were also taught in Greek education, the tradition was that a similar list went back to the Sophist Hippias of Elis. The idea of the Liberal Arts has now rather shrunk, and instead of including things like logic, mathematics, and astronomy, one might often think, given current academic practice, that only rhetoric remains (with grammar itself rejected as "elitist"). So one is left with the question, "Which attitudes sound more like the ignorance of the Dark Ages?"
Diocletian had begun creating a very different kind of Army in the Late Empire. The old Legions actually still exist, but they largely have been settled on the land as fixed frontier forces, the Limitanei, and the old legionary establishment has been reduced to 1000 men, with the number of legions accordingly multiplied -- for instance, only one legion had previously been stationed in Egypt, the Legio II Traiana, but there are eight by the time of the Notitia Dignitatum (II Traiana, III Diocletiana, V Macedonica, XIII Gemina, II Flavia Constantia, I Maximiana, I Valentiniana, & II Valentiniana, though this is not always the full legion). The frontier units are not shown on the map above, but their regional commanders are, the "Dukes" -- dux, "leader" (pl. duces). This is a title that will have a long history in the Middle Ages. The units that are shown on the map above are parts of the new Mobile Army, the Comitatenses, which were originally commanded by the Augusti and Caesares of the Tetrarchy -- hence, they "attend" or "accompany," comitor, the Emperors, as their "train, retinue," or "following," comitatus. An individual "companion" of an Emperor is a comes (pl. comites), or "Count," another title with a long history in the Middle Ages. In origin, however, a Count has a higher station than a Duke, the opposite of what we see much later. The sixth-century historian Agathias says that at one time the Army had a full strength of 645,000 men. This accords well with the data of the Notitia Dignitatum, which gives the whole establishment of the Army, apparently for the East in 395 AD and for the West circa 408 AD. Diocletian and Constantine, both accused of massively expanding the Army, thus produced a total force roughly twice as large as the Army of the Principate.
There is no doubt that this was needed for the challenges of the Age -- indeed, it would prove inadequate to concentrate what would in fact be needed against the Visigoths and the other migrating German tribes.
In the map at right we see the Limitanei and the Comitatenses for the Western Army. It is noteworthy that some differences have developed between the organization of the Western and the Eastern Armies. In the West, the regional commanders of the Mobile Army are Counts. Britain features both a Duke of Britain, on the frontier, and a Count of Britain, with a unit of the Mobile Army. The Count of Illyricum is in the Western Mobile Army, but the Master of Soliders of Illyricum is in the Eastern. In the Western Army, above the Counts are the units commanded by the "Master of Soldiers," Magister Militum (or "Master of Foot," Magister Peditum), and the "Master of Horse," Magister Equitum, of Gaul. These are the commanders-in-chief of the Western Army (distiguished by purple color), with the Master of Soldiers becoming the effective "Generalissimo" of the Western Empire.
In the map at right for the East, we see the Limitanei and the Comitatenses for the Eastern Army. The units of the Eastern Mobile Army all are commanded by their own Master of Soldiers, with two units as "Soldiers of the Emperor's Presence." Since there are two of those, one might think there is one each for East and West. However, they apparently operated together and were part of the Eastern Army. Thus, the unity of the Eastern Army was focused more directly on the Emperor himself, which may have helped the Eastern Empire avoid the situation in the West where the Emperors became mere figureheads. It is noteworthy that the Counts in the East, of Isauria and Egypt, are both in areas behind the actual frontiers. The Count of Egypt commands an army that from its size could easily have belonged to the Comitatenses. The Count of Isauria commands in an area known for rebellion. He has such a small force, however (Legio II Isaura & Legio III Isaura -- Legio I Isaura Sagittaria was with the Mobile Army of the East), the rebellions cannot have been too serious. Perhaps the problem was more like banditry. Nevertheless, this is where Leo I would draw recruits, including his future son-in-law and Emperor Zeno, to replace the Germans in the Eastern Army.
In the Notitia Dignitatum the Western Comitatenses have a slight numerical superiority over the Eastern, yet it was the Western Army that seems to evaporate after 407, especially in Gaul, which on paper was the greatest strength of any formation in the whole Army. Unfortunately, the Mobile Army as often was used for civil wars as for backing up the frontiers, and it was natural for Emperors to neglect the Limitanei and reinforce their own personal forces. This did not work out well, especially when the Western Army became the personal force, not of the Emperors, but of a Magister Militum who soon was usually a German, like Stilicho or Ricimer. Gradually, the Limitanei fade from historical view and hardly seem to exist at all by the time German tribes cross the borders en masse in the Fifth Century.
Legions of the Roman Army
On the map, the Visigoths have actually become allies of the Romans. In return for cleaning (most of) the Germans out of Spain, they are legally settled in Aquitaine. Two German tribes, however, are left unmolested. The Suevi establish themselves, for centuries, in Galicia, and the Asding Vandals cross over into Africa. Of all the blows the Roman power, the latter would prove to be one of the worst. Rome could no longer draw grain from North Africa. Much worse, the crafty Vandal King Gaiseric ("King Caesar") built a fleet after securing Carthage in 439. He then did what the Carthaginians so many centuries earlier had not been able to do: secure control of the seas. In 455 they did what Hannibal could only have dreamed of, arriving at Rome by sea, breaking into and looting the city, and carrying the booty back to Carthage. Meanwhile, around the same year, Hengest the Jute, followed by Angles and Saxons , founded the Kingdom of Kent .
It is noteworthy that the Venerable Bede (Venerabilis Baeda, 673-735) numbered Theodosius II as the 45th and Marcian as the 46th Emperors since Augustus. This is considerably less than the count we might make now and it interestingly implies that Bede is using a tradition of a numbered list from which many ephemeral Emperors were excluded [ note ].
After Roman Britain disappeared from history, when the usurper Constantine "III" took his troops to Gaul, Bede's History of the English Church and People is just about the first that we then hear of it, three hundred years later, with one exception: St. Gildas "the Wise," whose De Excitio et Conquestu Britanniae, "The Ruin and Conquest of Britain," is the only contemporary account of the Gemanic invasion of Britain. Since Gildas was one of the Britons who fled to Brittany , he may be more an illustration, rather than an exception, to the loss of literacy in Britain.
Gildas provides some key information, which we find repeated, sometimes word for word. in Bede. He says that Ambrosius Aurelius rallied the Britons against the Saxons. And the Saxons were stopped for a while, gaining a period of peace, after a defeat at Badon Hill, Badonicus Mons. Gildas says this was the year he was born, 44 years after the landing of the Saxons. Now, the first Germans to settle in Britain were the Jutes led by Hengest, in about 455. The Saxons came a little later, with Aelle & Cissa in 491. So if Gildas means Hengest, this puts Badon Hill in 499; but if he really means the Saxons, it would be more like 535. With various dates proposed for Badon Hill between 493 and 518, the 499 date looks more likely. With Gildas living until 570, it was just a century before the birth of Bede in 673.
What events filled that time, and the vague years between 410, when Honorius told the Britons they were on their own, and Gildas, became strongly mythologized, especially around the figure of King Arthur. The first Life of Gildas was written in the 9th century, even later than Bede. Neither source mentions a King Arthur. We still just have Ambrosius Aurelius, whom Bede says won the battle of Badon Hill, altough Gildas actually does not say so. The Life does says, interestingly, that Gildas was born in the Kingdom of Strathclyde to the royal family, a son of King Caunus. This does not clearly match any name I have for Strathclyde, although "Cinuit" is close, in the right time frame. But the brother of Gildas, "Cuillum," the next King, doesn't match at all. Gildas is even supposed to have sojourned in Ireland , working for the High King Ainmere macSátnai O'Néill (566-569), before going to Rome, Ravenna, and back to Brittany.
The next Life of Gildas is in the 12th century; and now Ambrosius Aurelius is replaced by King Arthur, with elements filled in from the rest of Arthurian legend. Where this all comes from is what piques our interest. I suspect that the vividness of the Arthur stories, like that of the Greek epics and of the Mahâbhârata in India, is an artifact of a literate society that for a time lost its literacy but remembered, after a fashion, what it was like. The literature on the problem of Arthur and Britain in this period is vast. Two of the more interesting recent books might be The Discovery of King Arthur by Geoffrey Ashe [Guild Publishing, London, 1985] and From Scythia to Camelot, A Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and the Holy Grail by C. Scott Littleton and Linda A. Malcor [Garland Publshing, Inc, New York, 1994, 2000].
Littleton and Malcor made the significant discovery that the scene of Arthur's death in Mallory's Morte d'Arthur, where the sword Excalibur was thrown into a lake, occurs in almost identical terms in the legends of the Ossetians in the Caucasus -- the epic literature of the Ossetians had come in for particular study by the great historian of religion , Georges Dumézil (1898-1986). There is a possible connection, since the Ossetians are descendants of the Alans , and Marcus Aurelius had settled a tribe of Sarmatians, the Iazyges, cousins of the Alans, whom he had defeated in 175 and taken into Roman service, in the north of Britain, where many of them ended up at the evocatively named Bremetenacum Veteranorum, south of Lancaster.
The Prefect of the legion to which the Iazyges were assigned, the Legio VI Victrix, was one Lucius Artorius Castus. "Artorius" looks like the Latin source of the name "Arthur." Littleton (who taught at Occidental College and, sadly, passed away in 2010) told me personally that we know about the career of Castus from funeral stelae about him that were discovered in Dalmatia. This intially gave me the impression that the stelae were a recent discovery. However, Littleton and Malcor's book cites them from the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, of 1873 [CIL: Inscriptiones Asiae Provinciarum Europae Graecarum Illyrici Latinae, Theodor Mommsen, #1919, Vol. 3, Part I: 303; Vol 3, Supplement: 2131, Reimer, Berlin]. A curious thing about this information is that a new book, The Complete Roman Legions, by Nigel Pollard and Joanne Berry [Thames & Hudson, 2012], which has detailed treatments of individual legions , lists known officers for some of them, and mentions one officer of Legio VI Victrix --the military tribune Marcus Pontius Laelianus -- nevertheless does not mention Castus in the same connection. Yet Pollard and Berry's reference for their knowledge of Laelianus is a funeral stela at Rome listed in the very same Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum [p.94]! So either they have overlooked the inscriptions about Castus or, for some reason that they do not discuss, they have discounted their validity. Littleton and Malcon mention no disputes of that nature.
So the vivid theory of Litteton and Malcor is that the legends of the Alans, brought by the Iazyges, are perpetuated by their descendants in the North of Roman Britain, folding in with their memory and reverence for their original Legionary commander, Lucius Artorius Castus, and eventually confused with the historical recollection of Ambrosius Aurelius and the Battle of Bandon Hill. For all we know, descendants of the Iazyges may have fought at Badon Hill. This all makes a nice picture; but there is nothing certain about the speculations and disputes over the Arthurian stories except that they will be endless [ note ].
2. LAST WESTERN EMPERORS [names in brackets not recognized by East]
WESTERN COMMANDERS Magistri Militum
476-493
deposes Orestes & Augustulus, 476; Nepos killed, 480; defeated, besieged, & killed by Theodoric , 489-493
The last twenty years of the Western Empire are mainly the story of the commander Ricimer. The last Western Emperor really worthy of the name was probably Majorian, who was a military man in his own right and operated with success in Gaul and Spain. The naval expedition he organized against the Vandals in 461 (one of some four attempts to put down the Vandals in this era) failed when Gaiseric, apparently with good intelligence, destroyed the Roman fleet in its ports in Spain. Majorian was murdered by Ricimer on returning to Italy.
Henceforth, the Emperors were mainly puppets and operations were confined to Italy or the area of Arles in southern Gaul. More than the coup of Odoacer in 476, this signaled a real institutional change in the Western Empire. The German Ricimer would now hold the real power, with little better than figurehead Emperors. With Ricimer either unconcerned or distracted, the rest of the Western Empire fell by default to the Vandals, Visigoths, and Burgundians. A detached Roman pocket, intially under a commander, Aegidius, appointed by Majorian, remained in the north of Gaul until the Frankish King Clovis subjugated it in 486. Britain had been abandoned to illiterate mythology. Ricimer was once perusaded to accept an Emperor from the East, Anthemius, and to participate in another assault on the Vandals; but this was a disaster, and he ended his "reign" with another figurehead on the throne.
Gundobad, a nephew of Ricimer, the killer of Anthemius, and shortly to be King of Burgundy (where he would outlive most of his contemporaries), succeeded Ricimer and briefly had his own figurehead on the throne. This was the Count Glycerius. Gundobad acquiesced in the installation of a new nominee of the Eastern Emperor -- Julius Nepos -- and decamped to Burgundy.
As with the previous Eastern nominee, it is obvious that such Emperors only would have been effective if they had brought their own army. The first commander of Nepos, Ecdicius, was a son of the former Emperor Avitus. Ecdicius, however, was soon followed by a new commander, Orestes. There was now some difficulty, however, with the German troops of the Empire accepting a non-German commander. This problem reached a head when, rather than working together to get things organized again, Nepos was chased out to Dalmatia by Orestes, who assumed command and then put his own son, a child -- Romulus the "little Augustus" -- on the throne. The German troops wanted to be settled on the land in Italy, which Orestes resisted. So in 476, Orestes was killed and his son then deposed by the German Odoacer (who originally had been in the guard of Anthemius), who decided to do without a figurehead Emperor.
This was the rather anticlimactic "Fall of Rome." Odoacer even returned the Western Regalia to Constantinople. Nepos, meanwhile, was still in Dalmatia. Odoacer was rid of him by 480, reportedly (in the historian Malchus) with the help of no less than Glycerius, who on his deposition had been appointed Bishop of Salonae -- hard by Nepos in Spalatum. Since Odoacer, de jure, was a faithful officer of the Emperor in Constantinople, one could say that the last institutional existence of the Western Empire surived until Odoacer was overthrown by the Ostrogoths in 493. The real difference, however, had come in 456, when Ricimer gained control of the army. His long tenure structurally prepared the way for the demise of the Western Empire.
The pathetic and ephemeral "Little Augustus" Romulus, who wasn't even remembered as a Roman Emperor by later Mediaeval historians, such as the Venerable Bede , is now often dignified, with great portent and drama, as the "Last Emperor" (this would be
in Chinese, where it could be used postumously for the last Emperor of a Dynasty, most notably the Ch'ing Dynasty). This is what we may get from writers who scrupulously, albeit fallaciously, remind us that the later Empire, when they are not calling it the "Byzantine Empire," was merely the "Eastern Roman Empire." They often forget the "Western" when talking about Augustulus as Emperor. The narrative is clearly that the Eastern Empire wasn't really Roman because to be "Roman" you need Rome, and Rome was in the West. That Augustulus never "ruled" from Rome, but from Ravenna, may then be forgotten as well. It would confuse the picture. The Last Roman Emperor must have been clinging to the Eternal City like a shipwrecked sailor to a raft. The best that can be said for this approach is that it is ahistorical, since for judgments about the Empire and Roman-ness at the time, the City was irrelevant. And, as we see from the cases of Anthemius and Nepos, the Eastern Emperor always retained some authority over who would be his Western colleague. The lapse of the Western Throne simply meant that authority over the Western Empire, however reduced or tenuous its existence, reverted entirely to Constantinople. The division of the Empire, which had never been more than a device and a convenience, despite the very different circumstances and institutional histories and fates of the two halves, lapsed and was completely forgotten -- until revived by Modern historians, who now don't understand what these f***ing Greeks were doing calling themselves "Romans." I fear that that is often about the level of their treatment.
In 2007, we have a movie, The Last Legion, that is about Romulus Augustulus, Odoacer, et al. This is an extensively fictionalized and even silly version of events, where Romulus Augustulus flees to Britain and becomes, well, King Arthur -- with Ben Kingsley as some sort of Merlin. Since the project is clearly a fantasy, it does not merit much notice, except for the points that would give people the wrong idea about the era. The worst part of the story may be that it has it that Odoacer was a (filthy, wild) Goth attacking Rome (a former ally rather like Alaric). Odoacer was not a Goth, but from a lesser German tribe, the Sciri, and he was not attacking Rome, but simply a member of the (barbarized) Roman army. Odoacer in fact was eventually deposed (from Ravenna, of course) by Goths, the Ostrogoths under Theodoric. The distortion is certainly made to preserve the image of Rome (the City) being conquered by barbarian hordes. At the same time, we get the notion that Romulus Augustulus is somehow the descendant or heir of Julius Caesar. There is no evidence of this, Caesar himself had no descendants, and the other heirs were pretty much wiped out by 69 AD (though the movie actually says that the unrelated Tiberius was the last of the ruling Caesars!). The Eastern Empire does come in for mention in the movie, but only so that it can absurdly contribute a female warrior, played by an actress from India, to the defense of Rome. Hollywood (or, in this case, the Euro Italian-French-British co-producers) should save this stuff for the coming remake of Conan the Barbarian.
Little is known about the Roman pocket in the north of Gaul . We hear about Aegidius, the magister militum per Gallias, apparently appointed by Majorian. In the Notitia Dignitatum, the commander of Roman forces in Gaul was the magister equitum, Master of Horses instead of Soldiers. Ordinarily, the Master of Horses would be a title inferior to Master of Soldiers. The title of the Master of Horse of Gaul, however, may mean that he was second in command for entire Western Army, a serious position indeed. Since the strength of the forces in Gaul was some 32,500 men, this reinforces that interpretation -- although we then wonder why such a force seems to have been so ineffective when the Alans, Vandals, and Suevi invaded on New Year's Day of 407. Bury speculates that Aegidius held both titles [J.B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, Volume I, Dover Publications, 1958, p.333]. Aegidius did not accept the fall of Majorian or recognize Libius Severus, but he was preoccupied fighting the Visigoths until his death in 464. He was followed by someone we only know as the Count (comes) Paul. "Count" ("companion" of the Emperor) is actually a high title, but Bury supposes he must have also held the "Master" titles also. Ricimer appointed his own magister militum for Gaul, Gundioc, the King of Burgundy (434-473). Both Aegidius and Paul had the help of the Franks , who remained loyal Roman allies, against the Visigoths and Burgundians. That changed when a new Frankish King, Clovis (Chlodwig), succeeded his father in 481. Meanwhile, Paul had been followed by the son of Aegidius, Syagrius.
The Franks actually called him rex Romanorum, a good indication that his realm and authority were seen as quite independent -- indeed, there was no longer a Western Emperor at that point. It is not known what Syagrius called himself. Clovis defeated him at Soissons in 486. Syagrius fled to the Visigoths, who returned him for execution by Clovis. This was the end of Roman Gaul, 546 years after Caesar had completed its conquest in 56 BC -- or perhaps 531 years since the defeat and capture of the rebel Vercingetorix in 52 BC (to be kept and later executed as part of Caesar's own Triumph). We see Vercingetorix surrendering in the 1899 painting by Lionel-Noël Royer above. Now the dominance of the Franks would begin, and in time Gaul would take their name .
C. THE EAST ALONE, 476-518, 42 Years
1. LEONINES
reforms coinage , 498
Leo I purged the Eastern Army of Germans and so turned the East away from the process of barbarization that
had rendered the Western Army useless. A last chance to recoup things for the whole Empire came in 468, after Leo had gotten Ricimer to accept the Theodosian relative Anthemius as Western Emperor. A joint amphibious campaign was put together to recover Africa from the Vandals. This should have succeeded, but it failed through a combination of incompetence, treachery, and bad luck. Ricimer may not have really wanted it to succeed, and it wasn't long before he got rid of Anthemius. After Odoacer decided not to bother with a Western Emperor, Leo's Isaurian son-in-law, Zeno, found himself as the first Emperor of a "united" Empire since Theodosius I, but little was left of the West. Only Odoacer in Italy vaguely acknowledged the Emperor's suzerainty -- we don't know what allegiance to Constantinople, if any, remained in the Roman pocket in northern Gaul. Nothing was done about this at the time, and Anastasius, by temperament or by wisdom, concentrated on allowing the East to rest and build up its strength. Part of that involved reforming the coinage , which is one of the benchmarks for the beginning of "Byzantine" history. The economies of Anastasius left the treasury full (to the delight of Justinian); but taxes, of course, are not always popular. In 512 rioters called for
, állon basiléa têi Rhômaníai, "another emperor for Romania!" Anatasius rode this out; and its principal interest for us may be the use of word
, which is thus attested in popular language at the time. This is only important because of the practice of Byzantinists to ignore the word .
On the map we see the classic form of the German successor Kingdoms of the Western Empire. By 493 Theodoric the Ostrogoth, invited by the Emperor Anastasius, had taken out Odoacer in Italy. This was just in time to save the Visigoths, who were defeated by the Franks in 507 and pushed out of Gaul. The result has the look of a nice balance of power, but there is no telling how long that might have lasted. What upset things was not any internal development, but a most unexpected revival and return of Roman power. In the beloved story of the "Fall" of Rome, this sequel is usually what gets overlooked.
Also noteworthy as a benchmark for the beginning of "Byzantine" history in the time of the Leonines is the apparent disappearance of the traditional Roman tria nomina , the three names of praenômen, nômen, and cognômen, which have been given with previous Emperors. The last Emperor with three full names may have been Majorian, Julius Valerius Majorianus. In general, the Valentian and Theodosian Emperors only had two names, e.g. Valens, Fl. Valens, and Theodosius I & II, both Fl. Theodosius. From Marcian onward there is no evidence of any traditional Roman nomenclature, apart from the perfunctory addition of "Flavius" to many names -- and occasonally, we get a blast, as with Justinian , of multiple names. Amazing how well the Flavian gens survives over the centuries! Why is this happening? Well, even though it had been some time since the nômen had lost its connection to the actual ancestral gens (the clan), and all the names were becoming like titles, the system of the tria nomina still bore an essential connection to the Roman family cult of ancestor worship. No Confucian venerated ancestors in a household shrine more devoutly than the pious Roman. But this could not survive with the adoption of Christianity. A Christian receives a single Christian name. Indeed, it is a while before we get names, like Michael or John, that look more Christian than Roman and Greek, like Jovian, Leo, or Heraclius (still commemorating Heracles -- and so Hera); but the trend is obvious. Indeed, the names beginning with the Valentians aleady look like the pro forma addition of "Flavius" to the single basic name of the Emperors -- even of Aëtius, "Flavius Aëtius." Eventually we get the return of surnames, at first for nobility. The first Dynasty with a family name will be the Ducases in the 11th century. It took a few more centuries before surnames became common among European Christians of all classes.
Another momentous transition is in architecture. The lovely temples of Classical antiquity, like jewels in the landscape, disappear. Christian churches of the period often look like piles of bowls or dark fruitcakes. Or we simply get the basilica, a Roman courthouse. Churches often are not even visible from a distance, because they may be packed around with other buildings. Why is this happening? Were Christians just anaesthetic ? No. The aesthetic was certainly changing, but the most important difference was just the difference in purpose between a temple and a church. A temple was the house of a god, with little space inside but for the god and a few priests. It was not supposed to contain a body of worshipers. The public side of the temple was the exterior, the visible sign of the god's presence. With a church, however, the purpose was not to house God, whose presence was ineffable, but to house the congregation, the ekklêsía, the "assembly" that gave its name in many modern languages for "church" (which itself seems to be from kyriakos, "of the Lord"). The public side of a church is thus the interior, not the exterior, and the outwardly ugliest early churches often contain marvelous inner spaces, with rich decoration. These quickly become awesome spaces, as in Sancta Sophia, for centuries the greatest church of Christendom. Roman domes could do what most Roman temples did not try to do. As it happens there was a precedent for this. Hadrian's
Pantheon in Rome is undistinguished and unremarkable from the outside yet contains a wonderful interior under the largest dome of pre-modern engineering. The dome of
Sancta Sophia is smaller but used more dramatically. The Pantheon is essentially one large, really nice room. Sancta Sophia holds a vast space -- the 184 foot rise of the dome on its piers can easily contain the 151 foot Statue of Liberty.
Eventually, a form of church evolved that transformed the basilica into a building with a monumental external face and a monumental internal space. These would be the Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals, but it would be centuries before the technology could handle the spidery supports, of walls pierced with windows and held by buttresses, that both size and relatively lightness required. Then the basilica and the dome would be combined, to produce in the Renaissance the new largest church in Christendom, St. Peter's in Rome. But this would happen as culturally Francia surpassed Romania. The instructive comparison is with the practice in Islâm, where the purpose of a mosque was similar to that of a church. This can be seen in the Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, based on Syrian churches, which is all but invisible from the outside, hidden in the midst of the city, but contains two marvelous spaces, a courtyard and the lovely interior of the prayer hall, with mosaics as in churches of the time. On the other hand, a monument of the same era, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem , stands conspicuously like a pagan temple, high on the Temple Mount itself. But the purpose of the Dome is more like a temple. It was built less for a congregation than for the Rock itself, commemorating the Temple of Solomon and the site of the Prophet Muh.ammad's "dream journey" to heaven. Finally, the Ottoman mosques of Sinan (c.1500-1588), based on the model of Sancta Sophia, produce the monumental Islâmic equivalent of the cathedral.
D. RETURNING TO THE WEST, 518-610, 92 years
1. JUSTINIANS
Phocas
602-610
Senate in Rome ceases to meet, 602; Column of Phocas, last Imperial monument in the Forum of Rome, 608
Justinian, who had helped his stolid uncle Justin and then inherited the Empire from him, took the rested strength of the East and threw it, commanded by his great general Belisarius, against the Vandals and Ostrogoths . The Vandals, caught off guard, collapsed quickly, although with some close battles. In 540 the Ostrogoths surrendered to Belisarius, who had to rush East to meet a Persian invasion. He was too late. Khusro I had already sacked Antioch (540). Then in 541 the resistance of the Ostrogoths revived, and the plague hit the Empire. The campaign in Italy then took another 11 years, with men and money very short. Successful, if exhausted, the Romans were then able to secure part of southern Spain.
Meanwhile Justinian had built the greatest church in Christendom,
Sancta Sophia [ note ], codified Roman Law, and driven the last pagans, at Plato's Academy , out of business. This all wore out the Empire, but it could easily have recovered to new strength if further blows had not fallen. The Lombards invaded Italy in 568; and although they were unable to secure the whole peninsula, or the major cities (except in the Po valley), they became a source of constant conflict for most of the next two hundred years. Meanwhile, the Danube frontier had become very insecure. As early as 540 (again) Bulgars and Slavs were raiding into the Balkans. Maurice not only restored the frontier but crossed it to apply the "forward defense" of the Early Empire. Unfortunately, this hard campaigning became unpopular with the troops; and in 602 they murdered Maurice and his whole family. Under Phocas, things began to unravel. The Persians began the campaign that would net them the Asiatic part of the Empire, recreating the Persia of the Achaeminids, and the Danube frontier collapsed so completely that it would not be restored for almost four hundred years.
Belisarius was the Duke of Marlbourgh of the 6th Century. There are several points of comparison. First, for the military genius of both of them, although Marlbourgh may have been more consistently successful, as Belisarius suffered some defeats and inconclusive campaigns. Second, just as Sarah Churchill was for long the close friend of Queen Anne, Belisarius's wife Antonina was similarly close to the Empress Theodora. Unlike Sarah, however, Antoninia was rumored to be unfaithful to Belisarius, and her relationship with Theodora does not seem to have soured as did Sarah's with Anne.
Third, as Anne eventually turned on Sarah and then the Duke, Justinian was sometimes suspicious of Belisarius and withdrew his support. In 562 Belisarius was tried and imprisoned for "corruption," in what was certainly a political prosecution. Justinian then pardoned him, but the legend arose later that Justinian had blinded Belisarius and reduced him to begging. This would have been more extreme than what happened to Malborough; but since it does not seem to have been true, Malborough's prosecution and exile looks like the worse betrayal. The story of Justinian, Belisarius, and their wives is confused by the spleen of Procopius, whose Secret History vents his inexplicable animus against them all. Perhaps more historians, writing about their patrons -- and Procopius followed Belisarius for many years as his personal secretary -- feel this way but never express it. All of this, however, provides considerable grist for historical fiction, in which Belisarius and the others have often figured. Nevertheless, Belisarius is still not as well known as other generals in history, and the intrigues of Justinian's court, especially with strong and vivid women like Theodora, do not seem to have drawn the dramatic attention that one might expect -- perhaps because of a general neglect and estrangement from the Mediaeval history of Romania . Even so, television viewers of the popular series NCIS see the name of Belisarius every week, in the "Belisarius Productions" title of creator Donald Bellisario, whose name, of course (in Italian), itself recalls that of the great general.
As noted above , when the treasures taken by Titus from Herod's Temple in Jerusalem were recovered from the Vandals in 533, they were sent back to Constantinople. According to Procopius, the treasures were being carried in the Triumph of Belisarius when a Jew recognized them and passed word to the Emperor that keeping them in Constantinople would be inauspicious. Their removal from Jerusalem had brought misfortune on Rome and then on the Vandals. So Justinian "became afraid and quickly sent everything to the sanctuaries of the Christians in Jerusalem" [Procopius, History of the Wars, II, Book IV, ix 5-10, translated by H.B. Dewing, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard U. Press, 1916, 2006, p.281]. There, if they indeed arrived, they disappear from history. There is no reason not to think that they would have been safely kept, but the city was then captured, looted, and destroyed by the Persians in 614. At that point many treasures, like the True Cross, were carried off to Ctesiphon (though returned after the victory of Heraclius in 628). There is no mention, however, of the fate of anything, generally or specifically, from the Temple in Jerusalem. Since the Jews of Jerusalem were said to have helped the Persians (some question this, since the Persians were persecuting their own Jews), it is possible they took charge of their own treasures, but there is no report of that, and no further historical report at all about the fate of the objects -- except perhaps for the fabulous stories about the Templars , who supposedly found many things in Jerusalem, though these reports are from much later and of an incredible character. The great Menôrâh of the Temple, described in detail by Josephus and shown on the Arch of Titus, is certainly not something to be easily overlooked. Procopius, unfortunately, does not detail which items were among the treasures recovered by Belisarius. If the Menôrâh was there, any Jew of Constantinople certainly would have recognized it quickly and easily. We are thus left with a considerable mystery, and it is a little surprising that there are not, at least, legends about the fate of the Temple items. One possibility concerns Procopius' reference to "the sanctuaries of the Christians." This could mean all sorts of things and generally has been interpreted at referring to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. However, Justinian himself was building a large new church in Jerusalem, which actually came to the called the "New," Nea, Church. This was later demolished by the Arabs, but its substructure survives under the Jewish Quarter of Jersualem . That substructure includes a vast cistern, such as Justinian also built in Constantinople. This has suggested to some that crypts of the church may also survive, possibly with items like Temple treasures, which might have been hidden from both Persian and Arab invasions. By the time the Templars arrived in Jerusalem, they might not even have been aware that the Nea Church had existed -- the cistern was only discovered by Israeli archaeologists after 1967. It seems like a thin hope, but since the Arabs don't report finding any Temple treasures, and no Jewish source mentions taking possession of them, the Nea Church is the sole remaining lead.
While we are mostly still looking at Latin names here -- Justinus, Justinianus, Tiberius -- and Justinian's first language was still Latin, or at least the Proto-Romance language spoken in the Balkans at the time, these are Emperors whose names will primarily be remembered in Greek. So I give the Greek versions. Also, while Justinian is remembered as a Saint in the Orthodox Church, the Latin Church had less use for him, despite its dependance on the Latin Law that Justinian codified. So there is little warmth in Francia for Justinian, and no rulers there ever used his name.
The arrival of the
Plague in Egypt in October 541 was the beginning of an epidemic that cost the City of Constantinople alone perhaps 200,000 citizens. The percentages of people who died in the Empire may compare with those of the Black Death in the 14th century, though by then the population of Europe had grown much larger. Justinian himself contracted the disease, but recovered. There is no doubt that this was the Bubonic plague. The historian Procopius describes it with clinical accuracy, especially the characteristic black swellings, the buboes -- a Greek word,
, that Procopius uses, perhaps for the first time for this disease. But the Plague was not the only problem. The climate was changing -- this may indeed have precipitated the plague, providing more aggreeable conditions for rats and fleas. After what is now called the "Roman Warming," we get into the " Dark Ages Cooling ." The tree ring record of 540 in Ireland is that "the trees stopped growing." Procopius said that, "For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during this whole year [536], and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear nor such as it is accustomed to shed" [translated by H.B. Dewing, Procopius, History of the Wars, II, Book IV, xiv 5-6, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard U. Press, 1916, 2006, p.329]. Other records give similar accounts.
The dimness of the sun may be from increased, thin cloud cover, from changes in solar output, volcanic debris, or other causes. Indeed, ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland show a sharp spike in volcanic gasses in 535. It is of such magnitude as to indicate a major eruption. Since the eruption of Mt. Tambora in 1815 resulted in a "year without summer," it is not hard to imagine the eruption of one of the major Indonesian volcanoes (or elsewhere) producing similar results for 535-536. The source of the volcanic signature was for long not identified, but it has now credibly been attributed to Mt. (or Lake) Ilopango in El Salvador, which seems to have experienced a cataclysmic eruption around 535 or 536. Thinking a lot about Indonesia, or the Aegean , for such eruptions, Ilopango is a bit startling. It also throws some light on Mayan history, since all life would have been exterminated in at least the area of modern El Salvador, and more, which was part of Mayan civilization. The eruption was at least as powerful as Krakatoa in 1883 or Pinatubo in 1991, but not as big as Tambora.
It is not clear that the eruption alone would produce the effects seen over many years, for the weather would be colder and the growing season shorter for some time (as noted for 540). The worst effects of weather on Mayan civilization also seem to occur later. The eruption may have reinforced (or initiated) what was already a cooling trend. Whatever the cause, the climate would adversely impact the population at a time, on top of the deaths from the Plague (whose movement of rats may have been caused by the cooling), when the lack would gravely affect the fate of the Empire. Without the manpower to put down the Ostrogoths more swiftly and effectively, Justinian devastated Italy in a way that would not have otherwise been necessary and that had not been effected by the original "barbarian invasions" as such. Rome was briefly depopulated, not by the Visigoths in 410 or by the Vandals in 455, and certainly not by the Ostrogoths in 493, but by the more than decade of fighting that it took for the Roman reconquest, when the city changed hands at least three times and the aqueducts were cut in sieges.
, basileía] is a beautiful shroud" [Procopius, History of the Wars, I, Book I, xxiv 37-38, translated by H.B. Dewing, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard U. Press, 1914, 2001, p.232-233]. In the same speech however, she did say, "I will not be separated from this Purple" --
, halourgís, specifically a purple robe [p.230-231 -- see the grammar of this statement]. The traditional misquotation thus deftly combines two actual quotations. This is one of the most famous statements ever about the "Purple" -- i.e. the Tyrian Purple ,
, porphýra, of Roman Imperial Robes -- although we also have the kind of stone, Porphyry, that was used in association with the Throne, both for statues of the Emperors and for structures like the lying-in pavillion for pregnant Empresses. Justinian, thus encouraged, or shamed, put down the revolt. Belisarius surrounded the Hippodrome and massacred everyone in it (perhaps 30,000 people!). Because of the damage done to the City,
Justinian launched ambitious building projects, including that for the magnificient new Sancta Sophia.
Around the year 550 we hear that a couple of Nestorian monks arrive from China with an interesting cargo. For all the earlier centuries of the Roman Empire, Romans had sent gold East through Central Asia and received back silk, the nature of which they were entirely ignorant. The route of this trade became known as the "Silk Road." From Roman authors we hear nothing about the destination of the gold or the source of the silk. From the Chinese history of the Later Han Dynasty , however, as noted above , we hear that a Roman embassy arrived in China in 166 AD, specifically to try and arrange an alternate route for the silk trade. This was never worked out. Eventually, Christian missionaries arrived in China. These were at first Nestorians, who had an advanced base as residents of Sassanid Iran , which monopolized the Western end of the trade. The first notice we have from the Chinese is the appearance of the Nestorians in the T'ang Court in 635 AD. This is in the century after the events of Justinian's reign, but it is possible, if not likely, that the missionaries were already in China, during the troubled Northern and Southern Empires period (266-589), before the T'ang Dynasty was consolidated and took note of them. In any case, the secrets of sericulture and the possession of the eggs of silkworms were closely guarded by the Chinese government. But the story we get is that the missionaries were able to smuggle out eggs inside bamboo canes. Traversing the Silk Road, they took them to Justinian. Cultivating the eggs and harvesting the silk proved successful; and so, at long last, Romania, despite the cultural decline of the Dark Ages, acquired its own domestic source of silk. The planting of mulberry trees (
), upon which the silk worms feed, is supposed to have given the Peloponnesus its later Mediaeval name:
, the Morea .
The collapse of the Danube frontier against the Avars, substantively and symbolically beginning with the fall of Sirmium in 579, resulted, not only in Avar raids and conquests in the Balkans, but a flood of Slavic migration. This would permanently inundate the areas that would become Bulgaria , Serbia , Croatia , Bosnia , and Macedonia . At the time, however, Slavic incursions and settlements extended far down into Greece, over much of the Peloponnesus, and even, by 623, to Crete. Most of Greece was no longer Greek, something noted by travelers and historians for the next couple of centuries (589-807). In the course of this, many Greeks were massacred or deported by the Avars, but others fled. The inhabitants of Patras (Patrai) on the north coast of the Peloponnesus relocated to Rhegium in Calabria. Many Laconians, from the ancient area around Sparta , actually moved to Sicily. In 583, other Laconians, led by their Bishop, fatefully sought refuge on a small formidable island on the south-eastern peninsula of Laconia (which ends at Cape Maleas).
Exarchs of Ravenna
728-751
Ravenna falls to Lombards , 751
Connected by a small spit of land at low tide to the mainland, subsequently built into a causeway, this became
, Monembasia (or Monemvasia), "One Way In," the "Gibraltar of the East." The town and fortress would become a permanent Roman stronghold and naval base. Monembasia would change hands several times in the troubled times after the arrival of the Fourth Crusade and would finally survive as the last possession of the Despot,
, of the Morea , the last piece of Romania and the Roman Empire, after the Fall of Constantinople , until ceded to the Papacy in 1461, the rest of Romania having fallen to the Turks.
Above we see Monembasia at a later period, when it was under the control of the Venetians (1684). It remained a strategically important location until retaken by the Turks in 1715.
With the return of Roman power to the West, new arrangements of government emerge. Justinian abolished the dioceses. The effective Imperial governers of Italy and Africa are the Masters of Soldiers of the Armies of Italy and Africa. By the time of Maurice, the Master comes to be called the Exarch ("out-ruler"), and Italy and Africa themselves are each an Exarchate.
Exarchs of Carthage
Ceuta, c.711
Kâhina defeated, 702; Carthage desroyed, 705; Arab Conquest of North Africa, 711
Still the capital of Italy under the Ostrogoths, Ravenna becomes a Roman capital again, not of a Western Empire, but just for the Exarchate. Justinian lavished classic artwork on the city which survives until today. Indeed, the most familiar portraits of Justinian and Theodora are from mosaics in the Church of San Vitale. The Exarchate continued until the fall of the city to the Lombards in 751. The list of Exarchs, from the time of Maurice to the Lombard conquest, covers 167 years -- the time from George Washington to Dwight Einsenhower .
Archbishops of Ravenna
In Africa, the Exarchate was centered at Carthage, which enters its last phase as a player in Roman history. With less to show for its life in this period, the city fell to the Arabs in 698 and 705. Afterwards, Carthage itself, although not deliberately destroyed as the Romans once did (but suffering greatly in the Arab attacks), simply fades from history. Nearby Tunis becomes the local metropolis -- perhaps in line with the Arab policy seen elsewhere of withdrawing capitals away from the immediate coast, although Tunis is nowhere near as removed as, for instance, Cairo (Fust.ât.). Note that Tunisia was the Roman province of Africa, which subsequently became Arabic
, Ifrîqiyâ. The application of the term to the whole continent came later.
I have not found anything like a complete list of the Exarchs of Carthage, although we know that the father of the Emperor Heraclius , called Heracltius the Elder, was Exarch when Heraclius sailed East to overthrow the Emperor Phocas in 610. He died soon after news arrived of his son's success. After Heraclius, the record gets very spotty. There are gaps and uncertainties in the list of Exarchs, and the dating is confused.
It takes three invasions by forces of the Omayyad Caliphs to subdue North Africa. The Exarch was not always well supported by Constantinople, and also was not always loyal. The Exarch Gennadius II even went to Damascus to enter the service of the Caliph Mu'âwiya. It is not clear whether he became a Muslim, but he died on the way back to North Africa. A permanent Arab base was founded at
, al-Qayrawân, in Tunisia. This appears to have been held through the period of conquest, regardless of setbacks. The setbacks began to come from the Berbers, who, not always happy with the Romans, began to resist the Arabs. With the loss of Roman Carthage in 698, a Berber Queen, al-Kâhina (Dahiyah), temporary dominates the land. But the Arabs keep coming, al-Kâhina is defeated, and the Berbers convert to Islam. Count Julian in Ceuta is the last Roman commander to fall.
The office of the Roman Consuls, the chief executive officers of the Roman Republic , and dating by them, continued under the Empire until Justinian, who now replaces them with dating by Regal years. They can be examined on a popup page . As the end of an institution that began at the very beginning of the Republic, it is hard to exaggerate the symbolic importance of this event. The Roman state is now a monarchy in every detail -- although the Monarchs are overthrown with some frequency .
Arab Conquest, 638
The Ghassanids were an Arab tribe occupying the hinterland behind Syria and Jordan. This was the area that had previously seen rule by the Nabataeans and then by Palmyra . Evidently it was difficult for the Romans to maintain direct rule over an area whose inhabitants might largely be pastoral and nomadic. Indirect rule ended up accomplished by an alliance with the Ghassanids.
In the time of Justinian the Ghassanids became organized enough to be called a "kingdom" by historians, and they become an important part of Roman frontier defense in 529 when Justinian replaces the earlier Roman clients, the Salihids, with the Ghassanid al-Harith V, now the official Roman phylarch or ruler of the tribe (phylum). Such client kingdoms might be said to represent the first entry of the Arabs into Mediterranian history. If they constitute a pre-Islamic move north of Arab people, then both the Romans and the Persians converted the threat of nomadic encroachment into elements of the pre-existing balance of power between Romania and Persia. For the Persians , indeed, had their own client Arab tribe, the Lakhmids, who occupied the hinterland west of the Euphrates. The rivalry between Ghassanids and Lakhmids was not just as proxies for the Powers, but, as can be imagined, the two tribes had become rivals anyway, and there was also a religious dimension. The Ghassanids were Christians, and the Lakhmids had remained pagan.
While the religion of the Ghassanids in general would be expected to be a unifying factor with respect to Rome, there developed a difficulty. The Ghassanids became Monophysites. Indeed, when al-Harith V nominated Jacob Baradaeus Bishop of Edessa, it led to the takeover of the Syrian Orthodox Church , henceforth the "Jacobite" Church, by Monophysites. This was not something that Justinian would let stand in the way of sensible policy, but he nevertheless made one crucial mistake. When al-Harith defeated the Lakhmids in 554, Justinian, chronically short of money, discontinued his subsidy to the Ghassanid ruler. This may also have happened because Justinian had just obtained the means of growing Silk -- silkworm eggs smuggled out of the Central Asia. This rendered the Arabian border and Arabia less important for Rome as a means of circumventing Persian control of the silk trade. The discontent of the Ghassanids with this dismissal of their importance would be magnified when later Emperors began a harassment like that inflicted on the Monophysite Coptic and the Syrian Orthodox Churches. Since the Ghassanids were rather like the keystone in the defensive arch based on Egypt and Syria, the disaffection of these populations seriously weakened the Roman frontier. This was already evident during the Persian invasion of 614-628, and nothing had been done to heal it by the time of the
Arab invasion of 636. Soon the Ghassanids converted to Islam and disappeared from history.
The list here is entirely from Bruce R. Gordon's Regnal Chronologies . An extensive discussion of the Ghassanids can be found in Justinian's Flea by William Rosen [Viking, 2007, pp. 242, 303, 306, & 318]. Despite the treatment of the Ghassanids in many Byzantine histories, which often give rulers of related states, I have not seen a list in any history. Since the names of the Ghassanids include the familiar Arabic patronynmic element, ibn, the genealogy of the dynasty could actually be constructed without too much difficulty. It will also be noted that brothers often rule simultaneously, as with the several sons of al-Harith II who begin ruling in 327. Al-Harith II himself, with the epithet "ibn Maria" and living in the time of Constantine, is likely to be the tribal chief who converted to Christianity.
III. THIRD EMPIRE, MIDDLE "ROMANIA,"
EARLY "BYZANTIUM," 610 AD-1059 AD,
Era of Diocletian 327-776, 449 years
O, great-ruling [New] Rome, thou lookest from Europe
on a prospect in Asia the beauty of which is worthy of thee.
Marianus Scholasticus, "On the Palace called Sophianae," [The Greek Anthology, Volume III, Book 9, "The Declamatory Epigrams," Number 657, The Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1917, p.364-365]
The Constantinopolitan city, which formerly was called Byzantium and now New Rome, is located amidst very savage nations. Indeed it has to its north the Hungarians , the Pizaceni, the Khazars , the Russians , whom we call Normans by another name, and the Bulgarians , all very close by; to the east lies Baghdad ; between the east and the south the inhabitants of Egypt and Babylonia; to the south there is Africa and that island called Crete, very close to and dangerous for Constantinople. Other nations that are in the same region, that is, the Armenians , Persians, Chaldeans , and Avasgi, serve Constantinople. The inhabitants of this city surpass all these people in wealth as they do also in wisdom.
Constantinopolitana urbs, quae prius Bizantium, Nova nunc dicitur Roma, inter ferocissimas gentes est constituta. Habet quippe ab aquilone Hungarios, Pizenacos, Charzaros, Rusios, quos alio nos nomine Nordmannos appelamus, atque Bulgarios nimium sibi vicinos; ab oriente Bagdas; inter orientem et meridiem Aegipti Babiloniaeque incolas; a meridie vero Africam habet et nominatam illam nimium vicinam sibique contrariam insulam Crete. Ceterae vero, quae sunt sub eodem climate nationes, Armeni scilicent, Perses, Chaldei, Avasgi, huic deserviunt. Incolae denique civitatis huius, sicut memoratas gentes divitiis, ita etiam sapientia superexcellunt.
Liutprand of Cremona (c.920-972), 949 AD, "Retribution," XI, The Complete Works of Liudprand of Cremona, translated by Paolo Squatriti [The Catholic Press of America, 2007, p.50]; Latin text, "Liudprandi Antapodosis," Die Werke Liudprands von Cremona, herausgeben von Joseph Becker [Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum, Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover und Leipzig, 1915, pp.9-10; Reprint, University of Michigan Libraries, 2012].
Ghulibati-r-Rûm, fî 'adnâ-l-'ard.i,
for "king," see Feudal Hierarchy .
Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), "Sailing to Byzantium," alluding to the mechanical birds reported by Liutprand at the Macedonian court.
To most people thinking of the "Roman Empire," we are well into terra incognita here. Yet in 610 the character and problems of the Roman Empire would not have been unfamiliar to Theodosius the Great. A Persian invasion was nothing new. How far it got, all the way to Egypt and the Bosporus, was. Meanwhile, the collapse of the Danube frontier was not now the doing of Germans but of Slavs and Steppe people -- the latter beginning with the Altaic Avars, whose kin would dominate Central Asia in the Middle Ages. The Persians were miraculously defeated; but before the Danube could be regained or the Lombards overcome in Italy, a Bolt from the Blue changed everything. The Arabs, bringing a new religion, Islâm , created an entirely new world, which both broke the momentum of Roman recovery and divided the Mediterranean world in a way whose outlines persist until today. Nevertheless, the Empire, restricted to Greece and Anatolia, rode out the flood. It must have been a hard nut, since the Arab Empire otherwise flowed easily all the way to China and the Atlantic. It was hard enough, indeed, that by the end of the "Third Empire" it had been in better health than any Islamic state. The promise of new ascendency, however, was brief, both for internal and external reasons.
Meanwhile, there has been a cost paid, as we might expect, in prosperity and material culture. This is conspicuous in the coinage , where the previous style of low relief profile portraits is still typical in Justinian's day. However, we also start to get face on portraits, whose quality is less good. By the time of Heraclius, face on portraits are dominant, and soon exclusive, while their character ceases to be low relief and becomes cartoonish. This will improve again later, but the coinage will never have the photo-real quality that we expect in modern coinage and that was often present in the best work of the First Empire . That the gold coinage of the solidus still exists at all, however, is testimony to the fact that the prosperity and material culture of Romania never fell as far as it did in Francia .
A. THE ADVENT OF ISLAM, 610-802, 192 years
1. HERACLIANS
715-717
Pergamum destroyed by Arab fleet, city abandoned, 715
With Heraclius, seldom has fortune and ability so blessed a ruler only to turn so completely against him in the end. Arriving from Africa, where his father (also Heraclius) was Exarch, Heraclius easily deposed the usurper Phocas but then almost helplessly watched the Persians conquer Syria and Egypt and raid through Anatolia as far as the Borporus (in 615). With Avars and Slavs pouring into the Balkans, the Roman Empire seemed doomed to complete collapse. But then in one of the most brilliant, but far more desperate, campaigns since Alexander, in 624-625 Heraclius audaciously invaded Persia itself. He even wintered with the army in the field. In 626 the Persians arrived at the Bosporus and their Avar allies at the walls of Constantinople, trying to draw Heraclius out of the field and with a chance of destroying his power at the source. Confident that Constantinople was impregnable, which it was, Heraclius was not distracted and in 627-628 devastated Persia and defeated a Persian army at Nineveh late in 627, which precipitated the overthrow of Shâh Khusro II by his own son (628), who sued for peace.
Heraclius had received significant material aid from the Gök Turks, who were the parent of the Khazars , of long future Roman alliance. Heraclius betrothed his daughter Eudocia to the Khagan, who died (630) before the marriage could be effected. This seems to be the first of Roman relations with any Turks, and the first of at least three marriages that would be arranged with the Khazars.
The peace restored the status quo ante bellum.
In 629 Heraclius began to use the title of the defeated monarch, the traditional Persian "Great King." Thus Basileus,
, the Greek word for "King," became the mediaeval Greek word for "Emperor" (although, actually, Procopius was already using it that way in the days of Justinian ) -- as Greek now (or hereabouts) replaces Latin as the Court language as well as the language of command in the Army. Similarly,
, Basíleia, "Queen," becomes "Empress." The adjective
, Basíleios, "Kingly," is also found as a proper name, especially of two Macedonian Emperors.
With Basileus for "Emperor," the Latin word rex is borrowed, as
, to use for mere kings as such. Latin military terms are transcribed, for instance,
for dux, "duke," and
for comes, "count"; and they continued in use through the history of Romania -- they went their own semantic way, of course, in the feudalism of Francia. There was already a sense that Autokrátor,
, translated imperator, "commander," and it was typically coupled with Basileus, although not exclusively.
Under Constans the structure of the Roman Army was fundamentally changed to deal with the new circumstances of the Empire. As the traditional units, largely familiar from the 5th Century, fell back from the collapsing frontiers, they were settled on the land in Anatolia, to be paid directly from local revenues instead of from the Treasury, whose tax base from Syria and Egypt had disappeared. The areas set aside for particular units became the themes (
, thema, "placement," plural,
, themata, from the Greek verb
, tithêmi, "to put" -- related to thesis). The Themes remained the military bedrock of Romania until the end of the 11th century and soon replaced the old Roman provinces as the administrative divisions of the Empire, with the commanding stratêgos, "general," becoming the military governor of his theme. The commander of the Opsician Theme, however, was a Comes, " Count ," in deference to the origin of the Theme from the Armies in the Emperor's Presence. Thus, the Army of the East, driven out of Syria, was settled in the Anatolic Theme, where it would guard the obvious route for invasion or raids from Syria: the Cilician Gates through the Taurus Mountains. Although invasions and raids there would be, the Arabs never did secure any conquests beyond the Gates. Where the Army of the East in the Late Empire numbered about 20,000 men, the forces of the Anatolic Theme varied from about 18,000 in 773 to 15,000 in 899 [Warren Treadgold, Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081, Stanford, 1995, p.67].
As the remnants of the Late Roman Army were settled on the land (like the earlier Limitanei), there were also standing forces that accompanied the Emperor, like the old Comitatenses. There were already two such units in the Late Empire, the Scholae and the Excubitors -- the latter had been created by Leo I in 466 as a force of Isaurians to use, under its commander Zeno, against the Germans in the Eastern Army. These would be organized by Constantine V into the core of a new Standing or Mobile Army, the Tagmata (singular, tagma, "regiment"), and would eventually grow into a large army in its own right. In 899, the Tagmata together numbered about 28,000 men, while the entire Army, Themes and Tagmata combined, added up to about 128,000 men [Treadgold, op.cit.]. This was less than half of the Augustan Army and not even a quarter of Constantine's; but considering that the Empire is reduced to the lower Balkans and Anatolia, it is proportionally still robust, especially in an Age when a paid military establishment was impossible in most of Europe. As with the decline of the Limitanei, the late Macedonian Emperors began to neglect the Thematic forces and rely on the Tagmata, which soon filled with mercenaries. Some mercenaries could be quite faithful, like the Saxon refugees from Norman England who served in the Varangian Guard for more than three centuries (the Egklinovaraggoi). This worked reasonably well while there was money. But when the finances collapsed, loses could not be made good, or the more mercenary warriors retained. This led to fiascoes like the hire of the Catalan Company (1303), who mutinied (1305) and seized the Duchy of Athens (1311). Even under the Palaeologi , landed frontier forces (now the akritai,
) remained the best investment but were imprudently neglected, with disastrous consequences.
After Constantine IV withstood the first Arab siege of Constantinople, burning the Arab fleet with the famous and mysterious "Greek Fire" (which sounds like nothing so much as napalm, since it could burn under water), it looked like the Empire would survive. With the last member of the dynasty, Justinian II, we have a curious experiment in humanity and an extraordinary story as the sequel. When Justinian was deposed in 695, instead of being killed, his nose was cut off -- as had that of Heraclonas in 641. Hence his epithet,
, Rhinotmetus, "Cut Nose." It was expected that this would disqualify him from attempts at restoration. It didn't. Justinian fled to the Khazars, where he arranged a marriage with the Khagan's sister, giving her the Christian name "Theodora." The Emperor Tiberius III, however, pressured the Khazars to expel Justinian, which before long they did. Justinian now fled to the Bulgars, who decided to support him and in 705 showed up with him and their army before Constantinople. Unable to enter the City, there was then not much the Bulgars could do. Justinian, however, was able to sneak inside; and he apparently had sufficient support to depose Tiberius and regain the Throne, a most unlikely Odyssey. His Khazar wife then joined him and gave birth to a son, curiously named Tiberius. After another unpopular reign, Justinian was then deposed again and, with his son, killed.
The curious experiment in humanity, of course, was that when first deposed Justinian was not killed but just mutilated. When it developed that this was not enough to bar him from being restored, henceforth deposed Emperors, or other politically threatening persons, would be blinded. This was more effective (although the blind Isaac II was restored by the Fourth Crusade), though now it may not seem particularly more humane than execution. Otherwise, the end of the dynasty demonstrates one drawback of the new themes: They represented such military force that the strategus, their commander, was continually tempted to revolt. This problem was soon addressed simply by dividing the themes into smaller ones.
Another noteworthy aspect of the initial overthrow of Justinian II were the slogans that were voiced by popular protests. A very curious cry, repeated (with suitable substitutions) over the centuries was, Anastaphêi tà ostéa Ioustinianoû,
, "Let the bones of Justinian be dug up!" Since Justinian was not dead or buried, it is curious how people should be calling for his exhumation. The expression may have originated in earlier circumstances, now lost. As it happens, one Pope, Formosus (891-896), was actually exhumed and put on trial, in what was then aptly called the "Cadaver Synod." This does not seem to have happened with any Roman Emperors, but this "dig up his bones" expression caught on as a way to call for the overthrown of Emperors. Another call also became traditional, which was simply to shout
, anaxíos, "Unworthy!" We can all understand that.
The maps of Romania now become much smaller. Egypt, Palestine, Spain, and North Africa are gone forever. Footholds in Italy and the Balkans remain. Greece and the Balkans would be recovered in time, but everything in Italy would eventually be lost also. For the time being, the heartland of the Empire will be Asia Minor. Although this would provide the resources for revival, even for colonization back into Greece, it was still open to Arab raids. They could not be precluded for a couple of centuries.
2. KHAZARS,
Zachariah
c.860's
The Khazars are an extremely important part of Roman history, entering it with a bang, as allies of Heraclius against Persia and operating in conjunction with him in or near the Caucasus. Ziebel is supposed to have occupied Georgia , beseiging Tiflis (Tbilisi) with Heraclius himself in 627 and then taking the city, with great massacre, in 628. The Khazars subsequently endured as Roman allies down to the height of Middle Romanian power in the days of Nicephorus Phocas , but fading quickly thereafter.
The Khazars were of Turkic derivation, speaking a poorly attested Altaic language, apparently closely related to Hunnic, Bulgar (Bolghar), and the surviving modern Chuvash. Titles familiar from Bulgar, Mongolian , Persian, or Turkish as
, Khagan, Qaghan, or
, Khân, and
, Beg or Bey, occur here as "Khagan" or "Xak'an" and "Bek." Byzantine histories do not give any lists of Khazar rulers, but Bruce R. Gordon's Regnal Chronologies comes through with most of the information I am able to use here.
The Khazar realm began as the westernmost reach of the Gök (or Kök) Turkiut Great Turkish Khanate, which extended across Central Asia. This vast but poorly documented realm broke up into Eastern and Western halves in 553/554.
Beks,
in Kerch,
?-1016
The Khazars were a further fragment of this, at the Westernmost end, around the Lower Volga, ruled by a branch of the ruling Ashina Dynasty. Exactly when the Khazars become independent of the Western Khanate is obscure, and the Khagan Ziebel who helped Heraclius, may or may not be identical to Tun[g] Yabgu (or Yabghu) Khagan (or Xak'an) of the Western Khanate.
This Khagan is reported by Moses Dasxuranci as delivering an ultimatum to the Shâh Khusro II circa 627:
If you will not retreat from the king of the Romans and surrender to him all the lands and cities which you have taken by force and return all of the prisoners of his country now in your hands, together with the wood of the Cross which all Chrisian nations worship and honor; if you will not recall your troops from his territory, the king of the north, the lord of the whole world, your king and the king of kings, says to you: "I shall turn against you, governor of Asorestan, and shall replay you twofold for each deed committed against him. I shall swoop upon your lands with my sword as you descended upon his with yours. I shall not spare you, nor shall I delay to do to you what I said I shall do." [Walter E. Kaegi, Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium, Cambridge, 2003, p.158]
Substantial help was provided for Heraclius, but not to this degree, and without even Heraclius acknowledging pretentions that sound more like those of Genghis Khan .
In 695, Justinian II was deposed, mutilated, and exiled to the Crimea. Before long, however, he escaped to the Khazars, where he contracted to marry the sister, then baptised "Theodora," of the Khagan Busir. Although Theodora was soon pregnant, Busir had second thoughts about harboring Justinian and estranging the new Emperor, Tiberias III. Justinian was forced to flee again, this time to the Bulgar Qaghan Tervel. In 705 Tervel marched on Constantinople to restore Justinian. The Emperor was able to enter the City with a small number of men through the previously broken Aqueduct of Valens, and resistance collapsed. Tervel was given the rank of Caesar, and the Khazar Khagan obligingly sent his sister and her new son to Constantinople.
The Khagan Barjik defeated and destroyed an Arab army of the Caliph Hishâm outside Ardebil in Iran in 730, but he was then defeated and killed at Mosul a year later. With the Arabs then raiding into the Khazar homeland, in 733 the Emperor Leo III cemented the Roman-Khazar alliance by marrying his son, the future Emperor Constantine V, to the daughter, Tzitazk, of the Khazar Khagan, named as "Bihar." Baptized "Irene," her son would be the Emperor Leo IV, "the Khazar." Justinian's Khazar son had not become Emperor, but now two Emperors of the Syrian dynasty would have Khazar blood.
The line of Ashina Khagans now becomes shrouded in an obscurity even greater than what we previously had to contend with -- the "Tarkhan" of the 840's may even be a confusion, since the name actually can be a military rank. Instead, we begin to get indications of leadership falling on generals, the "Beks," who gradually overshadow or even replace the Khagans. Thus, it is the Bek Hazer Tarkhan whose army was destroyed by the Omayyads at Itil in 737. This led to a short occupation and forced Islamization of the Khazar homeland -- forced Islamization because the Khazars were still pagan and thus had no rights as "People of the Book." Under Islamic Law, their choice was conversion or death.
The means and spirit of resistance not lacking among the Khazars, Arab control was thrown off around 740. This experience, however, led to one of the most significant events in all of Khazar history: the Conversion of the nation to Judaism. This may have happened as early as 740, or at late as 861. The earlier date corresponds to the rule of the Bek Bulan Sabriel, while the later date involves association with St. Cyril . The story is that the Khazars entertained appeals and arguments from representatives of all the major religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, before making their decision. Choosing Judaism may have involved a desire to remain independent of both Christian and Islamic powers. St. Cyril's visit was probably a bit late.
The existence of the Jewish Khazars immediately suggests that the subsequent Jews of Russia may be their descendants, However, modern Russian Jews have spoken Yiddish and look to be immigrants from Germany into areas of Poland that were subsequently annexed to Russia. In the same way, genetic studies tend to link Russian Jews with Jews elsewhere. On the other hand, Russians Jews often have red hair, which does not look like something of Middle Eastern origin but has historically occurred in Central Asia. Genghis Khan himself is often said to have had red hair. Also, we know that in 529 the Sassanid Shâh (or Crown Prince; he wasn't Shâh until 531) Khusro I expelled Jews from Persia and that they fled north of the Caucasus. It is therefore possible that the Khazars converted to Judaism in part because there were Jews among them, with whom they had been or were then actually intermarrying. Bruce Gordon says that Khazar Jews were known to be present in Kiev and to have emigrated to places as diverse as Spain, Egypt, Iraq, Hungary, Poland, and the Crimea, where they intermarried with other Jews. This would imply a Khazar element in much of World Jewry. With all these possibilities, the questions about the Khazars and their Judaism are certain to continue.
Gordon mentions that the list of Bulanid Beks, who may have become the Khazar Khagans, is derived from a list sent by the Bek Joseph to Hisdai ibn Shaprut, a Jewish Vizir to the Omayyad Caliph 'Abdur-Rah.mân III (912-961) in Spain. Joseph refers to himself as the "King of the Khazars."
Joseph's state, however, was in its last days. Sviatoslav I of Kiev attacks the Khazars in 965 and by 969 took the capital, Itil, on the Volga. Sviatoslav's attack was no more than a raid -- he was unable to establish any control of the area. Meanwhile, however, new nomads had arrived, the Cumans, who push the Khazars off the Steppe, until they disappear in the obscure realms of the Caucasus. Gordon gives two rulers from Khazar successor states that survived in the area, which brings Khazar history down to 1016, in the reign of the Emperor Basil II -- although there are apparent references to them even later. The rise of Russia and new movements of nomads in Central Asia would soon give Romania new allies and new formidable and deadly enemies.
4. ISAURIANS (SYRIANS)
792-802
Council VII, Nicaea II, Iconoclasm condemned, 787; Black Sea freezes, winter of 800-801
While Leo III held off another Arab siege of Constantinople, the position of Romania in the West deteriorated. With Africa gone, it became harder to project authority into Italy and harder to resist the Lombards. John Julius Norwich (A History of Venice, Vintage, 1989)
links the election of the first Doge of Venice with Leo's prohibition of images; but the election was in 727, during a tax revolt, not in 730, when Leo did prohibit images, alienating the Western Church.
The prohibition of religious images began the Iconoclasm controversy. One way to understand it is to realize that the conflict between Islâm and Christendom was not just a contest of arms but, mutatis mutandis, an ideological struggle. Christians were not being accused, to be sure, of oppressing the workers, but they were being accused of being polytheists (because of the Trinity) and idolaters (for making and venerating images). Indeed, some Islâmic attitudes are familiar from later religious ideological conflict, since disgust and condemnation of a priesthood and celibacy, not to mention the use of images, could later draw sympathy from Protestantism. The Thousand and One Nights derives great humor from the notion that the incense burned by Christians (but not, of course, by later Protestants) was made from the dung of bishops.
Since Leo III is considered to have come from either Syria or the nearby Isauria, his concern about this issue is supposed to have resulted from his sensitivity to the effect of Islâmic charges on the previously Christian populations of the areas, like Syria, conquered by Islâm. Conversions did not have to be effected by force, which was prohibited by the Qur'ân anyway, but by powerful persuasion (and, easily understood in modern terms, tax incentives). So Leo, a sort of proto-Protestant, decided to clean up Christianity's act. This did not find any traction in the West, however. The Latin Church felt no sting from Islâmic ideology. Leo's successes against the Arabs, obvious evidence of the favor of God, became associated with Iconoclasm. After images were restored by Irene, and military reverses seemed to follow, the favor of God was apparently withdrawn. The final Iconoclast period (815-843) was of such mixed military fortunes, with a serious defeat in 838, that worries about the favor of God faded, as Papal support for images had never faltered.
A geologically significant event occurred with the eruption of the volcanic island of Thera (Santorini) in 726. The volcano had been active since 718, but the eruption of 726 blew ash as far away as Macedonia. This may have been the largest eruption in Europe since Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Such an event may have contributed to Leo's sense that the Wrath of God had been provoked and that something like Icoclasm was the proper response. In the longer view of history, the most striking thing about the event is its echo of the great eruption of Thera that is now dated to have been between 1627 and 1600 BC (right at the end of the Egyptian Second Intermediate Period ). This wiped out what seems to have been a very large city of the Minoan Civilization on Thera. With ash, earthquakes, and tsunamis affecting Crete, the eruption may have delivered a devastating blow to that Civilization, which then limped on in part through its Greek, Mycenaean adaptation. Memory of the event may account for the stories of Atlantis related by Plato . Today Thera is a popular tourist destination, though the bay of the caldera is too deep for ships to anchor. Recently (April 6, 2007), the cruise ship Sea Diamond sank in the bay, with the loss of two passengers.
The final fall of Ravenna to the Lombards in 751 led to the intervention of the Franks in Italy, at the urging of the Pope.
Romania would never return to Central or Northern Italy. Nevertheless, the form of the Exarchate of Ravenna across central Italy, a corridor held between the Lombards in the north and those in the south, survived as the "Donation" of the Frankish King Pepin to the Pope -- the Papal States , whose history ran from 754 to 1870, 1116 years. Thus, although politically insignificant after 751, Ravenna nevertheless casts a kind of shadow deep into modern history -- including the name that, as a Roman capital, the city gives to the surrounding region, Romagna -- a word that looks like "Romania" where the "i" has patalalized the "n," the equivalent of Romaña, as we might write it in Spanish. Even as late as 1500 AD, as we see on the map below (Historical Atlas of the World, Barnes & Noble, 1970, 1972, p.49), the Archbishop of Ravenna has jurisdiction over an area of Northern Italy still coextensive with the historic Romagna.
But it was in Bologna, the largest city of the region, where the Pope last crowned a Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V , in 1530. Note that Modena and Parma are separate states in the Renaissance.
, "Copronymus," "Name of Dung" -- certainly one the harshest, crudest epithets in the history of royalty. Nevertheless, Constantine's reign may be regarded as generally successful, and the epithet is simply due to his persecution, including torture and execution, of those opposed to Iconclasm. In another proto-Protestant move, Constantine began forcing monks and nuns, strong supporters of icons, to marry. Otherwise, there were military successes against the Bulgars and even Arabs, where the Abbasid Revolution disrupted the attention of the Caliphate.
Constantine also began developing mobile military units, the tagmata (singular, tagma, from tassein, "to arrange, put in order" or "to draw up in order of battle" -- "regiment" would thus be an appropriate translation),
in addition to the landed thematic forces that had become fundamental to Roman military power. The units were commanded by a Domestic (Domesticus), except the Watch, whose commander was a Drungarius. This represented the first steps back to a paid professional army and so is a sign of a reviving economy. The Empire, however, would never be able to remain strong without the themes, and their collapse at the end of the 11th century would be the end of Romania as a hegemonic power. Eventually the Tagmata consisted of the Scholae ("Schools"), the Numera ("Number," feminine of Latin Numerus, used for a military unit), the Walls (Teichistai, or tôn Teicheôn, "of the Walls"), the Excubitors ("Sentinels"), the Optimates (Latin "the Best"), the Watch (Vigla, familar from "Vigil" in English, or Arithmos, equivalent to Numerus in meaning), the Hicanati ("Able Ones"), the Immortals (Athanatoi, named for the elite unit of Achaemenid Persia , who members were replaced as soon as they fell), and, finally, the Varangian Guard. The Scholae were Guard units founded by Constantine. The Numera and Walls were garrison troops for Constantinople, doubtlessly dating from the foundation of the City. The Excubitors had been created by Leo I with Isaurian recruits as part of his plan to purge the Army of Germans. All these units had rather withered until Constantine V, who recreated them as his own personal force after the revolt of Count Artabasdos (741�743) of the Opsician Theme. The status of the Optimates, which began as a fighting force with the other Tagmata, soon became a support unit, providing and supervising transport and logistics. Its commander remained a Domesticus, but it was settled on land, like a Thematic army, in the Optimakôn ("of the Optimates") Theme on the Asian side of the Bosporus, where other Tagmata units might be quartered. The Optimates thus are best regarded as a Thematic force that nevertheless is dedicated to the support of the Tagmata.
The next
Tagma added to the Army was the Watch, created by the Empress Irene from drafts of Thematic soldiers because the Scholae and others were strongly Iconoclast in sentiment and were interfering with her plans to Retore the Icons. There is some confusion about the names here. The Watch (Vigla) was also called the Arithmos, "Number," which was equivalent to Latin Numerus, and sometimes seems to be confused with the Numera Tagma. Thus, Warren Treadgold says that under Constantine V the "senior tagmata, the Scholae, Excubitors, and Watch" were cavalry units, while the "junior tagmata, the Numera, Walls, and Optimates," were infantry [Byzantium and its Army, 284-1081, Sanford, 1995, p.28]. He also adds that the Hicanati, created by Nicephorus I, were "a fourth cavalry tagma" [p.29]. If we need merely switch the Watch and Numera in Treadgold's account, we also have the problem that the third force of infantry would then still not exist until the Empress Irene. The Watch (or Treadgold's Numera), however, may have existed in some form before Irene. From its name, it does sound like part of the garrison force of Constantinople, since it has always been the job of a Watch, before the existence of police forces, to patrol cities at night to enforce the law and the peace. Irene may have transformed the Watch into a proper tagma, as Constantine V did with the original units he took in hand. The final tagmata, the Immortals and the Varangian Guard , would added by the Macedonians .
As Frankish power waxed, the Pope took the step of crowning the Frankish King Charles as Emperor in 800. This was during the reign of Irene, who had taken the throne exclusively for herself, the only Empress ever to do so, by having her son Constantine VI blinded (he died, too). Although Irene restored the images and reconciled the Eastern and Western Churches, the Pope decided to arrogate the authority of crowning a proper, male Emperor to himself (later justified with the fraudulent "Donation of Constantine" document, by which Constantine I had supposedly given the entire Western Empire to the Pope). While Charlemagne even offered to marry Irene, who could have regarded him as only the rudest of barbarians, this all signaled a fundamental parting of the ways between the Latin Europe of Pope and Franks ( Francia ) and the Greek Europe of Romania. Note the parallels between the reign of Irene and that of the slightly earlier Empress Wu (685-705) of T'ang Dynasty China. Because she did restore the Icons, Irene was later venerated as far away as the St. Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai -- although by then Sinai had been lost to Romania for almost two hundred years. She does not seem to have gotten as much credit closer to home, perhaps because Iconoclasm returned for a while.
5. DOGES (DUKES) OF VENICE, 727-1797
Orso (Ursus) Ipato
Venice Falls to Napoleon Bonaparte , 1797
Venice was the "Most Serene Republic" (Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia), or the "Queen of the Adriatic." The title of Doge derives from that of a late Roman commander of a military frontier, Dux ("leader,"
in Greek, duce in Modern Italian). This is cognate to English " Duke ." The Doges were always elected, from a variety of families, as their names indicate.
Over time their powers were increasingly limited, as Venice evolved into an oligarchic Republic. The Duke of Venetia at first would have been like many other Romanian officials in Italy, such as the Dukes of Naples , but Constantinople rarely had occasion or ability to exert direct rule over Venice, so over time the city drifted into independence, competition, and eventually belligerence.
The name "Venice" is derived from the name of the Roman province that embraced the whole area, Venetia. The principal city of Venetia was Aquileia. Although sacked by the Goths, the Huns, and the Lombards, Aquileia remained the most important city of the region for most of the Middle Ages. However, in the troubled times, people would flee the mainland to barrier islands along the coast or to islands in the lagoons behind them. Aquileia itself thus acquired a counterpart, Grado, on the nearby barrier island. To the west, a community formed on Rialto Island in the much larger lagoon seaward from Padua. Farming or building on such islands was a challenge. Earth needed to be brought in or dredged up to fill plots created from woven grasses. Substantial buildings required foundations of logs driven down into the muddy soil. Eventually this allowed a large city to rise on the Rialto. As its strength grew, the Rialto became powerful and preeminent and took on the name of the whole province -- Venetia, Venezia, Venice. The power of Aquileia was reduced by Austria, and finally the city itself was annexed by Venice in 1420. The Patriarchate that had been seated at Aquileia, and then had been divided with Grado, ultimately moved to Venice alone. Since 1451, Venice has been the seat of the Patriarchs of Venice, whose story can be examined in a separate popup . Although it is commonly thought that the mainland was abandoned in the 5th century and the whole population moved permanently to places like the Rialto, this does not seem to have been the case. It was a more gradual process, and the success of Venice may have been due to the realization that it provided defense, not against barbarian invasions, but in the face of the Frankish Emperors and other mainland powers. Venice, indeed, would be immune to conquest until Napoleon.
Venice was briefly in the power of Franks . According to Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus , the Venetians told King Pepin, "We want to be servants of the emperor of the Romans, and not of you" [De Administrando Imperio, Greek text edited by Gy. Moravcsik and translated by R.J.H. Jenkins, Dumbarton Oaks, Center for Byzantine Studies, 1967, p.121]. Eventually the Venetians agreed to pay tribute, but it steadily declined to a merely nominal sum.
The list of Doges is taken from Byzantium and Venice, A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations, by Donald M. Nicol [Cambridge University Press, 1988, 1999], and Storia di Venezia Volume II, by Eugenio Musatti [4th edition, Fratelli Treves Editori, Milano, 1937]. A complete list can also be found in A History of Venice, by John Julius Norwich [Vintage Books, 1989].
After the Schism of the Eastern and Western Churches (1054), there came to be growing religious hostility between Venice and her metropolis. However, Venice never quite fit in to the political system of Francia . For a while, as noted, the Republic paid tribute to the Carolingians but quickly enough shook off any obligation. Playing Constantinople and the West against each other, Venice never really acknowledged the authority of the Frankish or German Emperors and in time was relatively safe in its lagoon from attempts to impose imperial authority, whether from East or West. With the decline of Romania, Venice largely pursued its affairs at the expense of Constantinople and only came to be pushed out of the area altogether by the Ottomans .
When Alexius Comnenus signed a pact with Venice in 1082, the Republic became a partner with the now beleaguered Constantinople. During the honeymoon period we get the completion of St. Mark's Cathedral -- a mature Romania seeding its culture into the maturing Venice.
The honeymoon didn't last. The pact gave Venice a choke hold on the trade of Romania and on naval power in Romanian waters -- on at least one occasion Venetians burned Roman warships on the stocks before they could be completed. Although Alexius didn't have much choice at the time, this led to retaliation later. Manuel I arrested all Venetians in 1171 and little but hostile relations followed -- even peaceful exchanges revealed tragic inequality, as when the Imperial Crown Jewels were pawned with Venice in 1343.
The fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade in 1204 was largely engineered by the Doge Enrico Dandolo, who was actually buried in Sancta Sophia. By the settlement with the Crusaders, Venice was ceded 3/8 of the Empire, and the Doge henceforth styled himself quartae partis et dimidiae totius imperii Romaniae Dominator ("Lord of a quarter and a half [of a quarter] of the whole Empire of Romania"). Norwich interestingly translates this as "Lord of ... the Roman Empire" (p.147), but the phrase was imperium Romaniae, "Empire of Romania," not imperium Romanum, "Roman Empire." Venice was obviously not claiming 3/8 of the Empire of Trajan, but of the much reduced mediaeval Romania (this looks like part of the conspiracy of ignore the word "Romania" in Roman and "Byzantine" studies). This fragmentation of Romania helped Venice maintain her advantages, but it weakened the whole in the face of the eventual Ottoman threat. Venice could neither hold off the Turks nor support a local state strong enough to do so.
When the Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus took Constantinople back from the Crusaders, he conferred commercial advantages, not on Venice, but on her hated rival, Genoa , which, of course, had been Roman until lost to the Lombards in 642. This confirmed that Italy rather than Romania would be the center of trade and naval power in the Christian Mediterranean. Genoa was even granted the city of Galata, just across the Golden Horn from Constantinople itself, in 1267. As the Turks fatally invested Constantinople in 1453, it was Genoa rather than Venice that contributed to its defense -- though Galata itself remained neutral.
The most famous Venetian of the 13th century, and possibly of all history, was Marco Polo (c.1254-c.1324). Polo's business travels with his father and uncle to the China of Qubilai Khan might have gone unrecorded, like the stories of many other such travelers, if he had not been taken prisoner by the Genoese in 1298. Languishing in prison in Genoa, Polo began telling his story to a fellow prisoner. This happened to be the Pisan writer Rustichello (or Rusticiano), who thought that Polo's tales might make a good book and wrote it up, in French. This Divisament dou Monde, "Description of the World," soon to be called Il milione, "The Millions," was more a catalogue of places than a narrative of travels. Nevertheless, it was a sensation -- though people had trouble believing the numbers and scale of the places and domains described. One story about Polo himself is that he was questioned about just this on his deathbed. He replied, "I haven't told the half of it." Now that we know independently about the Mongol Empire , even this anecdote has the ring of truth. China alone was vast beyond the reckoning of 13th century Europe. Although serious questions have been raised about some of Polo's claims, details of his story, like the custom of the Chinese of making offerings to the dead by burning paper money or paper copies of other things, are still familiar and unique features of Chinese culture. The legend that Marco introduced noodles from China is now commonly discounted, but there is little doubt that someone did that in this era. The Romans were not eating pasta, but at some point we realize that the Italians are. If we then ask where such a preparation existed previously, the answer is China -- something probably as old as Chinese history and still the traditional alternative to rice in any Chinese (or Japanese, etc.) restaurant. As it happens, there are indications that noodles had already come down the Silk Road and been passed on through Islâm; but nothing was to stop Polo from bringing his own noodles, to unknown local effect.
What seems extraordinary about Venice now is how a mere city had become a Great Power, contending on terms of equality, if not superiority, with all of Romania. The tail wagging the dog indeed. And while Venice was never the equal of Turkey, it was for long one of the major belligerents contesting Ottoman advances. What this reveals is the stark difference in wealth between the cash economy of a commercial republic (Venice began minting gold Ducats in 1284) and, on the one hand, the poverty of subsistent kingdoms, like other Western European states and, on the other hand, the fractured economy of Romania, which had previously perpetuated commercial traditions. Venice was soon joined by other Italian cities, like Pisa and then Genoa , in exercising the power made possible by their wealth.
As commercial life began to grow in the North, the Italians began to lose their advantage. After Flanders and the Netherlands became centers of trade and manufacture, the Dukes of Burgundy first benefited from this wealth, then the Hapsburgs , and finally the Netherlands as an independent power. The latter eventuality is especially revealing. The Netherlands was a commercial republic again as Burgundy and the Hapsburg domains had not been. What's more, Amsterdam became the center of European banking, with that preeminence passing from, as it happened, the cities of Northern Italy (remembered in "Lombard Street" in the City of London). The next financial centers, of Europe and the World, would be London and then New York. In the course of all that history, the apparent power of the Italian cities was punctured like a balloon in 1494, when King Charles VIII of France invaded Italy. This is one of the events regarded as marking the end of the Middle Ages. It certainly revealed the comparative disadvantage into which the Italian powers had fallen. A nice recent movie about this period was Dangerous Beauty (1998), about a popular courtesan who ends up in a tug-of-war between Venetian nobility and the (rather unwelcome in Venice) Holy Inquisition. We happen to notice in the course of the movie that Venice has been expelled from Cyprus by the Turks (1571).
Just as bad or worse for Venice's position was the Age of Discovery. The Italian cities had grown strong on the trade of the Levant, and the new Atlantic powers wanted very much to have a way to avoid their mediation, let alone that of Turkey and Mamlûk Egypt , in the transfer of goods from India and further East to Europe. Columbus, therefore, was out to make an end run. Since he ran into the Americas instead of Asia, this diverted Spanish energies, but for Portugal Vasco da Gama did the job of getting to India around Africa in 1498. This eliminated Italy or the Turks from any central position in world trade. They could only fade, in the most literal sense, into back-waters. The Ottomans briefly tried to project their power into the Indian Ocean, occupying Yemen , pressing upon Ethiopia , and even sending to aid to the distant Sultân of Acheh in Sumatra; but the effort, like other Ottoman initiatives, soon petered out.
If the power of Venice began to fade in the 15th and 16th centuries, she was nevertheless one of the intellectual centers of the Renaissance . No one had a greater role in this than Aldus Manutius (Teobaldo Mannucci, d.1515), who founded the
Aldine Press and, with help of a large staff of Greek expatriates, created printed editions of a large part of Greek literature, often in the convenient octavo pocket editions that he popularized. He was personally motivated to see to it that Greek literature should not only be preserved in printed editions but be made available to all. In 1502, he founded a "New Academy," devoted entirely to Greek, with its business, rules, titles, etc. all conducted or rendered into Greek --
which was also the case in Manutius' own household. Indeed, the members of the Academy, who would include Erasmus , even adopted Hellenized names. The results of his publishing business, besides the pocket editions, included the Italic style of typeface and the formulation of modern punctuation, including the semicolon. Thus, Venice, which had done so much to destroy the power and civilization of Romania, nevertheless played a significant role in preserving its heritage. We must reflect on the irony of this.
The decline of the Turks in the 17th century allowed a brief Venetian resurgence, whose most striking event, however, was probably the destruction of the Parthenon in 1687, when a Venetian cannonball detonated an Ottoman powder magazine -- the ruin of the Acropolis was not produced by the Goths , the Huns, or any event of the Middle Ages, but by modern warfare. By that time a city state was going to be no match for the colonial and maritime powers that were rapidly becoming modern nation states. Venice lapsed into a kind of 18th century version of Las Vegas, a curiosity and a diversion -- and Las Vegas has now reciprocated with the Venetian Hotel . It was such a Venice that produced the memorable career of Giovanni Casanova (1725-1798), who saw the best and the worse of the City, from its marvelous entertainments and his own famous seductions to its terrible prisons and secret tribunals.
After invading Italy and defeating the Austrians, Napoleon had to exert little enough power to eliminate what had become an anchronism. The French were a little puzzled by the hostility of the Venetians to their occupation, since the rousing Republican rhetoric of the French didn't have the effect they expected -- but it was in a place that was, well, already a Republic. Napoleon, indeed, might have taken some lessons from the venerable and terrifying Venetian system of secret police and hidden inquisitorial courts.
One of the sights of Venice, the "Bridge of Sighs," is a covered way that secretly transported prisoners back and forth from their star chamber trials to their hopeless cells. However hostile to the French, the spirit of Venetian independence was soon forgotten, and it was the Sardinian Kingdom of Italy that detached Venice from Austria in 1866. The Venice of the subsequent period appears in Thomas Mann's Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig, 1912), which has been described as, "a symbol-laden story of aestheticism and decadence ..." Venice was just the place for that.
On the other hand, the art of Venice, in music -- as with Antonio Vivaldi (1680-1743) -- painting -- as with Titian, Tiziano Vecilli (1477-1576) -- and architecture, is an enduring and vivid monument. Part of this is a hint of the lost beauty of Constantinople, since St. Mark's Cathedral, crowned with four great horses from the Hippodrome and countless other treasures looted from Constantinople in 1204, is a copy of the vanished Church of the Holy Apostles, the burial place of Constantine and his successors (whose site is now occupied by the Fatih Jamii, the mosque, institute, and burial place of Meh.med II , the Conqueror [Fâtih.] of Constantinople).
Although decorated with loot, the present church was completed earlier, in 1094 (or 1071), with the help of artisans from the still friendly Emperors. The Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal, the Campanile bell tower (campana, "bell"), the Lido barrier island, and other structures and sites have now contributed their names, if not their images or functions, in countless modern landscapes. Oxford University has its own Bridge of Sighs, at Hertford College (right), though it apparently was never used for the same purpose as the Venetian (mercifully). In fact, although it is labelled the "Bridge of Sighs" on all maps of Oxford, it is not called that in the College, simply "the Bridge"; and it looks more like Venice's Rialto Bridge than the Bridge of Sighs. Cambridge University also has a Bridge of Sighs
, across the Cam River, at St. John's College (left). The Campanile on the Berkeley campus of the University of California (the Sather Tower, below right), on the other hand, almost identical in appearance to the one in Venice, houses a fine carillon, a sort of organ with bells instead of pipes.
The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas reproduces several of the landmarks of Venice, although not St. Mark's. P.J. O'Rourke, in a humorous comparison of the hotel and the city, points out that the Rialto Bridge at the hotel has safety features to prevent children from falling through the bridge railings. In Venice itself, perhaps deprived of the American Tort Bar, it seems to be the responsibility of parents to keep their children from falling off the bridge into the Grand Canal.
Poised between Francia and Romania, Venice thus preserves much of the beauty and atmosphere that was lost and forgotten after successive catastrophies to Constantinople. The City ended up itself as something out of its time, a Mediaeval Republic in an age of nation states, even as now it is rather like a living museum, slowly sinking into the lagoon that originally gave it refuge.
Indeed, the low muddy islands in the lagoon, once a redoubt, now are Venice's greatest peril. With zero elevation, the City is vulnerable to high seas, high tides, and any significant changes in sea level. Pumping out ground water under the City, long the simplest source of fresh water, threatened to leave it permanently awash. That danger was soon recognized and attempts have even been made to restore the water, though that is more difficult. However, the weight of buildings on the mud itself means they slowly sink; and, even worse, the whole geological province on the East side of Italy is being suppressed by tectonic forces. The continually threatened rises in sea level from global warming then sound like the final straw. Barriers may soon seal off the lagoon from the Adriatic during storms or high water, but this raises the problem of discharging the waste water brought down from inland cities. Any durable solution promises to be difficult, expensive, and perilous to the traditional character of the City.
Rome and Romania Index
B. REVIVAL AND ASCENDENCY, 802-1059, 257 years
400 years after the opportunity might have originally presented itself, a German finally claimed the title of Roman Emperor. This was the Frank Charlemagne, in a move legitimized by the Pope and by the reign of a woman, Irene, in Constantinople. For a while, Francia looked larger and much more powerful than Romania, but institutionally it was nowhere as sound or durable. The Empire of Charlemagne fragmented among his heirs and lapsed into feudalism , a system for government without cash or literacy. Meanwhile, Romania, with institutional continuity, commercial culture, and education, began to recover its strength, despite some severe blows continuing to fall.
1. NICEPHORANS
813-820
Iconoclasm restored, 815; first Varangian (Viking) raids in Anatolia, 818
The reigns of Irene and Nicephorus I begin what Warren Treadgold calls The Byzantine Revival, 780-842 [Stanford U. Press, 1988]. Despite the loss of most of Europe and continuing
Arab raids into Anatolia, the population and the economy of the empire were actually growing, and Nicephorus was able to start transplanting colonies of people from the east back into Greece. This soon led to the recovery of most of the Greek peninsula. It is hard to know how much this means Modern Greeks are descendants, not just of Greeks, but of Phrygians , Galatians , Isaurians, and other ancient (and extinct) inhabitants of Anatolia, as well as Slavs who had migrated into Greece and become assimilated. There is also the complication that colonists from Greece and the Balkans had previously been moved to Anatolia, to compensate for losses from Arab raiding. So people, of various sorts, who had begun in Europe, and then moved to Asia, grew into populations that then were transplanted back into Europe. Very confusing; and not something that leaves clear ethnic footprints. Perhaps DNA testing can sort it out.
Unfortunately for Nicephorus, and his evocative "Bearer of Victory" name, the "revival" was not without its setbacks. Nicephorus ended up killed in battle against the Bulgars , becoming one of the small number of Roman Emperors dying in battle against a foreign enemy. His skull was made into a drinking cup up by the Bulgar Khan Krum. His son Stauracius, proclaimed Emperor after the battle, turned out to be paralyzed from a spinal wound. His attempt to vest the throne in his wife Theophano (reportedly an Athenian relative of Irene), was foiled by his sister Procopia and her husband Michael Rhangabé. Michael then was inactive and indecisive and was overthrown by Leo the Armenian, an in-law of the subsequent Amorian dynasty. It would be some time before the Bulgars could be seriously defeated, much less subdued. Until then, it would be impossible to restore the Danube border.
the Drunkard
842-867
Final repudiation of Iconoclasm, body of Constantine V exhumed & burned, 843; Varangians attack Constantinople, 860; Arab army annihilated, Amir of Melitine killed, at Poson, 863
(Theophilus II)
867
In this period, aptly called the "Second Dark Age," the Arabs took to the sea -- which they had done before, but not previously in a sustained and systematic way. With the simultaneous advent of the Vikings, this made both Franks and Romans vulnerable in North and South. Crete was lost for over a century, and fighting began on Sicily that would last for more than 50 years and result in the permanent loss of the island.
Now we also find the last of Iconoclasm laid to rest, though one will note even today that the Orthodox Churches prefer Icons rather than sculpture in the round for sacred images.
The resolution of this conflict removed a point of friction between the Western and the Eastern Churches. It did reveal, however, how easily such conflict could arise. The later (1054) Schism of the Churches would be over apparently much more trivial issues -- the real issue, of course, was simply authority. The military successes of Iconoclast Emperors came to a dramatic end in 838, when the Caliph Mu'tas.im invaded Anatolia, defeated and very nearly captured Theophilus, and then destroyed the Emperor's own home town, Amoricum, enslaving the population. When Theophilus died young, leaving only a young son, the Empress Theodora, as Regent, moved to end Iconoclasm. At a Council in 843, on the first Sunday in Lent, the Iconoclast Patriarch John the Grammarian was deposed and the Iconophile Methodius installed as Patriarch . The Icons were restored. Orthodox Churches still commemorate the restoration of the icons on the first Sunday of Lent, which is called the "Sunday of Orthodoxy." Since Orthodox Churches use the Julian Calendar, this day can be more than a month after the first Sunday of Lent on the Gregorian calendar.
This period sees a turn of the tide against the Arabs. In 838 the Caliph al-Mu'tas.im (833-842) raided Anatolia, as the Arabs had been doing about annually for a long time, but this time in such force as to defeat the Romans in battle at Dazimon and then to sack the cities of Ancyra (Angora, now Ankara) and Amoricum (now Konya). Since Amoricum was the home of the present Empeor Theophilus, this was particularly humilating. A few years later, the subsequent Caliph, al-Wâthiq (842-847), began to execute prisoners from these cities who refused to convert to Islâm. Since the Romans had their own Arab prisoners, an exchange was suggested, and accepted. In 845 embassies between the Caliph and the new Emperor Michael III, or his Regent mother, Theodora, were exchanged to negotiate the prisoner exchange.
The Arab historian at.-T.abarî, in his Annales (edition in Leiden, 1883-1884), relates details of the embassies, and we see him use an Arabic title for the Roman Emperor. The Roman ambassadors are themselves called
, rusulu S.âh.ibi-r-Rûm, the "messengers of the Emperor of the Romans," one of whom seems to have been the future Patriarch Photius . See the discussion of the expression for "Romans." So here the word for "Emperor" is
(irregular or "broken" plural
, s.ah.âbah), which is familiar, as "Sahib," in countless movies about India and Africa. It is an important word in Arabic. S.âh.ib can mean "owner, possessor, master, lord," etc., as it does here, or it can mean "companion, comrade, friend, follower" (comes in Latin). Thus,
, as.-S.ah.âbah, are the "Companions" of the Prophet Muh,ammad. These are the most important personages in the history of Islâm apart from the Prophet himself. Also noteworthy is the term
, "messengers," where the singular,
, rasûl, is found in the expression
, rasûlu-llâh, i.e. Muh.ammad as the "Messenger of God," which is used in the Confession of Faith.
Not long after these events, in 863, another raiding Arab army, led by the Amir of Melitine, was annihilated, and the Amir killed, in battle at Poson. This was not the end of Arab raiding, but it did mean that the Romans were now getting the upper hand, and the period of Arab raiding and domination was coming to an end. One reason for this is the improvement and maturity of the new Army.
By the time of the Amorians, the Army has settled into its classic form and is much improved in numbers, organization, and effectiveness. The loss of Sicily and Crete is not encouraging, but the heartland of Anatolia is being defended with increasing success, and the lost territories in the Balkans are now being recovered and resettled. Bulgaria stands in the way in that direction and will eventually be dealt with. By 878 Sicily will be lost forever (although Rometta holds out until 965). It is possible that it could have been recovered, but now the remoteness of the command, and eventual disloyalty of the Norman mercenaries, will snuff out such a hope. This is the army with which the Macedonians will eventually defeat and conquer Bulgaria, pass through the Cilician Gates, recover Antioch, and invade Syria. Later, when the Thematic forces are neglected, the mobile army, the Tagmata, will prove insufficient, as the Moble Army alone had earlier in the Fifth Century .
The arrival of the Varangians (839), which meant the Vikings who had come down the rivers of Russia , added a new element to Roman history. Constantinople became to them Miklagarð, or Mikligarð (Mikligarðr with the nominative ending), but often rendered Miklagard, Miklagarth, or Miklegarth -- the "Great City." Here the element mik- is cognate to mag- in Latin magnus and meg- in Greek megas, both "great." Curiously, there is an archaic adjective in English, "mickle," meaning "great" or "large," which is this very same word. A cognate survives in recent English, the humble word "much." The other element, gard (Old Norse garðr), "enclosed," is cognate to English "garden" and "yard" (and the name "Garth") as well as to gorod and grad, "city," in Russian -- as in Tsargrad,
, for Constantinople (the final "soft" sign,
, was in Old Church Slavonic but is lost in modern Russian). We see this element in Midgard, or Miðgarðr, "Middle Earth," the realm of men in Old Norse and in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The "Great City" (we could say "Mickleyard" with English words) could not have been more appropriate, since Constantinople was the largest city in Europe until at least the 13th century, as it was the center of the only real cash economy in Europe perhaps until the 11th century.
Relations with the Varangians rocked back and forth between war and trade, mainly depending on what the Norsemen thought they could get away with -- they would be prepared for both. The contact in 839 was an embassy, which had encountered sufficient difficulties coming down the rivers of Russia that it requested the good offices of the Emperor in negotiating passage back by way of the Frankish realm of Louis the Pious . Louis already knew about Viking raids and was suspicious that these travelers, although vouched for by Constantinople, were nevertheless of their kind. Assured (falsely) that they were not, the embassy was allowed to pass. Soon, Varangians would have little fear of traversing Russia and would begin raiding Roman territory and even attacking Constantinople. As it happened, the Norsemen were rather less successful against the Romans than they were against the Franks, and bouts of attacks were usually followed by treaties -- where such reconciliation was rarely necessary in the West. To the Varangians, the Roman Emperor becomes in Old Norse the Stólkonungr, the "Great King," with "great" in this case borrowed from Old Russian (as in Stolnyi Knyaz, the "great prince " of Kiev -- stolnyi does not have this meaning in Modern Russian), and "king" (konung) familiar from other Germanic languages (e.g. German könig). This echoes Megas Basileus in Greek, the translation of the title of the Great Kings of Persia and the origin of the use of Basileus for "Emperor" in Mediaeval Greek.
We are approaching the point in European history where the remaining pagan peoples of Europe will be assimilated to Christian civilization. Bulgaria will lead the way, but it will soon be following by Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Scandinavia. The Pechenegs (or Patzinaks), a Turkic steppe people, will remain pagans until they are swept from history by the Cumans and Mongols. On the east edge of the map is the Khanate of the Khazars , also Turkic, who actually converted to Judaism. They would be Roman allies until disappearing in the 11th century. Shown on the map are the tracks of several raids by the Magyars into Francia. It is striking how far afield they go. A more intimate picture is provided elsewhere for Burgundy .
3. BULGARIA BEFORE ROMAN CONQUEST
Asparukh
Bulgaria annexed by Basil II , 1018
Although today the Bulgarians are thought
of as simply a Slavic people, like the Russians or Serbs, they were originally a nomadic Turkic steppe people, more like the Huns or Mongols. The first title of their leaders here, qaghan, is recognizably more Mongolian than the form more familiar from Turkish, khân. The Slavs, who had breached the Danube with the Avars, but who had little in the way of indigenous political organization, then came under the control of the Bulgars, the next nomadic group to pop off the end of the steppe. A related people, the Khazars , who remained on the Lower Volga, became long term Roman allies against the Bulgars.
Other related peoples, the Patzinaks and Cumans, followed the Bulgars off the steppe and into the Balkans, though not permanently south of the Danube. After the Cumans, the Mongols were the last steppe people to come into Europe. Through the Middle East, of course, the Turks (and the Mongols) came off the steppe and ultimately, permanently, into Azerbaijan, Anatolia, and Thrace.
Fans of Robert E. Howard's (1906-1936) classic pulp fiction character Conan the Barbarian, will find the name of the Bulgar Qaghan Krum somewhat familiar -- it is rather like Conan's own personal god, "Crom." Krum, indeed, seems very Conan-like. Not only was the Emperor Nicephorus killed in battle, but Krum took his skull and turned it into a drinking cup. This sounds like "barbarism" indeed -- though Lord Kitchener (1850-1916) may have had something similar in mind when he removed the body of the Sudanese Mahdi from his tomb, after taking Khartoum in 1898.
More recently, readers of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [J.K. Rowling, Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, Inc., 2000] will remember that the champion Bulgarian Quidditch player was none other than Viktor Krum.
What happened to the Bulgars was assimilation. The Patzinaks pushed them off the steppe, they began to speak the language of their Slavic subjects, and they began to aspire to the civilization, if not the throne, of Constantinople. The conversion of the Bulgars, indeed, was a complicated political act, with sophisticated negotiations that played the Popes off the Emperors. Greek influence ended up predominating, but the Bulgars continued jealous of their autonomy -- the precedent of an autocephalous Church set the pattern for other Orthodox Churches, as in Russia , created under Roman auspices. The Qaghan Boris
took the Christian name Michael (though both names would be used in the future), but retained a status comparable to the Roman Emperor.
The newly developed Cyrillic alphabet, based on the "glagolitic" alphabet invented for Moravia by Sts. Cyril (Constantine, 827-869) and Methodius (826-885), was used for the Slavic language of the new Bulgarian national Church. This language, Old Church Slavonic or Old Bulgarian, is the oldest attested Slavic language and retains features apparently ancestral of most modern Slavic languages -- although different texts also display influence (or emergent features) from the local languages, Czech, Bulgarian, and Serbian, in the areas where it was used. At right is the Cyrillic alphabet of Old Church Slavonic. I have used some letters in the modern form rather than with the more traditional appearance, which is more obviously Greek. Various modern Cyrillic alphabets, which can be examined under the treatment of the Slavic languages, often employ different selections of letters from the full original alphabet -- although there is the possibility that some letters were later contributed, again, by local languages, like Serbian (cf. S.C. Gardiner, Old Church Slavonic, Cambridge, 1984, 2008, pp. 13-14). It will be noted that this alphabet contains more dedicated palatalizing vowels than the modern languages that continue to use this device.
An interesting case is the way "u" is written. Old Church Slavonic writes the Greek digraph
.
We also see the ligature
for "iu," which affixes an "i" an drops the "y." This is the only such ligature still used in modern Cyrillic alphabets, despite the presence of no less than five of them in Old Church Cyrillic -- the available ligature
is replaced by
in Russian, Bulgarian, etc., although I imagine that the latter may be a modification of the former. Since the Greek digraph
is redundant, modern Cyrillic alphabets simply write "u" with
.
The signs
and
, which apparently were vowels in Old Church Slavonic, of uncertain quality (as the vocalization of Old Church Slavonic is disputed), have now either become markers of "solf" and "hard" consonsants, as in Russian, or have been dropped, as in Serbian. These are divergent strategies that both go back to Old Church Slavonic. We also get nasalized vowels in Old Church Slavonic,
and
, marked with tildes here (the IPA diacritic), but elsewhere with a subscript hook, as in Polish, where such nasals survive.
The first step merely left it leaderless, as John Tzimisces took Emperor Boris II off to Constantinople. A new state was organized in the west, however, by the sons of the Bulgar governor Count Nicholas. These "Sons of the Count," Cometopuli, eventually got an Emperor back after Boris and his brother Romanus escaped captivity. Boris was accidentally killed, so Romanus became the (largely figurehead) ruler. After Romanus died, the Cometopulus Samuel succeeded him. The Emperor Basil II, after humiliating defeat by the Bulgars in his youth, then smashed and annexed this state, with a ferocity that that might have made Krum (or Conan) proud. Samuel is supposed to have dropped dead when he saw that Basil had blinded all the survivors of the Bulgarian army (leaving every tenth man with one eye to lead the rest) -- although the later references to this are now often doubted. Bulgaria would not reemerge until the Asen brothers led it to independence in 1186. After the Turkish conquest, modern Bulgaria did not emerge until 1878.
Lists of Bulgarian rulers can be found in various Byzantine histories, but the genealogy here only comes from the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, pp.156-159].
4. MACEDONIANS
Isaac I Comnenus
1057- 1059
The greatest dynasty of Middle Romania begins with the Empire still losing ground. Raids by the Arabs, Vikings, and now Magyars are giving all of Europe a very bad time. Only the 10th Century would see a gradual recovery, as Slavs, Norsemen, and Magyars all became settled and Christianized, though the Normans remained vigorous and aggressive in both North and South, i.e. conquering England and expelling Romania from Italy . Much of the good work of the Dynasty was accomplished by in-laws during the minority of the legitimate heirs, though the culmination came when one heir, Basil II, came of age and completed the conquests himself. Although traditionally called the "Macedonian" dynasty, Basil I was probably Armenian, like several of the other Emperors-by-marriage.
But, ironically, the dynasty may actually descend from Michael III rather than from Basil. Basil had been induced to marry Michael's mistress; and although the marriage continued even after Basil had overthrown Michael, the first children may still have been Michael's.
One of the most successful Emperor-Regent-in-laws, Nicephorus II Phocas, unintentionally played an important part in the history of Armenia. After reconquering Cilicia and Tarsus, in the Taurus and Anti-Taurus Mountains, and expelling the local Muslims in 965, Nicephorus encouraged Christians from Syria and Armenia to settle the area. Subsequently, when the Turks poured into Anatolia after the epic defeat at Manzikert in 1071, the Christians of the Taurus were relatively safe in the mountains, and the Turkish flood washed around them. This led to the creation of the durable Kingdom of Lesser Armenia (1080-1375). The Armenians of Lesser Armenia were then probably the Christians of the Middle East with the best relations with the Crusaders , including intermarriage. It is now not often noted, but Lesser Armenia became such a center of Armenian life at the time that the Armenian Patriarchate relocated there from Armenia. From 1058 to 1441, this was the only Armenian Patriarchate. Even the reestablishment of Patriarchs in Armenia did not interrupt the line of succession in Cilicia, which henceforth became know as the Great House of Cilicia . This succession continues to the present and even remained in the Taurus, long after the extinction of the Armenian Kingdom, until 1930, when the Patriarchs joined Armenian refugees in Lebanon , where they remain. In the years of the isolation of Soviet Armenia, the center of international Armenian life was this Patriarchate in Lebanon. This is now obscured by the independence of Armenia in 1991 and the emigration of many Armenians from the former Soviet Union into the West. Their culture, influenced by the corruption of Soviet life, and even their language (Eastern rather than Western Armenian), is distinct from that of the Lebanese Armenians who used to dominate, for instance, Armenian immigration to the United States.
In the early days of the dynasty we get a benchmark on the survival of Classical and later Greek literature. The Bibliotheca of the Patriarch of Constantinople Photius (858-867, 877-886) contains 280 reviews.
Even Edward Gibbon refers to this as "a living monument of erudition and criticism" [The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume III, Modern Library, p.297]. It is not a catalogue of existing literature, or of a particular library, not even that of Photius, but a treatment of works familiar to Photius, apart from the mainstream of general education, that Photius is recommending to his brother Tarasius. Thus, popular authors like Homer, Plato, Aristotle, or the Greek playwrights (except for some lost plays of Aeschylus!) are missing from the list. Photius' treatment ranges from brief descriptions and evaluations to long summaries and discussions. Of the 386 works mentioned by Photius, 239 are theological. Nevertheless, only 43% of the text actually focuses on them. The majority of the text (in a book whose modern edition in Greek is 1600 pages long) is thus secular. For example, in addressing A History of Events After Alexander (in ten books) by the Roman historian Arrian of Nicomedia (an early member of the Second Sophistic ), we get a long summary of those very events , which are often obscure enough that every description helps. Although much of Arrian survives, and his Anabasis Alexandri is the best account of the campaigns of Alexander, all we have of A History of Events After Alexander is Photius' summary. We also have Arrian to thank for transcribing in the Encheiridion or "Handbook," the teachings of the Roman Stoic philosopher Epictetus, whose student he was. Our benchmark is that about half of the works mentioned by Photius, like the Events, are now lost. It is distressing to think of what survived, despite the Dark Ages, and then what later disasters may have cost us -- when the City was sacked by the Fourth Crusade and then the Ottomans (where we hear of bonfires of books, although this may be a slander). It is hard to imagine an undisturbed Constantinople being subsequently so careless with its literary heritage.
At no other Court of the age could visitors have found the nobility quoting Homer, as we see below. [cf. Photius, The Bibliotheca, A selection translated with notes by N.G. Wilson, Duckworth, London, 1994.] Photius, whose Bibliotheca was only part of his literary output, was a major political figure and himself was responsible for the mission of Sts. Cyril (Constantine, 827-869) and Methodius (826-885) to convert the Slavs.
The climax of Mediaeval Romania came with the Emperor Basil II Bulgaroctonus,
, "Bulgar Slayer" (Bulgarentöter in German). He also happened to be ruling at the turn of the first Millennium, which is of some interest as we have now seen the year 2000. Christendom had been having a bad time for several centuries, but things were looking up in 1000. After a long minority with in-laws ruling as co-regents, Basil defeated and captured an entire Bulgarian army in 1014. He blinded every prisoner, except for one eye left to every tenth man, so they could lead their fellows home. The Tsar Samuel is supposed to have dropped dead when he beheld the mutilated men returning. There is no contemporary record of this mass blinding, and its historicity is now often questioned. Whether anything quite like this happened or not, however, Bulgaria only lasted four more years before being annexed.
Meanwhile, the Varangians had created a powerful state at Kiev ; and, as the "Rus," their name came to be attached to it -- giving us
in Greek, "Russia" in Latin. The alternation of war and trade that had characterized Roman relations with the Varangians, and which led to sharp defeats of Russia by John Tzimisces, took a greater turn toward friendship in Basil's day with the conversion of St. Vladimir to Christianity (989). Part of this process involved the marriage of Basil's sister Anna to Vladimir, and the provision by Russia of mercenaries for what now became the Emperor's "Varangian Guard."
The Guard became the loyal shock troops and Life Guard of the Emperor, and are usually identifiable in historical accounts, even if not named as such, by their description as
, pelekophóroi (pelekyphóroi in Attic Greek), "axe bearers," from the single bladed axe (
, pélekys), with a handle up to six feet long, that they carried as their primary weapon (seen in the image at right from the history of John Scylitzes, c.1057). There also seems to have been some identification of this weapon with the fasces carried by the Lictors of the Roman Republic . Indeed, the appearance of the great axes on the battlefield came to signal the personal presence of the Emperor (although Varangians at first were often detailed to fight with other forces, as in Italy).
After the formation of the Varangian Guard, it quickly no longer became a matter of mercenaries provided by Russia. The fame of the unit spread quickly, and soon individual recruits were arriving , not just from Russia (and now of Slavic and not just Varangian origin), and not just from the immediate source of Russian Varangians, Sweden, but from as far away as Norway, Denmark, and even Iceland -- all the Norse lands, which by this point had converted to Christianity. Since all these places were outside the limits of Classical geography, we find Anna Comnena characterizing all the Varangians, including the English ones, as from "Thule,"
. This was conformable to ideas in geographers like Strabo, who refers to "Thule, the most northerly of the Britannic Islands," "six days sail north of Britain," although he expressed some skepticism about its existence. Thus, Gibbon speaks of "the British island of Thule," which now sounds very odd [The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume III, Modern Library, p.368]. "Six days sail north of Britain," however, which was the formula of the Greek explorer Pytheas, might very well get us from Britain to Norway.
The Norse recruits included the very interesting Harald Hardråde (or Haraldr Sigurðarson, Haraldr Harðráði), the subsequent King of Norway who would die in 1066 at Stamford Bridge , while invading England. The deeds of Harald and others would be recounted in the Icelandic Sagas, often written much later with fabulous or fanciful additions, but with sufficient detail to pin down their historical origins. Also, numerous rune stones have been found in Sweden, often at churches for the now Christian Swedes, that stand as cenotaphs or commemorative monuments to men who left for Romania (Grikland, Kirkium, etc., "Greece") and never came back. Some were installed before leaving by the men themselves. Some, of course, may have been for traders rather than members of the Varangian Guard, but a few mention deaths fighting in Serkland, i.e. Islamic lands (where the "Saracens" are), or in
Lakbarþland, i.e. Langobardia, " Italy ." In time, the Norse recruits apparently obtained their own church in Constantinople, at least in part dedicated to St. Olaf (or Olof, Olav) of Norway, Harald's brother, perhaps enshrining a sword that was supposed to have been his. Indeed, the 15-year-old Harald was present at the battle of Stiklestad in 1030, where Olaf was killed -- with reports of miracles immediately following. Harald fled with 500 retainers all the way to Constantinople, perhaps carrying such a relic of Olaf that could have been enshrined in the church. In King Harald's Saga, we have Olaf appearing in visions to help Harald; and the Norse church is said to have been constructed on the spot of such a vision [cf. The Varangians of Byzantium by Sigfús Blöndal and Benedikt S. Benedikz, Cambridge University Press, 1978, 1981, 2007; Snorri Sturluson, King Harald's Saga, Penguin, 1966, 2005, p.61].
While a companion of Hardråde eventually settled in Iceland, we also have the account of a native Icelander, Bolli Bollason (or Bollasson), as recounted in the Laxdaela Saga. Bollason's sojourn in Romania was quite early, in the 1020's, and he is said to be the first West Norseman in the Varangian Guard. When he returned home, fitted out with a red cape and gold trim on his weapons, reportedly, "Wherever he went, women paid heed to nothing but gazing at Bolli and his grandeur" [Peter Frankopan, The First Crusde, The Call from the East, Belknap Press, Harvard University Press, 2012, p.28], by which he became known as "Bolli the Elegant."
It is noteworthy that while the legend and the romance of the Vikings is still a part of popular culture (I was entranced by The Vikings [1958], which I saw at Holloman Air Force Base in 1962), and most people retain an image of Viking barbarians fighting, looting, slaughtering, drinking, and raping (this is romance?), such awareness promply shuts down when the Norsemen convert to Christianity. Presumably, they stop the looting and raping, and the reaction, as from Hollywood, is "You're no fun anymore!" (except for a movie like Ingmar Bergman's Virgin Spring [1960]). But even as Christians, many Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, and Icelanders were still looking for a good fight; and to find it they traveled to the greatest and most famous Christian monarch: The Emperor of the Romans. Since they kept doing that for centuries, the word of mouth about their experiences must have been positive. It was a good fight, if not always a successful one.
The map shows Romania in 1000 AD, at the Millennium, with the height of Middle Romanian power rapidly approaching. The extent of Bulgaria is open to question. Some sources say it stretched to the Black Sea. Whatever, it will soon be erased.
Having experienced the Millennium of the year 2000 in our day, we have the movie, End of Days (Universal, 1999), with Arnold Schwarzenegger personally battling Satan, who is said to be released every thousand years (a somewhat loose reading of the Book of Revelation). This would mean that a similar difficulty occurred in 999, as well as 1999. Arnold wasn't around then, but Basil II was -- not only a great warrior but an Emperor who maintained a monk-like celibacy, and who was seen by most Christians as the principal defender of Christendom, as the Emperors had been since Constantine. Somebody missed a bet for a good movie, or at least a flashback, about that -- End of Days itself could have had a flashback explaining how Satan was easily thwarted in 999 by the undiminished wisdom, strength, and preparedness of Basil, Pope Sylvester II (this was before the Schism), and the Patriarch Sergius II of Constantinople.
The monks of the "Holy Mountain," Hágion Óros, Mt. Áthôs, could be brought into any story of the Millennium. The Great Laura Monastery, the first of many in this most sacred place, the Mt. Hiei,
, of Orthodox Christianity, had recently been built (961-963) by St. Athanasius. Tradition holds with some earlier foundations, and several small hermitages, as well as individual hermits in caves and elsewhere, certainly had been there for some time; but the Great Laura is the first for which there is contemporary historical documentation.
Áthôs is the most north-eastern of three peninsulas that extend out into the Aegean Sea from the larger peninsula of the Chalcidice. There are still 20 active monasteries on the Mountain, with a number of smaller settlements and institutions. The road from the mainland ends at Uranopolis (or Ouranoupoli, one now usually sees spellings that reflect modern Greek pronunciation --
I have Latinized many of the names, but the spelling of the monasteries especially reflects this trend). From there one (men only) must take a boat down to Daphne. From Daphne a road, recently built, goes up to Caryes (Karyes, Karyai), the town that is the administrative center of the Mountain, on the land of the Koutloumousiou Monastery. Although most Greek churches operate under the authority of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church, Mt. Áthôs is still under the direct jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople , i.e. the "Ecumenical" Patriarch in Istanbul. Over the years, monasteries were founded, not just by Greeks, but by Georgians , Serbs, Bulgarians, Russians, and even Italians. The Italians are now gone (there being the Schism and all), but there are also (modern) Romanians present, though they do not have their own monastery. Mt. Áthôs thus unites all the Orthodox Churches who share the theology of Constantinople. The mysticism of the theology of Mt. Áthôs contrasts with the humanism of Mistra -- this is discussed elsewhere in relation to the Renaissance .
Sadly, the great triumph of Romania was short-lived. The last Emperors of the Dynasty, all by marriage, squandered the strength of the State, debased the coinage, and neglected the thematic forces that had been the military foundation of Romania for four hundred years -- in part by now ignoring, as Basil II had not, the alienation of the land of thematic soldiers to large landowners who did not have the same military obligations. This was a kind of creeping feudalism, which Romania had previously avoided. Full feudalism has quashed, ironically, because of the Turkish conquest. What was left of the Army, the Imperial guards of professionals and mercenaries, could not be relied upon in all circumstances, as Machiavelli would have warned, especially after the finances of the state were messed up. Before things had gone that far, however, we see that the attempt of Michael V, at the death of his uncle (?) Michael IV, to depose the Empress Zoë provoked a popular revolt. This included the Varangian Guard, which may have actually been commanded at the time by Harald Hardråde (1042). According to King Harald's Saga, Harald led the Guard to seize and blind Michael (whom it confuses with his successor, Constantine IX). This personal loyalty to Zoë, and her sister Theodora, was the best tribute to the faltering Macedonian dynasty.
Most symbolically, the breach between the Eastern and Western Churches in 1054 was the one that became permanent and henceforth separated the One Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church into the Pope's Latin Church , usually called "Roman Catholic," and the Patriarch of Constantinople's Greek Church , traditionally called "Greek Orthodox" -- along with the other autocephalous "Orthodox" Churches (Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Romanian, etc.). There had been similar estrangements earlier, which had always been patched up without much in the way of hard feelings. This was the expectation at the time; and the handling of the matter was so casual that later, when it became apparent that the breach was becoming permanent, the original documents could not even be found. The estrangement in religion came at a very bad time. When the Turks invaded Anatolia and the Crusading forces arrived from Francia , the Schism was a source of constant irritation and mistrust. It provided some rationalization for the seizure of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade ; and later, when the Churches were apparently reconciled by the Palaeologi , it left most Greeks so disaffected that their support for their own government was compromised. Thus, for centuries, Christian forces were divided and weakened in the continuing confrontation with Islâm.
Here we see the confusion over the paternity of Leo VI. The greatest controversy of Leo's reign, however, was over his own marriages. He disliked his first wife, from an arranged marriage. She and their daughter died in the early years of his reign. He was then able to marry his long time mistress, Zoë. After delivering their daughter Anna, however, who would later marry Louis of Burgundy , Zoë soon died. This created a problem. Unlike Henry VIII , whose problem was that he wanted divorces, Leo's problem was that in the Greek Orthodox Church second marriages, even after the death of a spouse, were discouraged and third marriages strongely condemned. While theoretically there was no provision for raison d'état, we can imagine the overriding need to provide an Heir for the Dynasty. The Patriarch, successor to Leo's own brother Stephen , granted a dispensation. His new wife, Eudocia, then died in childbirth, followed shortly by the infant son.
Now Leo really had a problem. St. Basil had said that fourth marriages were the equivalent of polygamy, "a practice bestial and wholly alien to humankind." Leo therefore took a mistress, Zoë Carbonopsina (
, Zoë of the " Coal Black Eyes"), who then in 905 gave birth to a son, destined to be Constantine VII -- ironically the Porphyrogenitus,
, Porphyrogénnêtos, "Born in the Purple" (I love this in German -- der Purpurgeborene), who nevertheless had been born a bastard. The Patriarch, now Nicholas I Mysticus, refused to baptize the boy unless Zoë was expelled from the Palace. She was. But Constantine was still a bastard, so Leo brought Zoë back and got a priest to marry them and legitimize the Heir. The result was considerable furor. Leo cleverly played the Photian and Ignatian factions of the Greek Church off each other and meanwhile appealed to Pope Sergius III . The Latin Church had no problem with serial marriages, just with divorce. So, in 907, with Sergius' belessing, Leo deposed Patriarch Nicholas (who would subsequently be restored), and installed Euthymius I, who was persuaded to agree with the Papal ruling (more or less). Thus, where Henry VIII broke with the Pope ( Clement VII ), and abolished the whole Church of Rome in England, in pursuit of a male heir, Leo's own pursuit was consummated by the timely help of the Pope, when the Greek and Latin halves were still One Roman Catholic Church (Una Romana Catholica Ecclesia), against the Patriarch. Leo did not long outlive the controversy.
Subsequently, in the minorities of Constantine VII, Basil II, and Constantine VIII, we see multiple reigns from Imperial in-laws. Romanus I almost derailed the dynasty; but John I and Nicephorus II were extremely vigorous and successful in retrieving Romanian fortunes and territory, progress finally to be sealed by the adult Basil. This great Basil, however, had remained celibate and irresponsibly failed to provide for the future of the family -- so unlike Charles II of England, who not only arranged key marriages for his nieces, Mary and Ann, but had ironically, as a Catholic sympathizer himself, required that they be raised and married Protestant, thereby securing a Protestant succession in Britain after the inevitable disaster of his foolish Catholic brother James II. This may have been Basil's greatest failing as a ruler. After the death of Constantine VIII, only Theodora and Zoë, whom Basil had allowed to become nuns, remained of the Dynasty. Zoë endured three marriages to provide male sovereigns. These in-laws were as bad for the Empire as the earlier ones had been good. After the death of Constantine Monomachus, whom Zoë predeceased, Theodora briefly reigned alone at the end of the line. Note the marriage of Maria Argyropoulaina to a son of the Doge of Venice. This was arranged by Basil II well before the marriage of Romanus III Argyrus to Zoë. Maria is supposed to have introduced the fork to Venice when arriving there with Giovanni in 1004 or 1005 [cf. Judith Herrin, "Venice and the Fork," Byzantium, The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire, Princeton & Oxford, 2007, pp.203-205].
The genealogy of the Macedonians is supplemented here with an abbreviated tree showing the major foreign marriages of the Dynasty. The marriage of Constantine VII to the daughter of Hugh of Arles is shown above, but there are four other marriages noted here.
Two of them are not attested by all sources. Leo VI did have a daughter Anna (by his second wife), and marrying her to Hugh's predecessor in Burgundy, while his son married Hugh's daughter, produces a reasonable reciprocity; but marrying a true Porphyrogenita (still Porphyrogénnêtos -- in Greek a compound, although feminine, retains the second declension ending, -os, otherwise used for masculines -- a scruple not observed in Latin), a "Born in the Purple" Princess, to a barbarian king (which is what Louis III would have seemed to most), is something that some sources say was inconceivable, which is why all that the Emperor Otto II got was merely the niece of an Imperial in-law, John Tzimisces. Theophano was no Porphyrogenita (though some sources can be found referring to her as John's own daughter, or even as a daughter of Romanus II). Constantine VII himself asserted that a Porphyrogenita could not be married to a foreign prince -- although he then made an exception for the Franks. The most significant exception, however, would be St. Vladimir , who certainty did marry the Porphyrogenita sister, Anna, of Basil II and Constantine VIII. Since this attended the conversion of Russia to Christianity (989), with the material contribution of Russian (Varangian) troops to the Roman Army, it could well have been thought worth the price.
, chmshkik, "red boot," which sounds like an epithet that John might have picked up, perhaps as a child (like Caligula's "little boot"). This is also transcribed as chmushkik, although there is no "u" (
, the digraph, like Greek
, that we see in Gurgen) written there in Armenian, which otherwise may be using a vocalic "m." In any case, there is no good evidence or certainty about this identification or its meaning. It remains one of the more curious names found among the Emperors of Romania. But John's given name is also noteworthy.
As I have commented above , actual Christian Biblical names have been relatively rare among Christian Roman Emperors, with the Macedonians as no exception.. This is especially striking with the name "John,"
(Iôánnês, Latin Johannes), which is a supremely Chistian Biblical name but previously here has only occurred with a usurper in the 5th century . Until recently in the United States and Britain, "John" and "Mary" were the most common given names. But here, beginning with Tzimisces and some Michaels (
), Biblical names start becoming more common. There will eventually be eight Johns and Michaels each, with the occasional Thomas,
, Isaac,
, and David,
, with some names less familiar in English, like Manuel,
(from Emmanuel, in Greek and Spanish, a name for the Messiah, i.e. Jesus). We may think of George,
, as a Christian name, but it only became so because of St. George,
, whom I discuss below , and it was never the name of in Emperor in Constantinople -- although, like Peter,
, not unusual elsewhere, as we shall see.
The final marriage here is the potentially the most interesting but also somewhat problematic. Brian Tompsett's Royal and Noble Genealogy gives a sister "Irene" for the Empresses Zoë and Theodora, who is said to have married Vsevolod of Kiev , grandson (by an earlier marriage) of St. Vladimir [still listed this way as of June 2011]. I have not seen a single Macedonian genealogy that lists such an "Irene." This is of great interest because their son,
, Vladimir II Monomakh, was the grandfather of Ingeborg of Novgorod, who married (1118) Knut Lavard Eriksson, the father of King Valdemar the Great of Denmark (1157-1182). Through the intermarriages of the subsequent royalty of Denmark, we get connections to many of the rulers of Europe. Thus, it is sometimes said that Queen Elizabeth II of England is a descendant of the Emperor Basil I. But that would only be true if Irene really was a Macedonian.
Other sources have a slightly different claim. The Royal Families of Medieval Scandinavia, Flanders, and Kiev, by Rupert Alen and Anna Marie Dahlquist [Kings River Publications, Kingsburg, CA, 1997], says that Irene (or Irina) was "a daughter of Constantine IX Monomach" [p.160]. That is a lot different. Constantine was the Empress Zoë's third husband. She was already 64 when they married, so there is not much chance that Irene was her child, but Constantine was a widower (twice), and it is not surprising that he would have previous children, although Byzantine histories don't seem to bother addressing the issue. Vladimir II is called
, "Monomakh," which thus sounds like a tribute to his Roman grandfather.
Constantine IX's parentage for Irene is confirmed by the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, p.81] and Volume III, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser, Ergänzungsband [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Second Edition, 2001, p.218]. This gives us a much more reasonable picture. It does mean that Queen Elizabeth is not a descendant of Basil I (or Michael III, whatever); but she is a descendant of Constantine IX Monomachus, as can be seen on this popup . The genealogy also shows the descent of Elizabeth from Harold II of England, who was killed by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Harold's daughter Gytha, has it happens, married Vladimir Monomakh.
Pages at Wikipedia give the wife of Vsevolod and the mother of Vladimir Monomakh as an "Anastasia (
) of Byzantium," with the gloss that her parentage with Constantine IX "is not attested in any reliable primary source." I do not see the name "Anastasia" in any of my print references, as discussed above. Also, while I am not familiar with the primary sources for these issues (and the matter does not seem to be clearly addressed in the Greek histories), I am curious what the difference would be between a "reliable primary source" and whatever other primary sources would have addressed the marriages of Vsevolod. However, if Irene/Anastasia was not the daughter of Constantine IX, my fundamental questions would then be (1) who such a person would have been to have come from Byzantium to marry the son of a Prince of Kiev, and (2) how her son would then (coincidentally?) end up with the name or epithet "Monomakh" (
,
)? This would all be exceedingly curious, to say the least. What makes the most sense at this point is that Constantine IX was Vladimir II's grandfather, with the marriage of Vsevolod arranged in 1046, after the attack on Constantinople in 1043, by Yaroslav I the Wise of Kiev (1019-1054).
This Russian attack in 1043 is a matter of some interest. It may have been coincidence, opportunism, or coordination that it coincides with the revolt of George Maniaces in the same year. It was pressed forward despite the death of Maniaces from a wound and the end of his revolt. Rejecting an offer to buy off the attack, Monomachus set the Roman fleet to engage the Russians. With the help of Greek Fire, the Russian fleet was routed. This may be the last example of a decisive victory by the Roman Navy before, later in the century, the fleets of the Italian cities begin to dominate the Mediterranean and replace the Romans. The sequel of the battle is obscure, but we can speculate that the marriage of Constantine's daughter was part of the restoration of the previous good relations with the Russians. Harald Hardråde was still in the Varangian Guard in 1043, and we might even imagine him participating in the battle. King Harald's Saga, with some confusion of reigns and dates, has Harald escaping from Constatinople after kidnapping an otherwise unattested niece, Maria, of the Empress Zoë. A Viking kidnapping and carrying off a princess would not be so remarkable, but we are then told that before crossing the Black Sea, Harald dropped her off with a guard to escort her back to Constantinople. This makes me wonder. Could such a strange story reflect the circumstance that Harald himself escorted Irene/Anastasia to Kiev between 1044-1046? He arrived back in Norway to claim the throne in 1047. An escort job would thus nicely coincide with the period of his transit home. All this would dramatically tie together the events of a striking naval battle in the Bosporus (1043), the marriage of Vsevelod to a Roman princess (1046), and the fateful reign of Harald in Norway (1047-1066),
culminating in the events (1066) that precipitate the entry of Englishmen into the Varangian Guard. I recommend this story to Hollywood, which has often featured Istanbul in its movies but never Constantinople. Nothing like Roman ships, "dromonds,"
, galleys with lateen sails, throwing flames on Viking longboats has ever been seen on film -- as I expect that Hollywood film-makers are entirely ignorant of the historical circumstances where that would have happened [ note ].
, "No blame" [or "It were no shame," Twelve Byzantine Emperors, Penguin, 1966, p.185]. This was a quotation from a line in the Iliad (3:156), where the Trojan elders see Helen come out on the wall and say to themselves:
"Small blame that Trojans and well-greaved Achaeans should for such a woman long time suffer woes; wondrously like is she to the immortal goddesses to look upon." [3:156-158, Loeb Classical Library, A.T. Murray translation, Harvard, 1924, 1988, p.129]
Maria was sharp enough to note the whispered comment, but she had to ask about its meaning. For us, it reveals the education of the Constantinopolitan Court, in perhaps the only city in Europe in the 11th century where Homer was going to be read and taught.
The potential for ongoing confusion over the genealogy of the Macedonians is evident in The Varangians of Byzantium by Blöndal and Benedikz [ op.cit. ]. Thus, they say:
In June [1043], when a large fleet under the command of Vladimir (Monomakh), son of Jaroslav, assailed the City, the Byzantines met it in the Bosphorus and defeated the combined force of Russians and Scandinavians, largely thanks to the use of Greek fire. [p.104]
This seems to confuse the eldest son of Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir (sometimes even "II"), who died in 1052, with Vladimir II Monomakh, the grandson of Yaroslav and Constantine IX. The statement in its own terms is peculiar in the use of an epithet, "Monomakh," that echoes that of the Roman Emperor, in the name of a Russian leading an attack on that very Emperor. This is unlikely on its face -- or that someone named after the Emperor would already be old enough to have such a command (Vladimir Monomakh was born in 1053). Instead, it is more reasonable that the marriage that produces Vladimir Monomakh was the result of the peace that followed the defeat of the Russian attack. Blöndal and Benedikz do not try to explain the anomalies that their identification generates.
A very brief non-dynastic interlude concludes the period. Isaac I was the first of the Comneni and can be found on the genealogy of the Comneni below .
Era of Diocletian 776-1170, 394 years
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), "Sailing to Byzantium"
Romania, furthermore, is a very wide land with rugged, stony mountains. It extends south to Antioch and is bounded by Turkey on the east. All of it was formerly under Greek rule, but the Turks now possess a great part of it and, after expelling the Greeks, have destroyed another part of it. In the places where the Greeks still hold fortresses, they do not pay taxes. Such are the servile conditions in which the Greeks hold the land which French strength liberated when the Franks conquered Jerusalem.
Odo de Deuil, La Croisade de Louis VII, roi de France, Volume IV, edited by Henri Waquet, Documents relatifs à l'histoire des croisades, Volume 3, Paul Guethner, Paris, 1949, pp.54-55, translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History, Marquette University Press, 1962, pp.111-112
Then followed a scene of massacre and pillage: on every hand the Greeks were cut down, their horses, palfreys, mules, and other possessions snatched as booty. So great was the number of killed and wounded that no man could count them. A great part of the Greek nobles had fled towards the gate of Blachernae; but by this time it was past six o'clock, and our men had grown weary of fighting and slaughtering. The troops began to assemble in a great square inside Constantinople. Then, convinced that it would take them at least a month to subdue the whole city, with its great churches and palaces, and the people inside it, they decided to settle down near the walls and towers they had already captured....
Our troops, all utterly worn out and weary, rested quietly that night. But the Emperor [ Alexius V ] Murzuphlus did not rest; instead, he assembled his forces and said he was going to attack the Franks . However, he did not do as he had announced, but rode along certain streets as far away as possible from those occupied by our army, till he came to a gate called the Golden Gate through which he escaped, and so left the city.
Geoffroy de Villehardouin (d.1218), "The Conquest of Constantinople," Chronicles of the Crusades, Penguin, 1963, p.91
Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods"
Thomas Babington Macaulay, Lays of Ancient Rome, "Horatius [at the Bridge]," 1891, XXVII
Let's go, men, against these barbarians!
The Emperor Constantine XI Dragases , his last words, the Fifth Military Gate of Constantinople, May 29, 1453; Greek Text, Laonikos Chalkokondyles, The Histories, Volume II, Translated by Anthony Kaldellis, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard University Press, 2014, p.192
"Then we must go higher. We must go to him whose office is to put down tyrants and give life to dying kingdoms. We must call on the Emperor."
"There is no Emperor."
"No Emperor..." began Merlin , and then his voice died away. He sat still for some minutes wrestling with a world which he had never envisaged."
C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength, 1945, Scribner, 2003, p.290
The "Fourth Empire" begins with a blow, from an Islâm reinvigorated by the Turks, which represents not only a further diminution of the Empire, but a portent of the actual collapse and end of the Empire altogether. The catastrophic defeat at Manzikert alienated much of what had for long been the heartland of the Empire, Anatolia. It was a mortal wound, never to be made good; but the Empire nevertheless twice managed to struggle back up into at least local ascendancy, first under the Comneni and then under the Palaeologi. The Comneni had help, of a very dangerous sort, in the form of the Crusaders . Defeat by the Turks was not the cruelest cut of the period. That was when the Crusaders, manipulated by Venice , took Constantinople in 1204. With the Latins, the Empire fragmented into multiple Greek and non-Greek contenders: Nicaea, Epirus, Trebizond, Bulgaria, and Serbia, not to mention the Turks . While the Palaeologi, building on the success of Nicaea, reestablished Greek rule, only Epirus of the other successor states came back under Imperial control. The Empire of Michael VIII did seem to have a chance, but a new Turkish state, of the Ottomans , soon surged into dominance. It took more than a century for the Ottomans to scoop up all the spoils, but, like a slow motion car crash, the outcome has a horrible inevitability.
Rome and Romania Index
A. THE ADVENT OF THE TURKS, 1059-1185, 126 years
1060 AD -- Romanian territory is intact, but the military and financial foundations of Roman power have been undermined. The coinage is debased for the first time since Constantine. Resources have been wasted absorbing Armenia, and the forces of the Armenian themes have been disbanded. Local Islamic states are no threat, but the Seljuks are on the way.
1. DUCASES
Botaniates
1078-1081
The Ducases had the misfortune of suffering the most catastrophic defeat of Roman arms since the Arabs won Palestine and Syria at Yarmuk in 636: The defeat by the Seljuk Turks at Manzikert in 1071, a battle lost more to treachery than to military superiority. And Romanus IV Diogenes became the only Roman Emperor besides Valerian to be captured in battle by an external enemy. Romanus was luckier than Valerian, in that he was treated with dignity and even kindness by the Sultân Alp Arlsan , and even released; but he was unlucky, as the Sultân himself ruefully appreciated, that he would return to a situation where he had already been deposed as Emperor. Defeated by the forces of the Caesar John Ducas, uncle of the new Emperor, Michael VII, Romanus (a mere in-law) eventually surrendered on terms of civil treatment -- but nevertheless died when the Caesar soon ordered him blinded. The picture of the respectful consideration of the Turk and the ferocious brutality of the Romans leaves an impression, like the earlier treatment of the Goths , both sorrowful and bitter.
While there is no reason to doubt the sincerity of Alp Arlsan's Islâm, his Court and that of his successor,
Malik Shâh, under the influence of their great Vizir, Nizâm al-Mulk, displays an intellectual power and cosmopolitan expansiveness that is well represented by the mathematician, astronomer, and poet 'Umar Khayyâm (d.1122). Is the Rubaiyat cynical or merely worldly? It is hard to say. Whatever it is, one wonders to what extent some attitude of the sort can be discerned in the behavior of the Sultân. Nevertheless, it is something that passes quickly. The greatest philosopher of the era, and one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages, al-Ghazâlî (1058-1111), nevertheless fiercely attacked and effectively snuffed out the tradition of Greek philosophy in the Central Islâmic lands. Thus, the damage was done to Romania, but intellectually Islâm itself was now headed into decline.
What had hitherto been the heartland of Romania in Anatolia, now became a bleeding wound to Turkish conquest, never to be recovered. Simultaneously, the Normans won, for all time, the last Roman city in Italy -- Bari. In 31 years (1040-1071), Romania had been finally expelled from Italy, 535 years after Belisarius had landed against the Ostrogoths.
But from now on, we find that dynasties are identified by surname -- Ducas,
, Comnenus,
, Lascaris,
, and Palaeologus,
. Even Epirus and Trebizond are ruled by Ducases and Comneni, respectively. Within the dynasties, we find as in-laws the names Vatatzes,
, among the Lascarids, and Cantacuzenus,
, among the Palaeologi. The origin of the names is various, with Ducas itself from the Latin rank of dux ( q.v. ), used in Greek as
. Some of these names we see today, not the least of which being the feminine surname become a given name,
, "Angelina." Cantacuzenus turns up among the Phanariot Princes of România . Monomach,
, which means "fighting in single combat," has the look of a sobriquet; but, born by Constantine IX, it is unlikely to have been earned by him personally. So it appears to be his surname, earned by an ancestor, as it will be born by his Russian grandson .
The Ducas genealogy is given both here and below with the Comneni . The marriages of Constantine, the son of Michael VII, and his second wife, Anna Comnena, are of particular interest. The intermarriage of the Ducases with the Normans of Italy might have made for some political differences -- had the young bride, Helen, lived.
By about the time of Manzikert, there were interesting new recruits to the Varangian Guard. Where Harald Hardråde had failed to conquer England in 1066, William the Conqueror , within days of the Norwegian defeat, would succeed at Hastings. The Norman Conquest spelled the dispossession of the native Saxon nobility, who then began to seek their fortunes elsewhere . Many of them consequently were drawn to the Varangian Guard. Having lost England to Normans/Vikings, Englishmen served the Empire that had withstood them. They would continue to do so for more than three centuries -- the first reference to Englishmen in the service of Romania was in 1080, the last in 1404 -- 324 years.
Indeed, now we see references that 4350 English emigrants in 235 ships arrived at Constantinople in 1075 [Chronicon universale anonymi Laudunensis], or that the English arrived in 350 ships and were in part settled in a Nova Anglia, a "New England" far from Plymouth Rock [according to the Icelandic Jarvardar Saga].
According to Geoffroy de Villehardouin, there were still "Englishmen and Danes" defending Constantinople when the Fourth Crusade arrived in 1203. After the Greek recovery of the City by the Palaeologi in 1261, we have some indication that the surviving Varangian Guard may have been entirely English. In 1272 Michael VIII Palaeologus wrote a letter mentioning the Englishmen in his service, now called the
, Egklinováraggoi (sing.
, Egklinováraggos -- Enklinobarangi in Latin, sing. Enklinobarangus) [cf. Sigfús Blöndal and Benedikt S. Benedikz, op.cit., p.172]. Like the Norsemen, the English Varangians seem to have had their own church in Constantinople, dedicated to Saints Nicholas and Augustine of Canterbury (the Apostle to the English). Under subsequent Palaeologi, however, they fade from history.
One might wonder, however, why go all the way to Constantinople? Was the Varangian Guard really that big a deal? Well, part of the problem for a sort of European Ronin (masterless warrior in a feudal system) is that, in the absence of cash economies, nobody was hiring mercenaries. If Englishmen wanted to be hired to fight after 1066, they needed to go to where there was a paid, professional military. In Christian Europe, that was still only in Constantinople -- still only the Tagmata. A noteworthy exception to this was in the South of Italy , where a cash economy existed, mainly because of its inclusion in the economic sphere of Romania. Cities like Naples had conducted trade with Constantinople both during their time as Roman possessions, after being recovered from the Ostrogoths, and then as they slowly drifted out of the control of Constantinople. They also conducted trade with Islâmic states, especially after the Aghlabids had conquered Sicily. This often scandalized other Christians. But it was even worse when they began to hire Muslim mercenaries. An Englishman, of course, might belong to the Varangian Guard but be fighting in Southern Italy nevertheless. There they would have met other mercenaries with whom they were not likely to have friendly relations: Normans who had come from Normandy looking for their own fortunes. The Norman mercenaries in Roman service had gone over to local rebels in 1040. When the English arrived, they found themselves actively fighting kinsmen of their old enemies, in Italy, Epirus, and Greece. These Normans were able to expel the Romans from Italy, recover Sicily from Islam, and then create a united Kingdom of Naples and Sicily . This resulted in the economic decline of the South Italian commercial cities. As the trade they had pioneered moved North, other Italian cities became wealthy enough to hire their own mercenaries. These become the famous mercenary Condottiere of the Renaissance.
According to a recently released book, The Varangian Guard, 988-1453, by Raffaele D'Amato [Men-at-Arms, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, & Long Island City, NY, 2010]:
...in Dobroudja [on the Black Sea], a short-lived Anglo-Saxon settlement called by the Varangians 'Nova Anglia' was created at the end of the 11th century... The chronicler Ordericus Vitalis recorded that 'the English were much distressed by their loss of liberty... A number of them, with the fresh bloom of youth upon them, went to distant lands.' [p.13]
D'Amato says that one of the English exiles in Romania was "the pretender Edward Atheling" [p.13]. I do not know who this would be. There does not seem to be such a person as listed in the genealogies of either the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 1, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser I Westeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Third Edition, 2001, p.264] or the The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens [Mike Ashley, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., New York, 1998, 1999, p.468, 491-498]. We find "Edward the Exile" and "Edgar the Atheling", but no "Edward Atheling." Edward the Exile was sent into exile, hopefully to his death, by Canute. He didn't die and did spend time at the Hungarian Court (where he married the daughter, Agathe, of King St. Stephen I ). Recalled by Edward the Confessor, he was murdered, perhaps by partisans of Harold Godwinsson, and then his young son Edgar was made Heir Apparent. That was in 1057, so Edward could not have gone into exile after 1066. Too young to rule, Edgar was pushed aside by Harold in 1066. After Harold's death, Edgar was proclaimed King but then in short order surrendered to William. Edgar is the best candidate for exile in Romania, but that does not seem to be what happened. He was the obvious Pretender to the English Throne and spent many years at the Scottish Court (where King Malcolm married Edgar's sister Margaret) and elsewhere, stirring up trouble for the Normans. Eventually, he was pardoned by King Henry I and spent his remaining years, in increasing obscurity, on an English estate. However, according to the Mammoth Book [p.498], Edgar did go on Crusade in 1099. This may have involved some contact with Romania and so may be the source for D'Amato's (confused) reference.
The long history of the English Varangians, as with the original and continuing Norse Varangians, accompanies the long decline of Romania. As declines go, 400 years is not what anyone would think of as abrupt or precipitous, but it was continuing and unreversed. The Varangian role has its melancholy aspect, as the Scandinavians and English are unable to prevent that decline, and as local Roman sources of wealth and manpower obviously undergo progressive decay in effectiveness. But there also is an aspect to it of great romance and nobility. In the last centuries of the Roman Empire, essential help came through the interest and devotion of individual foreign warriors, both from the most distant of old Roman possessions, Britain, and from peoples and lands, in the North, that had really been off the map and beyond the knowledge of Augustus, Trajan, or even Justinian. It is the sort of thing for which there really should be some small monuments in London, Oslo, Stockholm, or Copenhagen, in tribute to their countrymen who took the long trip to fight in the defense of Constantinople, over so many years. Yet, with the history of participation in the Varangian Guard largely forgotten, and the whole existence and history of "Byzantium" so generally ignored or despised, it is not clear who would have the interest to build such monuments and to commemorate such measures of devotion to the last Emperors in successon to Augustus and Constantine, and to what for long was still the greatest City of Christendom. It is a pity.
As noted above, before the time of the English Varangians, relations of their Norman conquerors had themselves briefly served the Emperor Michael IV. Two of the original
de Hauteville brothers from Normandy were in a group of 300 Normans under George Maniaces in Italy in 1037-1038. The eldest de Hauteville brother, William, earns his sobriquet "Iron Arm" by defeating the Amir of Syracuse in single combat in 1037. The disaffection and defection of the Normans, and their transformation of one of the Lombard revolts (1040), such as Romania had previously been able to defeat, would then drive Romania out of Italy by 1071, spelling the final alienation of Italy, retrieved by Belisarius in 536, from Constantinople (after 535 years) -- but then it also led to the recovery of Sicily from Islam (1061-1091), specifically from the Zirid Amirs of Tunisia, and the reunion of all Southern Italy into one Kingdom (1130). This brought the South of Italy into the history of Francia for the first time -- in the 13th century, under the German Emperor Frederick II , it could even be said to briefly be the center of that history, as Frederick made Palermo his capital.
Catastrophe. The heartland of the Empire in Anatolia is completely overrun. Italy is lost to the Normans, forever. Only the Balkan European possessions, secured not long before, enable Romania to endure and recover, somewhat -- with the dangerous help of the Crusaders. Armenians, recently settled in Cilicia, are surrounded, although this will be the origin of the Kingdom of Lesser Armenia that will endure until 1375. The triumphant Normans meanwhile have invaded Sicily, which they will permanently recover from Islam.
2. SELJUK SULT.ÂNS OF RÛM
Süleyman I ibn Qutalmïsh
Deposed by Mongols , 1307
The first Turkish and Moslem state in Anatolia ironically began against the wishes,
virtually in rebellion against, the Seljuk Great Sult.ân Malik Shâh (1073-1092), who was even negotiating with Alexius Comnenus for the withdrawal of the Turks from the region and whose troops actually killed Süleyman I. However, even the Great Sult.ân was finally in no position to force such a withdrawal, Roman resistance was so weak that Süleyman had no difficulty establishing his capital at Nicaea, and all help from the Sejuks ended with the death of Malik Shâh. The best that Alexius could do was to recover Nicomedia and hold on to it. Meanwhile, even western cities like Ephesus were falling. The Sult.âns then styled themselves the rulers of Rûm , i.e. "Romania."
This list is from Clifford Edmund Bosworth's The New Islamic Dynasties [Edinburgh University Press, 1996].
While this is the traditional understanding of the role of Süleyman, a very different interpretation is now offered by Peter Frankopan [The First Crusde, The Call from the East, Belknap Press, Harvard University Press, 2012]. In these terms, Süleyman was the ally of Alexius Comnenus who maintained the Roman position in Asia Minor and was the duly appointed governor, not the conqueror, of Nicaea. This explains some other puzzling aspects of the reign of Alexius, which is where the Turkish mercenaries came from that he used against the Normans in the Balkans, and why the Roman position in Anatolia seemed to suddenly collapse in the early 1090's (after the death of Malik Shâh), when everyone assumed that it had already collapsed after Manzikert, before Alexius even came to the throne. Süleyman was killed, not by forces loyal to Malik Shâh, but by the very rebels that he, Alexius, and Malik Shâh were all attempting to suppress. Süleyman was even upbraided by his enemies for disloyalty to Islâm.
While this thesis explains a lot, it leaves a number of things on the table. The role of Süleyman and the presence of the rebels, who were troubling to all, does mean that there is a substantial Turkish presence in Anatolia after Manzikert, so the traditional picture of many Turks overrunning the area cannot be entirely abandoned. That Alexius was able to form alliances with Turkish forces, including the Seljuk Sult.ân himself and now perhaps Süleyman also, bespeaks a clever strategic and diplomatic accommodation to the situation, which maintained the Roman position for some years; but it also means that with the removal of Alexius's allies, that position could collapse quickly. Süleyman's own son, Kilij Arslan, had been kept hostage by Malik Shâh (either against the good behavior of Süleyman or, perhaps more likely, because of the non-cooperative attitude of Kilij Arslan himself). With the death of the Sult.ân, he escaped and made his way to Nicaea, to assume the authority of his father, but this time independently of both Emperor and Sult.ân -- his later treaty with Alexius did not mean any compromise to the independence of Rûm that had now been established. The rapid collapse of Anatolian Romania thus testifies to the leverage that the Turkish presence in Anatolia had already created. Without help, Alexius could hold little beyond Nicomedia in the whole area -- although some Christian towns were still holding out when the Crusaders arrived, most dramatically and durably with the Armenians in Cilicia , where the domain outlasted the Sultanate of Rûm itself. Frankopan explains that the traditional picture of Roman collapse in Anatolia was due to Anna Comnena, who wanted to make it look like the losses in the regions were due to the predecessors of Alexius and were not events of his own reign.
The Turkish position was secure until defeat by the First Crusade in 1097. Then Alexius was able to recover the western cities. The Turks fell back on Iconium (Konya), which became their capital for the rest of the history of the Sultanate of Rûm. Although sacked by Frederick Barbarosa on the Third Crusade (1190), Konya was lost forever to Romania. The Sultanate already, however, seemed to have lost its edge. The devastating defeat of Manuel Comnenus at Myriocephalum (1176) was not followed up, and the subsequent decline of Romania was mainly from internal weakening and fragmentation (readying it for the Fourth Crusade). The Sultanate was then defeated by the Mongols in 1243 and spent the rest of its history in vassalage. The final fall, in 1307, coincided with a very fragmented, but vigorous, period of new Turkish states -- the Oghullar ,
, or "sons" of Rûm.
Osmanli Oghullarï
Part of his vigor may have resulted from an influx of refugees from the Mongols. The Beys of Aydïn captured Ephesus in 1304, but the most serious portent for the future was the capture of Prusa (Bursa) in 1326 by the Ottomans . This quickly spelled the end of Romania in Asia, and by 1354 the Ottomans had a foothold in Europe. Only Tamerlane delayed the ultimate Ottoman conquest.
A curious feature of the relationship of Constantinople to the Sult.âns of Rûm was its often cordial and almost friendly tone. Alexius Comnenus employed Turkish mercenaries and once, when he happened to capture the harîm of the Sult.ân, he promptly returned the women with his apologies. As I have noted, this sort of relationship to the Turks may have begun with in the early days with Süleyman I. To the Crusaders, these dealings with the Infidel were surest proof of Greek duplicity and treachery. What was going on, however, is illuminated by a comment of Kenneth W. Harl [in his video lectures, The World of Byzantium, for The Teaching Company, 2001] and by the description of Byzantine strategy and diplomacy in The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire, by Edward N. Luttwak [Belknap, Harvard University Press, 2009]. Harl's comment was that Alexius saw the Turks as a new Bulgaria, which could be Christianized, domesticated, and then absorbed into the Empire, just as Bulgaria had been. This is consistent with the strategy described by Luttwak, one of whose key points was that the Empire did not aim at the extermination of its enemies, as the Rome of Trajan might have done. This was (1) too difficult and exhausting given the reduced power of Romania, (2) dangeorus when a battle could be lost as well as won, with hell to pay, and (3) futile when the elimination of one enemy would simply open the door for the next enemy in the queue, who is liable to be more aggressive and more alien than the previous one.
Thus, while Anatolia had not been overrun in quite the same way before, the Balkans had. Over centuries, the inundation of the Slavs, Avars, and Bulgars had gradually been overcome and absorbed, with decisive military action only at the end. Premature attempts in that form, as in the days of Nicephorus I , had been disasters. And there was nothing new about the Turks. Romania had found good allies in the Turkish Khazars for three centuries, and we have seen Emperors marry Khazar women. Alexius knew that the Empire was in a bad way, but that had happened before. All it would take was patience.
And Alexius would have some reason for hope. There had been Turkish converts to Christianity, even groups of them, who had come over to the Empire. After the First Crusade had driven the Seljuks back from their high water mark, the borders began to settle and they did not seem to pose the same kind of threat. Diplomacy and familiarity could begin to work their magic. Unfortunately, there were some features of the situation that told against the traditional strategy. The Turks were, indeed, recent converts to Islâm, but nevertheless this already gave them the sort of sophisticated religious system that the Slavs and Bulgars had not possessed. Christianity did not represent sophistication and civilization in comparison to Islâm as it had to the others. Also, religious influence continued to arrive from the central Islâmic lands, while Christian proslytizing was not tolerated.
Roman and Christian culture thus had less of a chance of domesticating the Turkish threat. Indeed, the Bulgars themselves had not been entirely assimilated and were not regarded as "Romans" either by the Romans or by themselves. The potential for Bulgarian revival was great and would eventually come to pass . Most importantly, there were subsequent waves of Turkish immigration, reinvigorating the Turkish presence. The Mongols were bumping more Turks off the steppe just as the Huns had originally bumped inconvenient numbers of Germans into the Empire centuries earlier. But the Turks were both too strong and too weak. The Seljuks of Rûm were complacent enough that they took no real advantage of Manuel's defeat at Myriocelphum (a premature Roman push), but then they were staggered and subjugated by the Mongol defeat in 1243. This meant that the new waves of arriving Turks ended up creating new, vigorous states, the Oghullar, with whom domestication would need to start all over again, instead of being absorbed into a durable and familiar state of Rûm. Figures like John Cantacuzenus did try to start over again, even intermarrying with the Ottomans , but by then the situation of the Empire was so diminished (with the Bulgars, Vlachs, and Serbs going their own way), and that of the Turks so enhanced (still driven by undiminished Islâmic Jihâd), that there was little chance left for things to go over time as they had with the Bulgars. Instead, it was the Turks who tamed and absorbed Romania.
3. COMNENI
Isaac Comnenus
Emperor on Cyprus , 1185-1191
With the Turks at Nicaea (whether friendly or hostile, as discussed above ), the Normans ready to land in the west, the currency debased, the army dispersed, and the treasury empty, Alexius Comnenus had his job cut out for him. The results were satisfactory enough, but a couple of the desperate measures that the desperate times called for would have unfortunate long term consequences. The trade privileges given to Venice in 1082 eventually made Roman trade, and even the Navy, the plaything of Italian city states. Calling on the West for military aid against the Turks had the very unexpected result of Pope Urban II calling in 1095 for a "Crusade" to liberate the Holy Land and Jerusalem from Islâm.
It is usually said that Alexius wrote a letter to the Pope asking for aid and that this inspired Urban to call for the Crusade. We also have a letter that Alexius is supposed to have written to Count Robert II of Flanders , whose father, Robert I, had recently (1089) been on pilgrmage to Jerusalem and evidently developed a relationship with Alexius on the way. Historians have been suspicious of the received text of the letter to Robert, but the problem may be the good Latin of the letter and its reference to losses to the Turks in Anatolia. Since the letter apparently dates from around 1093, the losses, which were thought to have occurred earlier, sound anachronistic. However, Peter Frankopan has recently argued that the situation in Anatolia actually did not deteriorate badly until that point, so that there is no anachronism in the letter [The First Crusade, The Call from the East, Belknap Press, Harvard University Press, 2012, p.60] -- its Latin would just be a function of competent translators in Constantinople. As it happened, Alexius developed a better relationship with Robert II than with most of the Crusaders on the First Crusade. Robert I had already sent Alexius 500 Flemish knights, who fought in Anatolia and in the Balkans for the Emperor. When the Robert II passed through Constantinople on the way home from Jerusalem, Alexius bestowed on him a relic that was supposed to be an arm of St. George. This special relationship between Constantinople and Flanders foreshadows, sadly, the later election of Count Baldwin IX of Flanders as Latin Emperor after the Fourth Crusade takes the City in 1204 -- "sadly" because the friendship with Alexius was replaced by the hostile conquest of his descendants, the Angeli, while the tenure and the fate of the Flemish in Constantinople was not edifying.
Most of the Crusaders passing through Constantinople gave Alexius a very bad feeling. The possibility of what actually happened a century later, when the Fourth Crusade took Constantinople, was already very real. So Alexius bundled them as quickly as possible into Asia, where they defeated the Turks, making it possible to drive them out of western Anatolia together. This was of great material help to Romania, but the Turks remained based at Iconium (Konya). The Roman Army (with the thematic apparatus long gone) was never up to the task of dislodging them entirely. That this could have been done was revealed when Frederick Barbarosa , passing through on the Third Crusade, broke into Konya and sacked it (1190). That he died shortly thereafter steals the thunder from this act, but it is noteworthy. Meanwhile, the greatest military successes of the Comneni, by Manuel I, when his suzerainty was acknowledged by Lesser Armenia, Antioch, and even Jerusalem, were undone by a devastating defeat in 1176 at Myriocephalum ("Ten Thousands Heads"). Shortly thereafter Serbia breaks away, beginning a process of disintegration that would never be entirely reversed.
The Englishmen in the Varangian Guard of Alexius I were not entirely able to escape their Norman nemesis. At the battle of Dyrrhachium in 1082, where Normans from Sicily under Robert Guisgard de Hauteville were trying to establish a beachhead in what is now Albania, a promising start turned into a rout of the Roman army, with many of the English Varangians, who had advanced impetuously beyond the rest of the army, slaughtered by the Normans. Nevertheless, despite this painful setback, and some others, Alexius finally was able to win the war and, with the help of the Venetians and even Seljuks, eject the Normans. The death of Guisgard in 1085 ended the threat, as the Normans otherwise concentrated on recovering Sicily from Islam -- though there was no love lost when Guisgard's son Bohemond passed through Constantinople on the First Crusade (he then became the first Prince of Antioch , violating an agreement to return the city to Romania).
According to Raffaele D'Amato [op.cit., p.10], after the defeat of Manuel I at Myriocephalum in 1176 and considerable losses there to the Varangians, some English Varangians went home with a letter from the Emperor to King Henry II of England, saying, "We have also felt it a pleasure that it so happened that some of the chief men of your nobility were with us, who will, at your desire, inform you on all the circumstances [of the battle]." One thing this record demonstrates is that English recruits to the Guard were no longer merely dispossessed Saxons. Some "chief men" of Henry's own Norman nobility were drawn to the Guard. Indeed, there is direct evidence of this in a letter that St. Anslem (d.1109), of all people, wrote to a young Norman knight named William who was thinking of joining the Guard. His brother had already done so, and Anslem wanted William to become a monk. There is even a report that a "recuitment bureau" existed in London for the Guard [cf. Peter Frankopan, op.cit., p.87, reference to "Les Sceaux byzantins de Londres" by J.C. Cheynet, 2003]. We may reflect that even if William did join the Guard, he could not have lived long enough to have been at Myriocephalum, but he might have known Alexius I.
This is why the tradition went on for centuries, long after 1066. Anthony Kaldellis says that the letter to Henry II is "a source has has been underutilized by modern historians" [Ethnography After Antiquity, Foreign Lands and Peoples in Byzantine Literature, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013, p.29]. Indeed, multiple standard Byzantine histories do not even mention it. Even better, we hear about the letter from a contemporary, Gerald of Wales, who recounts how King Henry responded to Manuel's inquiries "about the geographical conditions, way of life, and things worth seeing in the island of Britain" [ibid.]. Gerald apparently contributed information about Wales to the response. Asking about "things worth seeing" seems like a much more Modern, rather than Mediaeval, sort of curiosity.
Norse recruits to the Varangian Guard continued as Alexius entertained Scandinavian monarchs on Crusade or pilgrimage, particularly the Kings Eric I the Evergood of Denmark and Sigurð I the Crusader of Norway . Alexius at first distrusted Eric, as he did all the Crusaders, and had him camp outside Constantinople. We are told, however, that his spies reported Eric urging the Danish Varangians to serve the Emperor faithfully. Eric was then invited into the City and honored -- at least according to the Norse sources. Unfortunately, the pious King never made it to Jerusalem but died and was buried on Cyprus. Alexius is remembered in the Icelandic Sagas as Kirjalax, evidently from Kyrios Alexios, "Lord Alexius." The name was also used, confusingly, for subsequent Comneni. The positive reputation of Alexius in Scandinavia thus stands in noteworthy contrast to what it became in Latin Western Europe, where the conflicts of the First Crusade resulted in a smear campaign against Alexius on behalf of some of the Crusaders, particularly Bohemond of Antioch, who wanted to put his own machinations in the best light. Bohemond was successful in that and became widely regarded as the principle hero of the First Crusade, even though he had dropped out and failed to accompany the Crusaders to the capture of Jerusalem. A remarkable, if ironic, public relations triumph.
On April 5, 1106, an event of serious ill omen occurred. The statue of Constantine I that had stood on a porphyry column in his Forum since the founding of the City, fell off in a storm. We have an account of this from The Patria description of Constantinople, associated with the appearance of a comet, which was also considered a thing of ill omen:
This statue fell from the column and caused the death of the men and women who happened to be there, about ten in number, on the fifth of April of the fourteenth indiction, in the year [ Anno Mundi ] 6614 (1106), the twentieth year of the reign of the lord Alexios Komnenos... About the third hour, it became dark and a violent southern wind blew fiercely, for a comet, which is called the Spear, had caused this turbulence of the air. It appeared in the evening of the Friday of the first week, on the ninth of February of the fourteenth indiction, in the year 6614, and then stayed. [Accounts of Medieval Constantinople, The Patria, translated by Albercht Berger, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard University Press, 2013, p.27]
Apparently, no attempt was ever made to restore or replace the statue, and the fate of its remains is unknown. The column stands until today, now with iron brands around it, and with the appearance of having been once burned, which is now the name by which it is known -- the "Burnt Column." The loss of his central monument of the City even now has a ring of downfall to it, although the city will endure, in reduced circumstances, for another three and a half centuries.
In Manuel I's day, in 1153, we also get recruits to the Varangian Guard from the Crusading force of the Earl of Orkney . Raffaele D'Amato says [op.cit. p.14] that the Earl, coming by sea, had six of his 15 ships split off at Gibraltar and go to Constantinople. D'Amato does not say which Earl of Orkney this was. That is a problem, since there were two Earls, cousins Ragnald III (1137-1158) and Harald II the Old (1139-1206), ruling simultaneously. I suspect that the Earl in question was Ragnald III, since we find Ragnald's more closely related cousin, Erlend III, becoming Earl in 1154 (1154-1156). This looks like something that would happen while Ragnald was away on Crusade.
This speculation is confirmed by The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queen [op.cit., pp.453-455], where Erlend III took advantage of Ragnald III's absence on Crusade to usurp his domain, with the permission of King Eystein III of Norway (the suzerain of Orkney at the time). Harald II withstood this move, but when Eystein III bestowed the entire County on Erlend, because Harald had been appointed by Ragnald without Royal permission, Erlend was able to eject Harald. Ragnald then returned from Crusade in 1155; and he and Harald combined forces to defeat and kill Erlend. The Mammoth Book does not mention any of Ragnald's men joining the Varangian Guard; but it does say that, returning from Palestine, Ragnald wintered in Constantinople, visiting the Emperor Manuel. If D'Amato is right, that six of Ragnald's ships left at Gibraltar to join the Guard, it does not sound like there would have been much hard feeling, for the Earl to be a guest of Manuel later on.
Most of it was written after she was banished to a convent by her brother, John II, whom she apparently had tried to assassinate. This particularly intense form of sibling rivalry was in part the result of Anna's expectation that she would be closer to the seat of power, i.e. that the Emperor would be her husband. The birth of John spoiled this, and Anna, perhaps a feminist before her time, never accepted the wisdom of his succession. She blamed him for subsequent disasters; but, since the Alexiad doesn't cover his reign, she never quite says what these disasters were. The real disaster, Myriocephalum, happened after her death to her nephew, Manuel I. One reference to the Alexiad that I remember from childhood, that Anna says her father didn't trust the Crusaders because they didn't have beards and smelled of horses, I have been unable to find in the text. I was long under the impression that the Alexiad made Anna the first woman historian. She certainly has that honor in the West. However, I now discover that there was an earlier woman historian in China. Pan Chao completed the great History of the Former Han Dynasty after her brother, Pan Ku, was executed, leaving the work incomplete. This was during the Later Han Dynasty , a thousand years before Anna. Since Pan Chao's other brother, Pan Ch'ao, commissioned an embassy to Rome in 97 AD, unfortunately unsuccessful, we do have a tenuous historial link between the two women.
From the few and questionable foreign marriages of the Macedonians , with the Comneni we find a large number of well attested ones, many with Crusaders but one making connections as distant as Spain. I was aware of few of these until a correspondent, Ann Ferland, began to point them out. The marriage of Maria of Montpellier, whose mother was Eudocia Comnena, to King Peter II of Aragon led to all subsequent Kings of Aragon and of Spain . A great deal of European Royalty, right down to the present, thus would be descendants of Alexius I Comnenus.
The presence of the Venetians and the web of foreign marriages both attest to closer ties and increasing traffic, and not just of Crusaders, between Constantinople and the West. For instance, the Emperor Manuel (1143-1180) made a gift of a copy of Ptolemy's Almagest to King William I (1154-1166) of Naples and Sicily. This apparently was conveyed on a diplomatic mission by Henricus Aristippus (d.c.1162), who saw to the translation of the work, while he himself tried his hand at translating the Meno and Phaedo. The manuscript of the Almagest was inherited by Charles of Anjou , who then donated his library to the Papacy in 1266. The modern Vatican Library was not founded until 1475, and previous collections were often dispersed. Thus, the manuscript of the Almagest subsequently ended up in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. While interest in Greek and in doing translations may not be too surprising in the South of Italy, we see the first signs of it further north. Thus, James of Venice (c.1130/70) and Burgundio of Pisa (c.1110-1193) acquired manuscripts, traveled to Constantinople, and began turning out translations. This is still 300 years before the Renaissance proper, when such activities went into high gear, with much greater interest, Greek refugees, and the aid of the printing press. People like Burgundio and their pioneering efforts thus tend to be forgotten, but the later work probably owes them a debt that is now hard to estimate.
4. LESSER ARMENIA
Mamlûks , 1375
The Kingdom of Armenia in the Taurus Mountains of Cilicia is called "Lesser" Armenia in contrast to the "Greater Armenia" of the Armenian homeland to the northeast. After Nicephorus II Phocas recovered the area from the Arabs in 965 and ordered all Moslems to leave, Christians from Syria and Armenia were encouraged to settle and garrison the land. Nicephorus himself even welcomed "schismatic," Armenian Orthodox Monophysites from Armenia,
but this tolerance would not always continue and some friction was inevitable between many Armenians and the Imperial (the, strictly speaking, "Roman Catholic") Church. After the Seljuk breakthrough, more Armenians fled from the east, bringing the Patriarch with them, as the Turks overran Anatolia. The Armenians in the Taurus found themselves on their own and began organizing their own domains. When the Crusaders passed through, they were welcomed and aided. A daughter of Constantine I was married to Joscelin I , Count of Edessa, ushering in a long history of association and intermarriage between the Armenians and the Crusader states. Indeed, Armenian nobility were the only group in the Levant that the Crusaders seemed to regard as equals and whom they married on equal terms. The Armenians began to adopt Frankish customs, including feudal law, dress, and knighthood. This made Lesser Armenia rather like a Crusader State itself, and so it is shown on the map. The urge to adopt the Latin Rite in the Armenian Church, and to seek union with Rome, was promoted by the Armenian Monarchy but fiercely resisted by the Church and the populace.
The history of Lesser Armenia puts to shame the antipathy in "liberal" opinion against the Crusades. The Armenians, surrounded and repeatedly attacked (until today) by militant Islâm, expose the hypocrisy of the anachronistic and tendentious characterization, by naive fools or vicious Lefists , of the Crusades as "imperialism," while Islamic Conquest, whether in the 7th century, the 11th, the 15th, or any other time, is itself ignored, rationalized, or excused. This is a living and crucial issue in our own day of Islamic Terrorism , when the Left has in effect joined forces with Mediaeval savagery in Iran , Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, or Gaza -- and now Egypt and Libya -- in the Marxist cause of attacking capitalism and liberal democracy. Christians are under renewed attack in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Egypt; but the "liberal" press, which never worries much about the murder of Christians or Jews by Muslims, continues to ignore such developments.
This list of kings is mainly based on M. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia [Dorset Press, New York, 1987, 1991]. However, Steven Runciman, in his A History of the Crusades, Volume III, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades [Cambridge, 1951, 1987], gives a more complete family tree, abstracted below. Runciman, maddeningly (but characteristically), gives not a single date; but he does give a number of figures who account for the numbering of the Constantines and Thoroses in the dynasty. According to Chahin's list, these were not reigning kings, but, even if not, they were numbered as members of the dynasty. Or they may have been co-regents unrecognized by Chahin. On the other hand, Constantine IV and V are not listed by Runciman in the dynastic tree because they were both usurpers. "Peter of Cyprus" listed by Chahin is Peter I of Cyprus. Constantine V offered him the throne but then decided to keep it for himself when Peter was assassinated. This information is supplemented by Warren Threadgold's A History of the Byzantine State and Society [Stanford, 1997]. Chahin fails to mention, for instance, the capture of Leon I and his sons (including Thoros II) by the Emperor John II Comnenus. On the other hand, while Runciman and Chahin agree that the early Rupenids were "princes," without a royal title until 1198, Threadgold says that they began calling themselves "kings" in 1099. Since none of them give the actual terms they were using, perhaps just in Armenian, it is hard to know why there is this disagreement.
Of greatest interest in the genealogy is when the house of Lesser Armenia makes reciprocal marriages with the Lusignan dynasty of Cyprus. This begins with the children of Leon III and Hugh III of Cyprus. Two sons and three daughters of Leon III married children of Hugh III. The result is that the succession of Lesser Armenia actually passes to to Lusignan. Such a close connection might have protected the Armenians, if Cyprus had been enough of a power to resist the Mamlûks, which, at least on land, it was not.
The Kingdom of Lesser Armenia was the last independent Armenian state until the former Soviet Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991.
As Armenians had relocated to Cilicia, so did the Patriarch of Armenia (in 1062). This line continued even after the fall of the Kingdom in 1375. In 1441, however, a new Patriarch was elected in Armenia. Sometimes it is said that the Patriarchate moved back to Armenia; but this is not true, since Patriarch Gregory IX (1439-1446) remained where he was, as Giragos (1441-1443) was installed in Armenia. The Cilician line continued, as it does down to the present, as the Great House of Cilicia . It relocated to Lebanon in 1930 because of continued attacks on Armenians in Turkey. As noted above, the Kings of Lesser Armenia promoted union with Rome, which was otherwise very unpopular. Six pro-Latin Patriarchs were assassinated; but there was still an Armenian delegation that accepted the union of the Churches at the Council of Florence in 1439. Eventually a Schism resulted, and in 1737 a line of Catholic Patriarchs began. By 1749, these Patriarchs were already seated in Lebanon, where the Maronite Church was already in communion with Rome.
Historic Armenia Index
The Empire has recovered as much as it is ever going to, and actually seems in relatively good shape, with deference all the way from Jerusalem to Hungary. But the heartland of the Themes is long gone. The Sultânate of Rûm is a nut that cannot be cracked -- the true seed of doom for Romania. And Roman trade and shipping is now dominated by Venice, just one of the states of Francia that now rivals or surpasses Romania in economic development. What had always been the key to Roman success, control of the sea , which had previously been lost at times to the Vandals and the Arabs, now is lost forever to Italian states.
B. THE LATIN EMPIRE, 1185-1261, 76 years
1. ANGELI
d.1204
Constantinope falls to Fourth Crusade, 1204
The worst and most disastrous dynasty in Roman history. Alexius IV brings in the Fourth Crusade, with impossible promises, to restore his incompetent father, and only succeeds in losing Constantinople to a foreign enemy for the first time ever. This may qualify as the true "Fall of Rome." The damage was bad enough, with many treasures and archives destroyed or carted off to Venice. Unlike the Goths at Rome in 410, the Crusaders stuck around for 60 years, with steadily decreasing success.
As on the eve of the advent of the Goths in the 4th century , a massive earthquake affected the region in 1202 on the eve of the Fourth Crusade. This was centered in Galilee and the damage was principally inflicted through Syria and Palestine, which would only indirectly have affected Romania. However, the earthquake was so large (perhaps a 7.6 or greater) that Anatolia was also affected, while the effects of a tsunami could have extended into the Aegean. It is thus difficult to say how this might have damaged the strength of Romania when faced with the arrival of the Crusaders. Of course, one might think that damage to the resources of the Islamic states in the Levant would have made this an idea moment for the Crusaders to arrive there, but the Venetian plan against Constantinople had already seized the agency of the Crusade.
In 1195, Isaac II, or the new Emperor Alexius III, sent three Varangians on a mission to Scandinavia to seek recruits for the Varangian Guard -- this is revealing when previously Danish and Norwegian monarchs had themselves come to Constantinople. We are told that Hreiðarr sendimaðr (i.e. "the Messenger") went to Norway (to King Sverre), Pétr illska went to Denmark (to King Canute VI the Pious), and Sigurðr grikker ("the Greek") Oddsson went to Sweden (to Knut I or Sverker II). Hreiðarr had the toughest time that we know of, since Sverre, anticipating war, had no warriors to spare. Allowed to recruit among farmers and merchants, it is not clear that Hreiðarr, who became embroiled in local events, ever returned to Constantinople. On the other hand, Pétr may have returned with the actual Danes who were subsequently observed by Geoffroy de Villehardouin in 1203. There are many stories about Sigurðr Oddsson, but it is not clear whether his mission was successful. Since there are references to Englishmen but not to Scandinavians in the Varangian Guard of the Palaeologi , this may be last the time when Norse warriors actively traveled to Constantinople [cf. Blöndal and Benedikz, op.cit. , pp.218-222].
Alexius III, having fled the Crusaders who installed Alexius IV and restored Isaac II, takes up residence at Mosynopolis in Thrace. Alexius V Mourtzouphlos, part of the popular reaction again the Crusaders and their friends, Alexius IV and Isaac II, conducted the last defense of the City but then fled. He sought refuge with Alexius III, who was, after all, his father-in-law, but who, however, had him blinded and expelled. Captured by some French Knights and returned to Constantinople, Mourtzouphlos was thrown to his death from the Column of Theodosius. Alexius III ultimately tries to get the Turks to defeat the Lascarids and install him at Nicaea. Unfortunately, Theodore Lascaris personally killed the Sultân of Rûm in single combat. Alexius is captured, blinded, and sent to a monastery. He dies, forgotten, some time after 1211.
The Angeli continue the foreign marriages of the Comneni. One is particularly noteworthy. Irene Angelina,
, daughter of the Isaac II, married a son of Frederick Barbarossa, Philip of Swabia , who contended with Otto of Brunswick for the German Empire. They had no sons; but the marriages of their four daughters are among the most interesting in European history. In a reconciliation
of Philip's feud, the oldest daughter, Beatrice, married Otto himself. But they had no children. The younger daughters, Kunigunde, Marie, and Elizabeth, married King Wenceslas I of Bohemia , Duke Henry III of Lower Lorraine and Brabant , and King & St. Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon , respectively. All of these marriages produced children with living modern descendants, especially among the Hapsburgs and the royal family of Spain, as can be traced at the linked genealogies. Since Isaac himself was a great-grandson of Alexius I Comnenus, this means that a large part of modern European royalty, through this connection alone, have been descendants of the Angeli and Comneni. My impression is that Roman Imperial descent for recent royalty has often been claimed through the Macedonians, but the only certain line, as we have seen , may be from Macedonian in-laws.
On the other hand, descent from the Comneni and Angeli appears to be well attested and with multiple lines. Another fruitful line will be from Maria Lascarina,
, who married Bela IV of Hungary . Since the Lascarids themselves derive from Anna Angelina,
, daughter of Alexius III, and Maria's mother, that connects up to the whole Comneni-Angeli house. Maria's son, Stephen V of Hungary, had a daughter, Katalin, who married the Serbian King Stephen Dragutin, who had a daughter the married a Bosnian Ban , with many descendants. This line all the way to the Hapsburgs can be examined on a popup .
2. BULGARIA, ASENS
1279-1284?, d.<1302
Asens replaced by Terters
In 1204, the Pope recognized Kalojan as "King of the Bulgarians and the Vlachs" (Geoffroy de Villehardouin, calling him "Johanitza," even says "King of Wallachia and Bulgaria").
Indeed, the Asen brothers, founders of the dynasty, were themselves Vlachs, i.e. modern Romanians . This is therefore not a purely ethnic Bulgarian state. It also came close to succeeding to the throne in Constantinople, though later overpowered by the Mongols , Serbia and, of course, the Ottomans .
The principal setback to the Bulgarian state was the Mongol invasion of 1242, which itself was almost an afterthought as the Mongols abandoned the conquests of Poland and Hungary in 1241 and were returning to Russia. The Chingnizids needed to go to Mongolia to elect a new Great Khan . What followed for Bulgaria was a period of internal conflict, between members of the Asen dynasty and outsiders. Two unrelated usurpers, Constantine Tich and Ivaljo, figure in the table above. Another unrelated figure, however, Ivan Mytzes, becomes an Asen in-law and the father of the last Asen Emperor, John III. This is a confused period, with pretenders contending and dates uncertain. John III fled to the Mongols and then to Constantinople. He was succeeded in Bulgaria by his erstwhile minister, George Terter.
The list of Bulgarian rulers is from various Byzantine sources, including the only source of the genealogy here, which is the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, pp.160-162].
Although John III lost Bulgaria, his descendants figured in affairs in Constantinople for some time. Since his granddaughter married the Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus, whose daughter Helena married the Emperor John V, all the subsequent Palaeologi are his descendants.
3. LATIN EMPERORS AT CONSTANTINOPLE
Baldwin I of Flanders
Philip III
titular Emperor 1364-1373
While the conquest and sack of Constantinople have rightly been regarded as one of the worst cases of vandalism and betrayal in world history, a stab in the back against the state and the civilization that had been the repository and guardian of Classical, Western, and Christian culture during most of the Middle Ages, and an insult by Latin and Frankish Western Europe against the Greek and Orthodox East, one thing must be admitted: This was not what the Crusaders had in mind. It wasn't their idea or their intention. The whole project had been initiated by the future Alexius IV Angelus, looking to restore his father, cooked up in detail by Venice , and then conducted from beginning to end by the Doge Enrico Dandolo. The betrayal it represents, then, was of a more intimate character, since Venice was in origin, culture, and tradition one of Romania's own.
In the most attenuated sense, it was still a de jure possession of Constantinople. The Crusaders, who thought that getting to Outremer by sea would be easier than marching overland, did not reckon on the scale of demands for payment by Venice, or on the cynical manipulations that would follow. Pope Innocent III wasn't too happy about it either, and the Crusaders earned excommunication for fighting Christians, for Venice, rather than Moslems, for Christendom. However they got to Constantinople, of course, they still didn't need to sack the City. We can blame them for that. In the end, of course, the blame doesn't matter -- and some of it should be shared by Alexius IV anyway. The damage was done. There would be hell to pay, and several modern conflicts in the Balkans and between Turkey and her neighbors are arguably still the result.
Nevertheless, the demonology of blame has some modern significance. If Venice is ignored and significant spleen directed at the Crusaders, there may be a particular reason for this, derived from a sort of anachronistic hostility that is directed at the Crusades in general: Where we see them condemned as imperialism, euro-centrism, racism, xenophobia , or the oppression of the Third World -- terms that would have been incomprehensible to anyone in the 13th century -- something is going on that owes little to history and much to modern ideology. To Islamic Fascism , its enemies are always "Crusaders," whether or not they are even Christians. To the Leftist sympathizers of Islamic Fascism, the Crusaders are simply viewed through the prism of their own Marxism and "anti-imperialist" Leninism . The effect also exemplifies moralistic relativism , with the Islamic Conquest of the Middle East itself ignored, complacently accepted, or approved, while any counter-attacks to that Conquest, which is what the Crusades were, are viewed with furious moral indignation.
The double standard is blatant and shameless -- its very incoherence is not even an embarrassment to the post-modern deconstructionists who think that logical consistency is itself Euro-centric oppression. Thus, reactions to the Fourth Crusade, as to all the Crusades, may be more of a mirror to the present than an understanding of the past.
The destruction and theft effected by the Crusaders was probably a greater loss to civilization than almost anything that had happened to Romania during the Dark Ages. Yet there are two sides to the story, which we see in the account of Michael Choniates (c.1140-1220), the last Orthodox Archbishop of Athens before the city was taken by the Crusaders in 1205. He was forced to abandon his library, which then seems to have mostly been destroyed. We know that he had copies of Aitia and Hekale by Callimachus, which otherwise now only survive in fragments. Thus, Michael said, "Sooner will asses understand the harmony of the lyre and dung-beetles enjoy perfume than the Latins appreciate the harmony and grace of prose" [N.G. Wilson, Scholars of Byzantium, Duckworth, 1983, 1996, p.205]. This sounds rather like the chracterization of the Regents of the University of Texas by J. Frank Dobie (1888-1964), that they knew as much about academic freedom as an Arkanas razorback hog did of Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn." But some of the library seems to have been dispersed rather than destroyed, as a friend of Choniates wrote him about some books he had recovered. But the most interesting comment is a complaint from Choniates that the price of books has been rising because "booksellers were doing a great trade with Italians" [ibid.]. The Latins buying the books were probably not the same ones who had been destroying them, and we have already seen above that Italians were beginning to acquire and translate Greek literature in the 12th century.
Indeed, we know something of the Latins who were buying books. The Dominican friar William of Moerbeke (c.1215-c.1286) traveled around Romania, acquiring manuscripts and translating them himself. In 1280 he became the Latin Archbishop of Corinth, which placed him in the middle of things. His buying and translating activities may have even been at the personal request of his fellow Dominican Thomas Aquinas , who of course was himself from the South of Italy. This was after the time of Choniates, but it does mean that the buying about which he was complaining continued through the century. At the same time, we know that King Manfred (1250-1266) of Naples and Sicily was actually commissioning translations of Aristotle from Bartholomew of Messinia. The translations are supposed to have been sent to the University of Paris, where Aquinas (1224-1274) might have inspected them himself [ibid. pp.226-227]. Otherwise, we think of Aquinas using translations of Aristotle that were made from Arabic editions.
Amid all the damage done by the Crusaders, there thus was also already a salvage operation in effect. The disorders of the Fourth Crusade or the Turkish Conquest were probably not the safest or most efficient ways to supply Francia with Greek literature, but what we now thankfully have is the result. But the Latins who were out buying books were not the same ones trying to run a government from Constantinople. Without the sources of taxation, and before long reduced to the environs of the City, the Latin Emperors were desperate for money. This is why we hear of them melting down bronze statues and stripping the metal roofs off of buildings, activities I have previously noted .
The conquest of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade did not result in the establishment of the authority of the Latin Emperors over the whole of the previous Empire. Greek authority was maintained in three major locations, at Nicaea , at Trebizond , and in Epirus , and a couple of minor locations, at Rhodes, later to fall to Venice, and at the fortress of Monembasia in the Peloponnesus (Morea), which fell in 1248. All three major Greek rulers eventually proclaimed themselves emperors, which means that at one point four rulers were claiming the Imperial dignity within the old Empire -- not to mention the Bulgarian and Serbian Tsars who also wanted to inherit it. The Emperor at Nicaea was the one to return to Constantinople, but the Emperor at Trebizond was the last to fall to the Turks.
Besides the 3/8 of the whole retained by Venice , including Adrianople and Gallipoli, the Latin Empire ended up included three significant feudal dependencies, all subjugated and organized by the leader of the Fourth Crusade, Boniface the Margrave of Montferrat : the Kingdom of Thessalonica (1204-1224),
with Boniface himself as king, the Duchy of Athens (1205-1456), and the Principality of Achaea (1205-1432).
Kings of Thessalonica
1207-1224, d.1230/9
Thessalonica taken by Epirus , 1224
Boniface was denied the Imperial throne by the Venetian votes, apparently because it was thought that he might make too strong an Emperor. Instead, Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders , was elected Emperor. Baldwin's reign would be short and pathetic, but one does have to say: this is a long way from Bruges. Flanders itself, inherited by Baldwin's daughters, would continue to play a role in European history far out of proportion to its size, as its wealth contributes to the power of the Dukes of Burgundy and then the Hapsburgs . The Latin Emperors could have used some of that wealth. Their fragment of Romania had a similarly reduced tax base, and the Venetians dominated trade with an immunity to taxation. The result was that classical bronzes were melted down for the metal, and even the copper and lead roofs of churches were stripped and sold. None of the damage of the conquest was made good, while regular maintenance of walls and structures was neglected. The Greeks recovered a depreciated and degraded city in 1261.
Boniface himself was killed in 1207 and the Kingdom of Thessalonica turned out to be the most short-lived of the Crusader states in Romania, falling to Epirus. In 1311 the Duchy of Athens was seized by the Catalan Company, which had mutinied against the Palaeologi. The Principality of Achaea eventually got mixed up with the Anjevians and finally was inherited, much too late, by the Palaeologi in 1432; but the Duchy of Athens never returned to the control of Greek Romania. It fell to Meh.med II in 1456.
After the restoration of Greek rule in Constantinople, a claim to the Roman throne passed down through the descendants of Baldwin II.
Charles of Anjou , who had his own designs on Romania, married a daughter to Baldwin's son Philip. Later, Charles' grandson Philip married the heiress, Catherine of Valois, of the claim. None of these claimants, however, ever had much of a chance of returning to Constantinople. Many of them, however, were also Princes of Achaea , where their succession and genealogy are given in detail.
The nimbus is not used for the Latin Emperors in the genealogy because, as Roman Catholics, they would have acknowledged Papal supremacy to a degree that the Orthodox Emperors in Constantinople never would. Latin Emperors could not be "Equal to the Apostles."
4. DESPOTS OF EPIRUS
1335-1337, 1340, & 1355-1359
Epirus absorbed by Andronicus III , 1337, 1340
In the scramble for a Greek successor to the Angeli, Epirus was in a good position, from which considerable progress was made. Thessalonica was the second city of the Empire, and its capture reasonably prompted Theodore Ducas to proclaim himself Emperor. From there, however, things only went down hill. Theodore was himself defeated and captured by the Bulgarians, which would add him to the number of Valerian and Romanus IV if we considered him a proper Emperor of Romania. But the chance of that dimmed further when Theodore's successors were defeated by Nicaea, reduced to despots, and then Thessalonica itself fell to Nicaea.
Noteworthy in the genealogy is the marriage of Anna Angelina Ducaena,
, to Prince William II "Great Tooth" of Achaea . Their daughter became the Heiress of Achaea. However, the marriage of
, Helene, to Manfred of Sicily had no issue. These marriages represented the alliance of Epirus with Sicily and Achaea, which came to a bad end at Pelagonia in 1259. William himself was captured.
Epirus itself proved difficult for either Nicaea or the Palaeologi to subdue and rule, so the despots continued there for a while, subsequently under some rulers unrelated to the Ducases, including a couple of Orsini, from a noble family of the City of Rome that contributed a number of Popes and was usually involved in the domestic disputes, rising to the level of civil wars, among the Roman nobility. How they came to be involved in Eprius, I cannot say. By the time Andronicus III was able to annex the territory, the Empire as a whole was too far gone for it to have helped very much.
5. EMPERORS AT TREBIZOND
Trebizond falls to Meh.med II , 1461
A very poor excuse for an "empire," Trebizond spent much of its existence in vassalage to the Mongols and Turks who ruled the plateau behind it. It started, however, with an heir to the Comneni and a reasonable ambition of moving on to Constantinople. After realistic chances of that past, Trebizond ended up with the dubious honor of being the last of the Greek states to fall to the Ottomans, in 1461.
Lists of the Emperors of Trebizond can be found in various Byzantine histories, but the genealogy here only comes from the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume III, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser, Ergänzungsband [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Second Edition, 2001, pp.235-236].
In the genealogy of the Comneni of Trebizond, there are noteworthy marriages to Kings of Georgia . There is also the interesting episode of Irene, daughter of Andronicus III Palaeologus , briefly succeeding her husband Basil as ruling Empress. She was then succeeded by her sister-in-law Anna. Most extraordinary is a marriage at the end of line. A daughter, Theodora, of Emperor John IV married Uzun H.asan, a Khan of the White Sheep Turks (1457-1478), the very Khan who conquered the Black Sheep Turks in 1469 and created a regional state that stretched from Eastern Anatolia, where the White Sheep Turks originated, into Eastern Irân. This continued until the Safavids came to power in 1508.
6. LASCARIDS
John IV
1258-1261
Sicilians & Epirotes defeated, William II of Achaea captured, Battle of Pelagonia, 1259; William ransomed with the Morea , 1261
The Lascarids at Nicaea were perhaps the best placed to move on Constantinople, except that they were at first on the wrong side of the Bosporus. Meanwhile, the legitimacy of the regime as the successor to the Angeli was reinforced when the Patriarch of Constantinople relocated to Nicaea, as well as by the dramatic moment when Theodore I killed the Sultân of Rûm in battle.
The Asiatic base of the Lascarids was remedied, mainly by John Ducas Vatatzes, who defeated the Greek rivals at Thessalonica and creating a state that straddled Europe and Asia. This created the kind of stranglehold on Constantinople that the Turks would duplicate later.
See the Angeli for the genealogy of Anna Angelina,
, daughter of Alexius III. Maria Lascarina,
, daughter of her and Theodore I, married Bela IV of Hungary , from which derives multiple lines of descendants. The marriages of the daughters of Theodore II, Maria,
, to Constantine Tich of Bulgaria , and Irene,
, to Nicephorus I of Epirus , do not seem to have been fruitful.
Constantinople was regained on a chance betrayal to the Nicaean general and Regent, Michael Palaeologus. Once in power in Constantinople, Michael disposed of the actual Nicaean heir, John IV. The Lascarids, who were actually mostly the family of John Ducas Vatatzes, thus only served to obtain the restoration of Greek Romania for the Palaeologi.
C. THE LAST DAYS, 1261-1453, 192 years
1. SERBIA
Regent, 1458-1459, d.1473
annexed by Turkey, 1459
The Golden Age of Serbia. Independence from Romania and then the passing of the most vigorous days of Bulgaria meant an opportunity for a Serbian bid for the Imperium.
This opportunity was seized by Stephan Dushan,
who ended up with most of the western Balkans and was crowned Tsar of the Serbs and Romans by the autocephalous Serbian Patriarch whom he had just installed (1346) at Pec. His long reign, however, was not quite long enough, and his death set off the kind of internal dissentions that had ruined many another state in Romania. The power of Serbia was broken, and the only Tsar succeeding to the first received the epithet "the Weak," and unrelated Princes soon inherited the Kingdom.
Then, all too soon, the Ottomans arrived. Defeats in 1371 and 1389 crushed Serbia. The agony of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the "Field of the Blackbirds," still echoes today in the fierceness of the attachment of modern Serbs for the area, now largely populated by Albanians. As it happened, the Sult.ân Murâd I died at Kosovo, but his son, Bâyezîd the "Thunderbolt," was, if anything, even more vigorous than his father. In 1396 Bâyezîd destroyed a Crusade, led by the King of Hungary and future Emperor Sigismund, at Nicopolis (Nikopol). Not even Bâyezîd's defeat and capture by Tamerlane (1402) revived Serbian prospects.
The dynasty of Stephan Dushan is followed by two families of princes. Stephen Lazar and his son endured the Turkish defeat and conquest and were reduced to despots. They were followed by the Bronkoviches, father and son. The wife of Lazar III Brankovich, Helene, was a daughter of Thomas Palaeologus (d.1465), Despot of the Morea and brother of the last Roman Emperor, Constantine XI . After the death of Lazar, Helene was Regent of Serbia until the Turkish annexation.
Lists of Serbian rulers can be found in various Byzantine histories, but the genealogy here only comes from the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, pp.143-149].
3. BULGARIA, TERTERS
disintegration of state, 1385; Ottoman vassalage, 1387, 1388, Conquest, 1396
The second
Bulgarian dynasty of the period was always at a disadvantage, ground between the Mongols, Serbs, Hungary, and the Ottomans. Ottoman conquest and annexation came in the same year (1396) as the Sult.ân Bâyezîd's defeat of a Crusade, led by the King of Hungary and future Emperor Sigismund, at Nicopolis (Nikopol), where John Sracimir was killed.
Over time,
the Turks clearly regarded Bulgaria as strategically more important than Serbia or the Romanian principalities, and no local autonomy was allowed at all until the Russo- Turkish War of 1876-1878 and the Congress of Berlin (1878) forced it. Even then Bulgaria was divided and full independence did not come until 1908. Meanwhile, a fair number of Bulgarians had converted to Islâm. Since they were regarded as traitors by Christian Bulgarians, many of them migrated to Turkey, where they still live.
The list of Bulgarian rulers is from various Byzantine sources, including the only source of the genealogy here, which is the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, pp.162-163].
5. PALAEOLOGI
1428-1460,
d.1465
Principality of Achaea inherited, 1432; Mistra, Morea, falls to Meh.med II, 1460; last piece of Romania, the fortress of Monembasia, ceded to the Pope , 1461; daughter Zoë marries Ivan III of Russia, 1472; Thomas dies at Rome, 1465
Michael Palaeologus restores the Greeks to Constantinople, and for a time Romania acted as a Great Power again, fending off Charles of Anjou , with Genoa now replacing Venice as commercial agents and Italians-of-choice in Constantinople. But it was a precarious position. Michael himself sowed the seeds of disaster by confiscating land from the tax exempt akritai,
(sing. akritês,
), the landed frontier (ákron,
) fighters of Bithynia. This weakened defenses that Andronicus II weakened further with military economies, failing to follow the maxim of Machiavelli that the first duty of a prince is war. Once the Ottomans broke the Roman army in Bithynia (1302), they, and other Turks, quickly reduced Roman possessions in Asia to fragments, never to be recovered. Bithynia (Prusa, Nicaea, and Nicomedia) became the base of Ottoman power, with Prusa, as Bursa, the Ottoman capital.
there were 14th century banners that would have evolved into a proper flag for Romania, given the chance. We find a field with a Cross, like many Crusader banners and flags, with the addition of curious devices, which look like images and mirror-images of something between the letter B, the letter E, and broken links of a chain. These are sometimes said to have already been used by Constantine I and have been variously interpreted. One interpretation that is seen is to take them as B's which abbreviate Basileus Basileôn Basileuôn Basileusin, "King of Kings ruling over Kings." However, Basileus in Mediaeval Greek meant the Emperor, not "king," while the Latin word rêx was used for actual kings. So this formula would have to be employing anachronistic usages of basileus. That's possible, but the Rhômaioi could also find something of the sort offensive. So this looks like a retrospective and speculative interpretation.
Another possibility is that they are stylized forms of Crescent Moons, originally symbolic of the divine patroness of Byzantium, the goddess Artemis. The stylized forms have been inherited in the arms of
Serbia , and crescents are used as a Serb national symbol, seen at left -- something that has probably become a sign of terror to non-Serbs in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. If it was the Crescent that was originally used in Constantinople,
this may have been directly inherited by Turkey . A Crescent is now commonly taken as symbolic of Islâm, but this may not antedate the Turkish flag. The star on the Turkish flag is sometimes said to be Romanian also, symbolizing the Virgin Mary, but it does not occur on the earliest Turkish flags. However, Whitney Smith
[Flags Through the Ages and Across the World, McGraw-Hill, 1975] shows a flag identified only as "medieval Russian" that shows a cross with four crescents and four stars also [p.174]. The crescents are oriented differently, but this design seems too elaborate not to have Roman antecedents.
The banner that Whitney Smith shows for Romania itself [p.45] has the flag with the distinctive devices quartered with a simple red cross on white. One does not find this banner, or other Roman symbols,
shown or discussed in the standard Byzantine histories . This seems peculiar, and Smith gives no reference for his banner. Wikipedia does cite a Spanish atlas circa 1350, the Conoscimento de todos los Reinos. If we do not know of it from Greek sources, that is probably why it does not figure in the Byzantine histories.
I would like to know more about the history and meaning of such a banner. The red cross on white came to be identified as the Cross of St. George (
), which is how we see it as the flag of England -- something that is coming into increasing use today, when England often has sports teams separate from Scotland (which uses the Cross of St. Andrew). But St. George has been widely popular and is the patron of many places, including Barcelona, Portugal, Beirut, Georgia in the Caucasus, and various other states and cities. While the red on white Cross was used by
Genoa and some other Italian cities, there is the complication that St. George is not the Patron Saint of Genoa (although this is sometimes said to be the case, as I have been doing previously) -- that is John the Baptist. The Genoese cross is thus perhaps not originally the Cross of St. George at all -- although there is a story about the red cross and St. George being brought back from the First Crusade (1099), which is possible. Wikipedia says that ships from London began using the red Cross on white in the Mediterranian in 1190 precisely to benefit from the protection of Genoa -- the Doge was paid an annual tribute for the privilege of this use. Since Genoa became the ally of Constantinople under the Palaeologi, I wonder if the banner actually reflects that alliance. In modern custom, the upper corner by the staff, the canton, is the key quarter, so the quartering we see could be something used in the first place by the Genoese.
There is the issue of just how and when the red cross on white becomes associated with St. George. The Saint, as a native of Lydda in Palestine, was popular in the Orthodox Churches (a cave near Beirut is still pointed out as the site of his slaying the dragon, although other places also claim that distinction), and the earliest known depiction of him slaying the dragon is from 11th century Cappadocia, but I am not otherwise aware of him being particularly iconic for the identity of Romania or Constantinople --
as I have noted, Byzantine histories have little discussion of such symbols. And "George,"
, is not originally a Christian name but derives from the name of Zeus Georgus,
("earth worker"), i.e. Zeus the patron of farmers.
The crosses in general are artifacts of the Crusades , and the particular popularity of St. George in the West was itself the result of Crusaders bringing his cult and legend back with them. In a 1188 meeting between Richard the Lionheart and the King Philip II Augustus of France, red on white was chosen for the Crusaders of France and white on red for those of England, but this was apparently a random assignment and did not involve any preexisting attachment of France, or of these colors, for St. George (see more about this
elsewhere ). And these assignments persisted for some time. In the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, the body of St. Louis, who died in 1270, is still shown draped in the red on white. Since St. George was not the patron of Genoa, the association of the red cross with the Saint is more likely to originate at the source with the Crusaders. It is noteworthy that the church of the English Varangians in Constantinople was dedicated to St. Nicholas and St. Augustine of Canterbury. One would have expected a church of English warriors to involve St. George, if St. George was already associated with England. He wasn't.
Nevertheless, I do find positive statements at Wikipedia that in England St. George had along been revered and the red cross on white had long been associated with him even before the Third Crusade, and that the white cross on red was assigned by the Pope to England but then switched with France at the 1188 meeting between Richard and Philip II. This is inconsistent with my other sources (e.g. Whitney Smith, Znamierowski, or elsewhere at Wikipedia), does not seem to be attested by the evidence, as noted below, and in general is not consistent with the understanding that the use of crosses originated with the Crusades (at a time when national flags or settled national colors did not exist), involved variable colors for many years, and that the veneration of St. George was brought back by the Crusaders. I worry that claims for the antiquity of the specifically English "Cross of St. George" are ahistorical, nationalistic, and fantastical in motivation.
Since the red on white cross, as a symbol of St. George, has become distinctive of England, I begin to wonder to what extent it actually reflects the history of English involvement with Romania. Indeed, if the Cross of St. George here originated with Crusaders in the East, its interpretation as an English symbol could well have been due to the English Varangians themselves, who would have fought under it for many years and picked up the cult of St. George just as the Crusaders did.
It is attested that by 1277,
the English cross had settled on the red on white coloring, and this was at the time of perhaps the heyday of English Varangians under Michael VIII -- who wrote the letter mentioning them in 1272. Whitney Smith says that the red cross was not really prominent for another century [p.182], while The Penguin Dictionary of Saints [1965, 1983] says that George "may have been named the national patron when King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter under his patronage, c.1348" [p.146]. I might therefore entertain the speculation that what became the traditional coloring of the English Cross of St. George, and its identity as the Cross of St. George, might actually have been derived from a Romanian even more than from a Genoese source. This would be a monument unlike any other to the history of the English involvement in Constantinople. Since most histories of England ignore the very existence of English Varangians, the connection of the Cross of St. George to them falls into a kind of secret history.
Raffaele D'Amato [op.cit. p.12] says that one of the last references to the English Varangians was a letter written by John VII (who was Regent, 1399-1403, for his uncle Manuel II) to King Henry IV of England in 1402, speaking of them helping in the Turkish siege of Constantinople, 1394-1402. D'Amato adds that "'Axe-bearing soldiers of the British race' are referred to by Byzantine envoys in Rome as late as 1404..." This is apparently the last reference to English Varangians.
If Michael VIII was also writing to a King of England about English Varangians in 1272, which is possible but is not stated by Blöndal and Benedikz or by D'Amato, this would have been Henry III -- which means that Emperors wrote to Kings Henry II, Henry III, and Henry IV about English subjects in the Varangian Guard. That would be a nice touch. Even without Michael VIII, we do see a history of the Emperors expressing concern to Kings of England about the presence and activities of Englishmen in Romania. And there certainly may have been other communications whose record has not survived.
), i.e. Anatolia. The Ottomans, however, do not seem to have used the dicephalic Eagle.
Alternatively, Donald M. Nicol [Byzantium and Venice, a Study in Diplomatic and Cultural
Relations, Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 249] says, the dicephalic Eagle was adopted by Andronicus II to symbolize the division of authority with his grandson, Andronicus III -- though it far outlasted that particular division. However, it looks like dicephalic eagles long antedate this and are found in Hittite , Armenian , and even Seljuk iconography, with the latter perhaps suggested by remaining Hittite images in Anatolia. The earliest use in Romania seems to have been with Isaac Comnenus . Eagles have been used by many (including the United States and modern Romania ) to imply Roman antecedents; but the double headed eagle, despite the low level of power to which the Palaeologi had fallen, was adopted in particular by the Holy Roman Empire (followed by Austria ) and by Russia , and subsequently by
Serbia (as we see at left, with the devices discussed above), Montenegro , Armenia , Albania , and others. In direct continuity with Romania, it is also used by the Patriarchate of Constantinople . Although the eagle had disappeared from much Communist iconography, it has returned since the Fall of Communism. One Communist regime that continued to use it even on its flag, was Albania, to commemorate George Castriota (Gjergj Kastrioti), or Skanderbeg, who drove the Turks out of Albania between 1443 and 1463 (note in the genealogy below that Skanderbeg's son John marries a Palaeologina,
).
that had been extensively planted there for silk worms and sericulture, after silkworm eggs were smuggled from China in the days of Justinian .
After the Fourth Crusade, the last of the Morea, the fortress of Monembasia ,
, had fallen to the Latins in 1248. But then Monembasia and Laconia were returned in 1261 as ransom for William II de Villehardouin (1246-1278), Prince of Achaea , who had been captured in battle in 1259.
On Mt. Taygetos, to the west above the ancient city of Sparta , the castle (castrum,
) of Mistra,
, Mystrás (or
, Mistrás, or
, Myzêthrâs) had been founded by Prince William in 1248. Under the Palaeologi, this grew into a complex of buildings and became a surprising center of art and learning as well as the capital of the Despotate. Indeed, one could even say that the Renaissance began there, since many of its scholars, with their books, fled the Turkish Conquest to Italy, which was ready for them.
The Morea became a kind of Viceroyalty under the Cantacuzeni Despots (
). Under the Palaeologi, starting in 1383, the Despot,
(sometimes more than one), was usually a son or brother of the Emperor. The last Emperor, Constantine XI, began as a Despot of Morea. He very nearly acquired Athens in 1435. Unfortunately, in 1446 he had to endure a raid by Ottoman Emir Murâd II , which broke through the Hexamilion Wall across the Isthmus of Corinth with cannon fire, an omninous portent of what the Ottomans could do at Constantinople in 1453. Murâd enslaved 60,000, apparently in retaliation for the Crusade of Varna in 1444.
Constantine's brother, the last Despot, Thomas, married the Heiress of Achaea and came into possession of the Principality and all the Peloponnesus in 1432. By then there was little time left for further successes. The last thing left to Thomas by the Ottomans was, again, the fortress of Monembasia. Thomas never took the obvious step of declaring himself the new Emperor in succession to his brother, and he turned over Monembasia to the Pope in 1461 (or 1460). The Pope thus became, as Popes had long desired, the ruler of all the Roman Empire. The Pope sold the fortress to Venice in 1463 (or 1464). It remained with Venice, 1463-1538, fell to the Ottomans, and then was recovered by Venice, 1684-1715. The long slumber of Ottoman possession was then followed by that of modern Greece in 1821.
The Fall of Constantinople, on May 29, 1453, is one of the most formative, epochal, colorful, and dramatic episodes in world history. As the final end of the Roman Empire, it was a much more revolutionary and catastrophic change than the "fall" of the Western Empire in 476, in which power remained in the same hands of the current magister militum. That the greatest Christian city of the Middle Ages should pass to Islâm held a symbolism that was lost on none. But the defenders had little active help from a Europe that four hundred years earlier had launched armies all the way to Jerusalem. The most active help was from an unofficial Italian contingent from Genoa (which officially did not want to break relations with the Ottomans), led by the accomplished soldier Giovanni Giustiniani Longo. Giustiniani was perhaps militarily the most effective leader of the defense. When he was wounded and left the walls, one is then not surprised to learn that the city fell on that day. As the last Emperor's name, Constantine XI, recalls the founder of the city, Giustiniani's name echoes the Emperor, Justinian, who recovered Genoa itself from the Ostrogoths. But it was only the introduction of cannon that made the breach in the Long Walls possible at all.
The seige of Constantiople began on April 6, 1453. It was not the first effort by the Turks to take the City, but it would be much better prepared to do so, with the enthusiasm and determination of the young Sultan Mehmet II . The City could not be entirely sealed off from outside help, and ships occasionally were able to come and go. Short of defenders, a major setback for the Romans was when the Turks avoided the chain across the Golden Horn by dragging their ships overland behind Galata into the previously safe harbor. At that point, the City was under assault from three sides instead of just two. The seige would then last 53 days, with a fatal breach finally opened by Mehmet's cannons in the previously impregnable Triple Land Wall. For a while, the breach was miraculously repaired by frantic activity every night, to the astonishment of the Turks. But this ended up being more cosmetic than structural, and in the end the equivalent of string and duct tape were not enough. The elite Janissaries (Turkish Yeniçeri, "new soldiers") poured through. May 29th, a Tuesday ( Julian Day 225 1915), would then be remembered in Islâm as 20 Jumâdâ l-ûlâ,
(i.e. the "first" Jumâdâ), 857 AH, on the Islamic calendar .
Because of the high drama and significance of all this, it is a little puzzling that there has never been, to my knowledge, a Hollywood movie about the event. The closest may have been the brief prologue to Bram Stoker's Dracula [1991], by Francis Ford Coppola, where we see the Cross thrown down from the dome of Sancta Sophia and a Crescent appear in its place. One problem with doing the story may be in great measure because of the scale of the location. The Theodosian Land Walls of Constantinople are 6.5 kilometers long, almost 4 miles. Since the ruins of the walls could not be used, and the whole length could not be built (as the whole Alamo was build by John Wayne for The Alamo), other devices would be necessary. With computer graphic effects, a portion of the Wall could be built with the rest filled in digitally, the way the top half of the Coloseum was filled in for Gladiator. And models could be used. With the older technology, this would have looked very cheesy. However, models now can look much, much better -- the models for Lord of the Rings (2001) even came to be called "big-atures" instead of "miniatures" they were so large. CG and models would also work for another problem, which would be showing the general situation of the city between the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Golden Horn. A live shot of the modern buildings would not help. But the whole thing could be done digitally, or live shots could be digitalized and edited, to remove modern buildings and render mediaeval ones. This would also help with scenes in Sancta Sophia. The movie would have to show church services there, but my understanding is that these are not allowed in the modern building, even though it is now a secularized museum rather than the mosque it became at the Conquest (there is a small Islamic chapel, but not a Christian one). No problem. All we need is a photograph, and Industrial Light and Magic can put Constantine XI and the whole gang right into it with all the paraphernalia of the Greek Orthodox Church. Even so, it is questionable how interested Hollywood will ever be, even after Gladiator, and even when the legendary material, like the Virgin Mary retrieving her Icon, or the various versions of the death of Constantine, simply cry out for cinematic representation. With the present conflicts involving Islâm , some might consider the whole topic inflammatory; and it is very possible that Turkey would not allow location filming for such a movie.
While there may or may not be surviving Imperial Palaeologi (see below), Constantine XI lives on in legend. When the Turks had manifestly broken through, at the Fifth Military Gate -- subsequently called the Hücum Kapïsï, "Assault Gate" in Turkish -- and the Fall of the City was imminent, the Emperor is said to have thrown off the Imperial Regalia and disappeared into the thick of the fight. He is reported to have shouted,
, "Let's go, men, against these barbarians!" [Greek Text, Laonikos Chalkokondyles, The Histories, Volume II, translated by Anthony Kaldellis, translation modified, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard University Press, 2014, p.192] -- the last words of the Roman "Last Emperor." In Chinese, this could be
, "Last Emperor, Last Injunction" (or "last will") --
, "last words," is an expression that we do not seem to see in Chinese. There is no doubt that Constantine died. A body was later identified and a head displayed, but some doubt remains about the identification. A story arose that Constantine sleeps under the Golden Gate (like Barbarossa under the Kyffhäuser), or that an angel turned him into marble, with a similar placement below that Gate, or that he would reenter the City through the Gate; and we get legendary details such as the awakening of the Emperor would be "heralded by the bellowing of an ox" [Donald M. Nicol, The Immortal Emperor, Cambridge University Press, 1992, p.104].
Generations of Turkish governments took these stories with sufficient seriousness that the central entrance of the Golden Gate remains bricked up to this very day -- like the Golden Gate in Jerusalem , through which the Messiah is supposed to enter the City. In 1717, Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of the British Ambassador, reported that the Turkish government had seized an Egyptian mummy that had been bought by the King of France . Since the mummy was then placed in the "Seven Towers," the fortress built around the Golden Gate, this seems to indicate a belief, or fear, by the government that this had been the body of Constantine XI, to be used as a talisman for the defeat of the Turks or the reconquest of Constantinople. This same story was later related to the French consul F.C.H.L. Pouqueville, who was held prisoner in the fortress from 1799 to 1801, and who claimed to have actually found the mummy there and carried off its head [ibid. p.103]. I don't know what Pouqueville is supposed to have done with the head.
A similar legend concerns Sancta Sophia. We find a version of it in, of all places, one of Anne Rice's vampire fictions:
"...as the Turks stormed the church, some of the priests left the altar of Santa Sofia [sic]," he said. "They took with them the chalice and the Blessed Sacrament, our Lord's Body and Blood. They are hidden this very day in the secret chambers of Santa Sofia, and on the very moment that we take back the city, on the very moment when we take back the great church of Santa Sofia, when we drive the Turks out of our capital, those priests, those very priests will return. They'll come out of their hiding place and go up the steps of the altar, and they will resume the Mass at the very point where they were forced to stop." [The Vampire Armand, 1983, Ballantine Books, 1999, p.110]
It is not at all difficult to imagine that Sancta Sophia was built with secret passages or chambers. Justinian might even seem negligent if he had not done that. A similar legend is that three priests or monks sleep in the crypt of the Gül Camii mosque,
which had been the church of St. Theodosia or the Virgin of the Roses (Gül Camii actually means the "Rose, its mosque"), and that Christian vistors could hear them say that "the time and the hour had not yet come" [Nicol, op.cit., p.105].
Whether deathless priests wait for the liberation of the churches and the City is a more demanding idea than that of secret passages, although perhaps not much more demanding than the changes in politics and demography that would be necessary for Constantinople to be restored to Christendom -- a Christendom, or at least a European Christendom, that these days seems to have lost faith, confidence, and will far more than contemporary Islâm . Indeed, one wonders if Francia can be identified as "Christendom" at all anymore. The hostility of intellectuals to the religion, often with their craven accommodation to militant Islâm, and their anti-Semitism, is one of the more remarkable and disturbing characteristics of the modern European moral climate. Vladmir Putin , creating an aggressive dictatorship in Russia, seems intent on recreating the Russian Empire, perhaps with Tsarist ambitions against Turkey -- although, busy conquering the Ukraine , Putin has given no hint of that yet. As confident as the Europeans are demoralized, Putin is treated with similar complacency and appeasement.
, Hodêgêtria Icon (the Virgin who "Shows the Way," by pointing at Christ), was kept at the Hodegon Monastery and displayed in a procession every week. This was supposed to have been painted by St. Luke and in 439 brought to Constantinople from Jerusalem by the Empress
, St. Aelia Eudocia Augusta . At the time of the Siege in 1453, it had been moved to the Church of St. Savior in Chora (subsequently the Kariye Mosque), to be closer to the Walls. What we hear is that after the breakthrough, the Turks stormed the Church and chopped up the Icon for souvenirs. The Hodegetria motif, however, was be much reproduced, even in later Italian art.
The
, Blachernitissa (or Blacherniotissa) Icon, in bas relief, and the
, Maphórion, the Robe or Veil of the Virgin, were kept at the Church of the Virgin Mary at Blachernae (
), near the Walls. Blachernae,
(Regio XIV of Constantinople), was originally a suburb of Constantinople settled by Vlachs ,
. Eventually it was enclosed by the Walls of the City. By the time of the Palaeologi, the Blachnerae Palace had become the principal residence of the Emperors. The icon and relic had been brought out to protect the City during sieges -- the Maphórion is supposed to have repulsed the Avars in 626.
Both disappeared with the Fall of the City -- although there is no mention of them after the Church burned in 1434, which means they may already have been destroyed. Nevertheless, one story is that Constantine XI was praying to the Icon the night before the City fell, and as he watched, it was taken up to Heaven. He therefore knew what was going to happen the next day. It is a shame that this marvelous scene has not been reproduced in a movie or documentary. Later, an icon turned up at Mt. Athôs that was believed, one way or another, to be the Blachernitissa. However, this icon was of a Hodegetria form, with the Virgin pointing to Christ, and the original Blachernitissa is thought to have shown the Virgin orans, i.e. with hands lifted in prayer, as we see on the seal at left.
The surname Palaeologus survives today, but it is not clear that any modern Palaeologi are descendants of the Imperial family. In the genealogy, we see considerable intermarriage outside the Empire, even to Tsars of Bulgaria. The marriage of Zoë-Sophia to Ivan III of Moscow is the one most filled with portent, but the last Russian Tsar to be their descendant was Theodore I (1584-1598).
John Julius Norwich (Byzantium, The Decline and Fall, Knopf, 1996, pp.447-448) notes that there is buried in St. Leonard's church in Landulph, Cornwall, England a "Theodore Paleologus" (d.1636) from Italy, who is said to have been a direct descendant of John, son of Thomas, Despot of the Morea. However, Thomas is not known to have had a son John, and so the claim of descent, regardless of any other merits, is questionable. Theodore had a son Ferdinand, who died in Barbados in 1678. Ferdinand had a son "Theodorious," who returned to England and died in 1693, leaving a daughter, "Godscall," whose fate is unknown.
What John Norwich seems to have missed is that there were undoubted lines of Palaeologi (Paleologhi) in Italy, descended from the Emperor Andronicus II, whose second wife was Yolanda, the Heiress of the Margraves of Montferrat. While Andronicus's eldest son succeeded in Constantinople, his son by Yolanda, Theodore, succeeded to Montferrat. The main line of the Palaeologi of Montferrat continued until the death of the Marchioness Margaret in 1556. But branch lines continued much longer, perhaps even to the 20th century. This is covered in the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, pp.260-261], which, however, only indicates that the lines continue after the 16th century.
The Theodore buried in Cornwall could very well have simply gotten confused about his genealogy. He might have been a genuine Paleologo from Italy.
Maurice Paléologue (1859-1944) was a French diplomat. His name derived from his birthplace, in Romania, where, illegitimate, he was given the surname of his maternal grandmother, Zoë Paleologu. There is no evidence that the Romanian Paleologus were descendants of Greek Palaeologi. Because Paléologue was the French Ambassador to Russia, 1914-1917, we see his name in Cyrillic :
. I cannot say if this version of the name in Russian simply transcribes the French name or if it is actually the Russian form of Greek Palaiologos.
6. ROMÂNIANS
Wallach, as in Wallachia (or Walachia), is a cognate of the English words "Welsh" and "Wales." We get the same word in German, as Welsch or Walsch, from Old High German Walah or Walh, and apparently from a Proto-Germanic *Walchaz. In Old English it was Wealh or Walh. In Mediaeval German, we see Walen used to mean Italy in the description of the titles of the Holy Roman Emperor by the Sachsenspiegel -- Saxon Mirror, a legal text of 1230 -- the Emperor is the Here der Walen, the "Lord of Italy."
We see that word today in the names of the Walensee (or Wallensee) and Walenstadt in Switzerland, where it means, what? the "lake of the Italians" or the "city of the Italians"? Well, probably not. The intriguing Imperial general of the Thirty Years War , Albrecht von Wallenstein, looks like he has a name related to this root -- although it may only be a derivative of Waldstein, with "wood," Wald, instead of Walen.
While we are accustomed to apply the words " Wales " and "Welsh" to the land and inhabitants of what had been Roman Cambria (Welsh Cymru), the use in Old English applied to all the Celtic Britons that Germans found where they invaded and settled. Thus, the laws of the Saxon King Ine (688-726, d.728) of Wessex refered to all Britons as "Welshmen" (Wealhcynn, i.e. "Welsh-kin"). So this would encompass those we now identify as the Britons of Strathclyde , the Welsh, the Cornish, and the Bretons , along with Celts who remained under the rule of the invaders (as in Wessex), whose names are often distinguished by a wal[h] element, as in "Wallace" or "Walsh," and who may have lived with pockets of Britons in places like "Walcot" or "Walden." Even the humble walnut is the Old English wealhhnutu, the "Welsh/foreign nut." Were there really no walnuts in Germany?
Welschen originally was a German word for Celts -- perhaps from the name of the Celtic tribe, the Volcae, in Latin -- and then the Romano-Celts and then just for Romans.
WALLACHIA
1600
Continues under Ottoman Control; Lines of Princes Continued
In Switzerland , the Walen place names commemorate the presence of Romance speakers at the boundary or within the area taken over by German speakers -- though the area around the Walensee is now overwhelmingly German speaking. In Switzerland we do have Italian speakers, but there is also a separate Romance language, Romansh, part of the Rhaeto-Romance group (Rätoromanische Sprache -- named after the Roman province of Raetia).
Welsch can mean different things in different places. In Swiss German, it tends to mean the French language in Switzerland (which, in French, is Romand spoken in Romandie -- a dialect of Franco-Provençal or Arpitan). In increasingly archaic Standard German (it is not listed in my Cassell's German Dictionary), it can mean, indeed, Italian. And, as we have seen, the very similar English "Welsh" will mean the Celtic speaking Britons of Wales, although this has been reduced from its previous applications.
Wealh in Old English apparently was used to indicate pockets of British settlement after the conquest of the Angles, Saxons, etc., as in the place-names Walcot, Walden, Walford, and Wallington. We also have English and Scots surnames, like Wallace, Walsh, and Waugh, that have the root (cf. A Dictionary of Surnames, Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges, Oxford University Press, 1988, pp.563-564, 568). As a Scots name, "Wallace" goes back to the Britons of Strathclyde . We get Valland used in Icelandic for France ( Francia Occidentalis ). Even now, Walloon -- Waalsch in Dutch or Flemish -- is used for French speakers in Belgium.
This Germanic word for Romans seems to have been left, perhaps by the Goths, in the Balkans. It turns up as Vlach in Czech, one of many words for the Romance language, and its speakers, in Slavic languages. The Latin form "Blachus" and the Greek
, Vlakhos, also occur. We see surnames in Polish, Wloch, Russian, Volokhov, (the Uralic language) Hungarian, Olasz, etc.
In modern parlance, the convention for some time was that Romance speakers south of the Danube spoke "Vlach" and those north of the Danube spoke "Romanian." "Romanian" is now also coming to be used for the languages (Arumanian, etc.) south of the Danube also, with "Daco-Romanian" used to specific the north of the Danube language.
The Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia are the first Vlach/Romanian states that we see north of the Danube. They appear in the period after incursions from nomadic Steppe empires ceased. They were never subject to the Roman Emperors in Constantinople, and they occupied territories that had been abandoned by the Roman Empire in the Third Century , or never occupied by it in the first place. The arrival of the Turks subjected them to Ottoman suzerainty, but this was of varying rigor. The lines of Princes continued, but by 1711 the Sult.ân began to sell the seats to Greek tax farmers, a destructive practice that continued until 1821.
The most famous person in these lines is certainly Prince Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia. In legend and horror, one might almost say romance, this cruel man has grown into the paradigmatic vampire, Count Dracula, though his home has been slightly relocated, from Wallachia to Transylvania and the Carpathian Mountains (between Transylvania and Moldavia). For a while, I was under the impression that Prince Vlad Dracul (1436-1442, 1443, 1447) was Vlad the Impaler. However, a Romanian correspondent straightened me out, that Prince Vlad the Impaler was not Vlad Dracul but instead the subsequent Prince Vlad T,epesh (1448, 1456-1462, 1476, also Vlad "Draculea, Dracula"), his son. The correspondent also pointed out the interesting career of Iancu de Hunedoara (János Hunyadi) as Prince of Transylvania and Regent of Hungary, for which links have been installed.
My confusion about Vlad may have been due to Andreas Thiele's Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, K�nigs- und F�rstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und S¨deuropa [R. G. Fischer Verlag, Second Edition, 1997, p.139]. Thiele lists a unnamed sister of Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus (Latin corvinus, crow or raven-like), and so a daughter of Iancu de Hunedoara, who married Vlad II Dracul, whose death is given as 1476, i.e. the year of the death of Vlad III (when he was assassinated and his head taken to Constantinople). I do not see this sister attested in other sources, and the children of Vlad II were the result of more than one marriage and several mistresses. The sister of Corvinus, if she existed, may have been lost in the shuffle and in any case is unlikely to have been the mother of the significant sons of Vlad II.
Vlad the Impaler's career had many ups and downs. In exile in Hungary, he was imprisoned by Corvinus, for as much as ten years (1462-1472), although the Hungarians then helped him return to Wallachia in 1476. The association of Vlad with vampires has now drawn Corvinus into that legend, as we see in the Underworld [2004, 2006, 2009] movies -- although without the slightest reference to the real history of Matthias or de Hunedoara. Vlad's practice of impaling enemies and prisoners was not his own bright idea. The Turks, with whom Vlad was a hostage, 1442-1447, practiced impalement; and we even hear about impalement in Islamic courts in India under the Moghuls . But Vlad is supposed to have employed the practice to excess, to the point where once even Meh.med II reportedly turned back from Wallachia in horror at the thousands or tens of thousands of bodies that Vlad had impaled along the Danube.
As with Iancu de Hunedoara, Vlad III was often successful against the Turks. After Meh.med II was driven from Wallachia, he supplied Vlad's younger brother, Radu cel Frumos, with troops and money to exploit local rivalries, undermine Vlad, and replace him, which he did. Meanwhile Stephen III of Moldavia (1457-1504) and Skanderbeg (1443-1463) continued to defeat the Ottomans and slow their advance in the Balkans. Recently, G.J. Meyer says of Vlad:
The West owed him as it owed Stephen, an immense debt. The two kept whole Ottoman armies tied up for decades. [The Borgias, The Hidden History, Bantam, 2013, p.48]
Nor does Meyer neglect de Hunedoara or Skanderbeg. Unfortunately, the genius of these leaders did not outlive their generation. The death of Stephen in 1504 meant that barely another twenty years would pass before the Ottomans would be in Hungary, preparing to stay there for a century and a half.
The title of these rulers was Voivode, a word that we even find in Bram Stoker (Dracula, Penguin Books, 1897, 1993, p.309). This term no longer appears in convenient Romanian or Hungarian dictionaries, for any of its meanings (c.f. NTC's Romanian and English Dictonary, Andreí Bantas, NTC Publishing Group, 1995; Hippocrene Concise Dictionary, Hungarian, Hungarian-English, English-Hungarian, Géza Takács, Hippocrene Books, 1996; or Hippocrene Standard Dictionary, English-Hungarian Dictionary, T. Magay & L. Kiss, Hippocrene Books, 1995). Those meanings began with "duke" or "prince" and ultimately declined to merely "governor," which would have been appropriate to Wallachia or Moldavia under the Turks. This word is actually Slavic, and is thus discussed under Eastern Europe , but its ultimate origin was the Roman title (dux, "leader") in Greek, stratêlatês ("army," stratos, "leader," elaunein, "to lead"), which was also the source of German Herzog .
The Vlach language of the Principalities, not a written language in the Middle Ages, came to be written in the Cyrillic alphabet
. The unified country itself became first "Roumania" or "Rumania," later further Latinized into "România," and soon the Cyrillic alphabet was traded in for the Latin alphabet, as the
Roman roots of the people were increasingly emphasized. The issue of România and the Vlach language and people is discussed further in " The Vlach Connection and Further Reflections on Roman History ."
In contrast to the original Romania, i.e. the Roman Empire (Imperium Romanum), the north-of-the-Danube state might usefully be characterized as "Lesser Romania" (Romania Minor) on analogy to " Lesser Armenia " in the Taurus; but this would probably be considered insulting by modern Românians. Perhaps "Later Romania" (Romania Posterior, Recentior) would be better, like the Later Han Dynasty -- making the Empire into the "Former Romania" (Romania Prior), like the Former Han Dynasty . However, since Armenia is rarely called "Greater Armenia" in contrast to Lesser Armenia, we might simply leave România as România and make the contrast with "Greater Romania" (Romania Maior) as the
Roman Empire, where clarity is needed.
The map shows all the territories that ultimately were assembled into modern România. Transylvania, although predominately Romanian speaking, was part of Hungary all through the Middle Ages right down to the end of World War I. Bessarabia also became part of România at that time, was subsequently annexed to the Soviet Union, and now is the independent, and painfully impoverished, nation of Moldova.
The list of Princes here is taken from the Regentenlisten und Stammtafeln zur Geschichte Europas, by Michael F. Feldkamp [Philipp Reclam, Stuttgart, 2002, pp.142-144 & 259-261].
Copyright (c) 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved
Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 1
In some Greek cities (including Byzantium), it was illegal for men not to wear beards. The Hellenophile Marcus Aurelius wore a beard, a style that kept coming back every so often -- neither Constantine nor Justinian wore a beard -- until it became permanent with the Greek speaking Emperors of the Middle Ages.
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Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 2
There is a series of books that works something like this. The Osprey Publishing [Oxford, New York] "Men-at-Arms" series divides all this history up between five small books (about 40 pages each). The first two are explicitly titled "The Roman Army," and the last two "Byzantine Armies." Michael Simkins authors the first two [1984, 1979], and Ian Heath the last two [1979, 1995]. The titles seem to reflect some differences in thinking. The "Roman" books are, first, "from Caesar to Trajan," and then "from Hadrian to Constantine."
The "Byzantine" books use dates, first "886-1118" (the death of Basil I to that of Alexius I), and then "AD 1118 to 1461" (i.e. to the fall of Trebizond). There is a rather large gap between the "Roman" and the "Byzantine" books, which is then filled with "Romano-Byzantine Armies 4th-9th Centuries," by a third author, David Nicolle [1992]. This book covers a vast amount of time and very different conditions, from Late Antiquity, including the Army of the Notitia Dignitatum, through the Arab Conquests to the beginning of the Macedonian Dynasty. The two "Roman" books have common illustrator, Ron Embleton, while all the others are illustrated by Angus McBride.
The impression we get from this is of two different centers of history, the "Roman" and the "Byzantine," which have a bit awkwardly and even tenuously been bridged with a treatment that reminds us, at last, that we are dealing with a continuous story. Yet this middle book covers events that call out for detailed treatment, from the German invasions and the Battle of Adrianople, to the Arab Conquest, to the development of the Themes and Tagmata, through the Arab Sieges of Constantinople and the use of Greek Fire. It is odd to see all that shoved together in the same small brief format as with all these books. It makes this part of the publishing project look more like an afterthought, which perhaps it is.
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Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 3
I've tried various ways to represent the events of the Tetrarchy. The Chart of the Tetrarchy provides timelines for all the legitimate Emperors and the significant usurpers also. The animation at right runs through nine different phases of the history, showing the legitimate Emperors (i.e. with mutual recogniation), until Constantine alone is left. But it begins when there are four Emperors, in 393, and the amount of time for each phase bears some relation to its actual duration, which makes it a little difficult to study each combination (without stopping the animation with the ESC key).
The most striking thing about the history, however, is that the Tetrarchy begins with Diocletian alone and ends with Constantine alone. The diagram below illustrates this circumstance the most vividly. It also illustrates two key features of the history of the Tetrarchy: (1) After the retirement of Diocletian and Maximinian, the appointment of new Emperors seems to have been usurped by Galerius, so that Severus, Maximinus II Daia, and Licinius were all protégés or even relatives of Galerius. This anomaly introduced an inequality between the Augusti and also a geographical anomaly, in that Severus and Lincinius were appointed to be Western Emperors, but neither ever established himself in the West. Severus was killed trying to do so, and it is not clear that Licinius ever tried. (2) The untimely death of Constantius Chlorus led to the proclamation of his son, Constantine, by their troops in Britain. Constantine was thus a usurper; but, perhaps considering the difficulty of removing him, Galerius recognized him as a Caesar.
But this provoked a reaction from Maxentius, son of Maximian, who had been passed over in 305 and rather resented it. Now, he is not going to stand by while the son of Constantius is elevated, but not him. So he rebels, and brings his father out of retirement with him. He even forms an alliance with Constantine, who marries his sister. Thus, the bottom of the diagram is red, as it were, with rebellion. At the death of Galerius in 311, there are no new appointments; so as Constantine gets rid of Maximian and Maxentius, Lincinus gets rid of Maximinus Daia, and then Constantine does the same for Lincius, the Tetrarchy is whittled down to its Last Man Standing. Meanwhile, there has been a revolution in religion, and Constantine has established both Christianity and a new Capital, Constantinople. It is a real roller coaster, which is a bit what the diagram looks like -- a wild ride of just forty years from the beginning of Diocletian's reign in 284 to Constantine achieving sole rule in 324. The Roman Empire is profoundly transformed.
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Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 4
Bede identifies several Emperors by number. This includes Claudius, #4, Marcus Aurelius, #14, Diocletian, #33, Gratian, #40, Arcadius, #43, Honorius, #44, Theodosius II, #45, Marcian, #46, and Maurice, #54. This numbering works if we eliminate three of the four Emperors of 69 AD, the ephemeral Emperors of 193 and 218, a couple of them from the Third Century , most of the Tetrarchy and Constantian coregents, and, most importantly, all of the Western Emperors after Honorius. The latter is especially striking because Bede mentions Valentinian III: "In the year of our Lord 449, Marcian became Emperor with Valentinian and fourty-sixth successor to Augustus" [Bede, A History of the English Church and People, Penguin Classics, translated by Leo Sherley-Price, 1955, 1964, p.55]. Since Theodosius II was already identified as the 45th Emperor, there is no number left for Valentinian (Emperor since 425), let alone Constantius III or John, who had been legitimate Emperors of the West. From Marcian to Maurice, the numbers only work if we then ignore all the rest of the Western Emperors , out of nine of which four were even recognized by the East. So Bede doesn't recognize any.
As it happens, it looks like Bede has gotten his numbered list from Orosius, who wrote the Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII, "Seven Books of Histories Against the Pagans" (or the Hormesta). This was written around 418 AD and thus ends in the reigns of Honorius and Theodosius II. It was a popular book in the Middle Ages, with almost two hundred surviving manuscripts, which is extraordinary, with translations into several languages, including English and Arabic -- where the latter made it accessible to Ibn Khaldûn . It does not have much favor, however, with modern historians, and is not issued in popular editions (such as Penguin Classics). Unlike Bede, Orosius sometimes discusses the nature of his numbering, for instance that Constantius II was the 35th Emperor "along with his brothers, Constantine and Constans," but they receive no number in their own right. One curious detail is that Claudius is "the third Emperor after Augustus," where Bede has him as the 4th Emperor, but both Orosius and Bede number Diocletian as #33. It looks like Orosius may have shifted from the number of the Emperor "after Augustus" to a numbering beginning with Augustus as the first, while Bede has the whole sequence regularized in the latter form. But there are also some actual disagreements. To Orosius, Gratian was the 39th Emperor (40th for Bede), Arcadius and Honorius, the 41st (43th and 44th for Bede). So Bede is not mechanically reproducing the assignments of Orosius [cf. Seven Books of History against the Pagans, Liverpool University Press, 2010]. This is a matter of some interest that I have never seen discussed.
Although writing in the 7th and 8th centuries (673-735), in the days of multiple Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in Britain , Bede nevertheless had a strong sense of the continued existence of the Roman Empire. He knows that the Empire is now centered in Christian Constantinople, and his awareness of this is strong enough that it actually erases the existence of the last Western Emperors. The idea common now that the Roman Empire fell in 476, wouldn't have made sense to Bede. He didn't even recognize the Emperor who "fell," Romulus Augustulus, as a successor of Augustus (neither did the East, for that matter). Ephemeral and puppet Emperors (whether in the 2nd or 5th centuries) don't make the cut in his reckoning. This is of a piece with most of the rest of Mediaeval opinion and perception, East and West. Since the Schism of 1054 between the Latin and the Greek Churches had not occurred yet, Bede would have seen the contemporary Emperor (a late Heraclian , mostly) invested with all the aura and authority of Constantine the Great.
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Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 5
The 2004 movie King Arthur uses some of Littleton and Malcor's information to rework the Arthur legend into something like real history. However, its use of it, and of other history, although meriting an A for effort, involves some confusions and anachronisms. In the movie, the Iazyges are called "Sarmatians," which they were, but the more general name obscures the unique experience of the Iazyges in being settled and assimilated as Roman soldiers. Indeed, that circumstance is ignored, as the movie shows the Sarmatians apparently still living out on the steppe (in yurts) and somehow still obliged in the 5th century to furnish draftees to the Roman army. The Romans, however, were never in any position to send press gangs out onto the steppe, and such a foray in the 5th century, through Germans and Huns, is unbelievable. Nor is there any reason why Sarmatians well beyond Roman borders should pay any attention to obligations assumed three centuries previously. But the plot of the movie requires that the Saramatians feel exiled during their service in Britain. Instead, the Iazyges, men, women, and children, would have all been settled in Britain; the veterans all would have been given Roman Citizenship as the reward of their service; and by the fourth century they would have felt as Roman and/or British as anyone. The yearning of Arthur's men to go home is thus a purely fictional device. That Arthur himself still bears the name of Artorius Castus, his ancestor, is a fictional device also, but actually a rather clever and not impossible one.
The background offered in the movie about Sarmatian service in the Roman army leaves out that this involved the war fought by Marcus Aurelius featured in the movie Gladiator. A tribute to Gladiator might have been made but isn't. Instead, we get a gross anachronism, as the shields of what would have been Marcus's army in 175 AD already bear the Chi-Rho symbol of Constantine's Christianity. This may have just been a matter of economy in the prop department, where all the shields were prepared for the 5th century army. However, even this was a mistake, since we know from the Notitia Dignitatum that there were a great many designs used on Roman shields in the Christian Empire, including, remarkably, the first attested instance of the Chinese swirling Yin-Yang symbol. Shields were unique and distinctive to the units.
Beyond this, almost all the history in the movie is confused. The Western Emperor is not even mentioned, and the Pope is portrayed as directing political and military events. This is what Mediaeval Popes wanted to do, but it has nothing to do with the 5th or 6th centuries, when the Popes had no such power and would not have imagined that they did. Actual Italian Romans are portrayed unpleasantly, which creates a distinction (and a conflict) that wouldn't have existed in Late Antiquity. In general, Romans were Romans -- the movie perpetuates the idea that "Rome" meant the City, when this limitation was long gone. More importantly, the Romans never deliberately withdrew from Britain, and certainly not as late or as callously as shown in the movie. The usurper Constantine (407-411) stripped Britain of legions in order to invade Gaul and seize the Throne. When he was defeated, Honorius had to inform the British that, with the Suevi, Vandals, and Alans raging across Gaul and Spain, the forces simply did not exist to re-garrison Britain. Since the battle of Badon Hill is supposed to have happened eighty to a hundred years later, there is a fair bit of history that the movie reduces, in effect, to a couple of days. Finally, we have Saxons so confused or foolish as to land in Britain north of Hadrian's Wall. This would not have done them much good (as is obvious in the movie) and was way, way out of their way. The Saxons, Angles, and Jutes all crossed the North Sea and landed well south of the Wall. Only Vikings from Norway would later show any interest in the future Scotland . Finally, an early sequence in the movie has Arthur venturing north of the Wall to retrieve a Roman settler. What is this guy doing there? And how could his estate survive, surrounded by hostile Picts, especially when he treats the locals with appalling cruelty? This doesn't pass minimal standards of credibility.
The latter device may have some historical connection. We are told that St. Patrick wrote a letter to Ceretic (or Coroticus), a Briton or Roman governing the local tribe of the British Damnonii, complaining about his practice of selling Irish captives as slaves to the Picts. Ceretic was the beginning of the British Kings of Strathclyde . This is the right era, since Ceretic is supposed to have reigned c.450's-470's, while St. Patrick died in 461, and the right place, north of Hadrian's Wall. If this is what the movie is referring to, it fails to distinguish between Britons, Picts, and Irish; and Ceretic is certainly in no need of being rescued by Romans for cruelty to those he ruled. The cruelty would have been to one set of pagans (i.e. the Irish in Scotland, the Scots, who were still pagan until converted by St. Columba [d.597], although St. Patrick was meanwhile converting the Irish in Ireland) being sold to another set of pagans (the Picts). Although St. Patrick's solicitude for the Irish anywhere is understandable, Christians in general did not worry about enslaving pagans -- which is why the word "slave" is derived from "Slav," who were enslaved long before they converted to Christianity.
The peculiar or anachronistic devices in the movie all serve to create dramatic tension and conflict, which is well within understandable poetic license. In this it is perhaps moderately successful, but some distortions seem gratuitous, especially the negative impression left of Christianity. Pagans were generally tolerated at the time (not tortured or starved to death), but the Army and probably the Britons were overwhelming Christian. That Arthur found himself on the wrong side of one of the obscure contemporary theological disputes is a cute touch (based on the British monk Pelagius, whose teaching was condemned in 418) but is obviously introduced merely as a device to alienate him from the Church and from Rome. This fits the plot of the movie but cannot have had much to do with the substantive problems facing 5th century Britons. The matter in dispute, free will versus predestination, was never wholly settled to the complete denial of one or the other. Indeed, Catholic orthodoxy was more favorable to free will than Protestants like John Calvin would be later.
Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 6
Sancta Sophia is
Latin for "Saint Sophia" or, since sophía is Greek for " wisdom ," "Sacred Wisdom." This is not the form of the name usually seen. Justinian spoke Latin, but in time
Greek became the Court language at Constantinople. In Greek the Church was Hágia Sophía,
, which locally would have been the name used from the beginning.
As Mediaeval Greek developed, however, the "h" ceased to be pronounced and the "g" softened into a "y."
This later pronunciation is even preserved in the Turkish name of the Church, Aya Sofya. For many years, the version I seem to remember seeing was Santa Sophia, which would have to be Italian. Because of the later Italian influence in Romania, this version of the name certainly would have been used. Or, I may have just been seeing "St. Sophia" and thought of it as Santa because of living amid all the Spanish place names in California , where sancta has also become santa (e.g. Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Santa Cruz, etc.).
As it happens, it must be the case that I was seeing "Santa Sophia," because I see it now, in the Fourteen Byzantine Rulers by Michael Psellus [translated by E.R.A. Sewter, Penguin, 1966]. In the translator's introduction we've got "Santa Sophia" on page 10.
Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 7
The declension of
seems anomalous. Procopius uses
as the accusative plural [History of the Wars, Book III, xi, 16, Loeb Classical Library, Procopius, Volume II,
Harvard U. Press, 1916, 2006, p.104], which would correspond to the nominative plural
that I use above.
However, I would expect the accusative plural to be
(and so the nominative plural
), based on the Third Declension paradigm of
[A New Introduction to Greek, Chase and Phillips, Harvard U. Press, 1965, p.18].
The retension of the omega in the stem would make sense if
were a participle based on the contract verb
(which contracts to
); but the accent and the endings are inconsistent with it being a participle -- the accusative plural would be
.
The only explanation I can think of is that the alpha from that verb was in some sense retained in the noun, and the omega is still the result of a contraction. This theory may be supported by a term for "galley" that is used by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, which is
[De Administrando Imperio, Greek text edited by Gy. Moravcsik, Dumbarton Oaks Texts, 1967, 2008, p.246]. So we have a fixed root in
.
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Sources
Discussion of the period covered by this page, with sources on Roman and "Byzantine" history, upon which the actual tables and genealogies are based, may be found in " Decadence, Rome and Romania, the Emperors Who Weren't, and Other Reflections on Roman History ." One Roman source not mentioned there is the handy Who Was Who In The Roman World, edited by Diana Bowder [1980, Washington Square Press, Pocket Books, 1984]. That was the first book I ever saw that organized Roman Emperors into logical dynastic or event centered groups. Another source I have recently enjoyed is Justinian's Flea by William Rosen [Viking, 2007], not the least because it cites this very webpage [note 2:36, p.331]. Otherwise, it is a fine book with a good appeciation of Late Antiquity, and with some details that I have already added here. Other sources are given here at the points where they are used. This page is continued and supplemented by the material in "Successors of Rome: Scotia" , "Successors of Rome: Germania" , "Successors of Rome: Francia" , "Successors of Rome: The Periphery of Francia" , "Successors of Rome: Russia" , "The Ottoman Sultâns" , and "Modern Romania" . Related earlier history may be found at "Historical Background to Greek Philosophy" and "Hellenistic Monarchs" , and the "Consuls of the Roman Republic" .
, that could be transliterated from Greek as "Doukas," is written "Ducas." The epithet of Basil II, "Bulgaroktonos,"
, "Bulgar Slayer," is rendered "Bulgaroctonus." This is contrary to increasing usage among Byzantinists and Classicists but is, as Warren Treadgold says [A History of the Byzantine State and Society, Stanford University Press, 1997, p. xxi], what the Romans would have done themselves when writing in the Latin alphabet -- and in fact used to be the academic practice, as we see examples of almost all such Latinized names in older scholarly and popular work. In the 19th century, a scholar disinclined to use Latin forms would simply give the words in Greek. It could be assumed that educated readers at least knew the Greek alphabet. No such assumptions could be made now.
Since this page uses the Latin alphabet, and since the Roman Empire originally used Latin as its universal language, never forgotten in Greek Romania (however annoying or hostile contemporary "Latins" might become), Latinate forms are the practice here. Some say that this is a "detour" through Latin, but that is the historic and customary route by which Greek words came into English, which is a historic language of Latin Francia . In fact, the Greek versions of the names of significant figures should be given in Byzantine histories, but this is not done. Since standard Greek lexicons, like Liddell and Scott, do not have proper names, and probably would not have them for the Mediaeval period anyway, there is a serious lacuna in references sources for the history of Romania. And those who insist on transcribing rather than Latinizing Greek words and names must face the problem than transcription systems, discussed by Treadgold, are ambiguous, especially in the absence of accents, and usually do not enable the reader to reconstruct the Greek writing. Because of the problems with transcribing Greek, and because of the need for a reference with actual Greek words, Greek names and words are not being added extensively to this page.
Exceptions to Latinization would be, (1) for Greek words that simply have Latin translations. Thus, Greek Rhômaîoi, "Romans," corresponds to Latin Romani -- not "Rhomaeoe." Latinization will occur, however, when the Greek word is part of a compound. For instance Tsar Kalojan of Bulgaria was called the "Roman Killer,"
, Rhômaioktónos. This would Latinize as Rhomaeoctonus. And (2) when Greek words are transcribed, not primarily for logical "use" in English (or even Latin) sentences, i.e. to indicate their referents, but to phonetically render Greek words from examples of Greek itself, as I have in fact just used Rhômaîoi, and Rhômaioktónos. The reference is thus first of all to the words, where we want to represent the Greek language (some of whose characteristics may be lost in Latin), rather to what the word (in Greek, Latin, or English) is used for. Transcription involves compromises. The practice elsewhere usually doesn't include accents, even through they are a proper part of Greek orthography -- and indeed were originated in order to write Greek. With accents, the use of the circûmflex to distinguish êta from epsilon and ômega from omicron (where the macron is not available in basic HTML) introduces an ambiguity; and where êta or ômega may otherwise take an ácute or gràve accent (which here have priority), another ambiguity is introduced. Issues of Greek pronunciation and spelling are examined elsewhere .
The maps are originally those of Tony Belmonte, edited to eliminate references to "Byzantium" and with corrections and additions. Tony's historical atlas (with Tony) disappeared from the Web. It was painstakingly reassembled by Jack Lupic, but then his site has disappeared also. Corrections and additions are based on The Penguin Atlas of Ancient History (Colin McEvedy, 1967), The Penguin Atlas of Medieval History (Colin McEvedy, 1961), The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History (Colin McEvedy, 1992), The Anchor Atlas of World History, Volume I (Hermann Kinder, Werner Hilgemann, Ernest A. Menze, and Harald and Ruth Bukor, 1974), and various prose histories. My graphics programs do not seem to be quite as sophisticated as Tony's, so maps I have modified may not look as professionally done as his originals. Other maps are not based on Tony's at all and may consequently look even less professional.
I. FIRST EMPIRE, "ROME,"
27 BC-284 AD, 310 years
Trajan was most conspicuous for his justice, for his bravery, and for the simplicity of his habits. He was strong in body, being in his forty-second year when he began to rule, so that in every enterprise he toiled almost as much as the others; and his mental powers were at their highest, so that he had neither the recklessness of youth nor the sluggishness of old age. He did not envy nor slay any one, but honored and exalted all good men without exception, and hence he neither feared nor hated any one of them. To slanders he paid very little heed and he was no slave of anger. He refrained equally from the money of others and from unjust murders. He expended vast sums on wars and vast sums on works of peace; and while making very many urgently needed repairs to roads and harbors and public buildings he drained no one's blood for any of these undertakings... For these deeds, now, he took more pleasure in being loved than in being honoured. His association with the people was marked by affability and his intercourse with the senate by dignity, so that he was loved by all and dreaded by none save the enemy.
Dio Cassius (c.150-235 AD), Roman History, Book LXVIII, Translated by Earnest Cary, Loeb Classical Library, Dio Cassius, VIII, Harvard U. Press, 1925, 2005, p.369-371.
In the second century of the Christian era, the Empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilised portion of mankind. The frontiers of that extensive monarchy were guarded by ancient renown and disciplined valour. The gentle but powerful influence of laws and manners had gradually cemented the union of the provinces. Their peaceful inhabitants enjoyed and abused the advantages of wealth and luxury.... During a happy period (A.D. 98-180) of more than fourscore years, the public administration was conducted by the virtue and abilities of Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, and the two Antonines.
Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I, Modern Library, p.1
Now what shall I say of this, that whereas so many have borne the name of Caesar, there have appeared among them so few good [paucos bonos] emperors? For the list of those who have worn the purple [purpuratorum] from Augustus to the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian is contained in the public records. Among them, however, the best were Augustus himself, Flavius Vespasian, Titus Flavius, Cocceius Nerva, the Deified Trajan, the Deified Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Antoninus, Severus the African, Alexander the son of Mamaea, the Deified Claudius, and the Deified Aurelian.
The Scriptores Historiae Augustae (c.150-235 AD), Historia Augusta, Volume III, Translated by David Magie, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard U. Press, 1932, 1998, p.277-279.
The "First Empire" is what often would be considered the entire history of the "Roman Empire." It is definitely the end of the Ancient World. If "Rome" means paganism, bizarre Imperial sex crimes, and the Pax Romana, then this would indeed be it. A later Empire that is Christian, more somberly moralistic, and more beset with war, sounds like a different civilization, which it is, and isn't. That the earlier civilization didn't "fall" but merely became transformed is a truth that both academic and popular opinion still hasn't quite come to terms with. If the decadence of pagan religion and despotic emperors was going to be the cause of the "fall" of Rome, then it certainly should have fallen in the Crisis of the Third Century . That it didn't would seem almost like a disappointment to many. But the greatest of the 3rd century Emperors, like Aurelian, don't get popular books, movies, and BBC television epics made about them. They begin to pass into a kind of historical blind spot. The Pax Romana seems real enough in certain places, but there were not many reigns without some major military action. As long as these were remote from Rome, people would have thought of it as peace. Once Aurelian rebuilt the walls around Rome, things had obviously changed. Indeed, perhaps Rome did "fall" in the Third Century, if by the "Roman Empire" we mean a state ruled, controlled, and centered in the City of Rome. Somewhere between Decius and Diocletian, that was lost. The Emperors ceased to live at Rome, there was not much happening there that influenced events, and even the Army was mostly recruited elsewhere. The Empire decentered and turned inside out, something that popular discourse and even many historians have failed to either recognize or acknowledge.
A. "PRINCIPATE," 27 BC-235, 261 years
1. JULIO-CLAUDIANS
A. Vitellius
69
The Roman Empire "officially" begins by tradition in 27 BC when Octavian receives the title "Augustus" -- which then becomes the name by which we know him. We might think that the Empire, Imperium,
begins with Augustus becoming Emperor, Imperator, but that is not the case. Imperator simply means "commander," and this had long been in use with a specific meaning. An imperator was someone with a military command and imperium, which meant both military and civil authority in the area of his command. This made Julius Caesar essentially the dictator of Gaul , once he had conquered it. That was dangerous, indeed fatal, for the Republic; but in those terms Julius Caesar began the creation of the Roman Empire already as an "emperor." So, while we think of "Augustus" as the name of the first Emperor, it was simply a title, whose import was well remembered by subsequent Emperors. It accompanies the institutional changes that were effected or completed by Augustus.
The institution thus created now gets called the "Principate," from Princeps, "Prince" (literally, "comes first"). The idea of the Principate is that the forms of the Republic are retained, and the Emperor superficially is simply still an official of the Republic. Augustus was not a king. He did not even hold the Republican office of Dictator, as Julius Caesar had. But Augustus otherwise assembled offices and authority sufficient to explain the power that he had actually obtained by force. In principle, Rome is still SPQR, Senatus Populusque Romanus, "the Senate and the People of Rome." This institution continues for some centuries, and there never was a subsequent question that the Emperor might become a King, as had been widely feared, expected,
or desired with Julius Caesar. In time, the Emperor came to be regarded as superior to any mere king, as the reach and authority of many Emperors was indeed great beyond precedent or (local) comparison.
While it seems natural and obvious to take Augustus as the successor to Julius Caesar and his new Imperial government as the successor to the Roman Republic, there was another way of looking at this. The astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (c.100-c.170 AD), who was concerned about the dating of astronomical observations, laid the foundation for all ancient chronology with the Canon of Kings , a list of rulers beginning with the Babylonian King Nabonassar in 747 BC. The Canon thus starts off with Babylonian Kings (and some Assyrians thrown in), jumps to Persian Kings in 538 BC, to Alexander in 332 BC, to the Ptolemies in Egypt in 305 BC, and finally to Augustus, at the death of Cleopatra, in 30 BC. It continues to the reign of Antoninus Pius. These particular connections occur because (1) the Babylonians had the most advanced astronomy of their age, (2) Babylonian records continued seamlessly into the Persian and Hellenistic periods, (3) elements of this, including considerable data, had been translated into Greek, and (4) Ptolemy himself operated in Alexandria, where these translated Babylonian records were freely available, where Greek astronomy itself reached maturity, and where Ptolemy had at hand the simplest calendar of the Ancient World, the Egyptian 365 day year , which continued to be used in astronomy until the introduction of Julian Day Numbers . Thus, we have the curious mixture of an astronomer whose name is in Latin and Greek, who lives in Egypt, and who uses the Era of a Babylonian King (Nabonassar) in conjunction with the Egyptian calendar. This all is striking for Ptolemy's willingness to use the best of all that was available to him -- though it may still surprise some, as we now know independently from Egyptian records, that the astronomy of the Egyptians themselves, except for (or perhaps because of) their year, had less to offer than the Babylonian. Thus, Augustus may be seen as more than a Roman ruler, as, indeed, the successor to the universal equivalents of the eponymous archons (the Athenian officials used for purposes of dating) for all of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and European civilization. From Antoninus Pius, the Canon could easily be continued with Roman Emperors all the way to 1453, using a clue of the numbering given by the Venerable Bede , who has Maurice as the 54th Emperor. Even the presence of the Latin Emperors present no anomaly, since Assyrian Kings were interpolated with Babylonian Kings. The last ephemeral Western Emperors , so important for the mythology of the "Fall" of Rome, were, of course, simply ignored by Bede. The Canon can then obviously be continued from 1453 with the Ottomans , who make for a succession in Constantinople in an even more seamless fashion than Augustus takes over from Cleopatra. The Canon of Kings, then, as a succession of Kings, will end in 1922, when no monarch conquers or replaces Mehmed VI. It is a moment, indeed, in the aftermath of World War I, when the idea of monarchy alone as a legitimate form of government, without popular and parliamentary qualifications, pretty much ends.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City contains the Temple of Dendur, which was relocated from Egypt and opened on display in 1978. This was built in the reign of Augustus, around 15 BC.
The cartouches on the temple mostly just contain the hieroglyphs
, "Pharaoh," which seems like a very perfunctory way of representing the Roman Emperor as King of Egypt. High up on the gate, however, and around on the side, I have noticed more complete names, only parts of which I have been able to read, including
, glyphs that clearly spell out "Caesar." So there was an effort here, as with the Ptolemies, to Egyptianize foreign rule, and a final era of overlap between Ancient Egypt and the later civilizations that, through Christianity and then Islam, erase the ancient religion, culture, and then language of Egypt. What remains of all of those, with the Christian Copts, is under physical assault by Islamists in modern Egypt even as I write.
This map, for the year of the death of Augustus, is the last in the series prepared for the Hellenistic Age , the period that Augustus himself had terminated in 30 BC. Noteworthy are the surviving vassal kingdoms under Roman control: Armenia , the Bosporan Kingdom , Numidia , Judaea , Cappadocia , Emesa , Nabataean Petra , Commagene , Iberia , Thrace, and Palmyra. Edessa , at this point a Parthian vassal, will soon pass under Roman control. Palmyra will briefly play a signifiant role in Roman history in the Third Century . Armenia will often find itself pulled between Rome and Parthia, then Rome and Sassanid Persia , and subsequently several other larger political conflicts right down to our own day.
The Principate is the period that fits everybody's main idea of the "Roman Empire." Caligula and Nero, and Robert Graves's version of Claudius, are objects of endless fascination, moralizing, guilty pleasure, and not-so-guilty pleasure. Whatever these emperors were actually like, this approach began with the Romans themselves, with Suetonius's list of Tiberius's sexual perversions, lovingly reproduced in Bob Guccione's silly movie Caligula (1979, 1991). Whether Tiberius was really guilty of anything of the sort is anyone's guess, but we don't hear much in the way of such accusations about subsequent Emperors, except for a select few, like Caracalla and Elagabalus. Meanwhile, Augustus had secured the Rhine-Danube frontier, and Claudius conquered most of Britain. Augustus originally wanted an Elbe-Danube frontier, but one of his armies (of three legions) was caught in a catastrophic ambush and destroyed. The Romans gave up on the Elbe permanently. Only Charlemagne , by the conquest of Saxony, would secure what Augustus had wanted. The shadow of the Republic persisted during this period, and someone like Claudius could still dream of restoring full Republican government. The year 69 pretty much ended these dreams, since the first free-for-all scramble for the throne revealed that the army, and only the army, would determine who would be Emperor. Strangely enough, despite the occasional anarchy, this would be a source of strength for the Empire, since the state always did the best with successful soldiers at its head. Unsuccessful soldiers faced the most merciless reality check (whether killed by the enemy or by their own troops); but purely civilian Emperors, like Honorius , could endure one disaster after another without their rule necessarily being endangered.
The Roman Army under Augustus contained 28 Legions (Legio, Legiones), not counting the Praetorian Guard. At some 5500 men each, this gives a full strength Army of 154,000 men. However, this does not count the Auxilia, units like cavalry and others that consisted of those who are not Roman citizens (though they gained citizenship from service). The entire Army, therefore, was more like 300,000 men, less than half of what it would number in the Late Empire . In his attempt to extend Roman power to the Elbe, Augustus lost three Legions at the battle of the Teutoburger Wald in 9 AD. The numbers of the lost Legions were never used again (likewise with the Legions later disbanded for rebellion). All the Legions were originally simply numbered. Once they begin acquiring epithets (cognomen, cognomina), like Legio X Fretensis, we start getting more than one Legion with the same number, but with different epithets, e.g. Legio III Gallica, Legio III Cyrenaica, Legio III Augusta pia fidelis, Legio III Italica concors, and Legio III Parthica. This is a little confusing. The logic of the matter is that eventually the legions begin to be numbered in relation to their cognomen, not in the absolute count of the Army. Thus, Septimius Severus raised legions for his attack on the Parthians (195 AD), which quite logically are numbered Legio I Parthica, Legio II Parthica, & Legio III Parthica. Eventually there would also be Legio IV Parthica, Legio V Parthica, & Legio VI Parthica, but these were not raised by Severans. We find all the numbers used up to XXII (Legio XXII Primigenia pia fidelis), but then Trajan raised Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix. I suspect that he used "XXX" because 29 Legions already existed, despite the numbers used.
Legions of the Roman Army
The office of the Roman Consuls, and dating by them, continues under the Empire until Justinian . They can be examined on a popup page .
The abbreviations used in the full names of the Emperors can be found elsewhere with the discussion of the tria nomina . Emperors are commonly known by particular parts of their names, or by nicknames, e.g. Caligula, "little boot," or Caracalla, "little hood" -- both names given them as children in the army camps of their fathers (Germanicus and Septimius Severus, respectively).
The family of the Julio-Claudians seems like one of the most complicated in history. This chart eliminates many people in the family to focus on the descent and relation of the Emperors. Caligula and Nero are descendants of Augustus, through his daughter Julia (from his first marriage); but Claudius and Nero are also descendants of Mark Antony, who of course committed suicide, shortly before Cleopatra, rather than be captured after his defeat by Augustus.
The use of crowns to indicate the emperors is at this point anachronistic, but it is convenient. The crown for Christian Roman Emperors, which of course will not occur until Constantine, is shown with a nimbus, like deified earlier Emperors, because they are always portrayed with halos, like Saints, and are said to be the "Equal to the Apostles,"
, isapóstolos. Indeed, not just Christians Emperors, but Empresses and their children are shown with halos. This is not something that ones sees in Western Europe.
4. KINGS OF NUMIDIA
c.22 AD-40
Roman Province
No less that four foreign cultures have been planted into North Africa over the centuries. The Kingdom of Numidia was originally promoted by Rome as an ally against the Carthaginians. In the Second Punic War (218-201), Masinissa went from fighting effectively for Carthage to an alliance with Rome. His cavalry is largely what enabled Scipio Africanus to defeat Hannibal at Zama in 202. He was then supported by the Romans in eliminating his Numidian rivals. However, when he wanted to marry the wife of the great Numidian king Syphax, the Carthaginian princess Sophonisba, the Romans demanded that she be handed over to them. Masinissa enabled her to poison herself instead. Rome supported Masinissa the rest of his life. He died shortly before Carthage itself was exterminated in 146. Numidian allies thus enabled Rome to overthrow the first foreign culture in North Africa, the Phoenician (or "Punic" to the Romans). The Numidians then, of course, discovered what being an "ally" of Rome really meant, and war resulted as later Kings tried to preserve their independence -- especially the War of Jugurtha (112-105). Like the native kingdoms of Anatolia, Numidia was soon converted into a Roman province, opening the way for the introduction of a Latinate culture. If no other events had intervened, North Africa today would probably boast its own Romance language, like Spanish or French. This, however, was not to be. The Vandals interrupted Roman rule, but not long enough to make any lasting difference, if Islam had not soon arrived. When it did, this became the most durably planted foreign culture, with a large colonial element, as the Fatimid Caliphs of Egypt later directed an invasion of ethnic Arab tribes -- in revenge for North African defection from the Fatimids, and from the Shi'ite cause. The last culture planted was that of France, beginning with the occupation of Algeria in 1830. Eventually, something like 30% of the population of Algeria was French colonials, who began to fight as the era of de-colonization threatened their position. This brought about the fall of the French Fourth Republic in 1958. Interestingly, the two greatest French Existentialist writers and philosophers were on opposite sides of the issue. Jean Paul Sartre had become a dogmatic Marxist who demanded Algerian independence at any cost, while Albert Camus, whose most famous book, The Stranger, is set in Algeria, could not so easily dismiss the poor French farmers who had lived in Algeria for nearly a century -- Camus also suspected that Sartre's doctrinaire leftism concealed a bit of collaboration with the Germans in World War II. The return of Charles de Gaulle to power in 1958 ushered in harsh medicine about Algeria. De Gaulle decided that France should cut her losses, and the colony was abruptly granted independence in 1962. This began a bitter exodus of the French colonials and the nauseating torture and massacre of all those Algerians who were associated with the colonial regime. The cycle of terrorism continues even today, as leftist ideology has collapsed into an unhappy civil conflict between military rule and Islamic fundamentalism, and frightened Algerians have increasingly fled....to France. Unfortunately, the French economy, with stupefying labor law, has created national double digit unemployment, far higher in the heavily Moslem immigrant community, which is then supported by the French welfare state in public housing projects that have become virtual No Man's Lands outside many French cities. The idle and resentful unemployed then turn to....Islamic fundamentalism.
5. LEADERS & KINGS OF JUDAEA
Hasmoneans
Agrippa II
King, 50/53-100?
Jewish Revolt & War, 66-73: Destruction of Jerusalem, 70 AD; Fall of Masada, 73; Revolt of Bar Kokhba, 132-135
The success of the great struggle of the Maccabees to free the Jews from the Seleucid Kings is still commemorated in the holiday of Hanukkah, based on an incident when the Temple was reconsecrated after the liberation of Jerusalem. Little oil was available for the Temple lamps, but what there was burned miraculously for eight days. The burning of candles for Hanukkah coincides, however, with similar fire rituals of many people at the darkest time of the year, in December, and Hanukkah has also taken on the gift-giving attributes of Christmas -- exemplifying the adaptation of religious rituals to several purposes. Explanations of Hanukkah often awkwardly refer to the "Syrians" instead of to the Seleucid Greeks -- but it would certainly seem more politic today to risk offending the Greeks than to have the modern Syrians, who had nothing to do with the Seleucids, feel accused of ancient tyranny. Modern Israel and Syria have enough recent issues to deal with.
The hard won independence of Judaea fell within a century to Rome, which for a time, as elsewhere, tolerated a fiction of local rule -- the Herodian dynasty owed its power entirely to Roman favor. This did not mollify the Messianic hotheads, who inevitably sparked a rebellion that led to the final destruction of the Temple, the end, in a sense, of ancient Judaism, massacres and mass suicides, as at Masada, and the increasing Diaspora of Jews into the Roman world. Out of this also came the story of a peaceful Messiah, who had been executed and resurrected, whose cult eventually overwhelmed Rome itself, transforming Hellenistic Romanism into a culture of both Athens and Jerusalem. Jews themselves derived little enough benefit from this transformation, since Pauline Christianity had repudiated the ritual requirements of the Law and the new religion became increasingly estranged from the old. Once the new religion became the State Religion of Rome, the rigor with which Judaism had rejected the old gods now became public policy, to their own disability. Christianity never had the provision found in Islam, however grudging, for the toleration, within limits, of kindred religionists.
The fate of Jews in Christendom, as of the basic attitude of Christianity to Judaism, thus became a matter of dispute. Where Christianity began as sect of Judaism, perhaps just a continuation of the Essenes described in detail by
Josephus, some post-Pauline Christians wanted Judaism repudiated completely and the Hebrew Bible simply rejected. The most elaborate version of this turned up in Gnosticism , where the God of the Old Testament was reduced to a minor and malevolent deity. The "Jealous" God of Judaism was not regarded as having the right attitude to be the true Father of Jesus. The Orthodox decision in the matter was that the God of the Old Testament was indeed the God of the New Testament, the Jews were indeed the Chosen People, and that the Covenants with Abraham, etc. were not only valid in their own right but essential links to the New Covenant established by Jesus. No less an authority than St. Augustine said that Jews must be tolerated so that the Biblical prophecies of the Coming of Christ would be preserved by a disinterested, or even hostile, source. Augustine, interestingly, did not doubt that Jews could be trusted to faithfully preserve the Hebrew text of the Bible -- as they did. Now, Christianity granting a role for Judaism in Christianity is very patronizing to Judaism, but it did provide a ground for the toleration of Judaism, which no other principle at the time did (no one having heard of Liberal society). There were shameful exceptions to this toleration, but through the Middle Ages the overwhelming majority of Church authorities staunchly condemned attacks on the Jews. The Popes themselves even refuted, twice, the "blood libel" that Jews used Christian blood for Passover matzos (which would have been a grotesque violation of Jewish dietary laws anyway).
The genealogy of the Hasmonaeans is from The Complete World of The Dead Sea Scrolls (Philip R. Davies, George J. Brooke, & Phillip R. Callaway, Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2002, p.42). The incestuous marriages of the children and grandchildren of Herod the Great, perhaps typical of a Hellenistic dynasty, like the Ptolemies , were very hard to understand.
The chart in my edition of Josephus (The Jewish War, Penguin Classics, 1960, p.410) did not make things very clear, but then my colleague Don Smith helped straighten things out for me. There seems to be some question about the parentage of Herodias and Agrippa I -- with Davies, Brooke, & Callaway going for Aristobulus. Aristobulus and his brother Alexander, descendants of the Hasmonaeans through their mother, were both executed by Herod.
Since Mediaeval Jews shared in the continuing trade and commercial culture of the Middle East, and were often its only representatives in impoverished and ruralized Latin Europe, they became fatefully associated in European eyes with the commercial and financial practices that Europeans at once needed, wanted, misunderstood, and resented.
A similar problem later occurred all over again in Eastern Europe, where the Kings of Poland were eager to bring in a more sophisticated population, unwelcome in Western Europe, to develop the country and strengthen the throne. Such resentments in time found theoretical expression in Marx's view that the Jews embodied the archetype of grasping and exploitive capitalism. This made them class enemies, but that was soon enough converted into race enemies when Marxism mutated into Fascism and Naziism. Jews who thought they had escaped the class and race animus in the Soviet Union soon came to be suspected, purged, and, increasingly, murdered by Stalin, while Hitler, of course, decided to kill them all. This helped promote the idea, not surprisingly, that all Jews should return to Palestine and found a Jewish State, which is what happened. After 2000 years, however, the Zionists found that they didn't have a lot in common with the modern Arabic speaking population of the place they returned to -- rather than learn Arabic, they even decided to revive Hebrew, which was already dying out as a spoken language in the days of the Hasmoneans, and which some Jews refused to speak as being a sacred language (they still speak Yiddish). After sixty years, this conflict between Israel and Arab Palestinians has still not been resolved.
By some estimates, e.g. Paul Johnson in his A History of the Jews [HarperPerennial, 1988], Jews constituted as much as 10% of the population of the Roman Empire. I am not familiar with the basis of this estimate, but I am familiar with the difficulty of estimating Roman population at all. I find so high a figure inherently improbable. Judaea, although the "land of milk and honey" in the Bible, is a pretty barren place. This is not going to support a large population, especially on the basis of ancient agriculture. That there should be as many Jews there as, for instance, Egyptians is impossible. Of course, a large part of the estimate is based on the Diaspora population. Even in the time of the Ptolemies , Alexandria already had a very large Jewish population. But that is a key point: the Diaspora population is mostly going to be urban; but the urban population of the Roman Empire is unlikely to have been more than 20% of the whole. Even today, 85% of the population of Tanzania, whose growth was ruined by the socialism of its post-independence government, is still in agriculture. If the population of the Empire was as much as 20% urban, and Jews were 10% of the population, then Jews would have to constitute nearly half of the population of every city, especially including Rome itself (with a population of a million or more people). That is nothing like the impression we get from the records, where so large a group in Rome would be felt on a constant basis. So this "10%" seems like a gravely inflated figure, though we may never have a really accurate one.
I now see Lea Cline, of the American Academy in Rome (and evidently a graduate student in Classics from the University of Texas at Austin), saying that the Jewish population of Rome in the 1st century AD was probably about 30,000 people (I say literally saw her, on the "Naked Archaeologist"). The basis for this are records for the number of "synagogal communites" present in the city. Since, from records about numbers of bakeries, tenements, etc., the population of Rome can be estimated as at least a million people, this puts the Jewish population at no more than 3%. This sounds more like it, especially when the Jewish population of Rome is liable to reflect both an urban concentration of Roman Jews and the special concentration effected by the importance of the Roman capital itself -- Jews had been there since well into the Hellenistic Period. If it is impossible that the percentage of Jews in Rome could be lower than in the Empire as a whole, that gives us a good ground for evaluating the percentage given by Paul Johnson.
The maps here begin with Rome at its height under Trajan. Trajan's occupation of lower Mesopotamia was impressive but brief. After taking Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital, "he conceived a desire to sail down to the Erythraean Sea" [i.e. the Persian Gulf -- Dio Cassius, Book LXVIII, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard U. Press, 1925, 2005, p.415]. Sailing down the Tigris to "the Ocean," he wished he were, like Alexander, on his way to India, "if I were still young" [p.417]. Indeed, he would die within the year (117 AD). Visiting Babylon in order to sacrifice to Alexander at the place of his death, "he mostly saw nothing but mounds and stones and ruins" [p.417]. It had been long since Babylon had been an important city. Putting down revolts in Mesopotamia, it is not clear how much Trajan really intended to retain, since he installed his own candidiate for Parthian King (Parthamaspates) in Ctesiphon. In any case, Trajan had added upper Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Dacia to the Empire. This, as it happened, involved all the most organized states on the borders of Rome, excepting only Kush . The Pax Romana thus was often a matter of war on the frontiers in order to preserve the peace within. But when Hadrian withdrew from some of Trajan's conquests, he was then troubled by the revolt of Bar Kochba in Judaea.
7. FLAVIANS & ANTONINES
Decimus Clodius Albinus
in Britain & Gaul, 193-197
The Flavians Vespasian and Titus were both great soldiers and, to the Roman historians, virtuous and admirable men. Unfortunately, Titus's brother Domitian was not quite of the same stamp, and then went on to reign longer than his father and brother.
He was succeeded by a fraternity of soldiers who adopted each other to secure competent and peaceful succession. The "Five Good Emperors" (in boldface) became the ideal of generations, all the way to Gibbon, for peaceful and benevolent government. Trajan was the first Emperor born in the provinces (Spain) and briefly, with his Mesopotamian campaign, expanded the Empire to its greatest extent. In the Middle Ages, Trajan had such a powerful reputation for goodness that the story began to circulate that God had brought him back to life just so he could convert to Christianity. Dante even includes that in the Divine Comedy. Antoninus Pius became the only Roman Emperor in 1500 years to be called "the Pious," but we really know precious little about his reign. This may simply illustrate the principle that goodness and peace, the height of the "Pax Romana," is boring.
, "To Rome" [cf. The Ruling Power: A Study of the Roman Empire in the Second Century After Christ Through the Roman Oration of Aelius Arisides, James H. Oliver, The American Philosophical Society, 1953]. This speech is not of much interest to Classicists and is rarely mentioned in treatments of the Roman Empire of this period, yet it expresses profound changes that are in the works. Aelius is a Greek who now has become wholeheartedly Roman. There is not a trace of irony or cynicism in his praise of Rome. After achieving some fame, Aelius later became friendly, at Smyrna where he settled, with Marcus Aurelius. Since "To Rome" is in Greek, as was the diary of Marcus, we see a growth in Greek literature which will flower in the Second Sophistic and which will begin to overshadow secular literature in Latin. Culturally, Rome is becoming increasingly Greek, a trend that will culminate in the Graecophone Romania of the Middle Ages, where "To Rome" will be much admired and studied both for its language and style and for its patriotic sentiments. Neither of these is particularly appealing either to Classicists or to most Byzantinists, for the virtues of its language and its loyalties tend to leave both cold: Classicists are disdainful of Attic Greek unless it was written in the 5th century BC, while Byzantinists are sometimes uncomfortable being reminded that "Byantines" to themselves were still
, Rhômaîoi, Romans. Aelius thus represents the sort of cultural and historical reality about Rome that does not quite fit in with the accustomed narratives and consequently is generally ignored.
The Pax Romana ended under Marcus Aurelius, the closest thing to a "philosopher king" until Thomas Jefferson , but also a very competent general, who smashed a major German invasion across the Danube, while consoling himself with Stoicism for the miseries of war, plague, and personal loss. Marcus's only real failure was to leave the Empire to his worthless son, Commodus -- dying in a place of modern note, Vienna (Vindobona). Hereditary succession, although eventually stabilized in Constantinople, would prove a dangerous principle at many moments in Roman history. The incompetence and viciousness of Commodus then set off his assassination and the second great free-for-all fight for the throne, in 193. This was not without its comic aspect, when the Praetorian Guard killed the disciplinarian Pertinax and literally put the throne up for sale. The wealthy Didius Julianus made the best bid but had no other ability to secure his rule. He was murdered as Septimius Severus, a notably humorless man, approached Rome -- and then also abolished (temporarily) the Guard.
When Jerusalem fell to Titus in 70 AD, the Temple and most of the city were demolished. The furniture and sacred vessels of the Temple, including, Josephus says, the red curtains of the Inner Sanctuary, were carried off to Rome -- portrayed on the Arch of Titus. They remained there until 455, when the Vandals sacked the city and removed their loot to Carthage. When Belisarius overthrew the Vandals for Justinian in 533 and found the items from the Temple in Carthage, they were sent back to Constantinople . Since it has previously been noted that the Ark of the Covenant, despite Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), was not carried off to Tanis, one might wonder what subsequently happened to it. Although Josephus speaks of Titus taking away "the Law," he describes nothing like the Ark. Later, Mediaeval sources (e.g. Mirabilia Urbis Romae, c.1143, The Marvels of Rome, Italica Press, New York, 1986, p.29) speak of the Ark having been in Rome, but this was long, long after the fact. It must not be forgotten, however, that the Temple had once before been destroyed, by Nebuchadnezzar , in 587 BC. It is not clear that anything of the Temple survived, and so the Ark could well have been destroyed then -- or concealed on the Temple Mount, where the Templars supposedly found it.
The map shows the disposition of the Legions shortly after the end of the Jewish War. One Legion from the campaign, Legio X Fretensis, remains in Judaea, while the other two that were given to Vespasian at the beginning of the campaign, Legio V Macedonica and Legio XV Apollinaris, have returned to the stations on the Danube. Some sources say that there were four legions involved in the Jewish War, but I have found no indentification of what the fourth would have been. Britain, of course, has now been added to the Empire. My sources disagree on the station and numbering of some of the Legions. The revolt of Civilis in 69-70 led to the disbanding in 70 AD of four legions that participated in the revolt: Legio I Germana (or Germanica), Legio IV Macedonica, Legio XV Primigenia, and Legio XVI Gallica. These are indicated on the first map of the Army given above .
Of particular interest in the disposition of the Legions in the reign of Antoninus Pius is Legio VI Victrix. On the first map above, it is to be found in Spain. Next it is on the Rhine. Now it is in the North of Britain. In the reign of Marcus Aurelius the Prefect of Legio VI Victrix will be one Lucius Artorius Castus. As discussed below , this man and his name -- Artorius -- may figure in the legends of King Arthur. Otherwise, we see that Dacia has been added to the Empire.
The concentration of Legions around Judaea again is in the aftermath of Bar Kochba's Revolt (132-135). This figures in the mystery about Legio IX Hispana. Previously attested in Britain, Legio IX Hispana has disappeared from the list of legions by 165 AD. Much of what we hear about it is speculation. Since the legion had been posted in Britain, one notion is that it was wiped out by the Picts. We even see this in a recent movie, The Eagle [2011]. There is no evidence from the period, however, that any legion was wiped out in Britain. Equally speculative is the suggestion that Legio IX Hispana was among the units sent to suppress the Bar Kochba revolt and that it was wiped out there. Again, there is no evidence for either event. Instead, since the legion does disappear from the records and is never revived, which means that something bad must have happened to it, we might ask if there is any evidence that any legion was wiped out or disbanded during the period before 165 AD. Well, yes. In 161, the Parthians occupied Armenia and defeated the governor of Cappadocia, Aelius (or Marcus Sedatius) Severianus, at Elegeia on the Euphrates, wiping out his legion. Severianus, who had been assured of victory by a shady "prophet," Alexander of Abonutichus, commited suicide. The Parthians then defeated the governor of Syria, Attidius Cornelianus. This set off a Parthian War (161-166), for which the Emperor Lucius Verus was present in the East, even though the campaign was prosecuted by other generals, resulting in the sack and burning of Ctesiphon in 166. The identity of the legion of Aelius Severianus is not specified in the sources; but if we know that a legion was destroyed, and we know that Legio IX Hispana disappears from the record, when that only happens if a legion is wiped out in battle or disbanded because of rebellion, the inference seems reasonable that this was the legion. What other legion would have been wiped out at Elegeia? So speculation about the Picts or Bar Kochba seems superfluous.
A curious footnote to the period of the Antonines is an entry in the Chinese History of the Later Han Dynasty , the
. It is recorded that in the year 166 an embassy arrived in Lo-Yang from a ruler of
, "Great Ch'in," named Andun. This had come up from Vietnam after, apparently, travelling by sea from the West.
Andun looks like it might be "Antoninus," which could mean either Antoninus Pius or Marcus Aurelius, both of whom used the name. Thus, "Great Ch'in" is usually taken to mean Rome, and the embassy was sent to explore ways to redirect the silk trade around the route, the Silk Road through Central Asia, dominated by the Parthians . If so, nothing came of it. The possibility of any communication between the great contemporary Empires of Rome and the Han is tantalizing. My impression has been that Chinese attempts, like the embassy of 97 AD sent by Pan Ch'ao , to establish some communication overland were frustrated by the Parthians. Since we know that the Romans had knowledge of and trade with India and Ceylon , and that Chinese pilgrims like Fa-Hsien went by sea from India to China (399-414), it is not at all impossible or unlikely that some Romans, in the days of the Kushans in India, could have done what the Hou Hanshu says. The History was actually written in the 5th century, and the Chinese were aware that Iranians, which by then meant the Sassanids , were still frustrating attempts at direct trade with "Great Ch'in."
222-235
Persian War, Roman defeats but mutual losses, 230-232
It took a little time for Septimius to put down all the would-be Emperors in the provinces, but he did so with determination and ferocity. The virtues of nobility reputed to Trajan, of culture to Hadrian, of piety to Antoninus, and of philosophy to Marcus Aurelius were all missing in Septimius Severus. Born in North Africa, Punic ( Phoenician ) seems to have been the first language of Severus, and he never lost the accent. This makes it look like Severus was the first Roman Emperor who was not of ethnic Latin derivation. His marriage to the Syrian Julian Domna, of Emesa (Homs), also blew away previous Roman scruples about Roman rulers being associated with Eastern Princesses -- the memory of Cleopatra long put such unions in bad favor. Soon, few Emperors would be of demonstrable Latin derivation.
Severus also doesn't seem to have considered anything other than hereditary succession, despite having a particularly nasty son, Caracalla, as the candidate. His attempt to balance Carcalla with his brother Geta simply got Geta murdered. Another factor, however, was the loyalty inspired in the troops to the family. Septimius had bluntly advised his sons, in the Greek we have from Dio Cassius:
,
,
, Homonoeîte, toùs stratiôtas ploutízete, tôn allôn pántôn kataphroneîte, "Stick together [be of one mind]; enrich the soldiers; be contemptuous of [put out of mind] all the others" [Dio Cassius IX, Roman History, Books LXXI-LXXX, translated by Earnest Cary, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1927, 2001, pp.270-273]. Caracalla, although not sticking with his brother, maintained his popularity reasonably well, until he terrified enough soldiers to precipitate his inevitable murder. This led to the brief and unsuccessful reign of Macrinus (also a North African) and his son, until loyalty to the Severan family prevailed. Macrinus was the first Roman Emperor who never visited Rome during his reign. Meanwhile, the relatively successful campaign of Severus against Parthia, despite the subsequent Parthian defeat of Macrinus, may have weakened the regime enough to allow for the coup of the Sassanid Persians, who would be much more trouble for the Romans than the Parthians had ever been. Septimius Severus himself was one of the two Roman Emperors ( Constantius Chlorus was the other) to die (a natural death) at York (Eboracum) in Britain.
The Severan "family" turned out to be the entirely matrilineal creation of Severus' sister-in-law, Julia Maesa, who brought her two grandsons, entirely unrelated to Severus, to the throne.
The bizarre Elagabalus (sometimes "Heliogabalus"), styling himself the god of his grandmother's Emesan solar cult (and engaging gladiators in combats more amorous and carnal than Commodus had contemplated), and then the amiable and reasonably effective Alexander thus wrapped up the dynasty. Alexander was killed after the overdue reality check of battle, against the newly aggressive Sassanids (224-651). He was not that bad, but evidently not good enough for his own troops, who killed him and his mother -- that his mother was along with him on a military campaign probably seemed no better to the soldiers then than it does now. Elagabalus and his mother were also killed together. Elagabalus, indeed, seems to have been the last truly "fun" Roman Emperor in terms of the pagan sexual antics otherwise fondly remembered from Caligula. The transvestism and bi-sexuality of Elagabalus, however, may have gone beyond even Caligula.
An intellectual revival took place in the time of the Severans. This is called the "Second Sophistic," and in its most general form it represents a revival of Greek literature, and a concern for the Greek literary heritage, after a temporary eclipse by Latin authors. The Second Sophistic was actually named by Philostratus, in his The Lives of the Sophists. The presence and influence of Philostratus at Court was a function of the interests of Julia Domna, his patron. He says that Julia attracted a circle of mathematicians and philosophers. However, this actually meant something more like "astrologers and sophists," and the revival, as philosophy, was more of a retrospective on ancient philosophy than a movement that contributed much that was original or of interest to it. Nevertheless, such an inspiration and preoccupation has been compared to similar concerns in the Renaissance .
In retrospect, the Second Sophistic on its literary side is dated to the previous century, where we see a surge of Greek literature and a decline in Latin authors. It is not an accident that Cassell's New Latin Dictionary, of which I have the 1959 edition [Funk & Wagnalls, New York], only gives the vocabulary of classical authors from "about 200 B.C. to A.D. 100." Frederic M. Wheelock's Latin [Barnes & Noble, 1956, 1966; revised as Wheelock's Latin by Richard A. LaFleur, HarperResource, 2000] lists Tactitus (d.117) and Juvenal (d.127) as the last secular Latin authors. Their "Silver Age" is followed by "The Patristic Period," which lists Latin Fathers of the Church but refers to no secular literature and no secular authors in Latin until Dante(!). This implies that authors like Ammianus Marcellinus (d.395), Orosius (c.418), Boethius (d.524), and Cassiodorus (d.585), and Jordanes (c.551), were insignificant -- likewise for Isidore of Seville (d.636), who nevertheless is quoted by Wheelock (pp.211-212). But secular Latin authors did become rare after 100 AD, and both Orosius and (St!) Isidore had concerns that were as much religious as secular. Ammianus, a Greek himself, wrote his history in Latin out of worry that the genre might die out -- as it would, indeed, in its most sophisticated form, with him. Meanwhile, Greek literature, in turn, flowers, as we get Plutarch (d.120), Arrian of Nicomedia (c.87-c.145 AD, Consul 129), Pausanius (c.150), Lucian (d.180), Aelius Aristides (117-181), Dio Cassius (d.229), and others (not to mention the long tradition of Neoplatonic philosophers ) -- who are never confused with or obscured by the Greek Fathers -- through the rest of the history of Rome and Romania.
A characteristic of the Second Sophistic, such as we see in Arrian, the 2nd century historian, philosopher, and official (he repelled the Alans from Cappadocia -- and he transcribed the teachings of Epictetus the Stoic ), and the others, is the movement to write in Attic Greek , rather than in the Koiné of the Hellenistic Period. This is usually dismissed as an affectation and a frivolity. Perhaps it was, but it is also directly comparable to the concern of Renaissance writers to restore the "purity" of Ciceronian Latin over the received Mediaeval Latin that had survived to their time. Renaissance writers are rarely belabored for affectation because of this. And indeed, where Greek and Latin are taught today, the student, as it happens, begins with Attic Greek and Ciceronian Latin. The focus on Attic Greek in education, which began with the Second Sophistic, thus continued straight through the Middle Ages and has been in full flood through all of modern education in Classical Greek. When Greek speaking refugees fled the Ottoman Conquest, they did not teach Italians the spoken Greek of their time but the Attic Greek whose example and literature they respected. Indeed, Renaissance scholars could not have read Thucydides or Plato otherwise. The "purity" of the Greek language remains the political issue in Modern Greece .
More than an affectation, this Atticizing tradition accompanies the circumstance that the earliest and most interesting and some of the most important literature in these languages, especially for new scholars, is in the Attic and Ciceronian dialects -- from Thucydides and Plato to Caesar and Cicero himself. Preserving the archaic language meant that the authors could still be read in their own words. Perhaps Classicists are somehow annoyed that the Ancient and Mediaeval authors in Greek actually agree with them that the surpreme models of the Greek language are in Attic.
These are the languages, our Classical languages of Western civilization, and their literature, that we do not want forgotten, if the root values and experience of our civilization are not to be forgotten. But their existence is in greater danger in our time than ever before: a Shakespeare with "little Latin and less Greek" is a scholar of Classics compared to most graduates of modern universities. Latin used to be taught in my high school, but now it is not even offered in the college where I taught for 22 years.
One reason today for disparagement of the Second Sophistic, although this will not be an issue for Classicists, may in part be the antipathy in academic linguistics for written language and unconcern for the preservation of the literary heritage embodied in Classical Languages. This may accompany a self-hating, anti-Western bias that is often evident in both linguistics and other academic literature when the animus curiously tends to be focused on Greek and Latin rather than on Classical Arabic, Sanskrit , or Classical Chinese , whose preservation and use are generally exempted from criticism. The politically correct are happy to destroy their own tradition but sensitive (and cowardly) about doing this where accusations could be made of ethnocentrism, Eurocentrism, " Islamophobia ," or racism.
The disposition of the Legions in the Severan Army now is looking pretty familiar. Warren Treadgold [Byzantium and its Army, 284-1081, Sanford, 1995, p.45] says that the Army of 235 AD contains 34 legions plus the Praetorian Guard. On the map above, I only show 33, as gleaned from maps in the sources cited. Treadgold estimates the total Army, legions plus auxiliaries, at around 385,000 men. In the sources given, the legions are only named by A.H.M. Jones [The Later Roman Empire, 284-602, Volume II, Johns Hopkins, 1986, pp.1438-1444]. Jones tentatively places Legio IV Italica in Mesopotamia, which would raise the total legions to 34, as in Treadgold. These are the last days of the Classic Army of the Principate. After the Crisis of the Third Century, the structure, constituents, and even command ranks of the Roman Army are going to be very different. The traditional legions persist by name, but they are absorbed into command structures where they eventually lose their old identity.
It is noteworthy that in my sources on the Severan Army, the Legions are named by Jones and by Adrian Goldsworthy in The Complete Roman Army [Thames & Hudson, 2003], but neither Goldworthy nor the other sources cited on the map give the locations of the Severan Legions. Jones places them in the text, in the context of the Army of the Dominate. Recently, The Roman Army, the Greatest War Machine of the Ancient World, edited by Chris McNab [Osprey Publishing, 2010], does not have a list of any Legions, so the neglect of the Severan Army is less conspicuous. But the McNab book is curious in that the "Later Empire" is dated to begin in 200 AD, right in the middle of the reign of Septemius Severus, even though in the text the discussion of the Later Army begins with Alexander Severus or Constantine [p.206]. Thus the period the Severans is, after a fashion, cut out of the history altogether. No source, except Jones again, bothers with the Legions of the Army of the Dominate, which mulitply in number and are smaller than the Legions of the Principate but whose identity often continues, even in the place of their previous posting, as with the Legio II Augusta and Legio VI Victrix in Britain.
Legions of the Roman Army
So why the lacuna or the short shrift for the Severan Army? Well, it may be that Classicists are beginning to lose heart. Interest in the Empire declines, step by step, as we move away from the Julio-Claudians. The Antonines still draw a good bit of enthusiasm, with Marcus Aurelius and Commodus turning up in some Hollywood movies. But treatments like that are swamped by the popular representations of Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. And then, after Commodus, silence. Even the two hour History Channel special, "Roman Vice," ended with Nero, passing up the chance to treasure one of the most vicious Roman Emperors of all, Caracalla, and one of the bizarre, Elagabalus. Earlier popularizing authors may have shied away from the extremes of the behavior of Elababalus, who did things that used to be taboo in polite conversation; but that is no excuse now, when that should be one of the most appealing things about him. It is as though there is a sense of unease. The closer we get to Constantine, about whom feelings are so mixed, confused, and generally hostile, it is as though a force field begins to be felt that inhibits movement. The great drama of the Tetrarchy, with the extraordinary personalities and events involved, leaves modern historical fiction, and Hollywood, cold. The most that the public gets for the period are the tendentious, preposterous, and ahistorical speculations and misrepresentations of The Da Vinci Code. Even the straight historical treatments on the cable networks, which do remind us that people like Aurelian, Diocletian, Majorian, and Justinian at least exist, are usually no less tendentious, as I have occasion to note here.
Rome and Romania Index
B. CRISIS OF THE THIRD CENTURY, 235-284, 49 Years
This map looks like it should be from the Fifth Century . The Goths, not yet divided, are here, but they come in part by boat, which we will not see with them later. The Franks here duplicate the later course of the Vandals , through Gaul, Spain, and North Africa, but without the same effects. Later, the Franks will not be a principal invader but will be the ultimate beneficiary of the invasions. The Alemanni also will be less active later, remaining in Germany and leaving their name as the word for "German" in Romance languages. Rome is weakened by revolt in the West and a Palyrmene takeover in the East. But in this era Roman institutions prove resilient enough to restore the status quo ante (with troubling strategic withdrawals). But the Germans remain across the Rhine and Danube, growing in numbers and sophistication. One might even say that all this was a dress rehearsal for the later invasions. In the theater, if the dress rehearsal goes poorly, the opening will go well. This is what happened.
The Gallic Empire of Postumus began under Gallienus. Postumus, of course, probably would rather have overthrown the Emperor, but he was not able to defeat him and was otherwise involved with fighting Germans. In best Third Century tradition, he was killed by his troops. This form of succession continued until Tetricus and his son surrendered to Aurelian, on condition of their peaceful retirement. This episode echoes the attempt of the usurper Constantine "III" in the Fifth Century, though that failed to suppress the Germans in that era and merely served to absorb the attention of Roman forces that could have been better used, in conjunction with those of Constantine himself, against the common enemy.
The Palmyrene Empire had a very different origin and course from that in Gaul. Odaenath, the King of Palmyra (c.260-266), was a Roman ally. After the capture of Valerian, he actually defeated and expelled the victorious Persians. This earned him Roman gratitude and titles, like Dux Romanorum. It also left him as the de facto ruler of the East. Odaenath was murdered and succeeded by his wife Zenobia, who then joins Cleopatra and Boudicca (Boadicea), if not Dido, in the ranks of the conspicuous and romantic female enemies of Rome. This grew gradually, as Roman weakness tempted Zenobia's ambition. When she moved into Egypt and Asia Minor in 269-270, trouble was definitely brewing, but it was her proclamation of her son Vaballathus as Emperor that brought Aurelian out against her. She was exhibited in Aurelian's Triumph but then allowed to live out her life on a pension in Rome. Palmyra became a Roman outpost. Today, its ruins are extensive, beautiful, and evocative, out in the emptiness of the Syrian desert, next to the Oasis and the small modern city. The Oasis gave the city its importance as an essential link in the caravan short-cut across the desert from Mesopotamia to Syria. Even greater enemies of Rome have far less to show for themselves today.
Palmyra has entered modern history in the ugliest way. In 2015, the savage forces of the "Islamic State" (ISIS or ISIL) captured the town from the Syrian government. They executed the lead archaeologist of the site along with dozens of other people, apparently including women and children. And, like their previous action in Iraq, following the precedent of the Tâlibân in Afghanistan , they began to destroy ancient buildings, particularly temples. The impressive ruin of the Temple of Bêl, which stands by the road into both the ancient and the modern town, is shown in the photograph above. Its walls are all but intact. Above the recessed altar was a beautiful roseate ceiling. A stair within the walls led up to the top, affording an impressive view of the area. But the (literally) bloody fanatics of ISIS blew up the building and reduced it to rubble, so that nothing, apart from the entrance pylon, remains. This was a United Nations World Heritage Site, and one of the most evocative jewels of ancient history. It tells us whose these people, invoking Islam , really are. To be sure, their eagerness to cut the heads off civilian hostages, on camera, stamps them as evil in a way whose like may not have been seen since Auschwitz , but their contempt for the past, for history, for art, and for beauty staggers the mind in a unique way. They are openly proud of it, as even the Nazis never were for their crimes.
Having visited Palmyra twice in 1970, my photographs are now perhaps significant historical records -- in a tradition going back to the Ruins of Palmyra, a survey by Robert Wood published in 1753. And since my photographs are all slides, they will need to be converted to digital format. It is extraordinary to now have vandalism of the city by people who seem to actually hate the past, even while they vainly hope that a revived Islam will give them the power that the Islamic world has otherwise been unable to achieve through conventional political and economic means. Or they may actually want nothing more than death and destruction, if this serves to bring on the Apocalypse. In those terms, they may have no positive goals at all.
Maximinus I Thrax
M. Aurelius Carinus
283-285
The chaos that had threatened in some earlier successions (in 69 and 193) now arrived in 238, when we can say that there were five Emperors in one year. Maximinus Thrax may have been the second Emperor who never visited Rome. He was on his way there, because the Senate had recognized the usurpation of the Gordians in Africa, when the Praetorian Guard murdered him at Aquileia. Meanwhile, of course, Gordian II had been killed in battle by a Maximinus loyalist, the governor of Numidia. Gordian I committed suicide. So neither Gordian made it to Rome either. The confused Senate elected the Senators Balbinus & Pupiens Co-Emperors. When the Guard murdered them in turn, only their nomination of Gordian III as Caesar provided for a reasonable succession. If only that were the end of problem.
The complexity of the following period can only be appreciated, or even understood, by reviewing the " Crisis of the Third Century " chart. Few Emperors reigned long or died natural deaths. Gordian III's six years would count as lengthy for the period, but his murder would prove all too typical. The musical chairs of murders did not help prepare the Empire for increased activity by the Germans and Persians.
Decius and Herennius were killed in battle by the Goths in 251 -- the only Roman Emperors to die in battle (against external enemies) besides Julian (against the Persians, 363), Valens (against the Goths again, 378), Nicephorus I (against the Bulgars, 811), and Constantine XI (with the fall of Constantinople to the Turks, 1453). These Emperors are now marked with a "killed in battle" icon --
. Valerian's relatively long and promising reign ended with the unparalleled ignominy of being captured by Shapur I -- the only Roman Emperor captured alive by a foreign enemy until Romanus IV in 1071. These Emperors are now marked with a "captured by foreign enemy" icon --
-- which is the Egyptian hieroglyph of a bound prisoner, used in words for "rebel" and "enemy." Some other rulers were also captured by foreign enemies -- the Latin Emperor Baldwin I (by the Bulgarians), the Emperor of Thessalonica, Theodore Ducas (by the Bulgarians), and the Prince of Achaea, William II (although he was captured, not by a foreign enemy, but by the forces of Nicaea ). Valerian was kept prisoner and subject to various humiliations until executed. His skin was then flayed (unless he had been flayed alive), stuffed, and kept for later display to Roman emissaries. In any case, this is what we are told by later Romans, such as Lactantius, and questions have been raised about the reliability of these accounts, for which there is no contemporary or Persian evidence. Valerian, however, certainly never returned home.
Valerian's son Gallienus then endured one invasion and disaster after another, with the Empire actually beginning to break up. Nevertheless, Gallienus rebuilt the army and, excluding Senators from legionary commands, put in place the generals who, although his own murderers, conducted the reconstruction of the Empire. He thus now tends to get some credit, even with the apparent collapse around him. Despite a short reign (and a natural death), Claudius II began to turn things around by defeating the Goths, commemorated with a column that still stands (but is rarely seen in history books) in Istanbul. His colleague Aurelian then substantially restores the Empire, only to suffer assassination, initiating a new round of revolving Emperors. This finally ended with Diocletian, who picked up reforming the Empire, militarily, politically, and religiously, where Aurelian had left off.
Amid all the other upheavals of this period, one that that escapes the notice of popular culture, and often that of historians also, is how the Empire ceases to be a possession of the City of Rome. The political structure of the Roman State turns inside out, with the City becoming a backwater and the provinces and the frontiers becoming the centers of political life. We begin to get the phenomenon of Emperors who rarely, or never, even visit the City. They certainly do not live there. For the time being, the equivalent of an administrative Capital of the Empire simply moves with the military camps of the Emperors. Once things settle down a bit in the following years, we begin to see new seats for the Court(s) and new administrative centers, from Nicomedia and Milan, to Antioch and Trier, Sirmium and York -- all culminating in the founding of Constantinople. Yet it is rare to vanishing to see this profound truth of Roman history ever asserted in a public voice; and we usually find even the historically literate laboring under the impression that the fate of the Empire hangs on events in the City, right down to the day when the barbarians burst in on the Last Emperor in 476. Of course, as we shall see, nothing of the sort happened in 476, and in fact nothing of significance happened at all in the City of Rome during that year.
Not much in the way of dynasties in this period. Many Emperors, of course, wanted to associate their sons with them to arrange for their succession; but in the violent ends
of most Emperors, the sons usually died with them. Gordian III, Gallienus, and Carinus are the principal exceptions, ruling in their own right after the death of fathers or, with Gordian, uncle and grandfather.
The invasions and political troubles of the Third Century shook the religious and philosophical certainties upon which Rome had previously thrived. Exotic religious cults, like Mithraism and Christianity, now began to exert wide appeal; and a profound shift occurred in philosophy. We no longer hear much of Stoics or Epicureans, but whole new perspectives and concerns are ushered in by the mystical Egyptian Plotinus (d.270), who even enjoyed some Imperial patronage under Gordian III, Philip the Arab, and Gallienus. He makes the Second Sophistic look superficial indeed.
With his return to the epistemology and metaphysics of Plato and Aristotle, Plotinus, as such the founder of Neoplatonism, picks up the mainstream of development of the Western philosophical tradition, which had somewhat detoured in the Hellenistic Period through revivals of Presocratic doctrine (Heraclitus for the Stoics, Atomism for the Epicureans). Plotinus's student, disciple, Boswell, and editor Porphyry (d.>300), who first enjoyed patronage from Aurelian, promoted Neoplatonic principles, wrote an introduction to Aristotle's logical works, the Isagoge, which became an indispensable text in the Middle Ages, and even began organizing the defense of traditional religion in his Against the Christians, whose arguments he gave in a presentation to the Emperor Diocletian, urging him to suppress the religion. But the Neoplatonic version of traditional religion now looks much more of a piece with Christian sensibilities than with things like the peculiar and archaic practices examined by Frazer in The Golden Bough. Constantine would later order Against the Christians burned. The cultural and intellectual sea change of the period, soon followed by Diocletian's reforms and then Constantine, usher in the distinctive world of Late Antiquity. Classicists start to become nervous and irritable.
II. SECOND EMPIRE, EARLY "ROMANIA,"
284 AD-610 AD,
Era of Diocletian 1-327, 326 years
Thus Constantine, an emperor and son of an emperor, a religious man and son of a most religious man, most prudent in every way, as stated above -- and Licinius the next in rank, both of them honoured for their wise and religious outlook, two men dear to God -- were roused by the King of kings, God of the universe, and Saviour against the two most irreligious tyrants and declared war on them. God came to their aid in a most marvellous way, so that at Rome Maxentius fell at the hands of Constantine, and the ruler of the East [i.e. Maximinus Daia] survived him only a short time and himself came to a most shameful end at the hands of Licinius, who at that time was still sane.
Eusebius of Caesarea (c.260-c.339), The History of the Church [translated by G.A. Williamson, Penguin Books, 1965, p.368]
L'altro che segue, con le leggi e meco,
sotto buona intenzion che fé mal frutto,
per cedre al pastor si fece greco:
The next who follows, with the laws and me,
with a good intention which bore bad fruit,
made himself Greek, to cede [the West] to the Pastor. ora conosce come il mal dedutto
dal suo bene operar non li è nocivo,
avvegna che sia 'l mondo indi distrutto. Now he knows how the evil derived
from his good action does not harm him,
though the world should be destroyed thereby.
Dante Alighieri (1265�1321), The Divine Comedy, Paradiso, XX:55-60 [Charles S. Singleton, Princeton, Bollingen, 1975, pp.224-225, translation modified], speaking of Constantine in the Heaven of Jupiter and of the "Donation of Constantine" (Constitutum Donatio Constantini) to the Pope -- a document later exposed (1440) by Lorenzo Valla (c.1407-1457) as a forgery.
Rome, queen of the world, thy fame shall never perish,
for Victory, being wingless, cannot fly from thee.
Anonymous, "On [New] Rome," [The Greek Anthology, Volume III, Book 9, "The Declamatory Epigrams," Number 647, The Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1917, p.358-359]
The "Second Empire" is a period of transformation whose beginning and end seem worlds apart. Even at the beginning, however, Classicists find themselves becoming uncomfortable, in large part because they are now rubbing shoulders with Byzantinists, Mediaevalists, and, worse, historians of religion and, gasp, even of the Church. In the Middle Ages, this was regarded as a triumphant period, when the Roman Empire was redeemed and ennobled with its conversion to and transformation by Christianity -- becoming a "Romania" whose name is now not even familiar as the name of the Roman Empire. In Modern thought, this construction tends to be reversed, with the superstition and dogmatism of Christianity dragging the Classical World down into the Dark Ages. At the same time, however, there is still a strong attraction to the idea of blaming the collapse of the Empire on the characteristics of pagan Roman society -- slavery, the Games, sexual license, corruption, etc. Since this is more or less the Christian critique of pagan society, we have the curious case of critics maintaining the perspective of Christian moralism even while rejecting Christianity as the appropriate response. This not entirely coherent approach also results in the doublethink of moral satisfaction with the "fall" of the (Western) Empire in 476 while carefully ignoring the survival and resurgence of the Empire in the East. The truth, as it happens, is one of continuity. The very same institutions, both Roman and Christian in sum and detail, that failed in the West in the face of the German threat, did just fine in the East, long outlasting, and in two dramatic cases defeating, the German successor kingdoms. Nevertheless, these were hard times, and worse lay ahead. What neither Trajan nor Constantine nor Justinian could have anticipated were the blows that would fall next.
A. "DOMINATE," 284-379, 95 years
1. TETRARCHS
[Domitius Alexander]
Usurper 308-311, Africa
Intrinsically one of the most interesting and important periods in Roman history, the Tetrarchy unfortunately suffers from the relative poverty of the sources we have for it. Despite the rich literature of the 4th century, Diocletian never got a Tacitus or Suetonius, and what Ammianus Marcellinus may have said about him is now lost. Part of this may be because history moved so quickly after Diocletian. He could still have been alive when Constantine legalized Christianity, and it was, of course, Constantine whom subsequent Christian writers wanted to glorify. But Diocletian created a system that was the closest to a constitutional order than Rome ever had. Its enemy was hereditary succession, which had triumphed in Constantine, if imperfectly, by the end of the period. So here, not just in religion, we have a turning point. The succession by appointment, adoption, or marriage of the Antonines is now seen for very nearly the last time. The complexity of this, and of events, can be seen, not just in the following genealogy, but in the Chart of the Tetrarchy . As the first Emperor with a very clearly Greek name --
, Dioclês, before being Latinized to Diocletianus (although we shouldn't forget the Greek name of Philip the Arab and his son) -- Diocletian foreshadows the later Greek character of the Empire. It is also from this point that the status of the
Emperor is elevated far beyond that of a mere official to a being with semi-divine status, altering the form of government from the "Principate" to "Dominate," from Dominus, "Lord." The Roman Court now begins to adopt the structures and ritual of the Persian Court , where the Great King has always been semi-divine. The symbolic accouterments of the Emperor, like the Purple (Porphyrius) robe and red shoes, become fixed until the Fall of Constantinople. The fiction that the Emperor is actually a kind of Republican official is now gone -- although the ultimate executive offices of the Republic, the Consulates, survive until Justinian.
He is a Monarch in form and substance. This elevation was simply transformed, not rolled back or abolished, by the Christianization of the office. Indeed, Christian Emperors, beginning with Constantine, would always be portrayed with halos, like saints, and were called the "Equal to the Apostles." European monarchs never went that far.
At right is an extraordinary group in porphyry of the Tetrarchs. This was looted from Constantinople in 1204 and placed at a corner of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice . Its origin was subsequently forgotten, and Peter Brown says it "was long mistaken for Christian crusaders, and even worshipped as statues of St. George!" [The World of Late Antiquity 150-750, HBJ, 1971, p.22]. Where it came from was recently proven when the foot that is obviously missing from the figure on the right was discovered in situ in Istanbul, before the Bodrum Camii (Jami-i, "its mosque"), previously the Myrelaion Church, in the original Philadelphion square [cf. Constantine, Roman Emperor, Christian Victor, by Paul Stephenson, The Overlook Press, New York, 2010, p.199].
In 305 Diocletian actually retired from office, going to live at his retirement villa (more like city) at Spalatum (Split) near Salonae (Solin) in Dalmatia (now Croatia ) -- see J.J. Wilkes, Diocletian's Palace, Split: Residence of a Retired Roman Emperor [Oxbow Books, Oxford, 1986, 1993]. This may have been at the urging of Galerius, who was eager for full power, and was taken with ill grace by Maximian, who tried to return to power twice and was finally killed (by Constantine). Diocletian's joy at his retirement, and the famous celebration of his cabbage, I discuss elsewhere as a paradigm of
Epicureanism . Although Constantius Chlorus became the senior Augustus, both of the new Caesares are apponted by Galerius from among his own supporters. This was improper and involved passing over the competent sons of Constantius and Maximian (Constantine and Maxentius), apparently because Galerius didn't like either of them. It is hard to know why Constantius consented to these proceedings, and they proved to be the source of fatal conflict in the Tetrarchy.
As it happened, Constantius died, and Constantine was presented by his troops as an Emperor fait accompli. Maxentius then revolted, dragged his father into it, and then at least co-opted Constantine to this development.
By 308, Severus had been captured and killed moving against Maxentius, and Galerius had also failed to unseat him. Galerius then called a conference at Carnuntum on the Danube in Upper (Superior) Pannonia (just down the river from modern Vienna, Roman Vindobona).
Diocletian was invited to the meeting was even offered the throne, but he declined it -- saying he would rather grow vegetables -- specifically his cabbages. This extraordinary forbearance on the part of Diocletian, especially his obvious determination to "cultivate his garden," ought to have made him a saint to Epicureans , especially later, Modern ones. Curiously, it did not. Thus, Diocletian seems to have the approval of neither Christians nor non-Christians. Possibly, secularists dislike him for the forms of the Dominate that prepared the way for the later Christian Monarchy.
The result of the conference was the demotion of Constantine to Caesar (again), the appointment of Licinius as Augustus, the second retirement of Maximian, and the condemnation of Maxentius as an outlaw. The appointment of Licinius, who had never been a Caesar, was again an improper proceeding and reflected the custom of Galerius to use his own supporters, despite the implicit rules governing succession in the Tetrarchy. Constantine and Maximinus Daia were soon calling themselves Augusti anyway, and so the Tetarchy became a system of four equals, with Galerius preserving some precedence until his death.
A noteworthy act at the conference at Carnuntum was the dedication of an altar to the god Mithras, as the fautor imperii, "protector of the Empire." Mithraism considered Mithras to be a sun god, associated and assimilated with Sol Invictus, the "Unconquered Sun," whose cult existed independently of Mithras and had been promoted since Aurelian. Mithraism, although popular in the Army (only men were initiated), was not an Imperial or prestige cult, until this dedication, Deo Soli Invicto Mithrae, "to the god Mithras the Unconquered Sun." We might see this as one of the last acts in the development of state paganism, before Constantine becomes a patron of Christianity and gods like Mithras disappear.
Licinius was the presumptive Augustus of the West, but he never moved toward Italy or made any attempt to overthrow Maxentius. This was left for Constantine. Meanwhile, Maxentius had whipped up enthusiasm at Rome with the promise that, after a century, he would return the seat of Government there and would restore the withering Praetorian Guard to its status and privileges as the Life Guard of the Emperor. Enthusiasm faded, however, as Maxentius' status as a rebel isolated Italy and compelled him to raise taxes -- the City had treasured, as we might imagine, its tax exempt status. So Constantine was not unwelcome when Maxentius was defeated and killed. Constantine did, indeed, pay a bit more attention to Rome than the previous Tetrarchs; but then it would be Constantine (after Licinius had killed Maximinus Daia, and Constantine Licinius) who would found an entirely new Capital for the Empire at Constantinople. Rome itself would never return to its previous position, and Italy would continue to be ruled, as under Maximian, from Milan (and then Ravenna) [ note ].
One of the most famous aspects of Diocletian's rule is the famous "Edict on Maximum Prices" of 301 AD, which fixed prices of many basic commodities. Since Diocletian himself explains the law as needed to prevent some from profiteering off of the basic needs of others, this is turns out to be relevant to many modern debates. The " greed " of those who make a profit while prices rise is still a point of useful political appeal for many politicians and leftist activists. It looks, however, like prices, especially agricultural prices, were rising under Diocletian because the tax burden had become so large that many people simply abandoned their farms -- Diocletian also tried forbidding this. Since Dioceltian himself was not a sympathetic person to Christian writers, the charge of "greed" tends to get turned around, as the contemporary writer Lactantius, appointed by Diocletian himself as a professor of Latin literature in Nicomedia, the capital, says, "...Diocletian with his insatiable greed..." Lactantius' account of bureaucratic excess and behavior could apply in many modern situations:
The number of recipients began to exceed the number of contributors by so much that, with farmers' resources exhausted by the enormous size of the requisitions, fields became deserted and cultivated land was turned into forest. To ensure that terror was universal, provinces too were cut into fragments; many governors and even more officials were imposed on individual regions, almost on individual cities, and to these were added numerous accountants, controllers and prefects' deputies. The activities of all these people were very rarely civil... [J.J. Wilkes, Diocletian's Palace, Split: Residence of a Retired Roman Emperor, op. cit., p.5]
Not only now are there whole countries where the dependent classes exceed the numbers of the productive classes (e.g. Italy or France), but in the United States the fate of the Social Security system will probably be sealed when the number of beneficiaries exceeds the number of contributors. These modern systems, although voted in by popular majorities who like "free lunch" welfare politics, are run by bureaucrats whose behavior, of course, is "very rarely civil" either to contributors or beneficiaries. And modern bureaucrats are protected from accountability by "Civil Service" status and their own politically active and powerful public employee labor unions. Yet politicians rarely characterize or criticize such people for their own self-interest or greed, although this phenomenon is now well understood and described in Public Choice economics. While the behavior of the bureaucrats is understandable, the harshest truth is that, with sovereignty no longer invested in a autocrat like Diocletian, the ultimate "greed" today is derived from the voters.
The map reflects some recent developments in scholarship. Previously, the Goths were regarded as already divided into the Visigoths and Ostrogoths , with the Ostrogoths developing an "empire" that was thought to have stretched all the way back to the Baltic Sea. This culminated under King Ermanaric (i.e. "King [riks] Herman," where "Herman" itself is from [h]er[i], "army," and man, "man"), who committed suicide when defeated and subjugated by the Huns around 370. Now it looks like, for all their divisions, the Goths were not divided, or identified, in the terms that later became familiar for the Kingdoms in Spain and Italy. Ermanaric was King of the Greuthungi, and it is unlikely that he ruled a domain that stretched to the Baltic. Indeed, it doesn't even look like it even reached the Don in the east. The Goths who were granted asylum on Roman territory in 376 were the Tervingi, led by Alavivus and Fritigern. After their revolt, however, the Greuthungi joined the Tervingi. With some other Gothic groups, these all became the Visigoths. The Ostrogoths developed later, around a core led by the Amal dynasty. These changes in view are now recently explained by Peter Heather in The Fall of the Roman Empire [Oxford, 2006]. Although the Huns subjugated all the Goths but the Visigoths, the Goths nevertheless exercised considerable cultural influence on them. Thus, we find Attila with a Gothic name, "Little Father." But while atta was the Gothic word for "father," it is curious that ata is still the Turkish word for "father." Indeed, adda was Sumerian for "father." Winfred P. Lehmann (A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1986, p.46) explains these correspondences as a coincidence of "nursery words" -- "No need to assume borrowing in spite of earlier attestations, such as Hitt[ite] attas, which Puhvel [Hittite etymological dictionary, 1984] derives 'from infantile language'" [p.46]. This strikes me as a bit unsatisfactory, though perhaps no more than the alternative: that this is another fragment of evidence for a connection between Indo-European and Altaic languages, and Sumerian.
2. CONSTANTIANS
Fl. Jovianus
363-364
If the Tetrarchy was a major turning point in Roman history, with Constantine we are right around the corner and looking down a very different avenue of time. Here is where the die-hard paganophile Romanists check out, and where the Byzantinists check in. But the changes that take place are mostly, as they had been for some time, gradual. Even Constantine's Christianity was a gradual affair. He did not actually convert until on his deathbed; and although he outlawed pagan sacrifice, he did not close the temples or otherwise show disrespect or hostility to the old gods, and in fact seems to have long still invoked
Sol Invictus, the "Unconquered Sun" of Aurelian and Diocletian. He may have imagined a sort of syncretism such as had been common in the old religions but that was not going to be tolerated in Christianity -- indeed, an element of syncretism remains in the name of the Holy Day of the week for Christianity, "Sunday," which Constantine himself called "the day celebrated by veneration of the sun itself" (diem solis veneratione sui celebrem). Even if Constantine banned blood sacrifice (it is not clear that he did, but is often said to have), this reformed a practice of worship whose critique went back at least to Heraclitus, who marveled how spilled blood, otherwise polluting, could be thought clean and sacred .
When Constantinople was built, the old acropolis was left alone. Indeed, it may have been left alone for much of the Middle Ages -- I am only aware of a couple of Mediaeval institutions in the area. One was the Church and Monastery of St. George of Mangana, which had a hospital attached. Another was a complex built by Alexius Comnenus with an orphanage and a home for old soldiers, the blind, and other disabled persons. It sounds like there was room for Alexius to build these institutions. In the Eighth century there is a reference to the Kynegion, an arena that survived from earlier Roman animal fighting shows. The comment in the Brief Historical Notes is that the ancient pagan statues in the arena still contain dangerous powers. A statue is supposed to have deliberately fallen on and killed a man named Himerios in the reign of Philippicus Bardanes [cf. Judith Herrin, Byzantium, The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire, Princeton & Oxford, 2007, p.123]. The astonishing thing is that any such statues should still have been there almost four hundred years after Constantine. In the same way, a statue of Athena is supposed to have still been standing on the acropolis when the Fourth Crusade arrived in 1203. Remarkably, this may have been the bronze statute of Athena Promachus which had stood in the open on the Acropolis at Athens, reportedly visible from out to sea, and was moved to the new city by Constantine (Anthony Kaldellis denies this, but without explanation; cf. The Christian Parthenon, Cambridge, 2009, p.106). The statue was finally only then thrown down because some thought that by her outstretched hand she was beckoning to the Crusaders. It is now hard to tell what may have been on the acropolis all that time because the site was finally put to a new use by the Ottomans , who built the great Topkapï Palace there. It is certainly the right place for such a building, and so one is a little surprised to learn that no secular building, as far as we know, was put there all the years of Romania.
The impression is of much other Classical statuary in Constantinople. This is confirmed in a remarkable text, the Patria of Constantinople, according to Hesychios Illoustrios, from the 10th century, which details much in the way of the buildings, statues, and lore of Constantinople [Accounts of Medieval Constantinople, the Patria, translated by Albrecht Berger, Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard, 2013]. We learn from the Patria that a statue of Hera stood in the Forum of Constantine [p.51], and this is confirmed quite by accident. The matter comes up because the Latin Emperors pulled it down to melt it for the bronze. The source of our information, the contemporary historian Niketas Choniates, consequently called the Franks "these barbarians, haters of the beautiful." But they were just desperate for money, and they treated much other art the same way, even looting the metal roofs from many buildings. Unfortunately, when the Emperor Constans II had visited Rome in 663,
also needing money, he stripped the bronze roof and ornaments from the Pantheon and other buildings, unintentionally creating the precedent for the Crusaders! But it turns out that Constans didn't take all the bronze from the Pantheon. Later, looking for bronze to make the altar canopy, the baldacchino, for St. Peter's Basilica, the great sculptor Gian Lorzenzo Bernini was given permission by Pope Urban VIII to "strip the ancient bronze cladding from the portico" of the Pantheon [Robert Hughes, Rome, A Cultural, Visual, and Personal History, Vintage, 2012, p.285]. So Constans had left some.
Earlier, we get a similar revealing reference.
Arethas of Patras , Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia in the late 9th century (d.c.932), noted in the margin of his copy of the orations of Aristides (which we possess) that an ivory statue of Athena, mentioned by Aristides, must be the one still standing in the Forum of Constantine (like the statue of Hera) by the entrance to the Senate [cf. the Patria, p.51]. He adds that across the Forum from this statue is one of Thetis, with crabs decorating her hair [N.G. Wilson, Scholars of Byzantium, Duckworth, 1983, 1996, p.124 -- there is no reference to Thetis in the Patria]. We have no clue about the subsequent fate of these statues.
The earliest mention of anything of the sort, by Lactantius again, is that Constantine had a dream where he was shown the "cypher of Christ," the Greek letters Chi and Rho, which he caused to be put on the shields of his soldiers. Later versions thus increase the dramatic and miraculous elements of the event, using what later would become the most symbolic of Christianity, the Cross. Using a Christian symbol in any form, however, and for any reason, would have been dramatic enough.
What Constantine was like as a person and what his motives were in favoring Christianity is now a matter influenced more by modern debates than by the historical record. In this, the evaluation of Constantine is much like that of the Egyptian "heretic" King Akhenaton , about whose real personality there is little historical information. Was Akhenaton a mystical dreamer? A fanatic? An earnest reformer? A cynical manipulator? Similar questions can be asked about Constantine. Especially noteworthy are projections of Protestant anticlericalism back onto Akhenaton (good -- attacking the power of the priests of Amon) or Constantine (bad -- creating the power of Catholic priesthood).
Less strictly Protestant, but its ideological successor, is the New Age naturalism and rationalism that favors the Gnostics as true and proper Christians and views Constantine as an oppressor who built his oppressive patriarchal, supernaturalistic, and clericalist ideology into the structure of the Catholic Church. This leads off into farcical conspiracy theories such as we see in The Da Vinci Code [2003], where little effort is expended on historical accuracy.
In general, Mediaeval and Modern evaluations of Constantine are going to be broadly different. In the Middle Ages, Constantine, the initial great protector and patron of Christianity, was seen as one of the best of rulers, noble, good, wise, and pious. That he was made a Saint in the Eastern Church but not in the Western may have been due to a few too many murders in his resumé (his son Crispus, his wife Fausta, and his brother-in-law and co-ruler Licinius, who had been granted protection after his surrender) -- or to Papal disinclination to honor the founder of Constantinople, the seat of the Pope's Patriarchal rival . Nevertheless, we find Dante placing Constantine in favored glory in Heaven (The Divine Comedy, Paradiso, XX:55-60). His main complaint was that Constantine had made the Pope ruler of the Western Empire -- according to the fraudulent "Donation of Constantine " (Constitutum Donatio Constantini), a text used by the Papacy to bolster its claims to secular authority until exposed (1440) by Lorenzo Valla (c.1407-1457) as a forgery. Modern evaluations, in turn, may reflect the noted Protestant hostility towards the Catholic Church or the rationalistic critique of religion, and especially of its supernatural aspects, dating from the Enlightenment.
The modern perspectives provided little reason to view Constantine either with admiration or even compacency, with the potential for real hostility to emerge. Thus, a recent British television series on Roman history dramatized Constantine in terms borrowed from the Godfather movies [1972, 1974, 1990].
As we see Constantine piously reading to the Ecumenical Council at Nicaea the new Creed (the Nicene ) formulated there, his men are off, in the best tradition of the Corleones, murdering Licinius (as they later would Licinius' young son, Constantine's own nephew). This seems to involve the judgment that Constantine was essentially a gangster, to whom religion was really no more than a cynical device in power politics. But before we get all weepy about Licinius, we should remember that in a bit of housecleaning he had murdered not only the wife, eight-year-old son, and seven-year-old daughter of Maximinus Daia, but also the widow, Prisca, of Diocletian, Valeria, the daughter of Diocletian and widow of Galerius (who, on his deathbed, had entrusted his old friend Licinius with her protection), her adopted son, and, just to be sure, the son of the hapless and probably otherwise forgotten Caesar and Augustus Severus. If Constantine executed this man, we might not exactly want to congratulate him, but we certainly cannot see Constantine's behavior as any worse. If Constantine was at all like the Corleones, this is no more than the way the Tetarchy worked, as least in its final stages. Right from the beginning, however, when Constantine, inspired by Christianity, finds success in battle, the principle has more to do with the ideology of Sol Invictus, who presides over military victory, than with the particular non-violent teachings of the "Prince of Peace." This might not strike many as very good Christianity, but it also true that Christianity never made pacifists or quietists of Christian rulers. Whether St. Louis or Abraham Lincoln , Christian rulers would always hope, like Joshua, for God's help in war.
Unlike Akhenaton we do have extensive contemporary comment about Constantine, as well as letters and decrees from his own hand. According to Diana Bowder [Who Was Who in the Roman World, Washington Square Press, 1980]:
Hot-tempered and generous, a man of action impatient with theological niceties or outraged by some flagrant example of oppression, superstitious like all his contemporaries but endowed with a grandiose sense of being God's vice-regent on earth, the founder of the Christian Empire is for us a vivid personality... A strong and effective ruler and reformer, he shares with Diocletian the main credit for the very existence of the later Roman Empire, and the long years of stable government in his reign made possible a genuine renaissance of civilian life and the fine arts. [pp.141-142]
Of course, his foundation of Constantinople made possible,
not only the very existence of the later Roman Empire, but the survival of Romania there right through the Middle Ages, until 1453. Various details are noteworthy, such as the introduction of the gold solidus (called in the West the bezant), a coin that became the "dollar of the Middle Ages" and survived undebased from the year 310 until at least 1034 -- 724 years. This compares favorably with the durability of other historical coinage. The British Pound Sterling was fixed at 113 grains of pure gold from 1717 to 1931 -- 214 years. So Constantine's coin beats it in duration by 510 years. Not bad. This is a tribute, of course, not so much to Constantine, but to the conscientiousness of his successors -- and to Constantine himself to the extent that he substantially founded their regime. With Constantine's personality, it seems of a piece with that of his fellow Tetrarchs, and the biggest mistake one could make is to construe it in terms of later theological controversies or with retrospecive ideals, whether Christian or rationalistic.
There is an interesting variation in the pronunciation in English of Constantine's name. British usage tends to render the "i" as the customary long English vowel "i" -- the equivalent of the word "eye" or the first person pronoun "I." We could represent this as the "Constanteyen" Constantine. American usage tends to use the "Continental" version of the vowel "i," i.e. as in French, Spanish, or Italian. We could represent this as the "Constanteen" Constantine. Since in Latin "Constantine" is Constantinus (with all Continental vowels),
Systems of Imperial Names
Maximian
*forms that do not occur
we already have the French device of replacing the Latin case ending with a simple "e" which then becomes silent. While there is obviously no "correct" pronunciation in this respect, it does strike me as affected when Americans use the British pronunciation.
There is something else curious about Constantine's name. It is, as it happens, purely Latin in origin. The verb constô, "to stand firm... remain the same, unaltered," which gives us the English nouns "constant" and "constancy," underlies all the names of the dynasty: Constantius, Constantinus, Constans. The latter is simply the active participle of the verb. However, in Latin Europe, Francia , these names are only very rarely found -- except as variants, like "Constance," for women. In Romania, Russia , and Modern Greece , "Constantine" is quite common. We tend to think of it as a Greek name. To be sure, there were three Kings of Scotland named "Constantine," but this may have been based on the Gaelic element Conn, "chief," as in "Connor."
So why was "Constantine" in such disfavor in the West? Perhaps for the same reason that the Latin Church does not recognize Constantine as a Saint -- it represented a kind of challenge to the Papacy . Until the end of Romania, there were many Emperors still named Constantine in Constantinople (eventually eleven of them, and six Patriarchs of Constantiople -- as well as two Patriarchs named "Constantius"), none of them happy to agree to claims of Papal supremacy and authority. A Latin priest thus might not have favored the name of a child that might remind him of this conflict. There was only one Pope (708-715, and one anti-Pope, 767-768) named "Constantine," well before the age of exaggerated Papal claims.
Constantine's Empire went to his three sons, who might have shared it with their cousins, but killed most of them instead. The sons, however, ended up with no heirs themselves, and the last family member on the throne, Julian, was one of the cousins who had escaped the massacre. Julian, whose own writings have been preserved, is one of the better known but stranger figures of the century. Quixotically trying to restore paganism, he only seemed to demonstrate that the old gods were spent and nobody's heart was really in it anymore. Although apparently a fine enough military commander against the Franks, Julian's short reign ended with another Quixotic effort, against Persia. It was not so much the war itself as the ill conceived scale of the invasion, which left Julian all but stranded with his army, deep in Mesopotamia, with the Persians avoiding battle but constantly harassing him. Somehow this had not happened to Alexander , Trajan , Heraclius , or the forces of the Caliph Omar . It cost Julian his life, and his religious cause, since the Christian Jovian was then chosen by the Army.
3. VALENTIANS
Fl. Eugenius]
392-394 W
Revolt by Arbogast with figurehead Eugenius; restores Altar of Victory to Roman Senate; defeated at Frigidus River, 394
394-395 W
Outlaws taking of auspices from entrails, 384; Closes pagan temples, including the Serapeum, the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and the Temple of Vesta in Rome, 388-392; removes Altar of Victory from Roman Senate; divides Empire between Honorius & Arcadius
Jovian did not last long (apparently killed by carbon monoxide poisoning from a charcoal heater -- still a danger in the modern world), and the Army chose another Christian. With Valentinian, and his brother Valens with whom he divided the Empire, the Christian nature of Romania was sealed. But the future seemed secure enough. Valentinian was vigorous and competent, even if his brother wasn't so much. Unfortunately, Valentinian died, apparently of a heart attack (or perhaps a cerebral hemorrhage) in a fit of anger over the insolence of some representatives from the Huns. With Valens as the senior Emperor, he didn't wait for assistance before moving to put down a revolt by the Visigoths, who had recently been admitted as refugees from the Huns but were now rising up against mistreatment by their hosts. The resulting battle was close and hard fought but turned into a catastrophic rout, with Valens himself falling. Gratian appointed Theodosius as the new Eastern Emperor to restore the situation (marrying him to his sister), which seems to have about the most useful thing he accomplished, before his murder.
Meanwhile there was a fateful development in the governance of the West. When Valentinian died, Gratian had already been raised to the status of Augustus and clearly was the legitimate Emperor of the West. However, the Frankish Magister Militum Merobaudes raised Gratian's young brother Valentinian (II) to the Purple. There was no particular reason to repudiate this action, except that it was obviously a ploy by Merobaudes to create a puppet Emperor. The success of this coup was a chilling precursor to the eventual Fall of the Western Empire, whose final Emperors became the futile play things of Germanic commanders. Merobaudes confirmed his disloyal intentions at the death of Gratian, when he threw his support to the usurper Magnus Maximus. Theodosius defeated and killed both of them at Aquileia in 388. Valentinian II's own death drew Theodosius west (again) to put down the usurper Eugenius -- who, apparently for the first time now, was merely the hand-picked figurehead of the German Master of Soliders, Arbogast -- another death knell for the Western Empire. At the Frigidus River in 394 Theodosius put his Visigothic allies, faithfully honoring their treaty with the Empire, in the forefront of the battle. The slaughter of the battle, on a scale with Gettysburg, soured the Visigoths on the value of their cooperation. They would soon become a loose cannon within the Empire, shattering essential supports of Roman power as the tribe rolled around.
Thus, things in the West went steadily down hill after Valentinian I, with a troubling weakness of the (Western) Throne in comparison to powerful Germanic soldiers. Although the Battle of Adrianople need not have fundamentally affected the strength of the Empire, it acquires great symbolic meaning in retrospect because of the more permanent damage subsequently done by the Visigoths and the profound weakening of the Empire that attended it. For the genealogy of the Valentinians, see that of the Theodosians below .
It is in the reign of Valentinian II that we find the classic De Re Militari of Flavius Vegetius Renatus, the most important study of military science for many centuries. This is often favorably compared to the Chinese strategist Sun Tzu , but Vegetius provides us with a much more thorough and discursive treatment. Unlike Sun Tzu, however, Vegetius did not have the chance to direct armies himself, much less produce victories commensurate with the wisdom of his advice. Nor does he give us a military historian's analysis of the battles of his era, which would have included the Battle of Adrianople. This is a grave loss to history and military science, especially as it allows false lessons to be drawn from Adrianople (as discussed elsewhere ).
A great earthquake on Crete in 365, which thrust up the coast some 20 feet, has recently become a matter of interest for modern geologists. An account of it by Ammianus Marcellinus includes what may be the first detailed description in history of the phenomenon of a tsunami,
:
...the solid frame of the earth shuddered and trembled, and the sea was moved from its bed and went rolling back. The abyss of the deep was laid open; various types of marine creatures could be seen stuck in the slime, and huge mountains and valleys which had been hidden since the creation in the depths of the waves then, one must suppose, saw the light of the sun for the first time. [Ammianus Marcellinus, The Later Roman Empire, (A.D.354-378), Penguin Classics, 1986, p.333]
Not realizing that the sea would come back, people wandered down to the revealed places. As the water "burst in fury" and surged up onto the land on its return, thousands were killed, towns were leveled, and "the whole face of the earth was changed" [ibid.]. As far away as Alexandria, the tidal wave tossed ships onto the tops of buildings; and Ammianus himself later inspected a decaying ship that had been carried inland ad secundum lapidem, "to the second milestone," near Mothone (or Methone) in the Peloponnesus. Edward Gibbon, contemptuous of the Late Empire and its historian, and apparently never having heard of such phenomena, didn't believe Ammianus:
Such is the bad taste of Ammianus (xxvi.10), that it is not easy to distinguish his facts from his metaphors. Yet he positively affirms that he saw the rotten carcass of a ship, ad secundum lapidem, at Methone, or Modon, in Peloponnesus. [The Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I, Modern Library, p.899].
Tsunamis are not so rare, however, that it is not in the living memory of many to have seen the seafloor bared or ships thrown about in just the manner described. In the massive 1883 volcanic eruption of Karakatoa (Krakatoa, Krakatau) in
Indonesia , the Dutch steamship Berouw was lifted by a tsunami from its harbor in Sumatra and swept inland 3.3 km, i.e. two miles (ad secundum lapidem), up the Koeripan River, where it was permanently deposited in the jungle, at an elevation of 30 feet. Tsunamis of spectacular and deadly effect have recently occurred in Indonesia in 2004 and now in Japan in 2011 -- where, with live video from news helicopters, large ships were tossed some distance inland, and the draw down of the ocean was visible and photographed in Hawai'i and California. The response of some people in 2004 was to go out to collect the fish that were flopping around where the sea had left them stranded. The earthquake of 365 also came hard on the heels of a massive earthquake in Galilee in 363, whose effects can still be seen in walls that were thrown down in Petra , which may have been abandoned about this time. Damage from the earthquakes of 363 and 365 would have overlapped in Anatolia and around the eastern Mediterranean. The modern historian might do well to consider how the death and destruction of these great earthquakes may have weakened the resources of the area on the crucial eve of the struggle with the Visigoths.
Rome and Romania Index
B. CRISIS OF THE FIFTH CENTURY, 379-476, 97 Years
The map shows the key incursions that would fatally undermine the Western Empire. After the death of Theodosius I, and the division of the Empire (for the last time) between
Honorius in Milan (and then Ravenna, 402) and Arcadius in Constantinople, the Visigoths begin to roll around in the Balkans. The movement of the Visigoths began to resemble the literal effects of a "lose cannon" to destroy the structure of the Roman Empire, revealing the fatal failure of Theodosius to destroy, rather than temporary coöpt, the tribe. In the course of dealing with this, Stilicho evidently stripped the Rhine frontier of troops. When the Suevi, Alans, and Vandals crossed the frozen Rhine on New Year's Eve of 407, nothing stood in their way when they looted their way across Gaul and Spain. As they settled down in Spain, the Visigoths arrived in Italy. Later in 407, the usurper Constantine took his troops out of Britain, simultaneously to secure Gaul and to establish himself as Emperor. When Stilicho is murdered, his forces, largely German, disintegrate. Honorius, secure in Ravenna -- as Rome, after a fashion, burned -- was able to do nothing about the Visigoths or the other invaders, and he had to tell the British (410) they were on their own. Britain substantially drops out of history for a while.
1. THEODOSIANS, WEST
[Petronius Maximus]
455 W
Vandals invade Africa, 428, take Hippo, 430, repulsed from Carthage, 435; Suevi defeat Andevotus, Count of Spain, at the Jenil River, 438, take M�rida, 439, Seville, 441; Vandals take Carthage, 439; Visigoths provide troops for expedition against Vandals, and fleet of 1100 cargo & troop ships arrives from Constantinople in Sicily, but expedition cancelled, 441; Council IV, Chalcedon, Monophysitism condemned, 451; Attila the Hun halted at Châlons, 451; Aëtius stabbed to death by Valentinian, 454; Valentinian assassinated, Petronius elevated and killed, Rome sacked by Vandals, 455
Theodosius may have been called "Great" mainly for establishing Athanasian Orthodoxy and for actions against paganism like closing and sometimes destroying temples and ending the Olympic Games (which, however, seem to have continued in some form for another century). Otherwise, he did get the Goths under some kind of control and left the Empire, to all appearances, sound and prepared for the future.
Unfortunately, there were two very serious problems. One was that the Goths remained a unified and aggressive tribe within the Empire, ready to begin rampaging again at any time. Another was that Honorius and Arcadius, the two sons between whom Theodosius divided the Empire, were young and inexperienced. Leaving the Army in the hands of the German Magister Militum Stilicho set the stage for all the evils of divided authority and palace intrigue. The result of this would be disaster. When the times called for a strong soldier Emperor, there wasn't one -- and there would not be one for some time, perhaps not until Heraclius .
Feeling exposed to the Goths at Milan, Honorius moved his Court to Ravenna in 402. This was a fateful step. It made Ravenna the administrative capital of Italy for the rest of the history of the Western Empire, for the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths , and for the history of the "Byzantine" Exarchate in Italy, until its fall to the Lombards in 751. Ravenna was thus the capital of Italy for 349 years. This is usually overlooked in the tendentious narrative of the "Fall of Rome," as is the glorious art and architecture placed there, anomalously during what is represented as the "Dark Ages." The form of the Exarchate, with a corridor from Rome to Ravenna, subsequently became the Papal States , from 754 until 1870 -- 1116 years.
Ravenna thus possesses a important place in general history and art history that is rarely addressed in popular or general academic culture. Despite the role of Ravenna, several of the last Western Emperors, with their political horizon reduced to Italy, did spend significant time at Rome. Valentinian III seems to have been there for eight years, about a quarter of his reign, including its last five years. Petronius Maximus (455) spent his whole, brief reign in Rome; and Anthemius (467-472) was killed there. Some scholars think this means that too much emphasis has been placed on Ravenna; but considering how little awareness there is of the city, its monuments, and its history, certainly in popular culture and in scholarship outside the specialty of Late Antiquity, it is hardly possible to say that anything sensible is served by deliberately placing less emphasis on it.
Unfortunately, the military strength of Ravenna's position allowed Honorius to view the course of the Goths in Italy, and their siege of Rome, with some complacency. On the other hand, the time spent by Valentinian III at Rome, especially in his last years, may reflect growing concern at the threat from the Vandals . Since the government had originally been drawn to the North of Italy because of the threat to the frontiers, it is not surprising that attention would be pulled back to Rome because of a threat from Carthage. If this was Valentianian's thinking, it was a good idea but ended up collapsing in chaos. Valentianian killed Aëtius, was himself assassinated, and then his ephemeral successor, Petronius Maximus, was killed while fleeing the City, leaving the Vandals unopposed. Having botched the defense of Rome, the government of Avitus , drawing on the power of the Visigoths, returned to Ravenna and the North.
Some uncertainty remains about exactly when Honorius moved to Ravenna. Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis says:
At the time of the Visigothic invasion of Italy of 402, Honorius and his advisors seem to have felt that Milan was too hard to defend, and so the emperor moved to Ravenna; the first imperial decree to have been issued at Ravenna is dated December 6, 402. The year 402 appears in almost every modern account as a pivotal date in Ravenna's history, even though no contemporary authors mention such a transfer in that year. [Ravenna in Late Antiquity, Cambridge, 2010, p.46]
In a footnote, Deliyannis cites Zosimus (d.circa 501), who "mentions Honorius's change of residence to Ravenna as happening in 408" [note 12, p.320]. However, although she leaves the impression that the date of 402 is based on the imperial edict (from the Theodosian Code), the Chronicle of Theophanes positively asserts that Honorious "moved to Ravenna, a coastal city in Italy" in the Annô Mundi year 5895, i.e. 402/403 AD [The Chronicle of Theophanes Confessor, Byzantine and Near Eastern History AD 284-813, Translated with Introduction and Commentary by Cyril Mango and Roger Scott with the assistance of Geoffrey Greatrex, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997, 2006, p.117]. We do not know, of course, the basis of the assertion of Theophanes, writing in the 9th century. It may have been in the very same imperial edict, or in historical sources now lost. Nevertheless, the date of the edict is not consistent with the (perhaps corrupt) date from Zosimus.
Archbishops of Ravenna
With the Goths running wild, and an alliance of German tribes crossing the frozen Rhine on New Year's Eve of 407, the institutions were not prepared to bounce back the way Rome had in the 3rd Century. The center of Roman resistance was the commander Stilicho, who had been entrusted with his office by Theodosius. But neither the Eastern Court nor Honorius liked the authority possessed by Stilicho. The result was, after being the only leader to resist the Germans, Stilicho was tried and executed. As earlier with the rebellion of the Visigoths, the Romans turned on the Germans in the Army; but the purge did not strengthen the Army, as later it would in the East under Leo. Instead, the surviving Germans decamped to the Visigoths; and, unlike with the Isaurians under Leo, there was no one to replace them. Honorius never contested any action of the Goths, who only left Italy when they ran out of steam.
As with Stilicho, a similar characteristic moment came when the commander Aëtius, sometimes called "the Last Roman," who had defeated the Huns at Châlons-sur-Marne (Campus Mauriacus or the Catalaunian Plains, with substantial help from the Visigoths , whose King Theodoric I was killed), was murdered by the incompetent and jealous Emperor Valentinian III, with his own hand. Very personal. Valentinian's own murder, as the Vandals symbolically arrived to plunder Rome, then left the throne completely at the mercy of the next person to get control of the Army -- who would be the German Ricimer. Ricimer could not himself, as a German, become Emperor, so he could only retain power by keeping the Emperors as figureheads, or killing them. This was not a formula for retrieving the situation. The Theodosian dynasty thus ends in the West with a combination of triumph, betrayal, and chaos.
One of the most interesting people in the diagram is the Empress Galla Placidia, the daughter of Theodosius I, wife of Athaulf, King of the Visigoths, wife of Constantius III, and mother of Valentinian III. According to J.B. Bury, she was buried at her own mausoleum in Ravenna, where "her embalmed body in Imperial robes seated on a chair of cypress wood could be seen through a hole in the back [of her sarcophagus] till A.D. 1577, when all the contents of the tomb were accidentally burned thourgh the carelessness of children" [History of the Later Roman Empire Vol. 1, Dover, 1958, pp. 263-264]. It seems that said children, holding a candle within the observation hole to look in, dropped it. It is remarkable that something of the sort had not happened earlier (as Howard Carter was lucky in 1922 that he did not drop the candle he held up, in the last days before electric flashlights, to first look into Tutankhamon's Tomb ). The idea of an observation port into a tomb may seem strange, but there is even such a feature in the tomb of Sir Richard Burton and his wife.
Although the mausoleum and its decorations remain in excellent condition, some now question whether the Empress or any other Theodosians had ever been buried there. Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis says, "When Galla Placidia died in Rome, she was probably [?!] buried in the imperial mausoleum at St. Peter's"; but she only cites a secondary source for this -- and I am otherwise unaware that there was an imperial mausoleum at St. Peter's. She does conclude that the sarcophagi in the "Mausoleum of Galla Placida" (always given in quotes) were indeed fifth century products contemporary with the building, and were intended for Theodosian burials by Placida herself. Exactly who was buried there, however, was a matter of later tradition and legend [op.cit. p.82]. Deliyannis, however, does not even discuss Bury's assertions:
Into this charming chapel Placidia removed the remains of her brother Honorius and her husband Constantius, and it was her own resting place. The marble sarcophagus of Honorius is on the right, that of Constantius, in which the body of Valentinian III. was afterwards laid, on the left. [Bury, op.cit. p.263]
Bury, unfortunately, also only cites secondary sources, while Deliyannis denies that there is any contemporary information about the burials, providing various versions of traditional assignments [cf. note 247, p.334]. We are thus left with more questions than answers in this matter. There is a certain logic, however, that Placida would be buried in the mausoleum that she arguably built herself.
Mosaics in the mausoleum already show the books of the Bible bound in codices (sing. codex), i.e. familiar bound books rather than scrolls. Scrolls continued to be current for some time -- mosaics at Ravenna include figures standing side by side where one holds a scroll, the other a codex -- and it is probably difficult for people to think of "Romans" using books rather than scrolls; but this is not the only case where general perceptions fail to keep up with the changing times of Late Antiquity.
Equally influential in the East was Empress St. Pulcheria Augusta,
, sister of Theodosius II and (apparently celibate) wife of Marcian. She is supposed to have requested the transfer of the Hodêgêtria Icon from Jerusalem, although it is otherwise said to have actually been fetched by her sister-in-law, St. Aelia (Athenais) Eudocia Augusta, with whom here was some rivalry and inversely varying fortunes of political influence. Pulcheria was instrumental in the calling and conduct of both the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (431), which condemned Nestorianism, and the Fourth at Chalcedon (451), which condemned Monophysitism. Her influence on subsequent Christian theology, and the problem of Schisms in the Church, was therefore immense. In conflict with the Patriarch Nestorius , soon to be exiled, she claimed the right to enter of the Holy of Holies of (the old) Sancta Sophia Church.
This era of miserable collapse nevertheless contained instances of formidable intellectual development and important figures in the history of philosophy . St. Augustine of Hippo (395-430), whose name still evokes strong reactions even in our own day, and who died as the Vandals were besieging Hippo, still stands as the most prolific author in the Latin language, with 93 surviving works to his credit, not counting numerous sermons and letters. This is a positive embarrassment for Classicists, who are usually not very interested in Latin literature after 100 AD and who would rather think that the writing from Augustine's era was all by half-literate, ignorant, and bigoted Patristic Fathers writing in Vulgar Latin. Unfortunately for this conceit, Augustine himself, inspired by Cicero, was a student of Classical Latin rhetoric and taught it at Carthage, Rome, and Milan (the Capital, remember) before he ever thought of converting to Christianity. The study of Latin without the study of Augustine involves a certain self-imposed blindness.
As with Constantine, there are curious alternatives in the pronunciation of Augustine's name. By analogy with Constantine, we might expect the alternatives "Augusteyen" and "Augusteen." I have never hear the former ever used. The later is the vulgar pronunciation, especially as used for the city of St. Augustine, Florida. Scholars, on the other hand, in both history and philosophy, seem to prefer "Augústin," with a short "i" and the accent on the second syllable, contrasting with the first syllable for "Aúgusteen." I find this perplexing, since the short "i" violates the ordinary rules of spelling in both British and American English, where a final "e" almost always indicates that the preceding vowel is long. If this is an affectation, I do not know how or when it got started.
Meanwhile, another North African author, far less accomplished as a writer, nevertheless made an epochal contribution to the character of education in the Middle Ages. This was the obscure Martianus Capella. Capella, a pagan and apparently a practicing lawyer at Carthage, seems to have died before the Vandal invasion. His seminal contribution to learning, The Marriage of Philology and Mercury, created the system of the Seven Liberal Arts: the trivium (hence "trival"), of grammar, rhetoric, and logic, and the quadrivium, of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. Capella even included a system of astronomy in which Mercury and Venus orbited the sun. This later caught the attention of Copernicus . Capella was popularized by Cassiodorus and hence made his way into subsequent education, such as with Isidore of Seville -- who, like Capella, is often called an "Enyclopedist." Capella, however, may not have been entirely original. In the East, where versions of the Liberal Arts were also taught in Greek education, the tradition was that a similar list went back to the Sophist Hippias of Elis. The idea of the Liberal Arts has now rather shrunk, and instead of including things like logic, mathematics, and astronomy, one might often think, given current academic practice, that only rhetoric remains (with grammar itself rejected as "elitist"). So one is left with the question, "Which attitudes sound more like the ignorance of the Dark Ages?"
Diocletian had begun creating a very different kind of Army in the Late Empire. The old Legions actually still exist, but they largely have been settled on the land as fixed frontier forces, the Limitanei, and the old legionary establishment has been reduced to 1000 men, with the number of legions accordingly multiplied -- for instance, only one legion had previously been stationed in Egypt, the Legio II Traiana, but there are eight by the time of the Notitia Dignitatum (II Traiana, III Diocletiana, V Macedonica, XIII Gemina, II Flavia Constantia, I Maximiana, I Valentiniana, & II Valentiniana, though this is not always the full legion). The frontier units are not shown on the map above, but their regional commanders are, the "Dukes" -- dux, "leader" (pl. duces). This is a title that will have a long history in the Middle Ages. The units that are shown on the map above are parts of the new Mobile Army, the Comitatenses, which were originally commanded by the Augusti and Caesares of the Tetrarchy -- hence, they "attend" or "accompany," comitor, the Emperors, as their "train, retinue," or "following," comitatus. An individual "companion" of an Emperor is a comes (pl. comites), or "Count," another title with a long history in the Middle Ages. In origin, however, a Count has a higher station than a Duke, the opposite of what we see much later. The sixth-century historian Agathias says that at one time the Army had a full strength of 645,000 men. This accords well with the data of the Notitia Dignitatum, which gives the whole establishment of the Army, apparently for the East in 395 AD and for the West circa 408 AD. Diocletian and Constantine, both accused of massively expanding the Army, thus produced a total force roughly twice as large as the Army of the Principate.
There is no doubt that this was needed for the challenges of the Age -- indeed, it would prove inadequate to concentrate what would in fact be needed against the Visigoths and the other migrating German tribes.
In the map at right we see the Limitanei and the Comitatenses for the Western Army. It is noteworthy that some differences have developed between the organization of the Western and the Eastern Armies. In the West, the regional commanders of the Mobile Army are Counts. Britain features both a Duke of Britain, on the frontier, and a Count of Britain, with a unit of the Mobile Army. The Count of Illyricum is in the Western Mobile Army, but the Master of Soliders of Illyricum is in the Eastern. In the Western Army, above the Counts are the units commanded by the "Master of Soldiers," Magister Militum (or "Master of Foot," Magister Peditum), and the "Master of Horse," Magister Equitum, of Gaul. These are the commanders-in-chief of the Western Army (distiguished by purple color), with the Master of Soldiers becoming the effective "Generalissimo" of the Western Empire.
In the map at right for the East, we see the Limitanei and the Comitatenses for the Eastern Army. The units of the Eastern Mobile Army all are commanded by their own Master of Soldiers, with two units as "Soldiers of the Emperor's Presence." Since there are two of those, one might think there is one each for East and West. However, they apparently operated together and were part of the Eastern Army. Thus, the unity of the Eastern Army was focused more directly on the Emperor himself, which may have helped the Eastern Empire avoid the situation in the West where the Emperors became mere figureheads. It is noteworthy that the Counts in the East, of Isauria and Egypt, are both in areas behind the actual frontiers. The Count of Egypt commands an army that from its size could easily have belonged to the Comitatenses. The Count of Isauria commands in an area known for rebellion. He has such a small force, however (Legio II Isaura & Legio III Isaura -- Legio I Isaura Sagittaria was with the Mobile Army of the East), the rebellions cannot have been too serious. Perhaps the problem was more like banditry. Nevertheless, this is where Leo I would draw recruits, including his future son-in-law and Emperor Zeno, to replace the Germans in the Eastern Army.
In the Notitia Dignitatum the Western Comitatenses have a slight numerical superiority over the Eastern, yet it was the Western Army that seems to evaporate after 407, especially in Gaul, which on paper was the greatest strength of any formation in the whole Army. Unfortunately, the Mobile Army as often was used for civil wars as for backing up the frontiers, and it was natural for Emperors to neglect the Limitanei and reinforce their own personal forces. This did not work out well, especially when the Western Army became the personal force, not of the Emperors, but of a Magister Militum who soon was usually a German, like Stilicho or Ricimer. Gradually, the Limitanei fade from historical view and hardly seem to exist at all by the time German tribes cross the borders en masse in the Fifth Century.
Legions of the Roman Army
On the map, the Visigoths have actually become allies of the Romans. In return for cleaning (most of) the Germans out of Spain, they are legally settled in Aquitaine. Two German tribes, however, are left unmolested. The Suevi establish themselves, for centuries, in Galicia, and the Asding Vandals cross over into Africa. Of all the blows the Roman power, the latter would prove to be one of the worst. Rome could no longer draw grain from North Africa. Much worse, the crafty Vandal King Gaiseric ("King Caesar") built a fleet after securing Carthage in 439. He then did what the Carthaginians so many centuries earlier had not been able to do: secure control of the seas. In 455 they did what Hannibal could only have dreamed of, arriving at Rome by sea, breaking into and looting the city, and carrying the booty back to Carthage. Meanwhile, around the same year, Hengest the Jute, followed by Angles and Saxons , founded the Kingdom of Kent .
It is noteworthy that the Venerable Bede (Venerabilis Baeda, 673-735) numbered Theodosius II as the 45th and Marcian as the 46th Emperors since Augustus. This is considerably less than the count we might make now and it interestingly implies that Bede is using a tradition of a numbered list from which many ephemeral Emperors were excluded [ note ].
After Roman Britain disappeared from history, when the usurper Constantine "III" took his troops to Gaul, Bede's History of the English Church and People is just about the first that we then hear of it, three hundred years later, with one exception: St. Gildas "the Wise," whose De Excitio et Conquestu Britanniae, "The Ruin and Conquest of Britain," is the only contemporary account of the Gemanic invasion of Britain. Since Gildas was one of the Britons who fled to Brittany , he may be more an illustration, rather than an exception, to the loss of literacy in Britain.
Gildas provides some key information, which we find repeated, sometimes word for word. in Bede. He says that Ambrosius Aurelius rallied the Britons against the Saxons. And the Saxons were stopped for a while, gaining a period of peace, after a defeat at Badon Hill, Badonicus Mons. Gildas says this was the year he was born, 44 years after the landing of the Saxons. Now, the first Germans to settle in Britain were the Jutes led by Hengest, in about 455. The Saxons came a little later, with Aelle & Cissa in 491. So if Gildas means Hengest, this puts Badon Hill in 499; but if he really means the Saxons, it would be more like 535. With various dates proposed for Badon Hill between 493 and 518, the 499 date looks more likely. With Gildas living until 570, it was just a century before the birth of Bede in 673.
What events filled that time, and the vague years between 410, when Honorius told the Britons they were on their own, and Gildas, became strongly mythologized, especially around the figure of King Arthur. The first Life of Gildas was written in the 9th century, even later than Bede. Neither source mentions a King Arthur. We still just have Ambrosius Aurelius, whom Bede says won the battle of Badon Hill, altough Gildas actually does not say so. The Life does says, interestingly, that Gildas was born in the Kingdom of Strathclyde to the royal family, a son of King Caunus. This does not clearly match any name I have for Strathclyde, although "Cinuit" is close, in the right time frame. But the brother of Gildas, "Cuillum," the next King, doesn't match at all. Gildas is even supposed to have sojourned in Ireland , working for the High King Ainmere macSátnai O'Néill (566-569), before going to Rome, Ravenna, and back to Brittany.
The next Life of Gildas is in the 12th century; and now Ambrosius Aurelius is replaced by King Arthur, with elements filled in from the rest of Arthurian legend. Where this all comes from is what piques our interest. I suspect that the vividness of the Arthur stories, like that of the Greek epics and of the Mahâbhârata in India, is an artifact of a literate society that for a time lost its literacy but remembered, after a fashion, what it was like. The literature on the problem of Arthur and Britain in this period is vast. Two of the more interesting recent books might be The Discovery of King Arthur by Geoffrey Ashe [Guild Publishing, London, 1985] and From Scythia to Camelot, A Radical Reassessment of the Legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and the Holy Grail by C. Scott Littleton and Linda A. Malcor [Garland Publshing, Inc, New York, 1994, 2000].
Littleton and Malcor made the significant discovery that the scene of Arthur's death in Mallory's Morte d'Arthur, where the sword Excalibur was thrown into a lake, occurs in almost identical terms in the legends of the Ossetians in the Caucasus -- the epic literature of the Ossetians had come in for particular study by the great historian of religion , Georges Dumézil (1898-1986). There is a possible connection, since the Ossetians are descendants of the Alans , and Marcus Aurelius had settled a tribe of Sarmatians, the Iazyges, cousins of the Alans, whom he had defeated in 175 and taken into Roman service, in the north of Britain, where many of them ended up at the evocatively named Bremetenacum Veteranorum, south of Lancaster.
The Prefect of the legion to which the Iazyges were assigned, the Legio VI Victrix, was one Lucius Artorius Castus. "Artorius" looks like the Latin source of the name "Arthur." Littleton (who taught at Occidental College and, sadly, passed away in 2010) told me personally that we know about the career of Castus from funeral stelae about him that were discovered in Dalmatia. This intially gave me the impression that the stelae were a recent discovery. However, Littleton and Malcor's book cites them from the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, of 1873 [CIL: Inscriptiones Asiae Provinciarum Europae Graecarum Illyrici Latinae, Theodor Mommsen, #1919, Vol. 3, Part I: 303; Vol 3, Supplement: 2131, Reimer, Berlin]. A curious thing about this information is that a new book, The Complete Roman Legions, by Nigel Pollard and Joanne Berry [Thames & Hudson, 2012], which has detailed treatments of individual legions , lists known officers for some of them, and mentions one officer of Legio VI Victrix --the military tribune Marcus Pontius Laelianus -- nevertheless does not mention Castus in the same connection. Yet Pollard and Berry's reference for their knowledge of Laelianus is a funeral stela at Rome listed in the very same Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum [p.94]! So either they have overlooked the inscriptions about Castus or, for some reason that they do not discuss, they have discounted their validity. Littleton and Malcon mention no disputes of that nature.
So the vivid theory of Litteton and Malcor is that the legends of the Alans, brought by the Iazyges, are perpetuated by their descendants in the North of Roman Britain, folding in with their memory and reverence for their original Legionary commander, Lucius Artorius Castus, and eventually confused with the historical recollection of Ambrosius Aurelius and the Battle of Bandon Hill. For all we know, descendants of the Iazyges may have fought at Badon Hill. This all makes a nice picture; but there is nothing certain about the speculations and disputes over the Arthurian stories except that they will be endless [ note ].
2. LAST WESTERN EMPERORS [names in brackets not recognized by East]
WESTERN COMMANDERS Magistri Militum
476-493
deposes Orestes & Augustulus, 476; Nepos killed, 480; defeated, besieged, & killed by Theodoric , 489-493
The last twenty years of the Western Empire are mainly the story of the commander Ricimer. The last Western Emperor really worthy of the name was probably Majorian, who was a military man in his own right and operated with success in Gaul and Spain. The naval expedition he organized against the Vandals in 461 (one of some four attempts to put down the Vandals in this era) failed when Gaiseric, apparently with good intelligence, destroyed the Roman fleet in its ports in Spain. Majorian was murdered by Ricimer on returning to Italy.
Henceforth, the Emperors were mainly puppets and operations were confined to Italy or the area of Arles in southern Gaul. More than the coup of Odoacer in 476, this signaled a real institutional change in the Western Empire. The German Ricimer would now hold the real power, with little better than figurehead Emperors. With Ricimer either unconcerned or distracted, the rest of the Western Empire fell by default to the Vandals, Visigoths, and Burgundians. A detached Roman pocket, intially under a commander, Aegidius, appointed by Majorian, remained in the north of Gaul until the Frankish King Clovis subjugated it in 486. Britain had been abandoned to illiterate mythology. Ricimer was once perusaded to accept an Emperor from the East, Anthemius, and to participate in another assault on the Vandals; but this was a disaster, and he ended his "reign" with another figurehead on the throne.
Gundobad, a nephew of Ricimer, the killer of Anthemius, and shortly to be King of Burgundy (where he would outlive most of his contemporaries), succeeded Ricimer and briefly had his own figurehead on the throne. This was the Count Glycerius. Gundobad acquiesced in the installation of a new nominee of the Eastern Emperor -- Julius Nepos -- and decamped to Burgundy.
As with the previous Eastern nominee, it is obvious that such Emperors only would have been effective if they had brought their own army. The first commander of Nepos, Ecdicius, was a son of the former Emperor Avitus. Ecdicius, however, was soon followed by a new commander, Orestes. There was now some difficulty, however, with the German troops of the Empire accepting a non-German commander. This problem reached a head when, rather than working together to get things organized again, Nepos was chased out to Dalmatia by Orestes, who assumed command and then put his own son, a child -- Romulus the "little Augustus" -- on the throne. The German troops wanted to be settled on the land in Italy, which Orestes resisted. So in 476, Orestes was killed and his son then deposed by the German Odoacer (who originally had been in the guard of Anthemius), who decided to do without a figurehead Emperor.
This was the rather anticlimactic "Fall of Rome." Odoacer even returned the Western Regalia to Constantinople. Nepos, meanwhile, was still in Dalmatia. Odoacer was rid of him by 480, reportedly (in the historian Malchus) with the help of no less than Glycerius, who on his deposition had been appointed Bishop of Salonae -- hard by Nepos in Spalatum. Since Odoacer, de jure, was a faithful officer of the Emperor in Constantinople, one could say that the last institutional existence of the Western Empire surived until Odoacer was overthrown by the Ostrogoths in 493. The real difference, however, had come in 456, when Ricimer gained control of the army. His long tenure structurally prepared the way for the demise of the Western Empire.
The pathetic and ephemeral "Little Augustus" Romulus, who wasn't even remembered as a Roman Emperor by later Mediaeval historians, such as the Venerable Bede , is now often dignified, with great portent and drama, as the "Last Emperor" (this would be
in Chinese, where it could be used postumously for the last Emperor of a Dynasty, most notably the Ch'ing Dynasty). This is what we may get from writers who scrupulously, albeit fallaciously, remind us that the later Empire, when they are not calling it the "Byzantine Empire," was merely the "Eastern Roman Empire." They often forget the "Western" when talking about Augustulus as Emperor. The narrative is clearly that the Eastern Empire wasn't really Roman because to be "Roman" you need Rome, and Rome was in the West. That Augustulus never "ruled" from Rome, but from Ravenna, may then be forgotten as well. It would confuse the picture. The Last Roman Emperor must have been clinging to the Eternal City like a shipwrecked sailor to a raft. The best that can be said for this approach is that it is ahistorical, since for judgments about the Empire and Roman-ness at the time, the City was irrelevant. And, as we see from the cases of Anthemius and Nepos, the Eastern Emperor always retained some authority over who would be his Western colleague. The lapse of the Western Throne simply meant that authority over the Western Empire, however reduced or tenuous its existence, reverted entirely to Constantinople. The division of the Empire, which had never been more than a device and a convenience, despite the very different circumstances and institutional histories and fates of the two halves, lapsed and was completely forgotten -- until revived by Modern historians, who now don't understand what these f***ing Greeks were doing calling themselves "Romans." I fear that that is often about the level of their treatment.
In 2007, we have a movie, The Last Legion, that is about Romulus Augustulus, Odoacer, et al. This is an extensively fictionalized and even silly version of events, where Romulus Augustulus flees to Britain and becomes, well, King Arthur -- with Ben Kingsley as some sort of Merlin. Since the project is clearly a fantasy, it does not merit much notice, except for the points that would give people the wrong idea about the era. The worst part of the story may be that it has it that Odoacer was a (filthy, wild) Goth attacking Rome (a former ally rather like Alaric). Odoacer was not a Goth, but from a lesser German tribe, the Sciri, and he was not attacking Rome, but simply a member of the (barbarized) Roman army. Odoacer in fact was eventually deposed (from Ravenna, of course) by Goths, the Ostrogoths under Theodoric. The distortion is certainly made to preserve the image of Rome (the City) being conquered by barbarian hordes. At the same time, we get the notion that Romulus Augustulus is somehow the descendant or heir of Julius Caesar. There is no evidence of this, Caesar himself had no descendants, and the other heirs were pretty much wiped out by 69 AD (though the movie actually says that the unrelated Tiberius was the last of the ruling Caesars!). The Eastern Empire does come in for mention in the movie, but only so that it can absurdly contribute a female warrior, played by an actress from India, to the defense of Rome. Hollywood (or, in this case, the Euro Italian-French-British co-producers) should save this stuff for the coming remake of Conan the Barbarian.
Little is known about the Roman pocket in the north of Gaul . We hear about Aegidius, the magister militum per Gallias, apparently appointed by Majorian. In the Notitia Dignitatum, the commander of Roman forces in Gaul was the magister equitum, Master of Horses instead of Soldiers. Ordinarily, the Master of Horses would be a title inferior to Master of Soldiers. The title of the Master of Horse of Gaul, however, may mean that he was second in command for entire Western Army, a serious position indeed. Since the strength of the forces in Gaul was some 32,500 men, this reinforces that interpretation -- although we then wonder why such a force seems to have been so ineffective when the Alans, Vandals, and Suevi invaded on New Year's Day of 407. Bury speculates that Aegidius held both titles [J.B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, Volume I, Dover Publications, 1958, p.333]. Aegidius did not accept the fall of Majorian or recognize Libius Severus, but he was preoccupied fighting the Visigoths until his death in 464. He was followed by someone we only know as the Count (comes) Paul. "Count" ("companion" of the Emperor) is actually a high title, but Bury supposes he must have also held the "Master" titles also. Ricimer appointed his own magister militum for Gaul, Gundioc, the King of Burgundy (434-473). Both Aegidius and Paul had the help of the Franks , who remained loyal Roman allies, against the Visigoths and Burgundians. That changed when a new Frankish King, Clovis (Chlodwig), succeeded his father in 481. Meanwhile, Paul had been followed by the son of Aegidius, Syagrius.
The Franks actually called him rex Romanorum, a good indication that his realm and authority were seen as quite independent -- indeed, there was no longer a Western Emperor at that point. It is not known what Syagrius called himself. Clovis defeated him at Soissons in 486. Syagrius fled to the Visigoths, who returned him for execution by Clovis. This was the end of Roman Gaul, 546 years after Caesar had completed its conquest in 56 BC -- or perhaps 531 years since the defeat and capture of the rebel Vercingetorix in 52 BC (to be kept and later executed as part of Caesar's own Triumph). We see Vercingetorix surrendering in the 1899 painting by Lionel-Noël Royer above. Now the dominance of the Franks would begin, and in time Gaul would take their name .
C. THE EAST ALONE, 476-518, 42 Years
1. LEONINES
reforms coinage , 498
Leo I purged the Eastern Army of Germans and so turned the East away from the process of barbarization that
had rendered the Western Army useless. A last chance to recoup things for the whole Empire came in 468, after Leo had gotten Ricimer to accept the Theodosian relative Anthemius as Western Emperor. A joint amphibious campaign was put together to recover Africa from the Vandals. This should have succeeded, but it failed through a combination of incompetence, treachery, and bad luck. Ricimer may not have really wanted it to succeed, and it wasn't long before he got rid of Anthemius. After Odoacer decided not to bother with a Western Emperor, Leo's Isaurian son-in-law, Zeno, found himself as the first Emperor of a "united" Empire since Theodosius I, but little was left of the West. Only Odoacer in Italy vaguely acknowledged the Emperor's suzerainty -- we don't know what allegiance to Constantinople, if any, remained in the Roman pocket in northern Gaul. Nothing was done about this at the time, and Anastasius, by temperament or by wisdom, concentrated on allowing the East to rest and build up its strength. Part of that involved reforming the coinage , which is one of the benchmarks for the beginning of "Byzantine" history. The economies of Anastasius left the treasury full (to the delight of Justinian); but taxes, of course, are not always popular. In 512 rioters called for
, állon basiléa têi Rhômaníai, "another emperor for Romania!" Anatasius rode this out; and its principal interest for us may be the use of word
, which is thus attested in popular language at the time. This is only important because of the practice of Byzantinists to ignore the word .
On the map we see the classic form of the German successor Kingdoms of the Western Empire. By 493 Theodoric the Ostrogoth, invited by the Emperor Anastasius, had taken out Odoacer in Italy. This was just in time to save the Visigoths, who were defeated by the Franks in 507 and pushed out of Gaul. The result has the look of a nice balance of power, but there is no telling how long that might have lasted. What upset things was not any internal development, but a most unexpected revival and return of Roman power. In the beloved story of the "Fall" of Rome, this sequel is usually what gets overlooked.
Also noteworthy as a benchmark for the beginning of "Byzantine" history in the time of the Leonines is the apparent disappearance of the traditional Roman tria nomina , the three names of praenômen, nômen, and cognômen, which have been given with previous Emperors. The last Emperor with three full names may have been Majorian, Julius Valerius Majorianus. In general, the Valentian and Theodosian Emperors only had two names, e.g. Valens, Fl. Valens, and Theodosius I & II, both Fl. Theodosius. From Marcian onward there is no evidence of any traditional Roman nomenclature, apart from the perfunctory addition of "Flavius" to many names -- and occasonally, we get a blast, as with Justinian , of multiple names. Amazing how well the Flavian gens survives over the centuries! Why is this happening? Well, even though it had been some time since the nômen had lost its connection to the actual ancestral gens (the clan), and all the names were becoming like titles, the system of the tria nomina still bore an essential connection to the Roman family cult of ancestor worship. No Confucian venerated ancestors in a household shrine more devoutly than the pious Roman. But this could not survive with the adoption of Christianity. A Christian receives a single Christian name. Indeed, it is a while before we get names, like Michael or John, that look more Christian than Roman and Greek, like Jovian, Leo, or Heraclius (still commemorating Heracles -- and so Hera); but the trend is obvious. Indeed, the names beginning with the Valentians aleady look like the pro forma addition of "Flavius" to the single basic name of the Emperors -- even of Aëtius, "Flavius Aëtius." Eventually we get the return of surnames, at first for nobility. The first Dynasty with a family name will be the Ducases in the 11th century. It took a few more centuries before surnames became common among European Christians of all classes.
Another momentous transition is in architecture. The lovely temples of Classical antiquity, like jewels in the landscape, disappear. Christian churches of the period often look like piles of bowls or dark fruitcakes. Or we simply get the basilica, a Roman courthouse. Churches often are not even visible from a distance, because they may be packed around with other buildings. Why is this happening? Were Christians just anaesthetic ? No. The aesthetic was certainly changing, but the most important difference was just the difference in purpose between a temple and a church. A temple was the house of a god, with little space inside but for the god and a few priests. It was not supposed to contain a body of worshipers. The public side of the temple was the exterior, the visible sign of the god's presence. With a church, however, the purpose was not to house God, whose presence was ineffable, but to house the congregation, the ekklêsía, the "assembly" that gave its name in many modern languages for "church" (which itself seems to be from kyriakos, "of the Lord"). The public side of a church is thus the interior, not the exterior, and the outwardly ugliest early churches often contain marvelous inner spaces, with rich decoration. These quickly become awesome spaces, as in Sancta Sophia, for centuries the greatest church of Christendom. Roman domes could do what most Roman temples did not try to do. As it happens there was a precedent for this. Hadrian's
Pantheon in Rome is undistinguished and unremarkable from the outside yet contains a wonderful interior under the largest dome of pre-modern engineering. The dome of
Sancta Sophia is smaller but used more dramatically. The Pantheon is essentially one large, really nice room. Sancta Sophia holds a vast space -- the 184 foot rise of the dome on its piers can easily contain the 151 foot Statue of Liberty.
Eventually, a form of church evolved that transformed the basilica into a building with a monumental external face and a monumental internal space. These would be the Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals, but it would be centuries before the technology could handle the spidery supports, of walls pierced with windows and held by buttresses, that both size and relatively lightness required. Then the basilica and the dome would be combined, to produce in the Renaissance the new largest church in Christendom, St. Peter's in Rome. But this would happen as culturally Francia surpassed Romania. The instructive comparison is with the practice in Islâm, where the purpose of a mosque was similar to that of a church. This can be seen in the Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, based on Syrian churches, which is all but invisible from the outside, hidden in the midst of the city, but contains two marvelous spaces, a courtyard and the lovely interior of the prayer hall, with mosaics as in churches of the time. On the other hand, a monument of the same era, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem , stands conspicuously like a pagan temple, high on the Temple Mount itself. But the purpose of the Dome is more like a temple. It was built less for a congregation than for the Rock itself, commemorating the Temple of Solomon and the site of the Prophet Muh.ammad's "dream journey" to heaven. Finally, the Ottoman mosques of Sinan (c.1500-1588), based on the model of Sancta Sophia, produce the monumental Islâmic equivalent of the cathedral.
D. RETURNING TO THE WEST, 518-610, 92 years
1. JUSTINIANS
Phocas
602-610
Senate in Rome ceases to meet, 602; Column of Phocas, last Imperial monument in the Forum of Rome, 608
Justinian, who had helped his stolid uncle Justin and then inherited the Empire from him, took the rested strength of the East and threw it, commanded by his great general Belisarius, against the Vandals and Ostrogoths . The Vandals, caught off guard, collapsed quickly, although with some close battles. In 540 the Ostrogoths surrendered to Belisarius, who had to rush East to meet a Persian invasion. He was too late. Khusro I had already sacked Antioch (540). Then in 541 the resistance of the Ostrogoths revived, and the plague hit the Empire. The campaign in Italy then took another 11 years, with men and money very short. Successful, if exhausted, the Romans were then able to secure part of southern Spain.
Meanwhile Justinian had built the greatest church in Christendom,
Sancta Sophia [ note ], codified Roman Law, and driven the last pagans, at Plato's Academy , out of business. This all wore out the Empire, but it could easily have recovered to new strength if further blows had not fallen. The Lombards invaded Italy in 568; and although they were unable to secure the whole peninsula, or the major cities (except in the Po valley), they became a source of constant conflict for most of the next two hundred years. Meanwhile, the Danube frontier had become very insecure. As early as 540 (again) Bulgars and Slavs were raiding into the Balkans. Maurice not only restored the frontier but crossed it to apply the "forward defense" of the Early Empire. Unfortunately, this hard campaigning became unpopular with the troops; and in 602 they murdered Maurice and his whole family. Under Phocas, things began to unravel. The Persians began the campaign that would net them the Asiatic part of the Empire, recreating the Persia of the Achaeminids, and the Danube frontier collapsed so completely that it would not be restored for almost four hundred years.
Belisarius was the Duke of Marlbourgh of the 6th Century. There are several points of comparison. First, for the military genius of both of them, although Marlbourgh may have been more consistently successful, as Belisarius suffered some defeats and inconclusive campaigns. Second, just as Sarah Churchill was for long the close friend of Queen Anne, Belisarius's wife Antonina was similarly close to the Empress Theodora. Unlike Sarah, however, Antoninia was rumored to be unfaithful to Belisarius, and her relationship with Theodora does not seem to have soured as did Sarah's with Anne.
Third, as Anne eventually turned on Sarah and then the Duke, Justinian was sometimes suspicious of Belisarius and withdrew his support. In 562 Belisarius was tried and imprisoned for "corruption," in what was certainly a political prosecution. Justinian then pardoned him, but the legend arose later that Justinian had blinded Belisarius and reduced him to begging. This would have been more extreme than what happened to Malborough; but since it does not seem to have been true, Malborough's prosecution and exile looks like the worse betrayal. The story of Justinian, Belisarius, and their wives is confused by the spleen of Procopius, whose Secret History vents his inexplicable animus against them all. Perhaps more historians, writing about their patrons -- and Procopius followed Belisarius for many years as his personal secretary -- feel this way but never express it. All of this, however, provides considerable grist for historical fiction, in which Belisarius and the others have often figured. Nevertheless, Belisarius is still not as well known as other generals in history, and the intrigues of Justinian's court, especially with strong and vivid women like Theodora, do not seem to have drawn the dramatic attention that one might expect -- perhaps because of a general neglect and estrangement from the Mediaeval history of Romania . Even so, television viewers of the popular series NCIS see the name of Belisarius every week, in the "Belisarius Productions" title of creator Donald Bellisario, whose name, of course (in Italian), itself recalls that of the great general.
As noted above , when the treasures taken by Titus from Herod's Temple in Jerusalem were recovered from the Vandals in 533, they were sent back to Constantinople. According to Procopius, the treasures were being carried in the Triumph of Belisarius when a Jew recognized them and passed word to the Emperor that keeping them in Constantinople would be inauspicious. Their removal from Jerusalem had brought misfortune on Rome and then on the Vandals. So Justinian "became afraid and quickly sent everything to the sanctuaries of the Christians in Jerusalem" [Procopius, History of the Wars, II, Book IV, ix 5-10, translated by H.B. Dewing, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard U. Press, 1916, 2006, p.281]. There, if they indeed arrived, they disappear from history. There is no reason not to think that they would have been safely kept, but the city was then captured, looted, and destroyed by the Persians in 614. At that point many treasures, like the True Cross, were carried off to Ctesiphon (though returned after the victory of Heraclius in 628). There is no mention, however, of the fate of anything, generally or specifically, from the Temple in Jerusalem. Since the Jews of Jerusalem were said to have helped the Persians (some question this, since the Persians were persecuting their own Jews), it is possible they took charge of their own treasures, but there is no report of that, and no further historical report at all about the fate of the objects -- except perhaps for the fabulous stories about the Templars , who supposedly found many things in Jerusalem, though these reports are from much later and of an incredible character. The great Menôrâh of the Temple, described in detail by Josephus and shown on the Arch of Titus, is certainly not something to be easily overlooked. Procopius, unfortunately, does not detail which items were among the treasures recovered by Belisarius. If the Menôrâh was there, any Jew of Constantinople certainly would have recognized it quickly and easily. We are thus left with a considerable mystery, and it is a little surprising that there are not, at least, legends about the fate of the Temple items. One possibility concerns Procopius' reference to "the sanctuaries of the Christians." This could mean all sorts of things and generally has been interpreted at referring to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. However, Justinian himself was building a large new church in Jerusalem, which actually came to the called the "New," Nea, Church. This was later demolished by the Arabs, but its substructure survives under the Jewish Quarter of Jersualem . That substructure includes a vast cistern, such as Justinian also built in Constantinople. This has suggested to some that crypts of the church may also survive, possibly with items like Temple treasures, which might have been hidden from both Persian and Arab invasions. By the time the Templars arrived in Jerusalem, they might not even have been aware that the Nea Church had existed -- the cistern was only discovered by Israeli archaeologists after 1967. It seems like a thin hope, but since the Arabs don't report finding any Temple treasures, and no Jewish source mentions taking possession of them, the Nea Church is the sole remaining lead.
While we are mostly still looking at Latin names here -- Justinus, Justinianus, Tiberius -- and Justinian's first language was still Latin, or at least the Proto-Romance language spoken in the Balkans at the time, these are Emperors whose names will primarily be remembered in Greek. So I give the Greek versions. Also, while Justinian is remembered as a Saint in the Orthodox Church, the Latin Church had less use for him, despite its dependance on the Latin Law that Justinian codified. So there is little warmth in Francia for Justinian, and no rulers there ever used his name.
The arrival of the
Plague in Egypt in October 541 was the beginning of an epidemic that cost the City of Constantinople alone perhaps 200,000 citizens. The percentages of people who died in the Empire may compare with those of the Black Death in the 14th century, though by then the population of Europe had grown much larger. Justinian himself contracted the disease, but recovered. There is no doubt that this was the Bubonic plague. The historian Procopius describes it with clinical accuracy, especially the characteristic black swellings, the buboes -- a Greek word,
, that Procopius uses, perhaps for the first time for this disease. But the Plague was not the only problem. The climate was changing -- this may indeed have precipitated the plague, providing more aggreeable conditions for rats and fleas. After what is now called the "Roman Warming," we get into the " Dark Ages Cooling ." The tree ring record of 540 in Ireland is that "the trees stopped growing." Procopius said that, "For the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during this whole year [536], and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear nor such as it is accustomed to shed" [translated by H.B. Dewing, Procopius, History of the Wars, II, Book IV, xiv 5-6, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard U. Press, 1916, 2006, p.329]. Other records give similar accounts.
The dimness of the sun may be from increased, thin cloud cover, from changes in solar output, volcanic debris, or other causes. Indeed, ice cores from Antarctica and Greenland show a sharp spike in volcanic gasses in 535. It is of such magnitude as to indicate a major eruption. Since the eruption of Mt. Tambora in 1815 resulted in a "year without summer," it is not hard to imagine the eruption of one of the major Indonesian volcanoes (or elsewhere) producing similar results for 535-536. The source of the volcanic signature was for long not identified, but it has now credibly been attributed to Mt. (or Lake) Ilopango in El Salvador, which seems to have experienced a cataclysmic eruption around 535 or 536. Thinking a lot about Indonesia, or the Aegean , for such eruptions, Ilopango is a bit startling. It also throws some light on Mayan history, since all life would have been exterminated in at least the area of modern El Salvador, and more, which was part of Mayan civilization. The eruption was at least as powerful as Krakatoa in 1883 or Pinatubo in 1991, but not as big as Tambora.
It is not clear that the eruption alone would produce the effects seen over many years, for the weather would be colder and the growing season shorter for some time (as noted for 540). The worst effects of weather on Mayan civilization also seem to occur later. The eruption may have reinforced (or initiated) what was already a cooling trend. Whatever the cause, the climate would adversely impact the population at a time, on top of the deaths from the Plague (whose movement of rats may have been caused by the cooling), when the lack would gravely affect the fate of the Empire. Without the manpower to put down the Ostrogoths more swiftly and effectively, Justinian devastated Italy in a way that would not have otherwise been necessary and that had not been effected by the original "barbarian invasions" as such. Rome was briefly depopulated, not by the Visigoths in 410 or by the Vandals in 455, and certainly not by the Ostrogoths in 493, but by the more than decade of fighting that it took for the Roman reconquest, when the city changed hands at least three times and the aqueducts were cut in sieges.
, basileía] is a beautiful shroud" [Procopius, History of the Wars, I, Book I, xxiv 37-38, translated by H.B. Dewing, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard U. Press, 1914, 2001, p.232-233]. In the same speech however, she did say, "I will not be separated from this Purple" --
, halourgís, specifically a purple robe [p.230-231 -- see the grammar of this statement]. The traditional misquotation thus deftly combines two actual quotations. This is one of the most famous statements ever about the "Purple" -- i.e. the Tyrian Purple ,
, porphýra, of Roman Imperial Robes -- although we also have the kind of stone, Porphyry, that was used in association with the Throne, both for statues of the Emperors and for structures like the lying-in pavillion for pregnant Empresses. Justinian, thus encouraged, or shamed, put down the revolt. Belisarius surrounded the Hippodrome and massacred everyone in it (perhaps 30,000 people!). Because of the damage done to the City,
Justinian launched ambitious building projects, including that for the magnificient new Sancta Sophia.
Around the year 550 we hear that a couple of Nestorian monks arrive from China with an interesting cargo. For all the earlier centuries of the Roman Empire, Romans had sent gold East through Central Asia and received back silk, the nature of which they were entirely ignorant. The route of this trade became known as the "Silk Road." From Roman authors we hear nothing about the destination of the gold or the source of the silk. From the Chinese history of the Later Han Dynasty , however, as noted above , we hear that a Roman embassy arrived in China in 166 AD, specifically to try and arrange an alternate route for the silk trade. This was never worked out. Eventually, Christian missionaries arrived in China. These were at first Nestorians, who had an advanced base as residents of Sassanid Iran , which monopolized the Western end of the trade. The first notice we have from the Chinese is the appearance of the Nestorians in the T'ang Court in 635 AD. This is in the century after the events of Justinian's reign, but it is possible, if not likely, that the missionaries were already in China, during the troubled Northern and Southern Empires period (266-589), before the T'ang Dynasty was consolidated and took note of them. In any case, the secrets of sericulture and the possession of the eggs of silkworms were closely guarded by the Chinese government. But the story we get is that the missionaries were able to smuggle out eggs inside bamboo canes. Traversing the Silk Road, they took them to Justinian. Cultivating the eggs and harvesting the silk proved successful; and so, at long last, Romania, despite the cultural decline of the Dark Ages, acquired its own domestic source of silk. The planting of mulberry trees (
), upon which the silk worms feed, is supposed to have given the Peloponnesus its later Mediaeval name:
, the Morea .
The collapse of the Danube frontier against the Avars, substantively and symbolically beginning with the fall of Sirmium in 579, resulted, not only in Avar raids and conquests in the Balkans, but a flood of Slavic migration. This would permanently inundate the areas that would become Bulgaria , Serbia , Croatia , Bosnia , and Macedonia . At the time, however, Slavic incursions and settlements extended far down into Greece, over much of the Peloponnesus, and even, by 623, to Crete. Most of Greece was no longer Greek, something noted by travelers and historians for the next couple of centuries (589-807). In the course of this, many Greeks were massacred or deported by the Avars, but others fled. The inhabitants of Patras (Patrai) on the north coast of the Peloponnesus relocated to Rhegium in Calabria. Many Laconians, from the ancient area around Sparta , actually moved to Sicily. In 583, other Laconians, led by their Bishop, fatefully sought refuge on a small formidable island on the south-eastern peninsula of Laconia (which ends at Cape Maleas).
Exarchs of Ravenna
728-751
Ravenna falls to Lombards , 751
Connected by a small spit of land at low tide to the mainland, subsequently built into a causeway, this became
, Monembasia (or Monemvasia), "One Way In," the "Gibraltar of the East." The town and fortress would become a permanent Roman stronghold and naval base. Monembasia would change hands several times in the troubled times after the arrival of the Fourth Crusade and would finally survive as the last possession of the Despot,
, of the Morea , the last piece of Romania and the Roman Empire, after the Fall of Constantinople , until ceded to the Papacy in 1461, the rest of Romania having fallen to the Turks.
Above we see Monembasia at a later period, when it was under the control of the Venetians (1684). It remained a strategically important location until retaken by the Turks in 1715.
With the return of Roman power to the West, new arrangements of government emerge. Justinian abolished the dioceses. The effective Imperial governers of Italy and Africa are the Masters of Soldiers of the Armies of Italy and Africa. By the time of Maurice, the Master comes to be called the Exarch ("out-ruler"), and Italy and Africa themselves are each an Exarchate.
Exarchs of Carthage
Ceuta, c.711
Kâhina defeated, 702; Carthage desroyed, 705; Arab Conquest of North Africa, 711
Still the capital of Italy under the Ostrogoths, Ravenna becomes a Roman capital again, not of a Western Empire, but just for the Exarchate. Justinian lavished classic artwork on the city which survives until today. Indeed, the most familiar portraits of Justinian and Theodora are from mosaics in the Church of San Vitale. The Exarchate continued until the fall of the city to the Lombards in 751. The list of Exarchs, from the time of Maurice to the Lombard conquest, covers 167 years -- the time from George Washington to Dwight Einsenhower .
Archbishops of Ravenna
In Africa, the Exarchate was centered at Carthage, which enters its last phase as a player in Roman history. With less to show for its life in this period, the city fell to the Arabs in 698 and 705. Afterwards, Carthage itself, although not deliberately destroyed as the Romans once did (but suffering greatly in the Arab attacks), simply fades from history. Nearby Tunis becomes the local metropolis -- perhaps in line with the Arab policy seen elsewhere of withdrawing capitals away from the immediate coast, although Tunis is nowhere near as removed as, for instance, Cairo (Fust.ât.). Note that Tunisia was the Roman province of Africa, which subsequently became Arabic
, Ifrîqiyâ. The application of the term to the whole continent came later.
I have not found anything like a complete list of the Exarchs of Carthage, although we know that the father of the Emperor Heraclius , called Heracltius the Elder, was Exarch when Heraclius sailed East to overthrow the Emperor Phocas in 610. He died soon after news arrived of his son's success. After Heraclius, the record gets very spotty. There are gaps and uncertainties in the list of Exarchs, and the dating is confused.
It takes three invasions by forces of the Omayyad Caliphs to subdue North Africa. The Exarch was not always well supported by Constantinople, and also was not always loyal. The Exarch Gennadius II even went to Damascus to enter the service of the Caliph Mu'âwiya. It is not clear whether he became a Muslim, but he died on the way back to North Africa. A permanent Arab base was founded at
, al-Qayrawân, in Tunisia. This appears to have been held through the period of conquest, regardless of setbacks. The setbacks began to come from the Berbers, who, not always happy with the Romans, began to resist the Arabs. With the loss of Roman Carthage in 698, a Berber Queen, al-Kâhina (Dahiyah), temporary dominates the land. But the Arabs keep coming, al-Kâhina is defeated, and the Berbers convert to Islam. Count Julian in Ceuta is the last Roman commander to fall.
The office of the Roman Consuls, the chief executive officers of the Roman Republic , and dating by them, continued under the Empire until Justinian, who now replaces them with dating by Regal years. They can be examined on a popup page . As the end of an institution that began at the very beginning of the Republic, it is hard to exaggerate the symbolic importance of this event. The Roman state is now a monarchy in every detail -- although the Monarchs are overthrown with some frequency .
Arab Conquest, 638
The Ghassanids were an Arab tribe occupying the hinterland behind Syria and Jordan. This was the area that had previously seen rule by the Nabataeans and then by Palmyra . Evidently it was difficult for the Romans to maintain direct rule over an area whose inhabitants might largely be pastoral and nomadic. Indirect rule ended up accomplished by an alliance with the Ghassanids.
In the time of Justinian the Ghassanids became organized enough to be called a "kingdom" by historians, and they become an important part of Roman frontier defense in 529 when Justinian replaces the earlier Roman clients, the Salihids, with the Ghassanid al-Harith V, now the official Roman phylarch or ruler of the tribe (phylum). Such client kingdoms might be said to represent the first entry of the Arabs into Mediterranian history. If they constitute a pre-Islamic move north of Arab people, then both the Romans and the Persians converted the threat of nomadic encroachment into elements of the pre-existing balance of power between Romania and Persia. For the Persians , indeed, had their own client Arab tribe, the Lakhmids, who occupied the hinterland west of the Euphrates. The rivalry between Ghassanids and Lakhmids was not just as proxies for the Powers, but, as can be imagined, the two tribes had become rivals anyway, and there was also a religious dimension. The Ghassanids were Christians, and the Lakhmids had remained pagan.
While the religion of the Ghassanids in general would be expected to be a unifying factor with respect to Rome, there developed a difficulty. The Ghassanids became Monophysites. Indeed, when al-Harith V nominated Jacob Baradaeus Bishop of Edessa, it led to the takeover of the Syrian Orthodox Church , henceforth the "Jacobite" Church, by Monophysites. This was not something that Justinian would let stand in the way of sensible policy, but he nevertheless made one crucial mistake. When al-Harith defeated the Lakhmids in 554, Justinian, chronically short of money, discontinued his subsidy to the Ghassanid ruler. This may also have happened because Justinian had just obtained the means of growing Silk -- silkworm eggs smuggled out of the Central Asia. This rendered the Arabian border and Arabia less important for Rome as a means of circumventing Persian control of the silk trade. The discontent of the Ghassanids with this dismissal of their importance would be magnified when later Emperors began a harassment like that inflicted on the Monophysite Coptic and the Syrian Orthodox Churches. Since the Ghassanids were rather like the keystone in the defensive arch based on Egypt and Syria, the disaffection of these populations seriously weakened the Roman frontier. This was already evident during the Persian invasion of 614-628, and nothing had been done to heal it by the time of the
Arab invasion of 636. Soon the Ghassanids converted to Islam and disappeared from history.
The list here is entirely from Bruce R. Gordon's Regnal Chronologies . An extensive discussion of the Ghassanids can be found in Justinian's Flea by William Rosen [Viking, 2007, pp. 242, 303, 306, & 318]. Despite the treatment of the Ghassanids in many Byzantine histories, which often give rulers of related states, I have not seen a list in any history. Since the names of the Ghassanids include the familiar Arabic patronynmic element, ibn, the genealogy of the dynasty could actually be constructed without too much difficulty. It will also be noted that brothers often rule simultaneously, as with the several sons of al-Harith II who begin ruling in 327. Al-Harith II himself, with the epithet "ibn Maria" and living in the time of Constantine, is likely to be the tribal chief who converted to Christianity.
III. THIRD EMPIRE, MIDDLE "ROMANIA,"
EARLY "BYZANTIUM," 610 AD-1059 AD,
Era of Diocletian 327-776, 449 years
O, great-ruling [New] Rome, thou lookest from Europe
on a prospect in Asia the beauty of which is worthy of thee.
Marianus Scholasticus, "On the Palace called Sophianae," [The Greek Anthology, Volume III, Book 9, "The Declamatory Epigrams," Number 657, The Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, 1917, p.364-365]
The Constantinopolitan city, which formerly was called Byzantium and now New Rome, is located amidst very savage nations. Indeed it has to its north the Hungarians , the Pizaceni, the Khazars , the Russians , whom we call Normans by another name, and the Bulgarians , all very close by; to the east lies Baghdad ; between the east and the south the inhabitants of Egypt and Babylonia; to the south there is Africa and that island called Crete, very close to and dangerous for Constantinople. Other nations that are in the same region, that is, the Armenians , Persians, Chaldeans , and Avasgi, serve Constantinople. The inhabitants of this city surpass all these people in wealth as they do also in wisdom.
Constantinopolitana urbs, quae prius Bizantium, Nova nunc dicitur Roma, inter ferocissimas gentes est constituta. Habet quippe ab aquilone Hungarios, Pizenacos, Charzaros, Rusios, quos alio nos nomine Nordmannos appelamus, atque Bulgarios nimium sibi vicinos; ab oriente Bagdas; inter orientem et meridiem Aegipti Babiloniaeque incolas; a meridie vero Africam habet et nominatam illam nimium vicinam sibique contrariam insulam Crete. Ceterae vero, quae sunt sub eodem climate nationes, Armeni scilicent, Perses, Chaldei, Avasgi, huic deserviunt. Incolae denique civitatis huius, sicut memoratas gentes divitiis, ita etiam sapientia superexcellunt.
Liutprand of Cremona (c.920-972), 949 AD, "Retribution," XI, The Complete Works of Liudprand of Cremona, translated by Paolo Squatriti [The Catholic Press of America, 2007, p.50]; Latin text, "Liudprandi Antapodosis," Die Werke Liudprands von Cremona, herausgeben von Joseph Becker [Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum, Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover und Leipzig, 1915, pp.9-10; Reprint, University of Michigan Libraries, 2012].
Ghulibati-r-Rûm, fî 'adnâ-l-'ard.i,
for "king," see Feudal Hierarchy .
Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), "Sailing to Byzantium," alluding to the mechanical birds reported by Liutprand at the Macedonian court.
To most people thinking of the "Roman Empire," we are well into terra incognita here. Yet in 610 the character and problems of the Roman Empire would not have been unfamiliar to Theodosius the Great. A Persian invasion was nothing new. How far it got, all the way to Egypt and the Bosporus, was. Meanwhile, the collapse of the Danube frontier was not now the doing of Germans but of Slavs and Steppe people -- the latter beginning with the Altaic Avars, whose kin would dominate Central Asia in the Middle Ages. The Persians were miraculously defeated; but before the Danube could be regained or the Lombards overcome in Italy, a Bolt from the Blue changed everything. The Arabs, bringing a new religion, Islâm , created an entirely new world, which both broke the momentum of Roman recovery and divided the Mediterranean world in a way whose outlines persist until today. Nevertheless, the Empire, restricted to Greece and Anatolia, rode out the flood. It must have been a hard nut, since the Arab Empire otherwise flowed easily all the way to China and the Atlantic. It was hard enough, indeed, that by the end of the "Third Empire" it had been in better health than any Islamic state. The promise of new ascendency, however, was brief, both for internal and external reasons.
Meanwhile, there has been a cost paid, as we might expect, in prosperity and material culture. This is conspicuous in the coinage , where the previous style of low relief profile portraits is still typical in Justinian's day. However, we also start to get face on portraits, whose quality is less good. By the time of Heraclius, face on portraits are dominant, and soon exclusive, while their character ceases to be low relief and becomes cartoonish. This will improve again later, but the coinage will never have the photo-real quality that we expect in modern coinage and that was often present in the best work of the First Empire . That the gold coinage of the solidus still exists at all, however, is testimony to the fact that the prosperity and material culture of Romania never fell as far as it did in Francia .
A. THE ADVENT OF ISLAM, 610-802, 192 years
1. HERACLIANS
715-717
Pergamum destroyed by Arab fleet, city abandoned, 715
With Heraclius, seldom has fortune and ability so blessed a ruler only to turn so completely against him in the end. Arriving from Africa, where his father (also Heraclius) was Exarch, Heraclius easily deposed the usurper Phocas but then almost helplessly watched the Persians conquer Syria and Egypt and raid through Anatolia as far as the Borporus (in 615). With Avars and Slavs pouring into the Balkans, the Roman Empire seemed doomed to complete collapse. But then in one of the most brilliant, but far more desperate, campaigns since Alexander, in 624-625 Heraclius audaciously invaded Persia itself. He even wintered with the army in the field. In 626 the Persians arrived at the Bosporus and their Avar allies at the walls of Constantinople, trying to draw Heraclius out of the field and with a chance of destroying his power at the source. Confident that Constantinople was impregnable, which it was, Heraclius was not distracted and in 627-628 devastated Persia and defeated a Persian army at Nineveh late in 627, which precipitated the overthrow of Shâh Khusro II by his own son (628), who sued for peace.
Heraclius had received significant material aid from the Gök Turks, who were the parent of the Khazars , of long future Roman alliance. Heraclius betrothed his daughter Eudocia to the Khagan, who died (630) before the marriage could be effected. This seems to be the first of Roman relations with any Turks, and the first of at least three marriages that would be arranged with the Khazars.
The peace restored the status quo ante bellum.
In 629 Heraclius began to use the title of the defeated monarch, the traditional Persian "Great King." Thus Basileus,
, the Greek word for "King," became the mediaeval Greek word for "Emperor" (although, actually, Procopius was already using it that way in the days of Justinian ) -- as Greek now (or hereabouts) replaces Latin as the Court language as well as the language of command in the Army. Similarly,
, Basíleia, "Queen," becomes "Empress." The adjective
, Basíleios, "Kingly," is also found as a proper name, especially of two Macedonian Emperors.
With Basileus for "Emperor," the Latin word rex is borrowed, as
, to use for mere kings as such. Latin military terms are transcribed, for instance,
for dux, "duke," and
for comes, "count"; and they continued in use through the history of Romania -- they went their own semantic way, of course, in the feudalism of Francia. There was already a sense that Autokrátor,
, translated imperator, "commander," and it was typically coupled with Basileus, although not exclusively.
Under Constans the structure of the Roman Army was fundamentally changed to deal with the new circumstances of the Empire. As the traditional units, largely familiar from the 5th Century, fell back from the collapsing frontiers, they were settled on the land in Anatolia, to be paid directly from local revenues instead of from the Treasury, whose tax base from Syria and Egypt had disappeared. The areas set aside for particular units became the themes (
, thema, "placement," plural,
, themata, from the Greek verb
, tithêmi, "to put" -- related to thesis). The Themes remained the military bedrock of Romania until the end of the 11th century and soon replaced the old Roman provinces as the administrative divisions of the Empire, with the commanding stratêgos, "general," becoming the military governor of his theme. The commander of the Opsician Theme, however, was a Comes, " Count ," in deference to the origin of the Theme from the Armies in the Emperor's Presence. Thus, the Army of the East, driven out of Syria, was settled in the Anatolic Theme, where it would guard the obvious route for invasion or raids from Syria: the Cilician Gates through the Taurus Mountains. Although invasions and raids there would be, the Arabs never did secure any conquests beyond the Gates. Where the Army of the East in the Late Empire numbered about 20,000 men, the forces of the Anatolic Theme varied from about 18,000 in 773 to 15,000 in 899 [Warren Treadgold, Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081, Stanford, 1995, p.67].
As the remnants of the Late Roman Army were settled on the land (like the earlier Limitanei), there were also standing forces that accompanied the Emperor, like the old Comitatenses. There were already two such units in the Late Empire, the Scholae and the Excubitors -- the latter had been created by Leo I in 466 as a force of Isaurians to use, under its commander Zeno, against the Germans in the Eastern Army. These would be organized by Constantine V into the core of a new Standing or Mobile Army, the Tagmata (singular, tagma, "regiment"), and would eventually grow into a large army in its own right. In 899, the Tagmata together numbered about 28,000 men, while the entire Army, Themes and Tagmata combined, added up to about 128,000 men [Treadgold, op.cit.]. This was less than half of the Augustan Army and not even a quarter of Constantine's; but considering that the Empire is reduced to the lower Balkans and Anatolia, it is proportionally still robust, especially in an Age when a paid military establishment was impossible in most of Europe. As with the decline of the Limitanei, the late Macedonian Emperors began to neglect the Thematic forces and rely on the Tagmata, which soon filled with mercenaries. Some mercenaries could be quite faithful, like the Saxon refugees from Norman England who served in the Varangian Guard for more than three centuries (the Egklinovaraggoi). This worked reasonably well while there was money. But when the finances collapsed, loses could not be made good, or the more mercenary warriors retained. This led to fiascoes like the hire of the Catalan Company (1303), who mutinied (1305) and seized the Duchy of Athens (1311). Even under the Palaeologi , landed frontier forces (now the akritai,
) remained the best investment but were imprudently neglected, with disastrous consequences.
After Constantine IV withstood the first Arab siege of Constantinople, burning the Arab fleet with the famous and mysterious "Greek Fire" (which sounds like nothing so much as napalm, since it could burn under water), it looked like the Empire would survive. With the last member of the dynasty, Justinian II, we have a curious experiment in humanity and an extraordinary story as the sequel. When Justinian was deposed in 695, instead of being killed, his nose was cut off -- as had that of Heraclonas in 641. Hence his epithet,
, Rhinotmetus, "Cut Nose." It was expected that this would disqualify him from attempts at restoration. It didn't. Justinian fled to the Khazars, where he arranged a marriage with the Khagan's sister, giving her the Christian name "Theodora." The Emperor Tiberius III, however, pressured the Khazars to expel Justinian, which before long they did. Justinian now fled to the Bulgars, who decided to support him and in 705 showed up with him and their army before Constantinople. Unable to enter the City, there was then not much the Bulgars could do. Justinian, however, was able to sneak inside; and he apparently had sufficient support to depose Tiberius and regain the Throne, a most unlikely Odyssey. His Khazar wife then joined him and gave birth to a son, curiously named Tiberius. After another unpopular reign, Justinian was then deposed again and, with his son, killed.
The curious experiment in humanity, of course, was that when first deposed Justinian was not killed but just mutilated. When it developed that this was not enough to bar him from being restored, henceforth deposed Emperors, or other politically threatening persons, would be blinded. This was more effective (although the blind Isaac II was restored by the Fourth Crusade), though now it may not seem particularly more humane than execution. Otherwise, the end of the dynasty demonstrates one drawback of the new themes: They represented such military force that the strategus, their commander, was continually tempted to revolt. This problem was soon addressed simply by dividing the themes into smaller ones.
Another noteworthy aspect of the initial overthrow of Justinian II were the slogans that were voiced by popular protests. A very curious cry, repeated (with suitable substitutions) over the centuries was, Anastaphêi tà ostéa Ioustinianoû,
, "Let the bones of Justinian be dug up!" Since Justinian was not dead or buried, it is curious how people should be calling for his exhumation. The expression may have originated in earlier circumstances, now lost. As it happens, one Pope, Formosus (891-896), was actually exhumed and put on trial, in what was then aptly called the "Cadaver Synod." This does not seem to have happened with any Roman Emperors, but this "dig up his bones" expression caught on as a way to call for the overthrown of Emperors. Another call also became traditional, which was simply to shout
, anaxíos, "Unworthy!" We can all understand that.
The maps of Romania now become much smaller. Egypt, Palestine, Spain, and North Africa are gone forever. Footholds in Italy and the Balkans remain. Greece and the Balkans would be recovered in time, but everything in Italy would eventually be lost also. For the time being, the heartland of the Empire will be Asia Minor. Although this would provide the resources for revival, even for colonization back into Greece, it was still open to Arab raids. They could not be precluded for a couple of centuries.
2. KHAZARS,
Zachariah
c.860's
The Khazars are an extremely important part of Roman history, entering it with a bang, as allies of Heraclius against Persia and operating in conjunction with him in or near the Caucasus. Ziebel is supposed to have occupied Georgia , beseiging Tiflis (Tbilisi) with Heraclius himself in 627 and then taking the city, with great massacre, in 628. The Khazars subsequently endured as Roman allies down to the height of Middle Romanian power in the days of Nicephorus Phocas , but fading quickly thereafter.
The Khazars were of Turkic derivation, speaking a poorly attested Altaic language, apparently closely related to Hunnic, Bulgar (Bolghar), and the surviving modern Chuvash. Titles familiar from Bulgar, Mongolian , Persian, or Turkish as
, Khagan, Qaghan, or
, Khân, and
, Beg or Bey, occur here as "Khagan" or "Xak'an" and "Bek." Byzantine histories do not give any lists of Khazar rulers, but Bruce R. Gordon's Regnal Chronologies comes through with most of the information I am able to use here.
The Khazar realm began as the westernmost reach of the Gök (or Kök) Turkiut Great Turkish Khanate, which extended across Central Asia. This vast but poorly documented realm broke up into Eastern and Western halves in 553/554.
Beks,
in Kerch,
?-1016
The Khazars were a further fragment of this, at the Westernmost end, around the Lower Volga, ruled by a branch of the ruling Ashina Dynasty. Exactly when the Khazars become independent of the Western Khanate is obscure, and the Khagan Ziebel who helped Heraclius, may or may not be identical to Tun[g] Yabgu (or Yabghu) Khagan (or Xak'an) of the Western Khanate.
This Khagan is reported by Moses Dasxuranci as delivering an ultimatum to the Shâh Khusro II circa 627:
If you will not retreat from the king of the Romans and surrender to him all the lands and cities which you have taken by force and return all of the prisoners of his country now in your hands, together with the wood of the Cross which all Chrisian nations worship and honor; if you will not recall your troops from his territory, the king of the north, the lord of the whole world, your king and the king of kings, says to you: "I shall turn against you, governor of Asorestan, and shall replay you twofold for each deed committed against him. I shall swoop upon your lands with my sword as you descended upon his with yours. I shall not spare you, nor shall I delay to do to you what I said I shall do." [Walter E. Kaegi, Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium, Cambridge, 2003, p.158]
Substantial help was provided for Heraclius, but not to this degree, and without even Heraclius acknowledging pretentions that sound more like those of Genghis Khan .
In 695, Justinian II was deposed, mutilated, and exiled to the Crimea. Before long, however, he escaped to the Khazars, where he contracted to marry the sister, then baptised "Theodora," of the Khagan Busir. Although Theodora was soon pregnant, Busir had second thoughts about harboring Justinian and estranging the new Emperor, Tiberias III. Justinian was forced to flee again, this time to the Bulgar Qaghan Tervel. In 705 Tervel marched on Constantinople to restore Justinian. The Emperor was able to enter the City with a small number of men through the previously broken Aqueduct of Valens, and resistance collapsed. Tervel was given the rank of Caesar, and the Khazar Khagan obligingly sent his sister and her new son to Constantinople.
The Khagan Barjik defeated and destroyed an Arab army of the Caliph Hishâm outside Ardebil in Iran in 730, but he was then defeated and killed at Mosul a year later. With the Arabs then raiding into the Khazar homeland, in 733 the Emperor Leo III cemented the Roman-Khazar alliance by marrying his son, the future Emperor Constantine V, to the daughter, Tzitazk, of the Khazar Khagan, named as "Bihar." Baptized "Irene," her son would be the Emperor Leo IV, "the Khazar." Justinian's Khazar son had not become Emperor, but now two Emperors of the Syrian dynasty would have Khazar blood.
The line of Ashina Khagans now becomes shrouded in an obscurity even greater than what we previously had to contend with -- the "Tarkhan" of the 840's may even be a confusion, since the name actually can be a military rank. Instead, we begin to get indications of leadership falling on generals, the "Beks," who gradually overshadow or even replace the Khagans. Thus, it is the Bek Hazer Tarkhan whose army was destroyed by the Omayyads at Itil in 737. This led to a short occupation and forced Islamization of the Khazar homeland -- forced Islamization because the Khazars were still pagan and thus had no rights as "People of the Book." Under Islamic Law, their choice was conversion or death.
The means and spirit of resistance not lacking among the Khazars, Arab control was thrown off around 740. This experience, however, led to one of the most significant events in all of Khazar history: the Conversion of the nation to Judaism. This may have happened as early as 740, or at late as 861. The earlier date corresponds to the rule of the Bek Bulan Sabriel, while the later date involves association with St. Cyril . The story is that the Khazars entertained appeals and arguments from representatives of all the major religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, before making their decision. Choosing Judaism may have involved a desire to remain independent of both Christian and Islamic powers. St. Cyril's visit was probably a bit late.
The existence of the Jewish Khazars immediately suggests that the subsequent Jews of Russia may be their descendants, However, modern Russian Jews have spoken Yiddish and look to be immigrants from Germany into areas of Poland that were subsequently annexed to Russia. In the same way, genetic studies tend to link Russian Jews with Jews elsewhere. On the other hand, Russians Jews often have red hair, which does not look like something of Middle Eastern origin but has historically occurred in Central Asia. Genghis Khan himself is often said to have had red hair. Also, we know that in 529 the Sassanid Shâh (or Crown Prince; he wasn't Shâh until 531) Khusro I expelled Jews from Persia and that they fled north of the Caucasus. It is therefore possible that the Khazars converted to Judaism in part because there were Jews among them, with whom they had been or were then actually intermarrying. Bruce Gordon says that Khazar Jews were known to be present in Kiev and to have emigrated to places as diverse as Spain, Egypt, Iraq, Hungary, Poland, and the Crimea, where they intermarried with other Jews. This would imply a Khazar element in much of World Jewry. With all these possibilities, the questions about the Khazars and their Judaism are certain to continue.
Gordon mentions that the list of Bulanid Beks, who may have become the Khazar Khagans, is derived from a list sent by the Bek Joseph to Hisdai ibn Shaprut, a Jewish Vizir to the Omayyad Caliph 'Abdur-Rah.mân III (912-961) in Spain. Joseph refers to himself as the "King of the Khazars."
Joseph's state, however, was in its last days. Sviatoslav I of Kiev attacks the Khazars in 965 and by 969 took the capital, Itil, on the Volga. Sviatoslav's attack was no more than a raid -- he was unable to establish any control of the area. Meanwhile, however, new nomads had arrived, the Cumans, who push the Khazars off the Steppe, until they disappear in the obscure realms of the Caucasus. Gordon gives two rulers from Khazar successor states that survived in the area, which brings Khazar history down to 1016, in the reign of the Emperor Basil II -- although there are apparent references to them even later. The rise of Russia and new movements of nomads in Central Asia would soon give Romania new allies and new formidable and deadly enemies.
4. ISAURIANS (SYRIANS)
792-802
Council VII, Nicaea II, Iconoclasm condemned, 787; Black Sea freezes, winter of 800-801
While Leo III held off another Arab siege of Constantinople, the position of Romania in the West deteriorated. With Africa gone, it became harder to project authority into Italy and harder to resist the Lombards. John Julius Norwich (A History of Venice, Vintage, 1989)
links the election of the first Doge of Venice with Leo's prohibition of images; but the election was in 727, during a tax revolt, not in 730, when Leo did prohibit images, alienating the Western Church.
The prohibition of religious images began the Iconoclasm controversy. One way to understand it is to realize that the conflict between Islâm and Christendom was not just a contest of arms but, mutatis mutandis, an ideological struggle. Christians were not being accused, to be sure, of oppressing the workers, but they were being accused of being polytheists (because of the Trinity) and idolaters (for making and venerating images). Indeed, some Islâmic attitudes are familiar from later religious ideological conflict, since disgust and condemnation of a priesthood and celibacy, not to mention the use of images, could later draw sympathy from Protestantism. The Thousand and One Nights derives great humor from the notion that the incense burned by Christians (but not, of course, by later Protestants) was made from the dung of bishops.
Since Leo III is considered to have come from either Syria or the nearby Isauria, his concern about this issue is supposed to have resulted from his sensitivity to the effect of Islâmic charges on the previously Christian populations of the areas, like Syria, conquered by Islâm. Conversions did not have to be effected by force, which was prohibited by the Qur'ân anyway, but by powerful persuasion (and, easily understood in modern terms, tax incentives). So Leo, a sort of proto-Protestant, decided to clean up Christianity's act. This did not find any traction in the West, however. The Latin Church felt no sting from Islâmic ideology. Leo's successes against the Arabs, obvious evidence of the favor of God, became associated with Iconoclasm. After images were restored by Irene, and military reverses seemed to follow, the favor of God was apparently withdrawn. The final Iconoclast period (815-843) was of such mixed military fortunes, with a serious defeat in 838, that worries about the favor of God faded, as Papal support for images had never faltered.
A geologically significant event occurred with the eruption of the volcanic island of Thera (Santorini) in 726. The volcano had been active since 718, but the eruption of 726 blew ash as far away as Macedonia. This may have been the largest eruption in Europe since Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. Such an event may have contributed to Leo's sense that the Wrath of God had been provoked and that something like Icoclasm was the proper response. In the longer view of history, the most striking thing about the event is its echo of the great eruption of Thera that is now dated to have been between 1627 and 1600 BC (right at the end of the Egyptian Second Intermediate Period ). This wiped out what seems to have been a very large city of the Minoan Civilization on Thera. With ash, earthquakes, and tsunamis affecting Crete, the eruption may have delivered a devastating blow to that Civilization, which then limped on in part through its Greek, Mycenaean adaptation. Memory of the event may account for the stories of Atlantis related by Plato . Today Thera is a popular tourist destination, though the bay of the caldera is too deep for ships to anchor. Recently (April 6, 2007), the cruise ship Sea Diamond sank in the bay, with the loss of two passengers.
The final fall of Ravenna to the Lombards in 751 led to the intervention of the Franks in Italy, at the urging of the Pope.
Romania would never return to Central or Northern Italy. Nevertheless, the form of the Exarchate of Ravenna across central Italy, a corridor held between the Lombards in the north and those in the south, survived as the "Donation" of the Frankish King Pepin to the Pope -- the Papal States , whose history ran from 754 to 1870, 1116 years. Thus, although politically insignificant after 751, Ravenna nevertheless casts a kind of shadow deep into modern history -- including the name that, as a Roman capital, the city gives to the surrounding region, Romagna -- a word that looks like "Romania" where the "i" has patalalized the "n," the equivalent of Romaña, as we might write it in Spanish. Even as late as 1500 AD, as we see on the map below (Historical Atlas of the World, Barnes & Noble, 1970, 1972, p.49), the Archbishop of Ravenna has jurisdiction over an area of Northern Italy still coextensive with the historic Romagna.
But it was in Bologna, the largest city of the region, where the Pope last crowned a Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V , in 1530. Note that Modena and Parma are separate states in the Renaissance.
, "Copronymus," "Name of Dung" -- certainly one the harshest, crudest epithets in the history of royalty. Nevertheless, Constantine's reign may be regarded as generally successful, and the epithet is simply due to his persecution, including torture and execution, of those opposed to Iconclasm. In another proto-Protestant move, Constantine began forcing monks and nuns, strong supporters of icons, to marry. Otherwise, there were military successes against the Bulgars and even Arabs, where the Abbasid Revolution disrupted the attention of the Caliphate.
Constantine also began developing mobile military units, the tagmata (singular, tagma, from tassein, "to arrange, put in order" or "to draw up in order of battle" -- "regiment" would thus be an appropriate translation),
in addition to the landed thematic forces that had become fundamental to Roman military power. The units were commanded by a Domestic (Domesticus), except the Watch, whose commander was a Drungarius. This represented the first steps back to a paid professional army and so is a sign of a reviving economy. The Empire, however, would never be able to remain strong without the themes, and their collapse at the end of the 11th century would be the end of Romania as a hegemonic power. Eventually the Tagmata consisted of the Scholae ("Schools"), the Numera ("Number," feminine of Latin Numerus, used for a military unit), the Walls (Teichistai, or tôn Teicheôn, "of the Walls"), the Excubitors ("Sentinels"), the Optimates (Latin "the Best"), the Watch (Vigla, familar from "Vigil" in English, or Arithmos, equivalent to Numerus in meaning), the Hicanati ("Able Ones"), the Immortals (Athanatoi, named for the elite unit of Achaemenid Persia , who members were replaced as soon as they fell), and, finally, the Varangian Guard. The Scholae were Guard units founded by Constantine. The Numera and Walls were garrison troops for Constantinople, doubtlessly dating from the foundation of the City. The Excubitors had been created by Leo I with Isaurian recruits as part of his plan to purge the Army of Germans. All these units had rather withered until Constantine V, who recreated them as his own personal force after the revolt of Count Artabasdos (741�743) of the Opsician Theme. The status of the Optimates, which began as a fighting force with the other Tagmata, soon became a support unit, providing and supervising transport and logistics. Its commander remained a Domesticus, but it was settled on land, like a Thematic army, in the Optimakôn ("of the Optimates") Theme on the Asian side of the Bosporus, where other Tagmata units might be quartered. The Optimates thus are best regarded as a Thematic force that nevertheless is dedicated to the support of the Tagmata.
The next
Tagma added to the Army was the Watch, created by the Empress Irene from drafts of Thematic soldiers because the Scholae and others were strongly Iconoclast in sentiment and were interfering with her plans to Retore the Icons. There is some confusion about the names here. The Watch (Vigla) was also called the Arithmos, "Number," which was equivalent to Latin Numerus, and sometimes seems to be confused with the Numera Tagma. Thus, Warren Treadgold says that under Constantine V the "senior tagmata, the Scholae, Excubitors, and Watch" were cavalry units, while the "junior tagmata, the Numera, Walls, and Optimates," were infantry [Byzantium and its Army, 284-1081, Sanford, 1995, p.28]. He also adds that the Hicanati, created by Nicephorus I, were "a fourth cavalry tagma" [p.29]. If we need merely switch the Watch and Numera in Treadgold's account, we also have the problem that the third force of infantry would then still not exist until the Empress Irene. The Watch (or Treadgold's Numera), however, may have existed in some form before Irene. From its name, it does sound like part of the garrison force of Constantinople, since it has always been the job of a Watch, before the existence of police forces, to patrol cities at night to enforce the law and the peace. Irene may have transformed the Watch into a proper tagma, as Constantine V did with the original units he took in hand. The final tagmata, the Immortals and the Varangian Guard , would added by the Macedonians .
As Frankish power waxed, the Pope took the step of crowning the Frankish King Charles as Emperor in 800. This was during the reign of Irene, who had taken the throne exclusively for herself, the only Empress ever to do so, by having her son Constantine VI blinded (he died, too). Although Irene restored the images and reconciled the Eastern and Western Churches, the Pope decided to arrogate the authority of crowning a proper, male Emperor to himself (later justified with the fraudulent "Donation of Constantine" document, by which Constantine I had supposedly given the entire Western Empire to the Pope). While Charlemagne even offered to marry Irene, who could have regarded him as only the rudest of barbarians, this all signaled a fundamental parting of the ways between the Latin Europe of Pope and Franks ( Francia ) and the Greek Europe of Romania. Note the parallels between the reign of Irene and that of the slightly earlier Empress Wu (685-705) of T'ang Dynasty China. Because she did restore the Icons, Irene was later venerated as far away as the St. Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai -- although by then Sinai had been lost to Romania for almost two hundred years. She does not seem to have gotten as much credit closer to home, perhaps because Iconoclasm returned for a while.
5. DOGES (DUKES) OF VENICE, 727-1797
Orso (Ursus) Ipato
Venice Falls to Napoleon Bonaparte , 1797
Venice was the "Most Serene Republic" (Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia), or the "Queen of the Adriatic." The title of Doge derives from that of a late Roman commander of a military frontier, Dux ("leader,"
in Greek, duce in Modern Italian). This is cognate to English " Duke ." The Doges were always elected, from a variety of families, as their names indicate.
Over time their powers were increasingly limited, as Venice evolved into an oligarchic Republic. The Duke of Venetia at first would have been like many other Romanian officials in Italy, such as the Dukes of Naples , but Constantinople rarely had occasion or ability to exert direct rule over Venice, so over time the city drifted into independence, competition, and eventually belligerence.
The name "Venice" is derived from the name of the Roman province that embraced the whole area, Venetia. The principal city of Venetia was Aquileia. Although sacked by the Goths, the Huns, and the Lombards, Aquileia remained the most important city of the region for most of the Middle Ages. However, in the troubled times, people would flee the mainland to barrier islands along the coast or to islands in the lagoons behind them. Aquileia itself thus acquired a counterpart, Grado, on the nearby barrier island. To the west, a community formed on Rialto Island in the much larger lagoon seaward from Padua. Farming or building on such islands was a challenge. Earth needed to be brought in or dredged up to fill plots created from woven grasses. Substantial buildings required foundations of logs driven down into the muddy soil. Eventually this allowed a large city to rise on the Rialto. As its strength grew, the Rialto became powerful and preeminent and took on the name of the whole province -- Venetia, Venezia, Venice. The power of Aquileia was reduced by Austria, and finally the city itself was annexed by Venice in 1420. The Patriarchate that had been seated at Aquileia, and then had been divided with Grado, ultimately moved to Venice alone. Since 1451, Venice has been the seat of the Patriarchs of Venice, whose story can be examined in a separate popup . Although it is commonly thought that the mainland was abandoned in the 5th century and the whole population moved permanently to places like the Rialto, this does not seem to have been the case. It was a more gradual process, and the success of Venice may have been due to the realization that it provided defense, not against barbarian invasions, but in the face of the Frankish Emperors and other mainland powers. Venice, indeed, would be immune to conquest until Napoleon.
Venice was briefly in the power of Franks . According to Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus , the Venetians told King Pepin, "We want to be servants of the emperor of the Romans, and not of you" [De Administrando Imperio, Greek text edited by Gy. Moravcsik and translated by R.J.H. Jenkins, Dumbarton Oaks, Center for Byzantine Studies, 1967, p.121]. Eventually the Venetians agreed to pay tribute, but it steadily declined to a merely nominal sum.
The list of Doges is taken from Byzantium and Venice, A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations, by Donald M. Nicol [Cambridge University Press, 1988, 1999], and Storia di Venezia Volume II, by Eugenio Musatti [4th edition, Fratelli Treves Editori, Milano, 1937]. A complete list can also be found in A History of Venice, by John Julius Norwich [Vintage Books, 1989].
After the Schism of the Eastern and Western Churches (1054), there came to be growing religious hostility between Venice and her metropolis. However, Venice never quite fit in to the political system of Francia . For a while, as noted, the Republic paid tribute to the Carolingians but quickly enough shook off any obligation. Playing Constantinople and the West against each other, Venice never really acknowledged the authority of the Frankish or German Emperors and in time was relatively safe in its lagoon from attempts to impose imperial authority, whether from East or West. With the decline of Romania, Venice largely pursued its affairs at the expense of Constantinople and only came to be pushed out of the area altogether by the Ottomans .
When Alexius Comnenus signed a pact with Venice in 1082, the Republic became a partner with the now beleaguered Constantinople. During the honeymoon period we get the completion of St. Mark's Cathedral -- a mature Romania seeding its culture into the maturing Venice.
The honeymoon didn't last. The pact gave Venice a choke hold on the trade of Romania and on naval power in Romanian waters -- on at least one occasion Venetians burned Roman warships on the stocks before they could be completed. Although Alexius didn't have much choice at the time, this led to retaliation later. Manuel I arrested all Venetians in 1171 and little but hostile relations followed -- even peaceful exchanges revealed tragic inequality, as when the Imperial Crown Jewels were pawned with Venice in 1343.
The fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade in 1204 was largely engineered by the Doge Enrico Dandolo, who was actually buried in Sancta Sophia. By the settlement with the Crusaders, Venice was ceded 3/8 of the Empire, and the Doge henceforth styled himself quartae partis et dimidiae totius imperii Romaniae Dominator ("Lord of a quarter and a half [of a quarter] of the whole Empire of Romania"). Norwich interestingly translates this as "Lord of ... the Roman Empire" (p.147), but the phrase was imperium Romaniae, "Empire of Romania," not imperium Romanum, "Roman Empire." Venice was obviously not claiming 3/8 of the Empire of Trajan, but of the much reduced mediaeval Romania (this looks like part of the conspiracy of ignore the word "Romania" in Roman and "Byzantine" studies). This fragmentation of Romania helped Venice maintain her advantages, but it weakened the whole in the face of the eventual Ottoman threat. Venice could neither hold off the Turks nor support a local state strong enough to do so.
When the Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus took Constantinople back from the Crusaders, he conferred commercial advantages, not on Venice, but on her hated rival, Genoa , which, of course, had been Roman until lost to the Lombards in 642. This confirmed that Italy rather than Romania would be the center of trade and naval power in the Christian Mediterranean. Genoa was even granted the city of Galata, just across the Golden Horn from Constantinople itself, in 1267. As the Turks fatally invested Constantinople in 1453, it was Genoa rather than Venice that contributed to its defense -- though Galata itself remained neutral.
The most famous Venetian of the 13th century, and possibly of all history, was Marco Polo (c.1254-c.1324). Polo's business travels with his father and uncle to the China of Qubilai Khan might have gone unrecorded, like the stories of many other such travelers, if he had not been taken prisoner by the Genoese in 1298. Languishing in prison in Genoa, Polo began telling his story to a fellow prisoner. This happened to be the Pisan writer Rustichello (or Rusticiano), who thought that Polo's tales might make a good book and wrote it up, in French. This Divisament dou Monde, "Description of the World," soon to be called Il milione, "The Millions," was more a catalogue of places than a narrative of travels. Nevertheless, it was a sensation -- though people had trouble believing the numbers and scale of the places and domains described. One story about Polo himself is that he was questioned about just this on his deathbed. He replied, "I haven't told the half of it." Now that we know independently about the Mongol Empire , even this anecdote has the ring of truth. China alone was vast beyond the reckoning of 13th century Europe. Although serious questions have been raised about some of Polo's claims, details of his story, like the custom of the Chinese of making offerings to the dead by burning paper money or paper copies of other things, are still familiar and unique features of Chinese culture. The legend that Marco introduced noodles from China is now commonly discounted, but there is little doubt that someone did that in this era. The Romans were not eating pasta, but at some point we realize that the Italians are. If we then ask where such a preparation existed previously, the answer is China -- something probably as old as Chinese history and still the traditional alternative to rice in any Chinese (or Japanese, etc.) restaurant. As it happens, there are indications that noodles had already come down the Silk Road and been passed on through Islâm; but nothing was to stop Polo from bringing his own noodles, to unknown local effect.
What seems extraordinary about Venice now is how a mere city had become a Great Power, contending on terms of equality, if not superiority, with all of Romania. The tail wagging the dog indeed. And while Venice was never the equal of Turkey, it was for long one of the major belligerents contesting Ottoman advances. What this reveals is the stark difference in wealth between the cash economy of a commercial republic (Venice began minting gold Ducats in 1284) and, on the one hand, the poverty of subsistent kingdoms, like other Western European states and, on the other hand, the fractured economy of Romania, which had previously perpetuated commercial traditions. Venice was soon joined by other Italian cities, like Pisa and then Genoa , in exercising the power made possible by their wealth.
As commercial life began to grow in the North, the Italians began to lose their advantage. After Flanders and the Netherlands became centers of trade and manufacture, the Dukes of Burgundy first benefited from this wealth, then the Hapsburgs , and finally the Netherlands as an independent power. The latter eventuality is especially revealing. The Netherlands was a commercial republic again as Burgundy and the Hapsburg domains had not been. What's more, Amsterdam became the center of European banking, with that preeminence passing from, as it happened, the cities of Northern Italy (remembered in "Lombard Street" in the City of London). The next financial centers, of Europe and the World, would be London and then New York. In the course of all that history, the apparent power of the Italian cities was punctured like a balloon in 1494, when King Charles VIII of France invaded Italy. This is one of the events regarded as marking the end of the Middle Ages. It certainly revealed the comparative disadvantage into which the Italian powers had fallen. A nice recent movie about this period was Dangerous Beauty (1998), about a popular courtesan who ends up in a tug-of-war between Venetian nobility and the (rather unwelcome in Venice) Holy Inquisition. We happen to notice in the course of the movie that Venice has been expelled from Cyprus by the Turks (1571).
Just as bad or worse for Venice's position was the Age of Discovery. The Italian cities had grown strong on the trade of the Levant, and the new Atlantic powers wanted very much to have a way to avoid their mediation, let alone that of Turkey and Mamlûk Egypt , in the transfer of goods from India and further East to Europe. Columbus, therefore, was out to make an end run. Since he ran into the Americas instead of Asia, this diverted Spanish energies, but for Portugal Vasco da Gama did the job of getting to India around Africa in 1498. This eliminated Italy or the Turks from any central position in world trade. They could only fade, in the most literal sense, into back-waters. The Ottomans briefly tried to project their power into the Indian Ocean, occupying Yemen , pressing upon Ethiopia , and even sending to aid to the distant Sultân of Acheh in Sumatra; but the effort, like other Ottoman initiatives, soon petered out.
If the power of Venice began to fade in the 15th and 16th centuries, she was nevertheless one of the intellectual centers of the Renaissance . No one had a greater role in this than Aldus Manutius (Teobaldo Mannucci, d.1515), who founded the
Aldine Press and, with help of a large staff of Greek expatriates, created printed editions of a large part of Greek literature, often in the convenient octavo pocket editions that he popularized. He was personally motivated to see to it that Greek literature should not only be preserved in printed editions but be made available to all. In 1502, he founded a "New Academy," devoted entirely to Greek, with its business, rules, titles, etc. all conducted or rendered into Greek --
which was also the case in Manutius' own household. Indeed, the members of the Academy, who would include Erasmus , even adopted Hellenized names. The results of his publishing business, besides the pocket editions, included the Italic style of typeface and the formulation of modern punctuation, including the semicolon. Thus, Venice, which had done so much to destroy the power and civilization of Romania, nevertheless played a significant role in preserving its heritage. We must reflect on the irony of this.
The decline of the Turks in the 17th century allowed a brief Venetian resurgence, whose most striking event, however, was probably the destruction of the Parthenon in 1687, when a Venetian cannonball detonated an Ottoman powder magazine -- the ruin of the Acropolis was not produced by the Goths , the Huns, or any event of the Middle Ages, but by modern warfare. By that time a city state was going to be no match for the colonial and maritime powers that were rapidly becoming modern nation states. Venice lapsed into a kind of 18th century version of Las Vegas, a curiosity and a diversion -- and Las Vegas has now reciprocated with the Venetian Hotel . It was such a Venice that produced the memorable career of Giovanni Casanova (1725-1798), who saw the best and the worse of the City, from its marvelous entertainments and his own famous seductions to its terrible prisons and secret tribunals.
After invading Italy and defeating the Austrians, Napoleon had to exert little enough power to eliminate what had become an anchronism. The French were a little puzzled by the hostility of the Venetians to their occupation, since the rousing Republican rhetoric of the French didn't have the effect they expected -- but it was in a place that was, well, already a Republic. Napoleon, indeed, might have taken some lessons from the venerable and terrifying Venetian system of secret police and hidden inquisitorial courts.
One of the sights of Venice, the "Bridge of Sighs," is a covered way that secretly transported prisoners back and forth from their star chamber trials to their hopeless cells. However hostile to the French, the spirit of Venetian independence was soon forgotten, and it was the Sardinian Kingdom of Italy that detached Venice from Austria in 1866. The Venice of the subsequent period appears in Thomas Mann's Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig, 1912), which has been described as, "a symbol-laden story of aestheticism and decadence ..." Venice was just the place for that.
On the other hand, the art of Venice, in music -- as with Antonio Vivaldi (1680-1743) -- painting -- as with Titian, Tiziano Vecilli (1477-1576) -- and architecture, is an enduring and vivid monument. Part of this is a hint of the lost beauty of Constantinople, since St. Mark's Cathedral, crowned with four great horses from the Hippodrome and countless other treasures looted from Constantinople in 1204, is a copy of the vanished Church of the Holy Apostles, the burial place of Constantine and his successors (whose site is now occupied by the Fatih Jamii, the mosque, institute, and burial place of Meh.med II , the Conqueror [Fâtih.] of Constantinople).
Although decorated with loot, the present church was completed earlier, in 1094 (or 1071), with the help of artisans from the still friendly Emperors. The Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal, the Campanile bell tower (campana, "bell"), the Lido barrier island, and other structures and sites have now contributed their names, if not their images or functions, in countless modern landscapes. Oxford University has its own Bridge of Sighs, at Hertford College (right), though it apparently was never used for the same purpose as the Venetian (mercifully). In fact, although it is labelled the "Bridge of Sighs" on all maps of Oxford, it is not called that in the College, simply "the Bridge"; and it looks more like Venice's Rialto Bridge than the Bridge of Sighs. Cambridge University also has a Bridge of Sighs
, across the Cam River, at St. John's College (left). The Campanile on the Berkeley campus of the University of California (the Sather Tower, below right), on the other hand, almost identical in appearance to the one in Venice, houses a fine carillon, a sort of organ with bells instead of pipes.
The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas reproduces several of the landmarks of Venice, although not St. Mark's. P.J. O'Rourke, in a humorous comparison of the hotel and the city, points out that the Rialto Bridge at the hotel has safety features to prevent children from falling through the bridge railings. In Venice itself, perhaps deprived of the American Tort Bar, it seems to be the responsibility of parents to keep their children from falling off the bridge into the Grand Canal.
Poised between Francia and Romania, Venice thus preserves much of the beauty and atmosphere that was lost and forgotten after successive catastrophies to Constantinople. The City ended up itself as something out of its time, a Mediaeval Republic in an age of nation states, even as now it is rather like a living museum, slowly sinking into the lagoon that originally gave it refuge.
Indeed, the low muddy islands in the lagoon, once a redoubt, now are Venice's greatest peril. With zero elevation, the City is vulnerable to high seas, high tides, and any significant changes in sea level. Pumping out ground water under the City, long the simplest source of fresh water, threatened to leave it permanently awash. That danger was soon recognized and attempts have even been made to restore the water, though that is more difficult. However, the weight of buildings on the mud itself means they slowly sink; and, even worse, the whole geological province on the East side of Italy is being suppressed by tectonic forces. The continually threatened rises in sea level from global warming then sound like the final straw. Barriers may soon seal off the lagoon from the Adriatic during storms or high water, but this raises the problem of discharging the waste water brought down from inland cities. Any durable solution promises to be difficult, expensive, and perilous to the traditional character of the City.
Rome and Romania Index
B. REVIVAL AND ASCENDENCY, 802-1059, 257 years
400 years after the opportunity might have originally presented itself, a German finally claimed the title of Roman Emperor. This was the Frank Charlemagne, in a move legitimized by the Pope and by the reign of a woman, Irene, in Constantinople. For a while, Francia looked larger and much more powerful than Romania, but institutionally it was nowhere as sound or durable. The Empire of Charlemagne fragmented among his heirs and lapsed into feudalism , a system for government without cash or literacy. Meanwhile, Romania, with institutional continuity, commercial culture, and education, began to recover its strength, despite some severe blows continuing to fall.
1. NICEPHORANS
813-820
Iconoclasm restored, 815; first Varangian (Viking) raids in Anatolia, 818
The reigns of Irene and Nicephorus I begin what Warren Treadgold calls The Byzantine Revival, 780-842 [Stanford U. Press, 1988]. Despite the loss of most of Europe and continuing
Arab raids into Anatolia, the population and the economy of the empire were actually growing, and Nicephorus was able to start transplanting colonies of people from the east back into Greece. This soon led to the recovery of most of the Greek peninsula. It is hard to know how much this means Modern Greeks are descendants, not just of Greeks, but of Phrygians , Galatians , Isaurians, and other ancient (and extinct) inhabitants of Anatolia, as well as Slavs who had migrated into Greece and become assimilated. There is also the complication that colonists from Greece and the Balkans had previously been moved to Anatolia, to compensate for losses from Arab raiding. So people, of various sorts, who had begun in Europe, and then moved to Asia, grew into populations that then were transplanted back into Europe. Very confusing; and not something that leaves clear ethnic footprints. Perhaps DNA testing can sort it out.
Unfortunately for Nicephorus, and his evocative "Bearer of Victory" name, the "revival" was not without its setbacks. Nicephorus ended up killed in battle against the Bulgars , becoming one of the small number of Roman Emperors dying in battle against a foreign enemy. His skull was made into a drinking cup up by the Bulgar Khan Krum. His son Stauracius, proclaimed Emperor after the battle, turned out to be paralyzed from a spinal wound. His attempt to vest the throne in his wife Theophano (reportedly an Athenian relative of Irene), was foiled by his sister Procopia and her husband Michael Rhangabé. Michael then was inactive and indecisive and was overthrown by Leo the Armenian, an in-law of the subsequent Amorian dynasty. It would be some time before the Bulgars could be seriously defeated, much less subdued. Until then, it would be impossible to restore the Danube border.
the Drunkard
842-867
Final repudiation of Iconoclasm, body of Constantine V exhumed & burned, 843; Varangians attack Constantinople, 860; Arab army annihilated, Amir of Melitine killed, at Poson, 863
(Theophilus II)
867
In this period, aptly called the "Second Dark Age," the Arabs took to the sea -- which they had done before, but not previously in a sustained and systematic way. With the simultaneous advent of the Vikings, this made both Franks and Romans vulnerable in North and South. Crete was lost for over a century, and fighting began on Sicily that would last for more than 50 years and result in the permanent loss of the island.
Now we also find the last of Iconoclasm laid to rest, though one will note even today that the Orthodox Churches prefer Icons rather than sculpture in the round for sacred images.
The resolution of this conflict removed a point of friction between the Western and the Eastern Churches. It did reveal, however, how easily such conflict could arise. The later (1054) Schism of the Churches would be over apparently much more trivial issues -- the real issue, of course, was simply authority. The military successes of Iconoclast Emperors came to a dramatic end in 838, when the Caliph Mu'tas.im invaded Anatolia, defeated and very nearly captured Theophilus, and then destroyed the Emperor's own home town, Amoricum, enslaving the population. When Theophilus died young, leaving only a young son, the Empress Theodora, as Regent, moved to end Iconoclasm. At a Council in 843, on the first Sunday in Lent, the Iconoclast Patriarch John the Grammarian was deposed and the Iconophile Methodius installed as Patriarch . The Icons were restored. Orthodox Churches still commemorate the restoration of the icons on the first Sunday of Lent, which is called the "Sunday of Orthodoxy." Since Orthodox Churches use the Julian Calendar, this day can be more than a month after the first Sunday of Lent on the Gregorian calendar.
This period sees a turn of the tide against the Arabs. In 838 the Caliph al-Mu'tas.im (833-842) raided Anatolia, as the Arabs had been doing about annually for a long time, but this time in such force as to defeat the Romans in battle at Dazimon and then to sack the cities of Ancyra (Angora, now Ankara) and Amoricum (now Konya). Since Amoricum was the home of the present Empeor Theophilus, this was particularly humilating. A few years later, the subsequent Caliph, al-Wâthiq (842-847), began to execute prisoners from these cities who refused to convert to Islâm. Since the Romans had their own Arab prisoners, an exchange was suggested, and accepted. In 845 embassies between the Caliph and the new Emperor Michael III, or his Regent mother, Theodora, were exchanged to negotiate the prisoner exchange.
The Arab historian at.-T.abarî, in his Annales (edition in Leiden, 1883-1884), relates details of the embassies, and we see him use an Arabic title for the Roman Emperor. The Roman ambassadors are themselves called
, rusulu S.âh.ibi-r-Rûm, the "messengers of the Emperor of the Romans," one of whom seems to have been the future Patriarch Photius . See the discussion of the expression for "Romans." So here the word for "Emperor" is
(irregular or "broken" plural
, s.ah.âbah), which is familiar, as "Sahib," in countless movies about India and Africa. It is an important word in Arabic. S.âh.ib can mean "owner, possessor, master, lord," etc., as it does here, or it can mean "companion, comrade, friend, follower" (comes in Latin). Thus,
, as.-S.ah.âbah, are the "Companions" of the Prophet Muh,ammad. These are the most important personages in the history of Islâm apart from the Prophet himself. Also noteworthy is the term
, "messengers," where the singular,
, rasûl, is found in the expression
, rasûlu-llâh, i.e. Muh.ammad as the "Messenger of God," which is used in the Confession of Faith.
Not long after these events, in 863, another raiding Arab army, led by the Amir of Melitine, was annihilated, and the Amir killed, in battle at Poson. This was not the end of Arab raiding, but it did mean that the Romans were now getting the upper hand, and the period of Arab raiding and domination was coming to an end. One reason for this is the improvement and maturity of the new Army.
By the time of the Amorians, the Army has settled into its classic form and is much improved in numbers, organization, and effectiveness. The loss of Sicily and Crete is not encouraging, but the heartland of Anatolia is being defended with increasing success, and the lost territories in the Balkans are now being recovered and resettled. Bulgaria stands in the way in that direction and will eventually be dealt with. By 878 Sicily will be lost forever (although Rometta holds out until 965). It is possible that it could have been recovered, but now the remoteness of the command, and eventual disloyalty of the Norman mercenaries, will snuff out such a hope. This is the army with which the Macedonians will eventually defeat and conquer Bulgaria, pass through the Cilician Gates, recover Antioch, and invade Syria. Later, when the Thematic forces are neglected, the mobile army, the Tagmata, will prove insufficient, as the Moble Army alone had earlier in the Fifth Century .
The arrival of the Varangians (839), which meant the Vikings who had come down the rivers of Russia , added a new element to Roman history. Constantinople became to them Miklagarð, or Mikligarð (Mikligarðr with the nominative ending), but often rendered Miklagard, Miklagarth, or Miklegarth -- the "Great City." Here the element mik- is cognate to mag- in Latin magnus and meg- in Greek megas, both "great." Curiously, there is an archaic adjective in English, "mickle," meaning "great" or "large," which is this very same word. A cognate survives in recent English, the humble word "much." The other element, gard (Old Norse garðr), "enclosed," is cognate to English "garden" and "yard" (and the name "Garth") as well as to gorod and grad, "city," in Russian -- as in Tsargrad,
, for Constantinople (the final "soft" sign,
, was in Old Church Slavonic but is lost in modern Russian). We see this element in Midgard, or Miðgarðr, "Middle Earth," the realm of men in Old Norse and in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. The "Great City" (we could say "Mickleyard" with English words) could not have been more appropriate, since Constantinople was the largest city in Europe until at least the 13th century, as it was the center of the only real cash economy in Europe perhaps until the 11th century.
Relations with the Varangians rocked back and forth between war and trade, mainly depending on what the Norsemen thought they could get away with -- they would be prepared for both. The contact in 839 was an embassy, which had encountered sufficient difficulties coming down the rivers of Russia that it requested the good offices of the Emperor in negotiating passage back by way of the Frankish realm of Louis the Pious . Louis already knew about Viking raids and was suspicious that these travelers, although vouched for by Constantinople, were nevertheless of their kind. Assured (falsely) that they were not, the embassy was allowed to pass. Soon, Varangians would have little fear of traversing Russia and would begin raiding Roman territory and even attacking Constantinople. As it happened, the Norsemen were rather less successful against the Romans than they were against the Franks, and bouts of attacks were usually followed by treaties -- where such reconciliation was rarely necessary in the West. To the Varangians, the Roman Emperor becomes in Old Norse the Stólkonungr, the "Great King," with "great" in this case borrowed from Old Russian (as in Stolnyi Knyaz, the "great prince " of Kiev -- stolnyi does not have this meaning in Modern Russian), and "king" (konung) familiar from other Germanic languages (e.g. German könig). This echoes Megas Basileus in Greek, the translation of the title of the Great Kings of Persia and the origin of the use of Basileus for "Emperor" in Mediaeval Greek.
We are approaching the point in European history where the remaining pagan peoples of Europe will be assimilated to Christian civilization. Bulgaria will lead the way, but it will soon be following by Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Scandinavia. The Pechenegs (or Patzinaks), a Turkic steppe people, will remain pagans until they are swept from history by the Cumans and Mongols. On the east edge of the map is the Khanate of the Khazars , also Turkic, who actually converted to Judaism. They would be Roman allies until disappearing in the 11th century. Shown on the map are the tracks of several raids by the Magyars into Francia. It is striking how far afield they go. A more intimate picture is provided elsewhere for Burgundy .
3. BULGARIA BEFORE ROMAN CONQUEST
Asparukh
Bulgaria annexed by Basil II , 1018
Although today the Bulgarians are thought
of as simply a Slavic people, like the Russians or Serbs, they were originally a nomadic Turkic steppe people, more like the Huns or Mongols. The first title of their leaders here, qaghan, is recognizably more Mongolian than the form more familiar from Turkish, khân. The Slavs, who had breached the Danube with the Avars, but who had little in the way of indigenous political organization, then came under the control of the Bulgars, the next nomadic group to pop off the end of the steppe. A related people, the Khazars , who remained on the Lower Volga, became long term Roman allies against the Bulgars.
Other related peoples, the Patzinaks and Cumans, followed the Bulgars off the steppe and into the Balkans, though not permanently south of the Danube. After the Cumans, the Mongols were the last steppe people to come into Europe. Through the Middle East, of course, the Turks (and the Mongols) came off the steppe and ultimately, permanently, into Azerbaijan, Anatolia, and Thrace.
Fans of Robert E. Howard's (1906-1936) classic pulp fiction character Conan the Barbarian, will find the name of the Bulgar Qaghan Krum somewhat familiar -- it is rather like Conan's own personal god, "Crom." Krum, indeed, seems very Conan-like. Not only was the Emperor Nicephorus killed in battle, but Krum took his skull and turned it into a drinking cup. This sounds like "barbarism" indeed -- though Lord Kitchener (1850-1916) may have had something similar in mind when he removed the body of the Sudanese Mahdi from his tomb, after taking Khartoum in 1898.
More recently, readers of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [J.K. Rowling, Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, Inc., 2000] will remember that the champion Bulgarian Quidditch player was none other than Viktor Krum.
What happened to the Bulgars was assimilation. The Patzinaks pushed them off the steppe, they began to speak the language of their Slavic subjects, and they began to aspire to the civilization, if not the throne, of Constantinople. The conversion of the Bulgars, indeed, was a complicated political act, with sophisticated negotiations that played the Popes off the Emperors. Greek influence ended up predominating, but the Bulgars continued jealous of their autonomy -- the precedent of an autocephalous Church set the pattern for other Orthodox Churches, as in Russia , created under Roman auspices. The Qaghan Boris
took the Christian name Michael (though both names would be used in the future), but retained a status comparable to the Roman Emperor.
The newly developed Cyrillic alphabet, based on the "glagolitic" alphabet invented for Moravia by Sts. Cyril (Constantine, 827-869) and Methodius (826-885), was used for the Slavic language of the new Bulgarian national Church. This language, Old Church Slavonic or Old Bulgarian, is the oldest attested Slavic language and retains features apparently ancestral of most modern Slavic languages -- although different texts also display influence (or emergent features) from the local languages, Czech, Bulgarian, and Serbian, in the areas where it was used. At right is the Cyrillic alphabet of Old Church Slavonic. I have used some letters in the modern form rather than with the more traditional appearance, which is more obviously Greek. Various modern Cyrillic alphabets, which can be examined under the treatment of the Slavic languages, often employ different selections of letters from the full original alphabet -- although there is the possibility that some letters were later contributed, again, by local languages, like Serbian (cf. S.C. Gardiner, Old Church Slavonic, Cambridge, 1984, 2008, pp. 13-14). It will be noted that this alphabet contains more dedicated palatalizing vowels than the modern languages that continue to use this device.
An interesting case is the way "u" is written. Old Church Slavonic writes the Greek digraph
.
We also see the ligature
for "iu," which affixes an "i" an drops the "y." This is the only such ligature still used in modern Cyrillic alphabets, despite the presence of no less than five of them in Old Church Cyrillic -- the available ligature
is replaced by
in Russian, Bulgarian, etc., although I imagine that the latter may be a modification of the former. Since the Greek digraph
is redundant, modern Cyrillic alphabets simply write "u" with
.
The signs
and
, which apparently were vowels in Old Church Slavonic, of uncertain quality (as the vocalization of Old Church Slavonic is disputed), have now either become markers of "solf" and "hard" consonsants, as in Russian, or have been dropped, as in Serbian. These are divergent strategies that both go back to Old Church Slavonic. We also get nasalized vowels in Old Church Slavonic,
and
, marked with tildes here (the IPA diacritic), but elsewhere with a subscript hook, as in Polish, where such nasals survive.
The first step merely left it leaderless, as John Tzimisces took Emperor Boris II off to Constantinople. A new state was organized in the west, however, by the sons of the Bulgar governor Count Nicholas. These "Sons of the Count," Cometopuli, eventually got an Emperor back after Boris and his brother Romanus escaped captivity. Boris was accidentally killed, so Romanus became the (largely figurehead) ruler. After Romanus died, the Cometopulus Samuel succeeded him. The Emperor Basil II, after humiliating defeat by the Bulgars in his youth, then smashed and annexed this state, with a ferocity that that might have made Krum (or Conan) proud. Samuel is supposed to have dropped dead when he saw that Basil had blinded all the survivors of the Bulgarian army (leaving every tenth man with one eye to lead the rest) -- although the later references to this are now often doubted. Bulgaria would not reemerge until the Asen brothers led it to independence in 1186. After the Turkish conquest, modern Bulgaria did not emerge until 1878.
Lists of Bulgarian rulers can be found in various Byzantine histories, but the genealogy here only comes from the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, pp.156-159].
4. MACEDONIANS
Isaac I Comnenus
1057- 1059
The greatest dynasty of Middle Romania begins with the Empire still losing ground. Raids by the Arabs, Vikings, and now Magyars are giving all of Europe a very bad time. Only the 10th Century would see a gradual recovery, as Slavs, Norsemen, and Magyars all became settled and Christianized, though the Normans remained vigorous and aggressive in both North and South, i.e. conquering England and expelling Romania from Italy . Much of the good work of the Dynasty was accomplished by in-laws during the minority of the legitimate heirs, though the culmination came when one heir, Basil II, came of age and completed the conquests himself. Although traditionally called the "Macedonian" dynasty, Basil I was probably Armenian, like several of the other Emperors-by-marriage.
But, ironically, the dynasty may actually descend from Michael III rather than from Basil. Basil had been induced to marry Michael's mistress; and although the marriage continued even after Basil had overthrown Michael, the first children may still have been Michael's.
One of the most successful Emperor-Regent-in-laws, Nicephorus II Phocas, unintentionally played an important part in the history of Armenia. After reconquering Cilicia and Tarsus, in the Taurus and Anti-Taurus Mountains, and expelling the local Muslims in 965, Nicephorus encouraged Christians from Syria and Armenia to settle the area. Subsequently, when the Turks poured into Anatolia after the epic defeat at Manzikert in 1071, the Christians of the Taurus were relatively safe in the mountains, and the Turkish flood washed around them. This led to the creation of the durable Kingdom of Lesser Armenia (1080-1375). The Armenians of Lesser Armenia were then probably the Christians of the Middle East with the best relations with the Crusaders , including intermarriage. It is now not often noted, but Lesser Armenia became such a center of Armenian life at the time that the Armenian Patriarchate relocated there from Armenia. From 1058 to 1441, this was the only Armenian Patriarchate. Even the reestablishment of Patriarchs in Armenia did not interrupt the line of succession in Cilicia, which henceforth became know as the Great House of Cilicia . This succession continues to the present and even remained in the Taurus, long after the extinction of the Armenian Kingdom, until 1930, when the Patriarchs joined Armenian refugees in Lebanon , where they remain. In the years of the isolation of Soviet Armenia, the center of international Armenian life was this Patriarchate in Lebanon. This is now obscured by the independence of Armenia in 1991 and the emigration of many Armenians from the former Soviet Union into the West. Their culture, influenced by the corruption of Soviet life, and even their language (Eastern rather than Western Armenian), is distinct from that of the Lebanese Armenians who used to dominate, for instance, Armenian immigration to the United States.
In the early days of the dynasty we get a benchmark on the survival of Classical and later Greek literature. The Bibliotheca of the Patriarch of Constantinople Photius (858-867, 877-886) contains 280 reviews.
Even Edward Gibbon refers to this as "a living monument of erudition and criticism" [The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume III, Modern Library, p.297]. It is not a catalogue of existing literature, or of a particular library, not even that of Photius, but a treatment of works familiar to Photius, apart from the mainstream of general education, that Photius is recommending to his brother Tarasius. Thus, popular authors like Homer, Plato, Aristotle, or the Greek playwrights (except for some lost plays of Aeschylus!) are missing from the list. Photius' treatment ranges from brief descriptions and evaluations to long summaries and discussions. Of the 386 works mentioned by Photius, 239 are theological. Nevertheless, only 43% of the text actually focuses on them. The majority of the text (in a book whose modern edition in Greek is 1600 pages long) is thus secular. For example, in addressing A History of Events After Alexander (in ten books) by the Roman historian Arrian of Nicomedia (an early member of the Second Sophistic ), we get a long summary of those very events , which are often obscure enough that every description helps. Although much of Arrian survives, and his Anabasis Alexandri is the best account of the campaigns of Alexander, all we have of A History of Events After Alexander is Photius' summary. We also have Arrian to thank for transcribing in the Encheiridion or "Handbook," the teachings of the Roman Stoic philosopher Epictetus, whose student he was. Our benchmark is that about half of the works mentioned by Photius, like the Events, are now lost. It is distressing to think of what survived, despite the Dark Ages, and then what later disasters may have cost us -- when the City was sacked by the Fourth Crusade and then the Ottomans (where we hear of bonfires of books, although this may be a slander). It is hard to imagine an undisturbed Constantinople being subsequently so careless with its literary heritage.
At no other Court of the age could visitors have found the nobility quoting Homer, as we see below. [cf. Photius, The Bibliotheca, A selection translated with notes by N.G. Wilson, Duckworth, London, 1994.] Photius, whose Bibliotheca was only part of his literary output, was a major political figure and himself was responsible for the mission of Sts. Cyril (Constantine, 827-869) and Methodius (826-885) to convert the Slavs.
The climax of Mediaeval Romania came with the Emperor Basil II Bulgaroctonus,
, "Bulgar Slayer" (Bulgarentöter in German). He also happened to be ruling at the turn of the first Millennium, which is of some interest as we have now seen the year 2000. Christendom had been having a bad time for several centuries, but things were looking up in 1000. After a long minority with in-laws ruling as co-regents, Basil defeated and captured an entire Bulgarian army in 1014. He blinded every prisoner, except for one eye left to every tenth man, so they could lead their fellows home. The Tsar Samuel is supposed to have dropped dead when he beheld the mutilated men returning. There is no contemporary record of this mass blinding, and its historicity is now often questioned. Whether anything quite like this happened or not, however, Bulgaria only lasted four more years before being annexed.
Meanwhile, the Varangians had created a powerful state at Kiev ; and, as the "Rus," their name came to be attached to it -- giving us
in Greek, "Russia" in Latin. The alternation of war and trade that had characterized Roman relations with the Varangians, and which led to sharp defeats of Russia by John Tzimisces, took a greater turn toward friendship in Basil's day with the conversion of St. Vladimir to Christianity (989). Part of this process involved the marriage of Basil's sister Anna to Vladimir, and the provision by Russia of mercenaries for what now became the Emperor's "Varangian Guard."
The Guard became the loyal shock troops and Life Guard of the Emperor, and are usually identifiable in historical accounts, even if not named as such, by their description as
, pelekophóroi (pelekyphóroi in Attic Greek), "axe bearers," from the single bladed axe (
, pélekys), with a handle up to six feet long, that they carried as their primary weapon (seen in the image at right from the history of John Scylitzes, c.1057). There also seems to have been some identification of this weapon with the fasces carried by the Lictors of the Roman Republic . Indeed, the appearance of the great axes on the battlefield came to signal the personal presence of the Emperor (although Varangians at first were often detailed to fight with other forces, as in Italy).
After the formation of the Varangian Guard, it quickly no longer became a matter of mercenaries provided by Russia. The fame of the unit spread quickly, and soon individual recruits were arriving , not just from Russia (and now of Slavic and not just Varangian origin), and not just from the immediate source of Russian Varangians, Sweden, but from as far away as Norway, Denmark, and even Iceland -- all the Norse lands, which by this point had converted to Christianity. Since all these places were outside the limits of Classical geography, we find Anna Comnena characterizing all the Varangians, including the English ones, as from "Thule,"
. This was conformable to ideas in geographers like Strabo, who refers to "Thule, the most northerly of the Britannic Islands," "six days sail north of Britain," although he expressed some skepticism about its existence. Thus, Gibbon speaks of "the British island of Thule," which now sounds very odd [The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume III, Modern Library, p.368]. "Six days sail north of Britain," however, which was the formula of the Greek explorer Pytheas, might very well get us from Britain to Norway.
The Norse recruits included the very interesting Harald Hardråde (or Haraldr Sigurðarson, Haraldr Harðráði), the subsequent King of Norway who would die in 1066 at Stamford Bridge , while invading England. The deeds of Harald and others would be recounted in the Icelandic Sagas, often written much later with fabulous or fanciful additions, but with sufficient detail to pin down their historical origins. Also, numerous rune stones have been found in Sweden, often at churches for the now Christian Swedes, that stand as cenotaphs or commemorative monuments to men who left for Romania (Grikland, Kirkium, etc., "Greece") and never came back. Some were installed before leaving by the men themselves. Some, of course, may have been for traders rather than members of the Varangian Guard, but a few mention deaths fighting in Serkland, i.e. Islamic lands (where the "Saracens" are), or in
Lakbarþland, i.e. Langobardia, " Italy ." In time, the Norse recruits apparently obtained their own church in Constantinople, at least in part dedicated to St. Olaf (or Olof, Olav) of Norway, Harald's brother, perhaps enshrining a sword that was supposed to have been his. Indeed, the 15-year-old Harald was present at the battle of Stiklestad in 1030, where Olaf was killed -- with reports of miracles immediately following. Harald fled with 500 retainers all the way to Constantinople, perhaps carrying such a relic of Olaf that could have been enshrined in the church. In King Harald's Saga, we have Olaf appearing in visions to help Harald; and the Norse church is said to have been constructed on the spot of such a vision [cf. The Varangians of Byzantium by Sigfús Blöndal and Benedikt S. Benedikz, Cambridge University Press, 1978, 1981, 2007; Snorri Sturluson, King Harald's Saga, Penguin, 1966, 2005, p.61].
While a companion of Hardråde eventually settled in Iceland, we also have the account of a native Icelander, Bolli Bollason (or Bollasson), as recounted in the Laxdaela Saga. Bollason's sojourn in Romania was quite early, in the 1020's, and he is said to be the first West Norseman in the Varangian Guard. When he returned home, fitted out with a red cape and gold trim on his weapons, reportedly, "Wherever he went, women paid heed to nothing but gazing at Bolli and his grandeur" [Peter Frankopan, The First Crusde, The Call from the East, Belknap Press, Harvard University Press, 2012, p.28], by which he became known as "Bolli the Elegant."
It is noteworthy that while the legend and the romance of the Vikings is still a part of popular culture (I was entranced by The Vikings [1958], which I saw at Holloman Air Force Base in 1962), and most people retain an image of Viking barbarians fighting, looting, slaughtering, drinking, and raping (this is romance?), such awareness promply shuts down when the Norsemen convert to Christianity. Presumably, they stop the looting and raping, and the reaction, as from Hollywood, is "You're no fun anymore!" (except for a movie like Ingmar Bergman's Virgin Spring [1960]). But even as Christians, many Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, and Icelanders were still looking for a good fight; and to find it they traveled to the greatest and most famous Christian monarch: The Emperor of the Romans. Since they kept doing that for centuries, the word of mouth about their experiences must have been positive. It was a good fight, if not always a successful one.
The map shows Romania in 1000 AD, at the Millennium, with the height of Middle Romanian power rapidly approaching. The extent of Bulgaria is open to question. Some sources say it stretched to the Black Sea. Whatever, it will soon be erased.
Having experienced the Millennium of the year 2000 in our day, we have the movie, End of Days (Universal, 1999), with Arnold Schwarzenegger personally battling Satan, who is said to be released every thousand years (a somewhat loose reading of the Book of Revelation). This would mean that a similar difficulty occurred in 999, as well as 1999. Arnold wasn't around then, but Basil II was -- not only a great warrior but an Emperor who maintained a monk-like celibacy, and who was seen by most Christians as the principal defender of Christendom, as the Emperors had been since Constantine. Somebody missed a bet for a good movie, or at least a flashback, about that -- End of Days itself could have had a flashback explaining how Satan was easily thwarted in 999 by the undiminished wisdom, strength, and preparedness of Basil, Pope Sylvester II (this was before the Schism), and the Patriarch Sergius II of Constantinople.
The monks of the "Holy Mountain," Hágion Óros, Mt. Áthôs, could be brought into any story of the Millennium. The Great Laura Monastery, the first of many in this most sacred place, the Mt. Hiei,
, of Orthodox Christianity, had recently been built (961-963) by St. Athanasius. Tradition holds with some earlier foundations, and several small hermitages, as well as individual hermits in caves and elsewhere, certainly had been there for some time; but the Great Laura is the first for which there is contemporary historical documentation.
Áthôs is the most north-eastern of three peninsulas that extend out into the Aegean Sea from the larger peninsula of the Chalcidice. There are still 20 active monasteries on the Mountain, with a number of smaller settlements and institutions. The road from the mainland ends at Uranopolis (or Ouranoupoli, one now usually sees spellings that reflect modern Greek pronunciation --
I have Latinized many of the names, but the spelling of the monasteries especially reflects this trend). From there one (men only) must take a boat down to Daphne. From Daphne a road, recently built, goes up to Caryes (Karyes, Karyai), the town that is the administrative center of the Mountain, on the land of the Koutloumousiou Monastery. Although most Greek churches operate under the authority of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church, Mt. Áthôs is still under the direct jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople , i.e. the "Ecumenical" Patriarch in Istanbul. Over the years, monasteries were founded, not just by Greeks, but by Georgians , Serbs, Bulgarians, Russians, and even Italians. The Italians are now gone (there being the Schism and all), but there are also (modern) Romanians present, though they do not have their own monastery. Mt. Áthôs thus unites all the Orthodox Churches who share the theology of Constantinople. The mysticism of the theology of Mt. Áthôs contrasts with the humanism of Mistra -- this is discussed elsewhere in relation to the Renaissance .
Sadly, the great triumph of Romania was short-lived. The last Emperors of the Dynasty, all by marriage, squandered the strength of the State, debased the coinage, and neglected the thematic forces that had been the military foundation of Romania for four hundred years -- in part by now ignoring, as Basil II had not, the alienation of the land of thematic soldiers to large landowners who did not have the same military obligations. This was a kind of creeping feudalism, which Romania had previously avoided. Full feudalism has quashed, ironically, because of the Turkish conquest. What was left of the Army, the Imperial guards of professionals and mercenaries, could not be relied upon in all circumstances, as Machiavelli would have warned, especially after the finances of the state were messed up. Before things had gone that far, however, we see that the attempt of Michael V, at the death of his uncle (?) Michael IV, to depose the Empress Zoë provoked a popular revolt. This included the Varangian Guard, which may have actually been commanded at the time by Harald Hardråde (1042). According to King Harald's Saga, Harald led the Guard to seize and blind Michael (whom it confuses with his successor, Constantine IX). This personal loyalty to Zoë, and her sister Theodora, was the best tribute to the faltering Macedonian dynasty.
Most symbolically, the breach between the Eastern and Western Churches in 1054 was the one that became permanent and henceforth separated the One Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church into the Pope's Latin Church , usually called "Roman Catholic," and the Patriarch of Constantinople's Greek Church , traditionally called "Greek Orthodox" -- along with the other autocephalous "Orthodox" Churches (Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Romanian, etc.). There had been similar estrangements earlier, which had always been patched up without much in the way of hard feelings. This was the expectation at the time; and the handling of the matter was so casual that later, when it became apparent that the breach was becoming permanent, the original documents could not even be found. The estrangement in religion came at a very bad time. When the Turks invaded Anatolia and the Crusading forces arrived from Francia , the Schism was a source of constant irritation and mistrust. It provided some rationalization for the seizure of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade ; and later, when the Churches were apparently reconciled by the Palaeologi , it left most Greeks so disaffected that their support for their own government was compromised. Thus, for centuries, Christian forces were divided and weakened in the continuing confrontation with Islâm.
Here we see the confusion over the paternity of Leo VI. The greatest controversy of Leo's reign, however, was over his own marriages. He disliked his first wife, from an arranged marriage. She and their daughter died in the early years of his reign. He was then able to marry his long time mistress, Zoë. After delivering their daughter Anna, however, who would later marry Louis of Burgundy , Zoë soon died. This created a problem. Unlike Henry VIII , whose problem was that he wanted divorces, Leo's problem was that in the Greek Orthodox Church second marriages, even after the death of a spouse, were discouraged and third marriages strongely condemned. While theoretically there was no provision for raison d'état, we can imagine the overriding need to provide an Heir for the Dynasty. The Patriarch, successor to Leo's own brother Stephen , granted a dispensation. His new wife, Eudocia, then died in childbirth, followed shortly by the infant son.
Now Leo really had a problem. St. Basil had said that fourth marriages were the equivalent of polygamy, "a practice bestial and wholly alien to humankind." Leo therefore took a mistress, Zoë Carbonopsina (
, Zoë of the " Coal Black Eyes"), who then in 905 gave birth to a son, destined to be Constantine VII -- ironically the Porphyrogenitus,
, Porphyrogénnêtos, "Born in the Purple" (I love this in German -- der Purpurgeborene), who nevertheless had been born a bastard. The Patriarch, now Nicholas I Mysticus, refused to baptize the boy unless Zoë was expelled from the Palace. She was. But Constantine was still a bastard, so Leo brought Zoë back and got a priest to marry them and legitimize the Heir. The result was considerable furor. Leo cleverly played the Photian and Ignatian factions of the Greek Church off each other and meanwhile appealed to Pope Sergius III . The Latin Church had no problem with serial marriages, just with divorce. So, in 907, with Sergius' belessing, Leo deposed Patriarch Nicholas (who would subsequently be restored), and installed Euthymius I, who was persuaded to agree with the Papal ruling (more or less). Thus, where Henry VIII broke with the Pope ( Clement VII ), and abolished the whole Church of Rome in England, in pursuit of a male heir, Leo's own pursuit was consummated by the timely help of the Pope, when the Greek and Latin halves were still One Roman Catholic Church (Una Romana Catholica Ecclesia), against the Patriarch. Leo did not long outlive the controversy.
Subsequently, in the minorities of Constantine VII, Basil II, and Constantine VIII, we see multiple reigns from Imperial in-laws. Romanus I almost derailed the dynasty; but John I and Nicephorus II were extremely vigorous and successful in retrieving Romanian fortunes and territory, progress finally to be sealed by the adult Basil. This great Basil, however, had remained celibate and irresponsibly failed to provide for the future of the family -- so unlike Charles II of England, who not only arranged key marriages for his nieces, Mary and Ann, but had ironically, as a Catholic sympathizer himself, required that they be raised and married Protestant, thereby securing a Protestant succession in Britain after the inevitable disaster of his foolish Catholic brother James II. This may have been Basil's greatest failing as a ruler. After the death of Constantine VIII, only Theodora and Zoë, whom Basil had allowed to become nuns, remained of the Dynasty. Zoë endured three marriages to provide male sovereigns. These in-laws were as bad for the Empire as the earlier ones had been good. After the death of Constantine Monomachus, whom Zoë predeceased, Theodora briefly reigned alone at the end of the line. Note the marriage of Maria Argyropoulaina to a son of the Doge of Venice. This was arranged by Basil II well before the marriage of Romanus III Argyrus to Zoë. Maria is supposed to have introduced the fork to Venice when arriving there with Giovanni in 1004 or 1005 [cf. Judith Herrin, "Venice and the Fork," Byzantium, The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire, Princeton & Oxford, 2007, pp.203-205].
The genealogy of the Macedonians is supplemented here with an abbreviated tree showing the major foreign marriages of the Dynasty. The marriage of Constantine VII to the daughter of Hugh of Arles is shown above, but there are four other marriages noted here.
Two of them are not attested by all sources. Leo VI did have a daughter Anna (by his second wife), and marrying her to Hugh's predecessor in Burgundy, while his son married Hugh's daughter, produces a reasonable reciprocity; but marrying a true Porphyrogenita (still Porphyrogénnêtos -- in Greek a compound, although feminine, retains the second declension ending, -os, otherwise used for masculines -- a scruple not observed in Latin), a "Born in the Purple" Princess, to a barbarian king (which is what Louis III would have seemed to most), is something that some sources say was inconceivable, which is why all that the Emperor Otto II got was merely the niece of an Imperial in-law, John Tzimisces. Theophano was no Porphyrogenita (though some sources can be found referring to her as John's own daughter, or even as a daughter of Romanus II). Constantine VII himself asserted that a Porphyrogenita could not be married to a foreign prince -- although he then made an exception for the Franks. The most significant exception, however, would be St. Vladimir , who certainty did marry the Porphyrogenita sister, Anna, of Basil II and Constantine VIII. Since this attended the conversion of Russia to Christianity (989), with the material contribution of Russian (Varangian) troops to the Roman Army, it could well have been thought worth the price.
, chmshkik, "red boot," which sounds like an epithet that John might have picked up, perhaps as a child (like Caligula's "little boot"). This is also transcribed as chmushkik, although there is no "u" (
, the digraph, like Greek
, that we see in Gurgen) written there in Armenian, which otherwise may be using a vocalic "m." In any case, there is no good evidence or certainty about this identification or its meaning. It remains one of the more curious names found among the Emperors of Romania. But John's given name is also noteworthy.
As I have commented above , actual Christian Biblical names have been relatively rare among Christian Roman Emperors, with the Macedonians as no exception.. This is especially striking with the name "John,"
(Iôánnês, Latin Johannes), which is a supremely Chistian Biblical name but previously here has only occurred with a usurper in the 5th century . Until recently in the United States and Britain, "John" and "Mary" were the most common given names. But here, beginning with Tzimisces and some Michaels (
), Biblical names start becoming more common. There will eventually be eight Johns and Michaels each, with the occasional Thomas,
, Isaac,
, and David,
, with some names less familiar in English, like Manuel,
(from Emmanuel, in Greek and Spanish, a name for the Messiah, i.e. Jesus). We may think of George,
, as a Christian name, but it only became so because of St. George,
, whom I discuss below , and it was never the name of in Emperor in Constantinople -- although, like Peter,
, not unusual elsewhere, as we shall see.
The final marriage here is the potentially the most interesting but also somewhat problematic. Brian Tompsett's Royal and Noble Genealogy gives a sister "Irene" for the Empresses Zoë and Theodora, who is said to have married Vsevolod of Kiev , grandson (by an earlier marriage) of St. Vladimir [still listed this way as of June 2011]. I have not seen a single Macedonian genealogy that lists such an "Irene." This is of great interest because their son,
, Vladimir II Monomakh, was the grandfather of Ingeborg of Novgorod, who married (1118) Knut Lavard Eriksson, the father of King Valdemar the Great of Denmark (1157-1182). Through the intermarriages of the subsequent royalty of Denmark, we get connections to many of the rulers of Europe. Thus, it is sometimes said that Queen Elizabeth II of England is a descendant of the Emperor Basil I. But that would only be true if Irene really was a Macedonian.
Other sources have a slightly different claim. The Royal Families of Medieval Scandinavia, Flanders, and Kiev, by Rupert Alen and Anna Marie Dahlquist [Kings River Publications, Kingsburg, CA, 1997], says that Irene (or Irina) was "a daughter of Constantine IX Monomach" [p.160]. That is a lot different. Constantine was the Empress Zoë's third husband. She was already 64 when they married, so there is not much chance that Irene was her child, but Constantine was a widower (twice), and it is not surprising that he would have previous children, although Byzantine histories don't seem to bother addressing the issue. Vladimir II is called
, "Monomakh," which thus sounds like a tribute to his Roman grandfather.
Constantine IX's parentage for Irene is confirmed by the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, p.81] and Volume III, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser, Ergänzungsband [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Second Edition, 2001, p.218]. This gives us a much more reasonable picture. It does mean that Queen Elizabeth is not a descendant of Basil I (or Michael III, whatever); but she is a descendant of Constantine IX Monomachus, as can be seen on this popup . The genealogy also shows the descent of Elizabeth from Harold II of England, who was killed by the Normans at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Harold's daughter Gytha, has it happens, married Vladimir Monomakh.
Pages at Wikipedia give the wife of Vsevolod and the mother of Vladimir Monomakh as an "Anastasia (
) of Byzantium," with the gloss that her parentage with Constantine IX "is not attested in any reliable primary source." I do not see the name "Anastasia" in any of my print references, as discussed above. Also, while I am not familiar with the primary sources for these issues (and the matter does not seem to be clearly addressed in the Greek histories), I am curious what the difference would be between a "reliable primary source" and whatever other primary sources would have addressed the marriages of Vsevolod. However, if Irene/Anastasia was not the daughter of Constantine IX, my fundamental questions would then be (1) who such a person would have been to have come from Byzantium to marry the son of a Prince of Kiev, and (2) how her son would then (coincidentally?) end up with the name or epithet "Monomakh" (
,
)? This would all be exceedingly curious, to say the least. What makes the most sense at this point is that Constantine IX was Vladimir II's grandfather, with the marriage of Vsevolod arranged in 1046, after the attack on Constantinople in 1043, by Yaroslav I the Wise of Kiev (1019-1054).
This Russian attack in 1043 is a matter of some interest. It may have been coincidence, opportunism, or coordination that it coincides with the revolt of George Maniaces in the same year. It was pressed forward despite the death of Maniaces from a wound and the end of his revolt. Rejecting an offer to buy off the attack, Monomachus set the Roman fleet to engage the Russians. With the help of Greek Fire, the Russian fleet was routed. This may be the last example of a decisive victory by the Roman Navy before, later in the century, the fleets of the Italian cities begin to dominate the Mediterranean and replace the Romans. The sequel of the battle is obscure, but we can speculate that the marriage of Constantine's daughter was part of the restoration of the previous good relations with the Russians. Harald Hardråde was still in the Varangian Guard in 1043, and we might even imagine him participating in the battle. King Harald's Saga, with some confusion of reigns and dates, has Harald escaping from Constatinople after kidnapping an otherwise unattested niece, Maria, of the Empress Zoë. A Viking kidnapping and carrying off a princess would not be so remarkable, but we are then told that before crossing the Black Sea, Harald dropped her off with a guard to escort her back to Constantinople. This makes me wonder. Could such a strange story reflect the circumstance that Harald himself escorted Irene/Anastasia to Kiev between 1044-1046? He arrived back in Norway to claim the throne in 1047. An escort job would thus nicely coincide with the period of his transit home. All this would dramatically tie together the events of a striking naval battle in the Bosporus (1043), the marriage of Vsevelod to a Roman princess (1046), and the fateful reign of Harald in Norway (1047-1066),
culminating in the events (1066) that precipitate the entry of Englishmen into the Varangian Guard. I recommend this story to Hollywood, which has often featured Istanbul in its movies but never Constantinople. Nothing like Roman ships, "dromonds,"
, galleys with lateen sails, throwing flames on Viking longboats has ever been seen on film -- as I expect that Hollywood film-makers are entirely ignorant of the historical circumstances where that would have happened [ note ].
, "No blame" [or "It were no shame," Twelve Byzantine Emperors, Penguin, 1966, p.185]. This was a quotation from a line in the Iliad (3:156), where the Trojan elders see Helen come out on the wall and say to themselves:
"Small blame that Trojans and well-greaved Achaeans should for such a woman long time suffer woes; wondrously like is she to the immortal goddesses to look upon." [3:156-158, Loeb Classical Library, A.T. Murray translation, Harvard, 1924, 1988, p.129]
Maria was sharp enough to note the whispered comment, but she had to ask about its meaning. For us, it reveals the education of the Constantinopolitan Court, in perhaps the only city in Europe in the 11th century where Homer was going to be read and taught.
The potential for ongoing confusion over the genealogy of the Macedonians is evident in The Varangians of Byzantium by Blöndal and Benedikz [ op.cit. ]. Thus, they say:
In June [1043], when a large fleet under the command of Vladimir (Monomakh), son of Jaroslav, assailed the City, the Byzantines met it in the Bosphorus and defeated the combined force of Russians and Scandinavians, largely thanks to the use of Greek fire. [p.104]
This seems to confuse the eldest son of Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir (sometimes even "II"), who died in 1052, with Vladimir II Monomakh, the grandson of Yaroslav and Constantine IX. The statement in its own terms is peculiar in the use of an epithet, "Monomakh," that echoes that of the Roman Emperor, in the name of a Russian leading an attack on that very Emperor. This is unlikely on its face -- or that someone named after the Emperor would already be old enough to have such a command (Vladimir Monomakh was born in 1053). Instead, it is more reasonable that the marriage that produces Vladimir Monomakh was the result of the peace that followed the defeat of the Russian attack. Blöndal and Benedikz do not try to explain the anomalies that their identification generates.
A very brief non-dynastic interlude concludes the period. Isaac I was the first of the Comneni and can be found on the genealogy of the Comneni below .
Era of Diocletian 776-1170, 394 years
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium.
William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), "Sailing to Byzantium"
Romania, furthermore, is a very wide land with rugged, stony mountains. It extends south to Antioch and is bounded by Turkey on the east. All of it was formerly under Greek rule, but the Turks now possess a great part of it and, after expelling the Greeks, have destroyed another part of it. In the places where the Greeks still hold fortresses, they do not pay taxes. Such are the servile conditions in which the Greeks hold the land which French strength liberated when the Franks conquered Jerusalem.
Odo de Deuil, La Croisade de Louis VII, roi de France, Volume IV, edited by Henri Waquet, Documents relatifs à l'histoire des croisades, Volume 3, Paul Guethner, Paris, 1949, pp.54-55, translated by James Brundage, The Crusades: A Documentary History, Marquette University Press, 1962, pp.111-112
Then followed a scene of massacre and pillage: on every hand the Greeks were cut down, their horses, palfreys, mules, and other possessions snatched as booty. So great was the number of killed and wounded that no man could count them. A great part of the Greek nobles had fled towards the gate of Blachernae; but by this time it was past six o'clock, and our men had grown weary of fighting and slaughtering. The troops began to assemble in a great square inside Constantinople. Then, convinced that it would take them at least a month to subdue the whole city, with its great churches and palaces, and the people inside it, they decided to settle down near the walls and towers they had already captured....
Our troops, all utterly worn out and weary, rested quietly that night. But the Emperor [ Alexius V ] Murzuphlus did not rest; instead, he assembled his forces and said he was going to attack the Franks . However, he did not do as he had announced, but rode along certain streets as far away as possible from those occupied by our army, till he came to a gate called the Golden Gate through which he escaped, and so left the city.
Geoffroy de Villehardouin (d.1218), "The Conquest of Constantinople," Chronicles of the Crusades, Penguin, 1963, p.91
Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods"
Thomas Babington Macaulay, Lays of Ancient Rome, "Horatius [at the Bridge]," 1891, XXVII
Let's go, men, against these barbarians!
The Emperor Constantine XI Dragases , his last words, the Fifth Military Gate of Constantinople, May 29, 1453; Greek Text, Laonikos Chalkokondyles, The Histories, Volume II, Translated by Anthony Kaldellis, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard University Press, 2014, p.192
"Then we must go higher. We must go to him whose office is to put down tyrants and give life to dying kingdoms. We must call on the Emperor."
"There is no Emperor."
"No Emperor..." began Merlin , and then his voice died away. He sat still for some minutes wrestling with a world which he had never envisaged."
C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength, 1945, Scribner, 2003, p.290
The "Fourth Empire" begins with a blow, from an Islâm reinvigorated by the Turks, which represents not only a further diminution of the Empire, but a portent of the actual collapse and end of the Empire altogether. The catastrophic defeat at Manzikert alienated much of what had for long been the heartland of the Empire, Anatolia. It was a mortal wound, never to be made good; but the Empire nevertheless twice managed to struggle back up into at least local ascendancy, first under the Comneni and then under the Palaeologi. The Comneni had help, of a very dangerous sort, in the form of the Crusaders . Defeat by the Turks was not the cruelest cut of the period. That was when the Crusaders, manipulated by Venice , took Constantinople in 1204. With the Latins, the Empire fragmented into multiple Greek and non-Greek contenders: Nicaea, Epirus, Trebizond, Bulgaria, and Serbia, not to mention the Turks . While the Palaeologi, building on the success of Nicaea, reestablished Greek rule, only Epirus of the other successor states came back under Imperial control. The Empire of Michael VIII did seem to have a chance, but a new Turkish state, of the Ottomans , soon surged into dominance. It took more than a century for the Ottomans to scoop up all the spoils, but, like a slow motion car crash, the outcome has a horrible inevitability.
Rome and Romania Index
A. THE ADVENT OF THE TURKS, 1059-1185, 126 years
1060 AD -- Romanian territory is intact, but the military and financial foundations of Roman power have been undermined. The coinage is debased for the first time since Constantine. Resources have been wasted absorbing Armenia, and the forces of the Armenian themes have been disbanded. Local Islamic states are no threat, but the Seljuks are on the way.
1. DUCASES
Botaniates
1078-1081
The Ducases had the misfortune of suffering the most catastrophic defeat of Roman arms since the Arabs won Palestine and Syria at Yarmuk in 636: The defeat by the Seljuk Turks at Manzikert in 1071, a battle lost more to treachery than to military superiority. And Romanus IV Diogenes became the only Roman Emperor besides Valerian to be captured in battle by an external enemy. Romanus was luckier than Valerian, in that he was treated with dignity and even kindness by the Sultân Alp Arlsan , and even released; but he was unlucky, as the Sultân himself ruefully appreciated, that he would return to a situation where he had already been deposed as Emperor. Defeated by the forces of the Caesar John Ducas, uncle of the new Emperor, Michael VII, Romanus (a mere in-law) eventually surrendered on terms of civil treatment -- but nevertheless died when the Caesar soon ordered him blinded. The picture of the respectful consideration of the Turk and the ferocious brutality of the Romans leaves an impression, like the earlier treatment of the Goths , both sorrowful and bitter.
While there is no reason to doubt the sincerity of Alp Arlsan's Islâm, his Court and that of his successor,
Malik Shâh, under the influence of their great Vizir, Nizâm al-Mulk, displays an intellectual power and cosmopolitan expansiveness that is well represented by the mathematician, astronomer, and poet 'Umar Khayyâm (d.1122). Is the Rubaiyat cynical or merely worldly? It is hard to say. Whatever it is, one wonders to what extent some attitude of the sort can be discerned in the behavior of the Sultân. Nevertheless, it is something that passes quickly. The greatest philosopher of the era, and one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages, al-Ghazâlî (1058-1111), nevertheless fiercely attacked and effectively snuffed out the tradition of Greek philosophy in the Central Islâmic lands. Thus, the damage was done to Romania, but intellectually Islâm itself was now headed into decline.
What had hitherto been the heartland of Romania in Anatolia, now became a bleeding wound to Turkish conquest, never to be recovered. Simultaneously, the Normans won, for all time, the last Roman city in Italy -- Bari. In 31 years (1040-1071), Romania had been finally expelled from Italy, 535 years after Belisarius had landed against the Ostrogoths.
But from now on, we find that dynasties are identified by surname -- Ducas,
, Comnenus,
, Lascaris,
, and Palaeologus,
. Even Epirus and Trebizond are ruled by Ducases and Comneni, respectively. Within the dynasties, we find as in-laws the names Vatatzes,
, among the Lascarids, and Cantacuzenus,
, among the Palaeologi. The origin of the names is various, with Ducas itself from the Latin rank of dux ( q.v. ), used in Greek as
. Some of these names we see today, not the least of which being the feminine surname become a given name,
, "Angelina." Cantacuzenus turns up among the Phanariot Princes of România . Monomach,
, which means "fighting in single combat," has the look of a sobriquet; but, born by Constantine IX, it is unlikely to have been earned by him personally. So it appears to be his surname, earned by an ancestor, as it will be born by his Russian grandson .
The Ducas genealogy is given both here and below with the Comneni . The marriages of Constantine, the son of Michael VII, and his second wife, Anna Comnena, are of particular interest. The intermarriage of the Ducases with the Normans of Italy might have made for some political differences -- had the young bride, Helen, lived.
By about the time of Manzikert, there were interesting new recruits to the Varangian Guard. Where Harald Hardråde had failed to conquer England in 1066, William the Conqueror , within days of the Norwegian defeat, would succeed at Hastings. The Norman Conquest spelled the dispossession of the native Saxon nobility, who then began to seek their fortunes elsewhere . Many of them consequently were drawn to the Varangian Guard. Having lost England to Normans/Vikings, Englishmen served the Empire that had withstood them. They would continue to do so for more than three centuries -- the first reference to Englishmen in the service of Romania was in 1080, the last in 1404 -- 324 years.
Indeed, now we see references that 4350 English emigrants in 235 ships arrived at Constantinople in 1075 [Chronicon universale anonymi Laudunensis], or that the English arrived in 350 ships and were in part settled in a Nova Anglia, a "New England" far from Plymouth Rock [according to the Icelandic Jarvardar Saga].
According to Geoffroy de Villehardouin, there were still "Englishmen and Danes" defending Constantinople when the Fourth Crusade arrived in 1203. After the Greek recovery of the City by the Palaeologi in 1261, we have some indication that the surviving Varangian Guard may have been entirely English. In 1272 Michael VIII Palaeologus wrote a letter mentioning the Englishmen in his service, now called the
, Egklinováraggoi (sing.
, Egklinováraggos -- Enklinobarangi in Latin, sing. Enklinobarangus) [cf. Sigfús Blöndal and Benedikt S. Benedikz, op.cit., p.172]. Like the Norsemen, the English Varangians seem to have had their own church in Constantinople, dedicated to Saints Nicholas and Augustine of Canterbury (the Apostle to the English). Under subsequent Palaeologi, however, they fade from history.
One might wonder, however, why go all the way to Constantinople? Was the Varangian Guard really that big a deal? Well, part of the problem for a sort of European Ronin (masterless warrior in a feudal system) is that, in the absence of cash economies, nobody was hiring mercenaries. If Englishmen wanted to be hired to fight after 1066, they needed to go to where there was a paid, professional military. In Christian Europe, that was still only in Constantinople -- still only the Tagmata. A noteworthy exception to this was in the South of Italy , where a cash economy existed, mainly because of its inclusion in the economic sphere of Romania. Cities like Naples had conducted trade with Constantinople both during their time as Roman possessions, after being recovered from the Ostrogoths, and then as they slowly drifted out of the control of Constantinople. They also conducted trade with Islâmic states, especially after the Aghlabids had conquered Sicily. This often scandalized other Christians. But it was even worse when they began to hire Muslim mercenaries. An Englishman, of course, might belong to the Varangian Guard but be fighting in Southern Italy nevertheless. There they would have met other mercenaries with whom they were not likely to have friendly relations: Normans who had come from Normandy looking for their own fortunes. The Norman mercenaries in Roman service had gone over to local rebels in 1040. When the English arrived, they found themselves actively fighting kinsmen of their old enemies, in Italy, Epirus, and Greece. These Normans were able to expel the Romans from Italy, recover Sicily from Islam, and then create a united Kingdom of Naples and Sicily . This resulted in the economic decline of the South Italian commercial cities. As the trade they had pioneered moved North, other Italian cities became wealthy enough to hire their own mercenaries. These become the famous mercenary Condottiere of the Renaissance.
According to a recently released book, The Varangian Guard, 988-1453, by Raffaele D'Amato [Men-at-Arms, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, & Long Island City, NY, 2010]:
...in Dobroudja [on the Black Sea], a short-lived Anglo-Saxon settlement called by the Varangians 'Nova Anglia' was created at the end of the 11th century... The chronicler Ordericus Vitalis recorded that 'the English were much distressed by their loss of liberty... A number of them, with the fresh bloom of youth upon them, went to distant lands.' [p.13]
D'Amato says that one of the English exiles in Romania was "the pretender Edward Atheling" [p.13]. I do not know who this would be. There does not seem to be such a person as listed in the genealogies of either the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 1, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser I Westeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Third Edition, 2001, p.264] or the The Mammoth Book of British Kings and Queens [Mike Ashley, Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., New York, 1998, 1999, p.468, 491-498]. We find "Edward the Exile" and "Edgar the Atheling", but no "Edward Atheling." Edward the Exile was sent into exile, hopefully to his death, by Canute. He didn't die and did spend time at the Hungarian Court (where he married the daughter, Agathe, of King St. Stephen I ). Recalled by Edward the Confessor, he was murdered, perhaps by partisans of Harold Godwinsson, and then his young son Edgar was made Heir Apparent. That was in 1057, so Edward could not have gone into exile after 1066. Too young to rule, Edgar was pushed aside by Harold in 1066. After Harold's death, Edgar was proclaimed King but then in short order surrendered to William. Edgar is the best candidate for exile in Romania, but that does not seem to be what happened. He was the obvious Pretender to the English Throne and spent many years at the Scottish Court (where King Malcolm married Edgar's sister Margaret) and elsewhere, stirring up trouble for the Normans. Eventually, he was pardoned by King Henry I and spent his remaining years, in increasing obscurity, on an English estate. However, according to the Mammoth Book [p.498], Edgar did go on Crusade in 1099. This may have involved some contact with Romania and so may be the source for D'Amato's (confused) reference.
The long history of the English Varangians, as with the original and continuing Norse Varangians, accompanies the long decline of Romania. As declines go, 400 years is not what anyone would think of as abrupt or precipitous, but it was continuing and unreversed. The Varangian role has its melancholy aspect, as the Scandinavians and English are unable to prevent that decline, and as local Roman sources of wealth and manpower obviously undergo progressive decay in effectiveness. But there also is an aspect to it of great romance and nobility. In the last centuries of the Roman Empire, essential help came through the interest and devotion of individual foreign warriors, both from the most distant of old Roman possessions, Britain, and from peoples and lands, in the North, that had really been off the map and beyond the knowledge of Augustus, Trajan, or even Justinian. It is the sort of thing for which there really should be some small monuments in London, Oslo, Stockholm, or Copenhagen, in tribute to their countrymen who took the long trip to fight in the defense of Constantinople, over so many years. Yet, with the history of participation in the Varangian Guard largely forgotten, and the whole existence and history of "Byzantium" so generally ignored or despised, it is not clear who would have the interest to build such monuments and to commemorate such measures of devotion to the last Emperors in successon to Augustus and Constantine, and to what for long was still the greatest City of Christendom. It is a pity.
As noted above, before the time of the English Varangians, relations of their Norman conquerors had themselves briefly served the Emperor Michael IV. Two of the original
de Hauteville brothers from Normandy were in a group of 300 Normans under George Maniaces in Italy in 1037-1038. The eldest de Hauteville brother, William, earns his sobriquet "Iron Arm" by defeating the Amir of Syracuse in single combat in 1037. The disaffection and defection of the Normans, and their transformation of one of the Lombard revolts (1040), such as Romania had previously been able to defeat, would then drive Romania out of Italy by 1071, spelling the final alienation of Italy, retrieved by Belisarius in 536, from Constantinople (after 535 years) -- but then it also led to the recovery of Sicily from Islam (1061-1091), specifically from the Zirid Amirs of Tunisia, and the reunion of all Southern Italy into one Kingdom (1130). This brought the South of Italy into the history of Francia for the first time -- in the 13th century, under the German Emperor Frederick II , it could even be said to briefly be the center of that history, as Frederick made Palermo his capital.
Catastrophe. The heartland of the Empire in Anatolia is completely overrun. Italy is lost to the Normans, forever. Only the Balkan European possessions, secured not long before, enable Romania to endure and recover, somewhat -- with the dangerous help of the Crusaders. Armenians, recently settled in Cilicia, are surrounded, although this will be the origin of the Kingdom of Lesser Armenia that will endure until 1375. The triumphant Normans meanwhile have invaded Sicily, which they will permanently recover from Islam.
2. SELJUK SULT.ÂNS OF RÛM
Süleyman I ibn Qutalmïsh
Deposed by Mongols , 1307
The first Turkish and Moslem state in Anatolia ironically began against the wishes,
virtually in rebellion against, the Seljuk Great Sult.ân Malik Shâh (1073-1092), who was even negotiating with Alexius Comnenus for the withdrawal of the Turks from the region and whose troops actually killed Süleyman I. However, even the Great Sult.ân was finally in no position to force such a withdrawal, Roman resistance was so weak that Süleyman had no difficulty establishing his capital at Nicaea, and all help from the Sejuks ended with the death of Malik Shâh. The best that Alexius could do was to recover Nicomedia and hold on to it. Meanwhile, even western cities like Ephesus were falling. The Sult.âns then styled themselves the rulers of Rûm , i.e. "Romania."
This list is from Clifford Edmund Bosworth's The New Islamic Dynasties [Edinburgh University Press, 1996].
While this is the traditional understanding of the role of Süleyman, a very different interpretation is now offered by Peter Frankopan [The First Crusde, The Call from the East, Belknap Press, Harvard University Press, 2012]. In these terms, Süleyman was the ally of Alexius Comnenus who maintained the Roman position in Asia Minor and was the duly appointed governor, not the conqueror, of Nicaea. This explains some other puzzling aspects of the reign of Alexius, which is where the Turkish mercenaries came from that he used against the Normans in the Balkans, and why the Roman position in Anatolia seemed to suddenly collapse in the early 1090's (after the death of Malik Shâh), when everyone assumed that it had already collapsed after Manzikert, before Alexius even came to the throne. Süleyman was killed, not by forces loyal to Malik Shâh, but by the very rebels that he, Alexius, and Malik Shâh were all attempting to suppress. Süleyman was even upbraided by his enemies for disloyalty to Islâm.
While this thesis explains a lot, it leaves a number of things on the table. The role of Süleyman and the presence of the rebels, who were troubling to all, does mean that there is a substantial Turkish presence in Anatolia after Manzikert, so the traditional picture of many Turks overrunning the area cannot be entirely abandoned. That Alexius was able to form alliances with Turkish forces, including the Seljuk Sult.ân himself and now perhaps Süleyman also, bespeaks a clever strategic and diplomatic accommodation to the situation, which maintained the Roman position for some years; but it also means that with the removal of Alexius's allies, that position could collapse quickly. Süleyman's own son, Kilij Arslan, had been kept hostage by Malik Shâh (either against the good behavior of Süleyman or, perhaps more likely, because of the non-cooperative attitude of Kilij Arslan himself). With the death of the Sult.ân, he escaped and made his way to Nicaea, to assume the authority of his father, but this time independently of both Emperor and Sult.ân -- his later treaty with Alexius did not mean any compromise to the independence of Rûm that had now been established. The rapid collapse of Anatolian Romania thus testifies to the leverage that the Turkish presence in Anatolia had already created. Without help, Alexius could hold little beyond Nicomedia in the whole area -- although some Christian towns were still holding out when the Crusaders arrived, most dramatically and durably with the Armenians in Cilicia , where the domain outlasted the Sultanate of Rûm itself. Frankopan explains that the traditional picture of Roman collapse in Anatolia was due to Anna Comnena, who wanted to make it look like the losses in the regions were due to the predecessors of Alexius and were not events of his own reign.
The Turkish position was secure until defeat by the First Crusade in 1097. Then Alexius was able to recover the western cities. The Turks fell back on Iconium (Konya), which became their capital for the rest of the history of the Sultanate of Rûm. Although sacked by Frederick Barbarosa on the Third Crusade (1190), Konya was lost forever to Romania. The Sultanate already, however, seemed to have lost its edge. The devastating defeat of Manuel Comnenus at Myriocephalum (1176) was not followed up, and the subsequent decline of Romania was mainly from internal weakening and fragmentation (readying it for the Fourth Crusade). The Sultanate was then defeated by the Mongols in 1243 and spent the rest of its history in vassalage. The final fall, in 1307, coincided with a very fragmented, but vigorous, period of new Turkish states -- the Oghullar ,
, or "sons" of Rûm.
Osmanli Oghullarï
Part of his vigor may have resulted from an influx of refugees from the Mongols. The Beys of Aydïn captured Ephesus in 1304, but the most serious portent for the future was the capture of Prusa (Bursa) in 1326 by the Ottomans . This quickly spelled the end of Romania in Asia, and by 1354 the Ottomans had a foothold in Europe. Only Tamerlane delayed the ultimate Ottoman conquest.
A curious feature of the relationship of Constantinople to the Sult.âns of Rûm was its often cordial and almost friendly tone. Alexius Comnenus employed Turkish mercenaries and once, when he happened to capture the harîm of the Sult.ân, he promptly returned the women with his apologies. As I have noted, this sort of relationship to the Turks may have begun with in the early days with Süleyman I. To the Crusaders, these dealings with the Infidel were surest proof of Greek duplicity and treachery. What was going on, however, is illuminated by a comment of Kenneth W. Harl [in his video lectures, The World of Byzantium, for The Teaching Company, 2001] and by the description of Byzantine strategy and diplomacy in The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire, by Edward N. Luttwak [Belknap, Harvard University Press, 2009]. Harl's comment was that Alexius saw the Turks as a new Bulgaria, which could be Christianized, domesticated, and then absorbed into the Empire, just as Bulgaria had been. This is consistent with the strategy described by Luttwak, one of whose key points was that the Empire did not aim at the extermination of its enemies, as the Rome of Trajan might have done. This was (1) too difficult and exhausting given the reduced power of Romania, (2) dangeorus when a battle could be lost as well as won, with hell to pay, and (3) futile when the elimination of one enemy would simply open the door for the next enemy in the queue, who is liable to be more aggressive and more alien than the previous one.
Thus, while Anatolia had not been overrun in quite the same way before, the Balkans had. Over centuries, the inundation of the Slavs, Avars, and Bulgars had gradually been overcome and absorbed, with decisive military action only at the end. Premature attempts in that form, as in the days of Nicephorus I , had been disasters. And there was nothing new about the Turks. Romania had found good allies in the Turkish Khazars for three centuries, and we have seen Emperors marry Khazar women. Alexius knew that the Empire was in a bad way, but that had happened before. All it would take was patience.
And Alexius would have some reason for hope. There had been Turkish converts to Christianity, even groups of them, who had come over to the Empire. After the First Crusade had driven the Seljuks back from their high water mark, the borders began to settle and they did not seem to pose the same kind of threat. Diplomacy and familiarity could begin to work their magic. Unfortunately, there were some features of the situation that told against the traditional strategy. The Turks were, indeed, recent converts to Islâm, but nevertheless this already gave them the sort of sophisticated religious system that the Slavs and Bulgars had not possessed. Christianity did not represent sophistication and civilization in comparison to Islâm as it had to the others. Also, religious influence continued to arrive from the central Islâmic lands, while Christian proslytizing was not tolerated.
Roman and Christian culture thus had less of a chance of domesticating the Turkish threat. Indeed, the Bulgars themselves had not been entirely assimilated and were not regarded as "Romans" either by the Romans or by themselves. The potential for Bulgarian revival was great and would eventually come to pass . Most importantly, there were subsequent waves of Turkish immigration, reinvigorating the Turkish presence. The Mongols were bumping more Turks off the steppe just as the Huns had originally bumped inconvenient numbers of Germans into the Empire centuries earlier. But the Turks were both too strong and too weak. The Seljuks of Rûm were complacent enough that they took no real advantage of Manuel's defeat at Myriocelphum (a premature Roman push), but then they were staggered and subjugated by the Mongol defeat in 1243. This meant that the new waves of arriving Turks ended up creating new, vigorous states, the Oghullar, with whom domestication would need to start all over again, instead of being absorbed into a durable and familiar state of Rûm. Figures like John Cantacuzenus did try to start over again, even intermarrying with the Ottomans , but by then the situation of the Empire was so diminished (with the Bulgars, Vlachs, and Serbs going their own way), and that of the Turks so enhanced (still driven by undiminished Islâmic Jihâd), that there was little chance left for things to go over time as they had with the Bulgars. Instead, it was the Turks who tamed and absorbed Romania.
3. COMNENI
Isaac Comnenus
Emperor on Cyprus , 1185-1191
With the Turks at Nicaea (whether friendly or hostile, as discussed above ), the Normans ready to land in the west, the currency debased, the army dispersed, and the treasury empty, Alexius Comnenus had his job cut out for him. The results were satisfactory enough, but a couple of the desperate measures that the desperate times called for would have unfortunate long term consequences. The trade privileges given to Venice in 1082 eventually made Roman trade, and even the Navy, the plaything of Italian city states. Calling on the West for military aid against the Turks had the very unexpected result of Pope Urban II calling in 1095 for a "Crusade" to liberate the Holy Land and Jerusalem from Islâm.
It is usually said that Alexius wrote a letter to the Pope asking for aid and that this inspired Urban to call for the Crusade. We also have a letter that Alexius is supposed to have written to Count Robert II of Flanders , whose father, Robert I, had recently (1089) been on pilgrmage to Jerusalem and evidently developed a relationship with Alexius on the way. Historians have been suspicious of the received text of the letter to Robert, but the problem may be the good Latin of the letter and its reference to losses to the Turks in Anatolia. Since the letter apparently dates from around 1093, the losses, which were thought to have occurred earlier, sound anachronistic. However, Peter Frankopan has recently argued that the situation in Anatolia actually did not deteriorate badly until that point, so that there is no anachronism in the letter [The First Crusade, The Call from the East, Belknap Press, Harvard University Press, 2012, p.60] -- its Latin would just be a function of competent translators in Constantinople. As it happened, Alexius developed a better relationship with Robert II than with most of the Crusaders on the First Crusade. Robert I had already sent Alexius 500 Flemish knights, who fought in Anatolia and in the Balkans for the Emperor. When the Robert II passed through Constantinople on the way home from Jerusalem, Alexius bestowed on him a relic that was supposed to be an arm of St. George. This special relationship between Constantinople and Flanders foreshadows, sadly, the later election of Count Baldwin IX of Flanders as Latin Emperor after the Fourth Crusade takes the City in 1204 -- "sadly" because the friendship with Alexius was replaced by the hostile conquest of his descendants, the Angeli, while the tenure and the fate of the Flemish in Constantinople was not edifying.
Most of the Crusaders passing through Constantinople gave Alexius a very bad feeling. The possibility of what actually happened a century later, when the Fourth Crusade took Constantinople, was already very real. So Alexius bundled them as quickly as possible into Asia, where they defeated the Turks, making it possible to drive them out of western Anatolia together. This was of great material help to Romania, but the Turks remained based at Iconium (Konya). The Roman Army (with the thematic apparatus long gone) was never up to the task of dislodging them entirely. That this could have been done was revealed when Frederick Barbarosa , passing through on the Third Crusade, broke into Konya and sacked it (1190). That he died shortly thereafter steals the thunder from this act, but it is noteworthy. Meanwhile, the greatest military successes of the Comneni, by Manuel I, when his suzerainty was acknowledged by Lesser Armenia, Antioch, and even Jerusalem, were undone by a devastating defeat in 1176 at Myriocephalum ("Ten Thousands Heads"). Shortly thereafter Serbia breaks away, beginning a process of disintegration that would never be entirely reversed.
The Englishmen in the Varangian Guard of Alexius I were not entirely able to escape their Norman nemesis. At the battle of Dyrrhachium in 1082, where Normans from Sicily under Robert Guisgard de Hauteville were trying to establish a beachhead in what is now Albania, a promising start turned into a rout of the Roman army, with many of the English Varangians, who had advanced impetuously beyond the rest of the army, slaughtered by the Normans. Nevertheless, despite this painful setback, and some others, Alexius finally was able to win the war and, with the help of the Venetians and even Seljuks, eject the Normans. The death of Guisgard in 1085 ended the threat, as the Normans otherwise concentrated on recovering Sicily from Islam -- though there was no love lost when Guisgard's son Bohemond passed through Constantinople on the First Crusade (he then became the first Prince of Antioch , violating an agreement to return the city to Romania).
According to Raffaele D'Amato [op.cit., p.10], after the defeat of Manuel I at Myriocephalum in 1176 and considerable losses there to the Varangians, some English Varangians went home with a letter from the Emperor to King Henry II of England, saying, "We have also felt it a pleasure that it so happened that some of the chief men of your nobility were with us, who will, at your desire, inform you on all the circumstances [of the battle]." One thing this record demonstrates is that English recruits to the Guard were no longer merely dispossessed Saxons. Some "chief men" of Henry's own Norman nobility were drawn to the Guard. Indeed, there is direct evidence of this in a letter that St. Anslem (d.1109), of all people, wrote to a young Norman knight named William who was thinking of joining the Guard. His brother had already done so, and Anslem wanted William to become a monk. There is even a report that a "recuitment bureau" existed in London for the Guard [cf. Peter Frankopan, op.cit., p.87, reference to "Les Sceaux byzantins de Londres" by J.C. Cheynet, 2003]. We may reflect that even if William did join the Guard, he could not have lived long enough to have been at Myriocephalum, but he might have known Alexius I.
This is why the tradition went on for centuries, long after 1066. Anthony Kaldellis says that the letter to Henry II is "a source has has been underutilized by modern historians" [Ethnography After Antiquity, Foreign Lands and Peoples in Byzantine Literature, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013, p.29]. Indeed, multiple standard Byzantine histories do not even mention it. Even better, we hear about the letter from a contemporary, Gerald of Wales, who recounts how King Henry responded to Manuel's inquiries "about the geographical conditions, way of life, and things worth seeing in the island of Britain" [ibid.]. Gerald apparently contributed information about Wales to the response. Asking about "things worth seeing" seems like a much more Modern, rather than Mediaeval, sort of curiosity.
Norse recruits to the Varangian Guard continued as Alexius entertained Scandinavian monarchs on Crusade or pilgrimage, particularly the Kings Eric I the Evergood of Denmark and Sigurð I the Crusader of Norway . Alexius at first distrusted Eric, as he did all the Crusaders, and had him camp outside Constantinople. We are told, however, that his spies reported Eric urging the Danish Varangians to serve the Emperor faithfully. Eric was then invited into the City and honored -- at least according to the Norse sources. Unfortunately, the pious King never made it to Jerusalem but died and was buried on Cyprus. Alexius is remembered in the Icelandic Sagas as Kirjalax, evidently from Kyrios Alexios, "Lord Alexius." The name was also used, confusingly, for subsequent Comneni. The positive reputation of Alexius in Scandinavia thus stands in noteworthy contrast to what it became in Latin Western Europe, where the conflicts of the First Crusade resulted in a smear campaign against Alexius on behalf of some of the Crusaders, particularly Bohemond of Antioch, who wanted to put his own machinations in the best light. Bohemond was successful in that and became widely regarded as the principle hero of the First Crusade, even though he had dropped out and failed to accompany the Crusaders to the capture of Jerusalem. A remarkable, if ironic, public relations triumph.
On April 5, 1106, an event of serious ill omen occurred. The statue of Constantine I that had stood on a porphyry column in his Forum since the founding of the City, fell off in a storm. We have an account of this from The Patria description of Constantinople, associated with the appearance of a comet, which was also considered a thing of ill omen:
This statue fell from the column and caused the death of the men and women who happened to be there, about ten in number, on the fifth of April of the fourteenth indiction, in the year [ Anno Mundi ] 6614 (1106), the twentieth year of the reign of the lord Alexios Komnenos... About the third hour, it became dark and a violent southern wind blew fiercely, for a comet, which is called the Spear, had caused this turbulence of the air. It appeared in the evening of the Friday of the first week, on the ninth of February of the fourteenth indiction, in the year 6614, and then stayed. [Accounts of Medieval Constantinople, The Patria, translated by Albercht Berger, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard University Press, 2013, p.27]
Apparently, no attempt was ever made to restore or replace the statue, and the fate of its remains is unknown. The column stands until today, now with iron brands around it, and with the appearance of having been once burned, which is now the name by which it is known -- the "Burnt Column." The loss of his central monument of the City even now has a ring of downfall to it, although the city will endure, in reduced circumstances, for another three and a half centuries.
In Manuel I's day, in 1153, we also get recruits to the Varangian Guard from the Crusading force of the Earl of Orkney . Raffaele D'Amato says [op.cit. p.14] that the Earl, coming by sea, had six of his 15 ships split off at Gibraltar and go to Constantinople. D'Amato does not say which Earl of Orkney this was. That is a problem, since there were two Earls, cousins Ragnald III (1137-1158) and Harald II the Old (1139-1206), ruling simultaneously. I suspect that the Earl in question was Ragnald III, since we find Ragnald's more closely related cousin, Erlend III, becoming Earl in 1154 (1154-1156). This looks like something that would happen while Ragnald was away on Crusade.
This speculation is confirmed by The Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queen [op.cit., pp.453-455], where Erlend III took advantage of Ragnald III's absence on Crusade to usurp his domain, with the permission of King Eystein III of Norway (the suzerain of Orkney at the time). Harald II withstood this move, but when Eystein III bestowed the entire County on Erlend, because Harald had been appointed by Ragnald without Royal permission, Erlend was able to eject Harald. Ragnald then returned from Crusade in 1155; and he and Harald combined forces to defeat and kill Erlend. The Mammoth Book does not mention any of Ragnald's men joining the Varangian Guard; but it does say that, returning from Palestine, Ragnald wintered in Constantinople, visiting the Emperor Manuel. If D'Amato is right, that six of Ragnald's ships left at Gibraltar to join the Guard, it does not sound like there would have been much hard feeling, for the Earl to be a guest of Manuel later on.
Most of it was written after she was banished to a convent by her brother, John II, whom she apparently had tried to assassinate. This particularly intense form of sibling rivalry was in part the result of Anna's expectation that she would be closer to the seat of power, i.e. that the Emperor would be her husband. The birth of John spoiled this, and Anna, perhaps a feminist before her time, never accepted the wisdom of his succession. She blamed him for subsequent disasters; but, since the Alexiad doesn't cover his reign, she never quite says what these disasters were. The real disaster, Myriocephalum, happened after her death to her nephew, Manuel I. One reference to the Alexiad that I remember from childhood, that Anna says her father didn't trust the Crusaders because they didn't have beards and smelled of horses, I have been unable to find in the text. I was long under the impression that the Alexiad made Anna the first woman historian. She certainly has that honor in the West. However, I now discover that there was an earlier woman historian in China. Pan Chao completed the great History of the Former Han Dynasty after her brother, Pan Ku, was executed, leaving the work incomplete. This was during the Later Han Dynasty , a thousand years before Anna. Since Pan Chao's other brother, Pan Ch'ao, commissioned an embassy to Rome in 97 AD, unfortunately unsuccessful, we do have a tenuous historial link between the two women.
From the few and questionable foreign marriages of the Macedonians , with the Comneni we find a large number of well attested ones, many with Crusaders but one making connections as distant as Spain. I was aware of few of these until a correspondent, Ann Ferland, began to point them out. The marriage of Maria of Montpellier, whose mother was Eudocia Comnena, to King Peter II of Aragon led to all subsequent Kings of Aragon and of Spain . A great deal of European Royalty, right down to the present, thus would be descendants of Alexius I Comnenus.
The presence of the Venetians and the web of foreign marriages both attest to closer ties and increasing traffic, and not just of Crusaders, between Constantinople and the West. For instance, the Emperor Manuel (1143-1180) made a gift of a copy of Ptolemy's Almagest to King William I (1154-1166) of Naples and Sicily. This apparently was conveyed on a diplomatic mission by Henricus Aristippus (d.c.1162), who saw to the translation of the work, while he himself tried his hand at translating the Meno and Phaedo. The manuscript of the Almagest was inherited by Charles of Anjou , who then donated his library to the Papacy in 1266. The modern Vatican Library was not founded until 1475, and previous collections were often dispersed. Thus, the manuscript of the Almagest subsequently ended up in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. While interest in Greek and in doing translations may not be too surprising in the South of Italy, we see the first signs of it further north. Thus, James of Venice (c.1130/70) and Burgundio of Pisa (c.1110-1193) acquired manuscripts, traveled to Constantinople, and began turning out translations. This is still 300 years before the Renaissance proper, when such activities went into high gear, with much greater interest, Greek refugees, and the aid of the printing press. People like Burgundio and their pioneering efforts thus tend to be forgotten, but the later work probably owes them a debt that is now hard to estimate.
4. LESSER ARMENIA
Mamlûks , 1375
The Kingdom of Armenia in the Taurus Mountains of Cilicia is called "Lesser" Armenia in contrast to the "Greater Armenia" of the Armenian homeland to the northeast. After Nicephorus II Phocas recovered the area from the Arabs in 965 and ordered all Moslems to leave, Christians from Syria and Armenia were encouraged to settle and garrison the land. Nicephorus himself even welcomed "schismatic," Armenian Orthodox Monophysites from Armenia,
but this tolerance would not always continue and some friction was inevitable between many Armenians and the Imperial (the, strictly speaking, "Roman Catholic") Church. After the Seljuk breakthrough, more Armenians fled from the east, bringing the Patriarch with them, as the Turks overran Anatolia. The Armenians in the Taurus found themselves on their own and began organizing their own domains. When the Crusaders passed through, they were welcomed and aided. A daughter of Constantine I was married to Joscelin I , Count of Edessa, ushering in a long history of association and intermarriage between the Armenians and the Crusader states. Indeed, Armenian nobility were the only group in the Levant that the Crusaders seemed to regard as equals and whom they married on equal terms. The Armenians began to adopt Frankish customs, including feudal law, dress, and knighthood. This made Lesser Armenia rather like a Crusader State itself, and so it is shown on the map. The urge to adopt the Latin Rite in the Armenian Church, and to seek union with Rome, was promoted by the Armenian Monarchy but fiercely resisted by the Church and the populace.
The history of Lesser Armenia puts to shame the antipathy in "liberal" opinion against the Crusades. The Armenians, surrounded and repeatedly attacked (until today) by militant Islâm, expose the hypocrisy of the anachronistic and tendentious characterization, by naive fools or vicious Lefists , of the Crusades as "imperialism," while Islamic Conquest, whether in the 7th century, the 11th, the 15th, or any other time, is itself ignored, rationalized, or excused. This is a living and crucial issue in our own day of Islamic Terrorism , when the Left has in effect joined forces with Mediaeval savagery in Iran , Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, or Gaza -- and now Egypt and Libya -- in the Marxist cause of attacking capitalism and liberal democracy. Christians are under renewed attack in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Egypt; but the "liberal" press, which never worries much about the murder of Christians or Jews by Muslims, continues to ignore such developments.
This list of kings is mainly based on M. Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia [Dorset Press, New York, 1987, 1991]. However, Steven Runciman, in his A History of the Crusades, Volume III, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades [Cambridge, 1951, 1987], gives a more complete family tree, abstracted below. Runciman, maddeningly (but characteristically), gives not a single date; but he does give a number of figures who account for the numbering of the Constantines and Thoroses in the dynasty. According to Chahin's list, these were not reigning kings, but, even if not, they were numbered as members of the dynasty. Or they may have been co-regents unrecognized by Chahin. On the other hand, Constantine IV and V are not listed by Runciman in the dynastic tree because they were both usurpers. "Peter of Cyprus" listed by Chahin is Peter I of Cyprus. Constantine V offered him the throne but then decided to keep it for himself when Peter was assassinated. This information is supplemented by Warren Threadgold's A History of the Byzantine State and Society [Stanford, 1997]. Chahin fails to mention, for instance, the capture of Leon I and his sons (including Thoros II) by the Emperor John II Comnenus. On the other hand, while Runciman and Chahin agree that the early Rupenids were "princes," without a royal title until 1198, Threadgold says that they began calling themselves "kings" in 1099. Since none of them give the actual terms they were using, perhaps just in Armenian, it is hard to know why there is this disagreement.
Of greatest interest in the genealogy is when the house of Lesser Armenia makes reciprocal marriages with the Lusignan dynasty of Cyprus. This begins with the children of Leon III and Hugh III of Cyprus. Two sons and three daughters of Leon III married children of Hugh III. The result is that the succession of Lesser Armenia actually passes to to Lusignan. Such a close connection might have protected the Armenians, if Cyprus had been enough of a power to resist the Mamlûks, which, at least on land, it was not.
The Kingdom of Lesser Armenia was the last independent Armenian state until the former Soviet Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991.
As Armenians had relocated to Cilicia, so did the Patriarch of Armenia (in 1062). This line continued even after the fall of the Kingdom in 1375. In 1441, however, a new Patriarch was elected in Armenia. Sometimes it is said that the Patriarchate moved back to Armenia; but this is not true, since Patriarch Gregory IX (1439-1446) remained where he was, as Giragos (1441-1443) was installed in Armenia. The Cilician line continued, as it does down to the present, as the Great House of Cilicia . It relocated to Lebanon in 1930 because of continued attacks on Armenians in Turkey. As noted above, the Kings of Lesser Armenia promoted union with Rome, which was otherwise very unpopular. Six pro-Latin Patriarchs were assassinated; but there was still an Armenian delegation that accepted the union of the Churches at the Council of Florence in 1439. Eventually a Schism resulted, and in 1737 a line of Catholic Patriarchs began. By 1749, these Patriarchs were already seated in Lebanon, where the Maronite Church was already in communion with Rome.
Historic Armenia Index
The Empire has recovered as much as it is ever going to, and actually seems in relatively good shape, with deference all the way from Jerusalem to Hungary. But the heartland of the Themes is long gone. The Sultânate of Rûm is a nut that cannot be cracked -- the true seed of doom for Romania. And Roman trade and shipping is now dominated by Venice, just one of the states of Francia that now rivals or surpasses Romania in economic development. What had always been the key to Roman success, control of the sea , which had previously been lost at times to the Vandals and the Arabs, now is lost forever to Italian states.
B. THE LATIN EMPIRE, 1185-1261, 76 years
1. ANGELI
d.1204
Constantinope falls to Fourth Crusade, 1204
The worst and most disastrous dynasty in Roman history. Alexius IV brings in the Fourth Crusade, with impossible promises, to restore his incompetent father, and only succeeds in losing Constantinople to a foreign enemy for the first time ever. This may qualify as the true "Fall of Rome." The damage was bad enough, with many treasures and archives destroyed or carted off to Venice. Unlike the Goths at Rome in 410, the Crusaders stuck around for 60 years, with steadily decreasing success.
As on the eve of the advent of the Goths in the 4th century , a massive earthquake affected the region in 1202 on the eve of the Fourth Crusade. This was centered in Galilee and the damage was principally inflicted through Syria and Palestine, which would only indirectly have affected Romania. However, the earthquake was so large (perhaps a 7.6 or greater) that Anatolia was also affected, while the effects of a tsunami could have extended into the Aegean. It is thus difficult to say how this might have damaged the strength of Romania when faced with the arrival of the Crusaders. Of course, one might think that damage to the resources of the Islamic states in the Levant would have made this an idea moment for the Crusaders to arrive there, but the Venetian plan against Constantinople had already seized the agency of the Crusade.
In 1195, Isaac II, or the new Emperor Alexius III, sent three Varangians on a mission to Scandinavia to seek recruits for the Varangian Guard -- this is revealing when previously Danish and Norwegian monarchs had themselves come to Constantinople. We are told that Hreiðarr sendimaðr (i.e. "the Messenger") went to Norway (to King Sverre), Pétr illska went to Denmark (to King Canute VI the Pious), and Sigurðr grikker ("the Greek") Oddsson went to Sweden (to Knut I or Sverker II). Hreiðarr had the toughest time that we know of, since Sverre, anticipating war, had no warriors to spare. Allowed to recruit among farmers and merchants, it is not clear that Hreiðarr, who became embroiled in local events, ever returned to Constantinople. On the other hand, Pétr may have returned with the actual Danes who were subsequently observed by Geoffroy de Villehardouin in 1203. There are many stories about Sigurðr Oddsson, but it is not clear whether his mission was successful. Since there are references to Englishmen but not to Scandinavians in the Varangian Guard of the Palaeologi , this may be last the time when Norse warriors actively traveled to Constantinople [cf. Blöndal and Benedikz, op.cit. , pp.218-222].
Alexius III, having fled the Crusaders who installed Alexius IV and restored Isaac II, takes up residence at Mosynopolis in Thrace. Alexius V Mourtzouphlos, part of the popular reaction again the Crusaders and their friends, Alexius IV and Isaac II, conducted the last defense of the City but then fled. He sought refuge with Alexius III, who was, after all, his father-in-law, but who, however, had him blinded and expelled. Captured by some French Knights and returned to Constantinople, Mourtzouphlos was thrown to his death from the Column of Theodosius. Alexius III ultimately tries to get the Turks to defeat the Lascarids and install him at Nicaea. Unfortunately, Theodore Lascaris personally killed the Sultân of Rûm in single combat. Alexius is captured, blinded, and sent to a monastery. He dies, forgotten, some time after 1211.
The Angeli continue the foreign marriages of the Comneni. One is particularly noteworthy. Irene Angelina,
, daughter of the Isaac II, married a son of Frederick Barbarossa, Philip of Swabia , who contended with Otto of Brunswick for the German Empire. They had no sons; but the marriages of their four daughters are among the most interesting in European history. In a reconciliation
of Philip's feud, the oldest daughter, Beatrice, married Otto himself. But they had no children. The younger daughters, Kunigunde, Marie, and Elizabeth, married King Wenceslas I of Bohemia , Duke Henry III of Lower Lorraine and Brabant , and King & St. Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon , respectively. All of these marriages produced children with living modern descendants, especially among the Hapsburgs and the royal family of Spain, as can be traced at the linked genealogies. Since Isaac himself was a great-grandson of Alexius I Comnenus, this means that a large part of modern European royalty, through this connection alone, have been descendants of the Angeli and Comneni. My impression is that Roman Imperial descent for recent royalty has often been claimed through the Macedonians, but the only certain line, as we have seen , may be from Macedonian in-laws.
On the other hand, descent from the Comneni and Angeli appears to be well attested and with multiple lines. Another fruitful line will be from Maria Lascarina,
, who married Bela IV of Hungary . Since the Lascarids themselves derive from Anna Angelina,
, daughter of Alexius III, and Maria's mother, that connects up to the whole Comneni-Angeli house. Maria's son, Stephen V of Hungary, had a daughter, Katalin, who married the Serbian King Stephen Dragutin, who had a daughter the married a Bosnian Ban , with many descendants. This line all the way to the Hapsburgs can be examined on a popup .
2. BULGARIA, ASENS
1279-1284?, d.<1302
Asens replaced by Terters
In 1204, the Pope recognized Kalojan as "King of the Bulgarians and the Vlachs" (Geoffroy de Villehardouin, calling him "Johanitza," even says "King of Wallachia and Bulgaria").
Indeed, the Asen brothers, founders of the dynasty, were themselves Vlachs, i.e. modern Romanians . This is therefore not a purely ethnic Bulgarian state. It also came close to succeeding to the throne in Constantinople, though later overpowered by the Mongols , Serbia and, of course, the Ottomans .
The principal setback to the Bulgarian state was the Mongol invasion of 1242, which itself was almost an afterthought as the Mongols abandoned the conquests of Poland and Hungary in 1241 and were returning to Russia. The Chingnizids needed to go to Mongolia to elect a new Great Khan . What followed for Bulgaria was a period of internal conflict, between members of the Asen dynasty and outsiders. Two unrelated usurpers, Constantine Tich and Ivaljo, figure in the table above. Another unrelated figure, however, Ivan Mytzes, becomes an Asen in-law and the father of the last Asen Emperor, John III. This is a confused period, with pretenders contending and dates uncertain. John III fled to the Mongols and then to Constantinople. He was succeeded in Bulgaria by his erstwhile minister, George Terter.
The list of Bulgarian rulers is from various Byzantine sources, including the only source of the genealogy here, which is the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, pp.160-162].
Although John III lost Bulgaria, his descendants figured in affairs in Constantinople for some time. Since his granddaughter married the Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus, whose daughter Helena married the Emperor John V, all the subsequent Palaeologi are his descendants.
3. LATIN EMPERORS AT CONSTANTINOPLE
Baldwin I of Flanders
Philip III
titular Emperor 1364-1373
While the conquest and sack of Constantinople have rightly been regarded as one of the worst cases of vandalism and betrayal in world history, a stab in the back against the state and the civilization that had been the repository and guardian of Classical, Western, and Christian culture during most of the Middle Ages, and an insult by Latin and Frankish Western Europe against the Greek and Orthodox East, one thing must be admitted: This was not what the Crusaders had in mind. It wasn't their idea or their intention. The whole project had been initiated by the future Alexius IV Angelus, looking to restore his father, cooked up in detail by Venice , and then conducted from beginning to end by the Doge Enrico Dandolo. The betrayal it represents, then, was of a more intimate character, since Venice was in origin, culture, and tradition one of Romania's own.
In the most attenuated sense, it was still a de jure possession of Constantinople. The Crusaders, who thought that getting to Outremer by sea would be easier than marching overland, did not reckon on the scale of demands for payment by Venice, or on the cynical manipulations that would follow. Pope Innocent III wasn't too happy about it either, and the Crusaders earned excommunication for fighting Christians, for Venice, rather than Moslems, for Christendom. However they got to Constantinople, of course, they still didn't need to sack the City. We can blame them for that. In the end, of course, the blame doesn't matter -- and some of it should be shared by Alexius IV anyway. The damage was done. There would be hell to pay, and several modern conflicts in the Balkans and between Turkey and her neighbors are arguably still the result.
Nevertheless, the demonology of blame has some modern significance. If Venice is ignored and significant spleen directed at the Crusaders, there may be a particular reason for this, derived from a sort of anachronistic hostility that is directed at the Crusades in general: Where we see them condemned as imperialism, euro-centrism, racism, xenophobia , or the oppression of the Third World -- terms that would have been incomprehensible to anyone in the 13th century -- something is going on that owes little to history and much to modern ideology. To Islamic Fascism , its enemies are always "Crusaders," whether or not they are even Christians. To the Leftist sympathizers of Islamic Fascism, the Crusaders are simply viewed through the prism of their own Marxism and "anti-imperialist" Leninism . The effect also exemplifies moralistic relativism , with the Islamic Conquest of the Middle East itself ignored, complacently accepted, or approved, while any counter-attacks to that Conquest, which is what the Crusades were, are viewed with furious moral indignation.
The double standard is blatant and shameless -- its very incoherence is not even an embarrassment to the post-modern deconstructionists who think that logical consistency is itself Euro-centric oppression. Thus, reactions to the Fourth Crusade, as to all the Crusades, may be more of a mirror to the present than an understanding of the past.
The destruction and theft effected by the Crusaders was probably a greater loss to civilization than almost anything that had happened to Romania during the Dark Ages. Yet there are two sides to the story, which we see in the account of Michael Choniates (c.1140-1220), the last Orthodox Archbishop of Athens before the city was taken by the Crusaders in 1205. He was forced to abandon his library, which then seems to have mostly been destroyed. We know that he had copies of Aitia and Hekale by Callimachus, which otherwise now only survive in fragments. Thus, Michael said, "Sooner will asses understand the harmony of the lyre and dung-beetles enjoy perfume than the Latins appreciate the harmony and grace of prose" [N.G. Wilson, Scholars of Byzantium, Duckworth, 1983, 1996, p.205]. This sounds rather like the chracterization of the Regents of the University of Texas by J. Frank Dobie (1888-1964), that they knew as much about academic freedom as an Arkanas razorback hog did of Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn." But some of the library seems to have been dispersed rather than destroyed, as a friend of Choniates wrote him about some books he had recovered. But the most interesting comment is a complaint from Choniates that the price of books has been rising because "booksellers were doing a great trade with Italians" [ibid.]. The Latins buying the books were probably not the same ones who had been destroying them, and we have already seen above that Italians were beginning to acquire and translate Greek literature in the 12th century.
Indeed, we know something of the Latins who were buying books. The Dominican friar William of Moerbeke (c.1215-c.1286) traveled around Romania, acquiring manuscripts and translating them himself. In 1280 he became the Latin Archbishop of Corinth, which placed him in the middle of things. His buying and translating activities may have even been at the personal request of his fellow Dominican Thomas Aquinas , who of course was himself from the South of Italy. This was after the time of Choniates, but it does mean that the buying about which he was complaining continued through the century. At the same time, we know that King Manfred (1250-1266) of Naples and Sicily was actually commissioning translations of Aristotle from Bartholomew of Messinia. The translations are supposed to have been sent to the University of Paris, where Aquinas (1224-1274) might have inspected them himself [ibid. pp.226-227]. Otherwise, we think of Aquinas using translations of Aristotle that were made from Arabic editions.
Amid all the damage done by the Crusaders, there thus was also already a salvage operation in effect. The disorders of the Fourth Crusade or the Turkish Conquest were probably not the safest or most efficient ways to supply Francia with Greek literature, but what we now thankfully have is the result. But the Latins who were out buying books were not the same ones trying to run a government from Constantinople. Without the sources of taxation, and before long reduced to the environs of the City, the Latin Emperors were desperate for money. This is why we hear of them melting down bronze statues and stripping the metal roofs off of buildings, activities I have previously noted .
The conquest of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade did not result in the establishment of the authority of the Latin Emperors over the whole of the previous Empire. Greek authority was maintained in three major locations, at Nicaea , at Trebizond , and in Epirus , and a couple of minor locations, at Rhodes, later to fall to Venice, and at the fortress of Monembasia in the Peloponnesus (Morea), which fell in 1248. All three major Greek rulers eventually proclaimed themselves emperors, which means that at one point four rulers were claiming the Imperial dignity within the old Empire -- not to mention the Bulgarian and Serbian Tsars who also wanted to inherit it. The Emperor at Nicaea was the one to return to Constantinople, but the Emperor at Trebizond was the last to fall to the Turks.
Besides the 3/8 of the whole retained by Venice , including Adrianople and Gallipoli, the Latin Empire ended up included three significant feudal dependencies, all subjugated and organized by the leader of the Fourth Crusade, Boniface the Margrave of Montferrat : the Kingdom of Thessalonica (1204-1224),
with Boniface himself as king, the Duchy of Athens (1205-1456), and the Principality of Achaea (1205-1432).
Kings of Thessalonica
1207-1224, d.1230/9
Thessalonica taken by Epirus , 1224
Boniface was denied the Imperial throne by the Venetian votes, apparently because it was thought that he might make too strong an Emperor. Instead, Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders , was elected Emperor. Baldwin's reign would be short and pathetic, but one does have to say: this is a long way from Bruges. Flanders itself, inherited by Baldwin's daughters, would continue to play a role in European history far out of proportion to its size, as its wealth contributes to the power of the Dukes of Burgundy and then the Hapsburgs . The Latin Emperors could have used some of that wealth. Their fragment of Romania had a similarly reduced tax base, and the Venetians dominated trade with an immunity to taxation. The result was that classical bronzes were melted down for the metal, and even the copper and lead roofs of churches were stripped and sold. None of the damage of the conquest was made good, while regular maintenance of walls and structures was neglected. The Greeks recovered a depreciated and degraded city in 1261.
Boniface himself was killed in 1207 and the Kingdom of Thessalonica turned out to be the most short-lived of the Crusader states in Romania, falling to Epirus. In 1311 the Duchy of Athens was seized by the Catalan Company, which had mutinied against the Palaeologi. The Principality of Achaea eventually got mixed up with the Anjevians and finally was inherited, much too late, by the Palaeologi in 1432; but the Duchy of Athens never returned to the control of Greek Romania. It fell to Meh.med II in 1456.
After the restoration of Greek rule in Constantinople, a claim to the Roman throne passed down through the descendants of Baldwin II.
Charles of Anjou , who had his own designs on Romania, married a daughter to Baldwin's son Philip. Later, Charles' grandson Philip married the heiress, Catherine of Valois, of the claim. None of these claimants, however, ever had much of a chance of returning to Constantinople. Many of them, however, were also Princes of Achaea , where their succession and genealogy are given in detail.
The nimbus is not used for the Latin Emperors in the genealogy because, as Roman Catholics, they would have acknowledged Papal supremacy to a degree that the Orthodox Emperors in Constantinople never would. Latin Emperors could not be "Equal to the Apostles."
4. DESPOTS OF EPIRUS
1335-1337, 1340, & 1355-1359
Epirus absorbed by Andronicus III , 1337, 1340
In the scramble for a Greek successor to the Angeli, Epirus was in a good position, from which considerable progress was made. Thessalonica was the second city of the Empire, and its capture reasonably prompted Theodore Ducas to proclaim himself Emperor. From there, however, things only went down hill. Theodore was himself defeated and captured by the Bulgarians, which would add him to the number of Valerian and Romanus IV if we considered him a proper Emperor of Romania. But the chance of that dimmed further when Theodore's successors were defeated by Nicaea, reduced to despots, and then Thessalonica itself fell to Nicaea.
Noteworthy in the genealogy is the marriage of Anna Angelina Ducaena,
, to Prince William II "Great Tooth" of Achaea . Their daughter became the Heiress of Achaea. However, the marriage of
, Helene, to Manfred of Sicily had no issue. These marriages represented the alliance of Epirus with Sicily and Achaea, which came to a bad end at Pelagonia in 1259. William himself was captured.
Epirus itself proved difficult for either Nicaea or the Palaeologi to subdue and rule, so the despots continued there for a while, subsequently under some rulers unrelated to the Ducases, including a couple of Orsini, from a noble family of the City of Rome that contributed a number of Popes and was usually involved in the domestic disputes, rising to the level of civil wars, among the Roman nobility. How they came to be involved in Eprius, I cannot say. By the time Andronicus III was able to annex the territory, the Empire as a whole was too far gone for it to have helped very much.
5. EMPERORS AT TREBIZOND
Trebizond falls to Meh.med II , 1461
A very poor excuse for an "empire," Trebizond spent much of its existence in vassalage to the Mongols and Turks who ruled the plateau behind it. It started, however, with an heir to the Comneni and a reasonable ambition of moving on to Constantinople. After realistic chances of that past, Trebizond ended up with the dubious honor of being the last of the Greek states to fall to the Ottomans, in 1461.
Lists of the Emperors of Trebizond can be found in various Byzantine histories, but the genealogy here only comes from the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume III, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser, Ergänzungsband [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Second Edition, 2001, pp.235-236].
In the genealogy of the Comneni of Trebizond, there are noteworthy marriages to Kings of Georgia . There is also the interesting episode of Irene, daughter of Andronicus III Palaeologus , briefly succeeding her husband Basil as ruling Empress. She was then succeeded by her sister-in-law Anna. Most extraordinary is a marriage at the end of line. A daughter, Theodora, of Emperor John IV married Uzun H.asan, a Khan of the White Sheep Turks (1457-1478), the very Khan who conquered the Black Sheep Turks in 1469 and created a regional state that stretched from Eastern Anatolia, where the White Sheep Turks originated, into Eastern Irân. This continued until the Safavids came to power in 1508.
6. LASCARIDS
John IV
1258-1261
Sicilians & Epirotes defeated, William II of Achaea captured, Battle of Pelagonia, 1259; William ransomed with the Morea , 1261
The Lascarids at Nicaea were perhaps the best placed to move on Constantinople, except that they were at first on the wrong side of the Bosporus. Meanwhile, the legitimacy of the regime as the successor to the Angeli was reinforced when the Patriarch of Constantinople relocated to Nicaea, as well as by the dramatic moment when Theodore I killed the Sultân of Rûm in battle.
The Asiatic base of the Lascarids was remedied, mainly by John Ducas Vatatzes, who defeated the Greek rivals at Thessalonica and creating a state that straddled Europe and Asia. This created the kind of stranglehold on Constantinople that the Turks would duplicate later.
See the Angeli for the genealogy of Anna Angelina,
, daughter of Alexius III. Maria Lascarina,
, daughter of her and Theodore I, married Bela IV of Hungary , from which derives multiple lines of descendants. The marriages of the daughters of Theodore II, Maria,
, to Constantine Tich of Bulgaria , and Irene,
, to Nicephorus I of Epirus , do not seem to have been fruitful.
Constantinople was regained on a chance betrayal to the Nicaean general and Regent, Michael Palaeologus. Once in power in Constantinople, Michael disposed of the actual Nicaean heir, John IV. The Lascarids, who were actually mostly the family of John Ducas Vatatzes, thus only served to obtain the restoration of Greek Romania for the Palaeologi.
C. THE LAST DAYS, 1261-1453, 192 years
1. SERBIA
Regent, 1458-1459, d.1473
annexed by Turkey, 1459
The Golden Age of Serbia. Independence from Romania and then the passing of the most vigorous days of Bulgaria meant an opportunity for a Serbian bid for the Imperium.
This opportunity was seized by Stephan Dushan,
who ended up with most of the western Balkans and was crowned Tsar of the Serbs and Romans by the autocephalous Serbian Patriarch whom he had just installed (1346) at Pec. His long reign, however, was not quite long enough, and his death set off the kind of internal dissentions that had ruined many another state in Romania. The power of Serbia was broken, and the only Tsar succeeding to the first received the epithet "the Weak," and unrelated Princes soon inherited the Kingdom.
Then, all too soon, the Ottomans arrived. Defeats in 1371 and 1389 crushed Serbia. The agony of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the "Field of the Blackbirds," still echoes today in the fierceness of the attachment of modern Serbs for the area, now largely populated by Albanians. As it happened, the Sult.ân Murâd I died at Kosovo, but his son, Bâyezîd the "Thunderbolt," was, if anything, even more vigorous than his father. In 1396 Bâyezîd destroyed a Crusade, led by the King of Hungary and future Emperor Sigismund, at Nicopolis (Nikopol). Not even Bâyezîd's defeat and capture by Tamerlane (1402) revived Serbian prospects.
The dynasty of Stephan Dushan is followed by two families of princes. Stephen Lazar and his son endured the Turkish defeat and conquest and were reduced to despots. They were followed by the Bronkoviches, father and son. The wife of Lazar III Brankovich, Helene, was a daughter of Thomas Palaeologus (d.1465), Despot of the Morea and brother of the last Roman Emperor, Constantine XI . After the death of Lazar, Helene was Regent of Serbia until the Turkish annexation.
Lists of Serbian rulers can be found in various Byzantine histories, but the genealogy here only comes from the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, pp.143-149].
3. BULGARIA, TERTERS
disintegration of state, 1385; Ottoman vassalage, 1387, 1388, Conquest, 1396
The second
Bulgarian dynasty of the period was always at a disadvantage, ground between the Mongols, Serbs, Hungary, and the Ottomans. Ottoman conquest and annexation came in the same year (1396) as the Sult.ân Bâyezîd's defeat of a Crusade, led by the King of Hungary and future Emperor Sigismund, at Nicopolis (Nikopol), where John Sracimir was killed.
Over time,
the Turks clearly regarded Bulgaria as strategically more important than Serbia or the Romanian principalities, and no local autonomy was allowed at all until the Russo- Turkish War of 1876-1878 and the Congress of Berlin (1878) forced it. Even then Bulgaria was divided and full independence did not come until 1908. Meanwhile, a fair number of Bulgarians had converted to Islâm. Since they were regarded as traitors by Christian Bulgarians, many of them migrated to Turkey, where they still live.
The list of Bulgarian rulers is from various Byzantine sources, including the only source of the genealogy here, which is the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, pp.162-163].
5. PALAEOLOGI
1428-1460,
d.1465
Principality of Achaea inherited, 1432; Mistra, Morea, falls to Meh.med II, 1460; last piece of Romania, the fortress of Monembasia, ceded to the Pope , 1461; daughter Zoë marries Ivan III of Russia, 1472; Thomas dies at Rome, 1465
Michael Palaeologus restores the Greeks to Constantinople, and for a time Romania acted as a Great Power again, fending off Charles of Anjou , with Genoa now replacing Venice as commercial agents and Italians-of-choice in Constantinople. But it was a precarious position. Michael himself sowed the seeds of disaster by confiscating land from the tax exempt akritai,
(sing. akritês,
), the landed frontier (ákron,
) fighters of Bithynia. This weakened defenses that Andronicus II weakened further with military economies, failing to follow the maxim of Machiavelli that the first duty of a prince is war. Once the Ottomans broke the Roman army in Bithynia (1302), they, and other Turks, quickly reduced Roman possessions in Asia to fragments, never to be recovered. Bithynia (Prusa, Nicaea, and Nicomedia) became the base of Ottoman power, with Prusa, as Bursa, the Ottoman capital.
there were 14th century banners that would have evolved into a proper flag for Romania, given the chance. We find a field with a Cross, like many Crusader banners and flags, with the addition of curious devices, which look like images and mirror-images of something between the letter B, the letter E, and broken links of a chain. These are sometimes said to have already been used by Constantine I and have been variously interpreted. One interpretation that is seen is to take them as B's which abbreviate Basileus Basileôn Basileuôn Basileusin, "King of Kings ruling over Kings." However, Basileus in Mediaeval Greek meant the Emperor, not "king," while the Latin word rêx was used for actual kings. So this formula would have to be employing anachronistic usages of basileus. That's possible, but the Rhômaioi could also find something of the sort offensive. So this looks like a retrospective and speculative interpretation.
Another possibility is that they are stylized forms of Crescent Moons, originally symbolic of the divine patroness of Byzantium, the goddess Artemis. The stylized forms have been inherited in the arms of
Serbia , and crescents are used as a Serb national symbol, seen at left -- something that has probably become a sign of terror to non-Serbs in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. If it was the Crescent that was originally used in Constantinople,
this may have been directly inherited by Turkey . A Crescent is now commonly taken as symbolic of Islâm, but this may not antedate the Turkish flag. The star on the Turkish flag is sometimes said to be Romanian also, symbolizing the Virgin Mary, but it does not occur on the earliest Turkish flags. However, Whitney Smith
[Flags Through the Ages and Across the World, McGraw-Hill, 1975] shows a flag identified only as "medieval Russian" that shows a cross with four crescents and four stars also [p.174]. The crescents are oriented differently, but this design seems too elaborate not to have Roman antecedents.
The banner that Whitney Smith shows for Romania itself [p.45] has the flag with the distinctive devices quartered with a simple red cross on white. One does not find this banner, or other Roman symbols,
shown or discussed in the standard Byzantine histories . This seems peculiar, and Smith gives no reference for his banner. Wikipedia does cite a Spanish atlas circa 1350, the Conoscimento de todos los Reinos. If we do not know of it from Greek sources, that is probably why it does not figure in the Byzantine histories.
I would like to know more about the history and meaning of such a banner. The red cross on white came to be identified as the Cross of St. George (
), which is how we see it as the flag of England -- something that is coming into increasing use today, when England often has sports teams separate from Scotland (which uses the Cross of St. Andrew). But St. George has been widely popular and is the patron of many places, including Barcelona, Portugal, Beirut, Georgia in the Caucasus, and various other states and cities. While the red on white Cross was used by
Genoa and some other Italian cities, there is the complication that St. George is not the Patron Saint of Genoa (although this is sometimes said to be the case, as I have been doing previously) -- that is John the Baptist. The Genoese cross is thus perhaps not originally the Cross of St. George at all -- although there is a story about the red cross and St. George being brought back from the First Crusade (1099), which is possible. Wikipedia says that ships from London began using the red Cross on white in the Mediterranian in 1190 precisely to benefit from the protection of Genoa -- the Doge was paid an annual tribute for the privilege of this use. Since Genoa became the ally of Constantinople under the Palaeologi, I wonder if the banner actually reflects that alliance. In modern custom, the upper corner by the staff, the canton, is the key quarter, so the quartering we see could be something used in the first place by the Genoese.
There is the issue of just how and when the red cross on white becomes associated with St. George. The Saint, as a native of Lydda in Palestine, was popular in the Orthodox Churches (a cave near Beirut is still pointed out as the site of his slaying the dragon, although other places also claim that distinction), and the earliest known depiction of him slaying the dragon is from 11th century Cappadocia, but I am not otherwise aware of him being particularly iconic for the identity of Romania or Constantinople --
as I have noted, Byzantine histories have little discussion of such symbols. And "George,"
, is not originally a Christian name but derives from the name of Zeus Georgus,
("earth worker"), i.e. Zeus the patron of farmers.
The crosses in general are artifacts of the Crusades , and the particular popularity of St. George in the West was itself the result of Crusaders bringing his cult and legend back with them. In a 1188 meeting between Richard the Lionheart and the King Philip II Augustus of France, red on white was chosen for the Crusaders of France and white on red for those of England, but this was apparently a random assignment and did not involve any preexisting attachment of France, or of these colors, for St. George (see more about this
elsewhere ). And these assignments persisted for some time. In the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, the body of St. Louis, who died in 1270, is still shown draped in the red on white. Since St. George was not the patron of Genoa, the association of the red cross with the Saint is more likely to originate at the source with the Crusaders. It is noteworthy that the church of the English Varangians in Constantinople was dedicated to St. Nicholas and St. Augustine of Canterbury. One would have expected a church of English warriors to involve St. George, if St. George was already associated with England. He wasn't.
Nevertheless, I do find positive statements at Wikipedia that in England St. George had along been revered and the red cross on white had long been associated with him even before the Third Crusade, and that the white cross on red was assigned by the Pope to England but then switched with France at the 1188 meeting between Richard and Philip II. This is inconsistent with my other sources (e.g. Whitney Smith, Znamierowski, or elsewhere at Wikipedia), does not seem to be attested by the evidence, as noted below, and in general is not consistent with the understanding that the use of crosses originated with the Crusades (at a time when national flags or settled national colors did not exist), involved variable colors for many years, and that the veneration of St. George was brought back by the Crusaders. I worry that claims for the antiquity of the specifically English "Cross of St. George" are ahistorical, nationalistic, and fantastical in motivation.
Since the red on white cross, as a symbol of St. George, has become distinctive of England, I begin to wonder to what extent it actually reflects the history of English involvement with Romania. Indeed, if the Cross of St. George here originated with Crusaders in the East, its interpretation as an English symbol could well have been due to the English Varangians themselves, who would have fought under it for many years and picked up the cult of St. George just as the Crusaders did.
It is attested that by 1277,
the English cross had settled on the red on white coloring, and this was at the time of perhaps the heyday of English Varangians under Michael VIII -- who wrote the letter mentioning them in 1272. Whitney Smith says that the red cross was not really prominent for another century [p.182], while The Penguin Dictionary of Saints [1965, 1983] says that George "may have been named the national patron when King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter under his patronage, c.1348" [p.146]. I might therefore entertain the speculation that what became the traditional coloring of the English Cross of St. George, and its identity as the Cross of St. George, might actually have been derived from a Romanian even more than from a Genoese source. This would be a monument unlike any other to the history of the English involvement in Constantinople. Since most histories of England ignore the very existence of English Varangians, the connection of the Cross of St. George to them falls into a kind of secret history.
Raffaele D'Amato [op.cit. p.12] says that one of the last references to the English Varangians was a letter written by John VII (who was Regent, 1399-1403, for his uncle Manuel II) to King Henry IV of England in 1402, speaking of them helping in the Turkish siege of Constantinople, 1394-1402. D'Amato adds that "'Axe-bearing soldiers of the British race' are referred to by Byzantine envoys in Rome as late as 1404..." This is apparently the last reference to English Varangians.
If Michael VIII was also writing to a King of England about English Varangians in 1272, which is possible but is not stated by Blöndal and Benedikz or by D'Amato, this would have been Henry III -- which means that Emperors wrote to Kings Henry II, Henry III, and Henry IV about English subjects in the Varangian Guard. That would be a nice touch. Even without Michael VIII, we do see a history of the Emperors expressing concern to Kings of England about the presence and activities of Englishmen in Romania. And there certainly may have been other communications whose record has not survived.
), i.e. Anatolia. The Ottomans, however, do not seem to have used the dicephalic Eagle.
Alternatively, Donald M. Nicol [Byzantium and Venice, a Study in Diplomatic and Cultural
Relations, Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 249] says, the dicephalic Eagle was adopted by Andronicus II to symbolize the division of authority with his grandson, Andronicus III -- though it far outlasted that particular division. However, it looks like dicephalic eagles long antedate this and are found in Hittite , Armenian , and even Seljuk iconography, with the latter perhaps suggested by remaining Hittite images in Anatolia. The earliest use in Romania seems to have been with Isaac Comnenus . Eagles have been used by many (including the United States and modern Romania ) to imply Roman antecedents; but the double headed eagle, despite the low level of power to which the Palaeologi had fallen, was adopted in particular by the Holy Roman Empire (followed by Austria ) and by Russia , and subsequently by
Serbia (as we see at left, with the devices discussed above), Montenegro , Armenia , Albania , and others. In direct continuity with Romania, it is also used by the Patriarchate of Constantinople . Although the eagle had disappeared from much Communist iconography, it has returned since the Fall of Communism. One Communist regime that continued to use it even on its flag, was Albania, to commemorate George Castriota (Gjergj Kastrioti), or Skanderbeg, who drove the Turks out of Albania between 1443 and 1463 (note in the genealogy below that Skanderbeg's son John marries a Palaeologina,
).
that had been extensively planted there for silk worms and sericulture, after silkworm eggs were smuggled from China in the days of Justinian .
After the Fourth Crusade, the last of the Morea, the fortress of Monembasia ,
, had fallen to the Latins in 1248. But then Monembasia and Laconia were returned in 1261 as ransom for William II de Villehardouin (1246-1278), Prince of Achaea , who had been captured in battle in 1259.
On Mt. Taygetos, to the west above the ancient city of Sparta , the castle (castrum,
) of Mistra,
, Mystrás (or
, Mistrás, or
, Myzêthrâs) had been founded by Prince William in 1248. Under the Palaeologi, this grew into a complex of buildings and became a surprising center of art and learning as well as the capital of the Despotate. Indeed, one could even say that the Renaissance began there, since many of its scholars, with their books, fled the Turkish Conquest to Italy, which was ready for them.
The Morea became a kind of Viceroyalty under the Cantacuzeni Despots (
). Under the Palaeologi, starting in 1383, the Despot,
(sometimes more than one), was usually a son or brother of the Emperor. The last Emperor, Constantine XI, began as a Despot of Morea. He very nearly acquired Athens in 1435. Unfortunately, in 1446 he had to endure a raid by Ottoman Emir Murâd II , which broke through the Hexamilion Wall across the Isthmus of Corinth with cannon fire, an omninous portent of what the Ottomans could do at Constantinople in 1453. Murâd enslaved 60,000, apparently in retaliation for the Crusade of Varna in 1444.
Constantine's brother, the last Despot, Thomas, married the Heiress of Achaea and came into possession of the Principality and all the Peloponnesus in 1432. By then there was little time left for further successes. The last thing left to Thomas by the Ottomans was, again, the fortress of Monembasia. Thomas never took the obvious step of declaring himself the new Emperor in succession to his brother, and he turned over Monembasia to the Pope in 1461 (or 1460). The Pope thus became, as Popes had long desired, the ruler of all the Roman Empire. The Pope sold the fortress to Venice in 1463 (or 1464). It remained with Venice, 1463-1538, fell to the Ottomans, and then was recovered by Venice, 1684-1715. The long slumber of Ottoman possession was then followed by that of modern Greece in 1821.
The Fall of Constantinople, on May 29, 1453, is one of the most formative, epochal, colorful, and dramatic episodes in world history. As the final end of the Roman Empire, it was a much more revolutionary and catastrophic change than the "fall" of the Western Empire in 476, in which power remained in the same hands of the current magister militum. That the greatest Christian city of the Middle Ages should pass to Islâm held a symbolism that was lost on none. But the defenders had little active help from a Europe that four hundred years earlier had launched armies all the way to Jerusalem. The most active help was from an unofficial Italian contingent from Genoa (which officially did not want to break relations with the Ottomans), led by the accomplished soldier Giovanni Giustiniani Longo. Giustiniani was perhaps militarily the most effective leader of the defense. When he was wounded and left the walls, one is then not surprised to learn that the city fell on that day. As the last Emperor's name, Constantine XI, recalls the founder of the city, Giustiniani's name echoes the Emperor, Justinian, who recovered Genoa itself from the Ostrogoths. But it was only the introduction of cannon that made the breach in the Long Walls possible at all.
The seige of Constantiople began on April 6, 1453. It was not the first effort by the Turks to take the City, but it would be much better prepared to do so, with the enthusiasm and determination of the young Sultan Mehmet II . The City could not be entirely sealed off from outside help, and ships occasionally were able to come and go. Short of defenders, a major setback for the Romans was when the Turks avoided the chain across the Golden Horn by dragging their ships overland behind Galata into the previously safe harbor. At that point, the City was under assault from three sides instead of just two. The seige would then last 53 days, with a fatal breach finally opened by Mehmet's cannons in the previously impregnable Triple Land Wall. For a while, the breach was miraculously repaired by frantic activity every night, to the astonishment of the Turks. But this ended up being more cosmetic than structural, and in the end the equivalent of string and duct tape were not enough. The elite Janissaries (Turkish Yeniçeri, "new soldiers") poured through. May 29th, a Tuesday ( Julian Day 225 1915), would then be remembered in Islâm as 20 Jumâdâ l-ûlâ,
(i.e. the "first" Jumâdâ), 857 AH, on the Islamic calendar .
Because of the high drama and significance of all this, it is a little puzzling that there has never been, to my knowledge, a Hollywood movie about the event. The closest may have been the brief prologue to Bram Stoker's Dracula [1991], by Francis Ford Coppola, where we see the Cross thrown down from the dome of Sancta Sophia and a Crescent appear in its place. One problem with doing the story may be in great measure because of the scale of the location. The Theodosian Land Walls of Constantinople are 6.5 kilometers long, almost 4 miles. Since the ruins of the walls could not be used, and the whole length could not be built (as the whole Alamo was build by John Wayne for The Alamo), other devices would be necessary. With computer graphic effects, a portion of the Wall could be built with the rest filled in digitally, the way the top half of the Coloseum was filled in for Gladiator. And models could be used. With the older technology, this would have looked very cheesy. However, models now can look much, much better -- the models for Lord of the Rings (2001) even came to be called "big-atures" instead of "miniatures" they were so large. CG and models would also work for another problem, which would be showing the general situation of the city between the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Golden Horn. A live shot of the modern buildings would not help. But the whole thing could be done digitally, or live shots could be digitalized and edited, to remove modern buildings and render mediaeval ones. This would also help with scenes in Sancta Sophia. The movie would have to show church services there, but my understanding is that these are not allowed in the modern building, even though it is now a secularized museum rather than the mosque it became at the Conquest (there is a small Islamic chapel, but not a Christian one). No problem. All we need is a photograph, and Industrial Light and Magic can put Constantine XI and the whole gang right into it with all the paraphernalia of the Greek Orthodox Church. Even so, it is questionable how interested Hollywood will ever be, even after Gladiator, and even when the legendary material, like the Virgin Mary retrieving her Icon, or the various versions of the death of Constantine, simply cry out for cinematic representation. With the present conflicts involving Islâm , some might consider the whole topic inflammatory; and it is very possible that Turkey would not allow location filming for such a movie.
While there may or may not be surviving Imperial Palaeologi (see below), Constantine XI lives on in legend. When the Turks had manifestly broken through, at the Fifth Military Gate -- subsequently called the Hücum Kapïsï, "Assault Gate" in Turkish -- and the Fall of the City was imminent, the Emperor is said to have thrown off the Imperial Regalia and disappeared into the thick of the fight. He is reported to have shouted,
, "Let's go, men, against these barbarians!" [Greek Text, Laonikos Chalkokondyles, The Histories, Volume II, translated by Anthony Kaldellis, translation modified, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard University Press, 2014, p.192] -- the last words of the Roman "Last Emperor." In Chinese, this could be
, "Last Emperor, Last Injunction" (or "last will") --
, "last words," is an expression that we do not seem to see in Chinese. There is no doubt that Constantine died. A body was later identified and a head displayed, but some doubt remains about the identification. A story arose that Constantine sleeps under the Golden Gate (like Barbarossa under the Kyffhäuser), or that an angel turned him into marble, with a similar placement below that Gate, or that he would reenter the City through the Gate; and we get legendary details such as the awakening of the Emperor would be "heralded by the bellowing of an ox" [Donald M. Nicol, The Immortal Emperor, Cambridge University Press, 1992, p.104].
Generations of Turkish governments took these stories with sufficient seriousness that the central entrance of the Golden Gate remains bricked up to this very day -- like the Golden Gate in Jerusalem , through which the Messiah is supposed to enter the City. In 1717, Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of the British Ambassador, reported that the Turkish government had seized an Egyptian mummy that had been bought by the King of France . Since the mummy was then placed in the "Seven Towers," the fortress built around the Golden Gate, this seems to indicate a belief, or fear, by the government that this had been the body of Constantine XI, to be used as a talisman for the defeat of the Turks or the reconquest of Constantinople. This same story was later related to the French consul F.C.H.L. Pouqueville, who was held prisoner in the fortress from 1799 to 1801, and who claimed to have actually found the mummy there and carried off its head [ibid. p.103]. I don't know what Pouqueville is supposed to have done with the head.
A similar legend concerns Sancta Sophia. We find a version of it in, of all places, one of Anne Rice's vampire fictions:
"...as the Turks stormed the church, some of the priests left the altar of Santa Sofia [sic]," he said. "They took with them the chalice and the Blessed Sacrament, our Lord's Body and Blood. They are hidden this very day in the secret chambers of Santa Sofia, and on the very moment that we take back the city, on the very moment when we take back the great church of Santa Sofia, when we drive the Turks out of our capital, those priests, those very priests will return. They'll come out of their hiding place and go up the steps of the altar, and they will resume the Mass at the very point where they were forced to stop." [The Vampire Armand, 1983, Ballantine Books, 1999, p.110]
It is not at all difficult to imagine that Sancta Sophia was built with secret passages or chambers. Justinian might even seem negligent if he had not done that. A similar legend is that three priests or monks sleep in the crypt of the Gül Camii mosque,
which had been the church of St. Theodosia or the Virgin of the Roses (Gül Camii actually means the "Rose, its mosque"), and that Christian vistors could hear them say that "the time and the hour had not yet come" [Nicol, op.cit., p.105].
Whether deathless priests wait for the liberation of the churches and the City is a more demanding idea than that of secret passages, although perhaps not much more demanding than the changes in politics and demography that would be necessary for Constantinople to be restored to Christendom -- a Christendom, or at least a European Christendom, that these days seems to have lost faith, confidence, and will far more than contemporary Islâm . Indeed, one wonders if Francia can be identified as "Christendom" at all anymore. The hostility of intellectuals to the religion, often with their craven accommodation to militant Islâm, and their anti-Semitism, is one of the more remarkable and disturbing characteristics of the modern European moral climate. Vladmir Putin , creating an aggressive dictatorship in Russia, seems intent on recreating the Russian Empire, perhaps with Tsarist ambitions against Turkey -- although, busy conquering the Ukraine , Putin has given no hint of that yet. As confident as the Europeans are demoralized, Putin is treated with similar complacency and appeasement.
, Hodêgêtria Icon (the Virgin who "Shows the Way," by pointing at Christ), was kept at the Hodegon Monastery and displayed in a procession every week. This was supposed to have been painted by St. Luke and in 439 brought to Constantinople from Jerusalem by the Empress
, St. Aelia Eudocia Augusta . At the time of the Siege in 1453, it had been moved to the Church of St. Savior in Chora (subsequently the Kariye Mosque), to be closer to the Walls. What we hear is that after the breakthrough, the Turks stormed the Church and chopped up the Icon for souvenirs. The Hodegetria motif, however, was be much reproduced, even in later Italian art.
The
, Blachernitissa (or Blacherniotissa) Icon, in bas relief, and the
, Maphórion, the Robe or Veil of the Virgin, were kept at the Church of the Virgin Mary at Blachernae (
), near the Walls. Blachernae,
(Regio XIV of Constantinople), was originally a suburb of Constantinople settled by Vlachs ,
. Eventually it was enclosed by the Walls of the City. By the time of the Palaeologi, the Blachnerae Palace had become the principal residence of the Emperors. The icon and relic had been brought out to protect the City during sieges -- the Maphórion is supposed to have repulsed the Avars in 626.
Both disappeared with the Fall of the City -- although there is no mention of them after the Church burned in 1434, which means they may already have been destroyed. Nevertheless, one story is that Constantine XI was praying to the Icon the night before the City fell, and as he watched, it was taken up to Heaven. He therefore knew what was going to happen the next day. It is a shame that this marvelous scene has not been reproduced in a movie or documentary. Later, an icon turned up at Mt. Athôs that was believed, one way or another, to be the Blachernitissa. However, this icon was of a Hodegetria form, with the Virgin pointing to Christ, and the original Blachernitissa is thought to have shown the Virgin orans, i.e. with hands lifted in prayer, as we see on the seal at left.
The surname Palaeologus survives today, but it is not clear that any modern Palaeologi are descendants of the Imperial family. In the genealogy, we see considerable intermarriage outside the Empire, even to Tsars of Bulgaria. The marriage of Zoë-Sophia to Ivan III of Moscow is the one most filled with portent, but the last Russian Tsar to be their descendant was Theodore I (1584-1598).
John Julius Norwich (Byzantium, The Decline and Fall, Knopf, 1996, pp.447-448) notes that there is buried in St. Leonard's church in Landulph, Cornwall, England a "Theodore Paleologus" (d.1636) from Italy, who is said to have been a direct descendant of John, son of Thomas, Despot of the Morea. However, Thomas is not known to have had a son John, and so the claim of descent, regardless of any other merits, is questionable. Theodore had a son Ferdinand, who died in Barbados in 1678. Ferdinand had a son "Theodorious," who returned to England and died in 1693, leaving a daughter, "Godscall," whose fate is unknown.
What John Norwich seems to have missed is that there were undoubted lines of Palaeologi (Paleologhi) in Italy, descended from the Emperor Andronicus II, whose second wife was Yolanda, the Heiress of the Margraves of Montferrat. While Andronicus's eldest son succeeded in Constantinople, his son by Yolanda, Theodore, succeeded to Montferrat. The main line of the Palaeologi of Montferrat continued until the death of the Marchioness Margaret in 1556. But branch lines continued much longer, perhaps even to the 20th century. This is covered in the Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, Königs- und Fürstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und Südeuropa [Andreas Thiele, R. G. Fischer Verlag, Part 2, Second Edition, 1997, pp.260-261], which, however, only indicates that the lines continue after the 16th century.
The Theodore buried in Cornwall could very well have simply gotten confused about his genealogy. He might have been a genuine Paleologo from Italy.
Maurice Paléologue (1859-1944) was a French diplomat. His name derived from his birthplace, in Romania, where, illegitimate, he was given the surname of his maternal grandmother, Zoë Paleologu. There is no evidence that the Romanian Paleologus were descendants of Greek Palaeologi. Because Paléologue was the French Ambassador to Russia, 1914-1917, we see his name in Cyrillic :
. I cannot say if this version of the name in Russian simply transcribes the French name or if it is actually the Russian form of Greek Palaiologos.
6. ROMÂNIANS
Wallach, as in Wallachia (or Walachia), is a cognate of the English words "Welsh" and "Wales." We get the same word in German, as Welsch or Walsch, from Old High German Walah or Walh, and apparently from a Proto-Germanic *Walchaz. In Old English it was Wealh or Walh. In Mediaeval German, we see Walen used to mean Italy in the description of the titles of the Holy Roman Emperor by the Sachsenspiegel -- Saxon Mirror, a legal text of 1230 -- the Emperor is the Here der Walen, the "Lord of Italy."
We see that word today in the names of the Walensee (or Wallensee) and Walenstadt in Switzerland, where it means, what? the "lake of the Italians" or the "city of the Italians"? Well, probably not. The intriguing Imperial general of the Thirty Years War , Albrecht von Wallenstein, looks like he has a name related to this root -- although it may only be a derivative of Waldstein, with "wood," Wald, instead of Walen.
While we are accustomed to apply the words " Wales " and "Welsh" to the land and inhabitants of what had been Roman Cambria (Welsh Cymru), the use in Old English applied to all the Celtic Britons that Germans found where they invaded and settled. Thus, the laws of the Saxon King Ine (688-726, d.728) of Wessex refered to all Britons as "Welshmen" (Wealhcynn, i.e. "Welsh-kin"). So this would encompass those we now identify as the Britons of Strathclyde , the Welsh, the Cornish, and the Bretons , along with Celts who remained under the rule of the invaders (as in Wessex), whose names are often distinguished by a wal[h] element, as in "Wallace" or "Walsh," and who may have lived with pockets of Britons in places like "Walcot" or "Walden." Even the humble walnut is the Old English wealhhnutu, the "Welsh/foreign nut." Were there really no walnuts in Germany?
Welschen originally was a German word for Celts -- perhaps from the name of the Celtic tribe, the Volcae, in Latin -- and then the Romano-Celts and then just for Romans.
WALLACHIA
1600
Continues under Ottoman Control; Lines of Princes Continued
In Switzerland , the Walen place names commemorate the presence of Romance speakers at the boundary or within the area taken over by German speakers -- though the area around the Walensee is now overwhelmingly German speaking. In Switzerland we do have Italian speakers, but there is also a separate Romance language, Romansh, part of the Rhaeto-Romance group (Rätoromanische Sprache -- named after the Roman province of Raetia).
Welsch can mean different things in different places. In Swiss German, it tends to mean the French language in Switzerland (which, in French, is Romand spoken in Romandie -- a dialect of Franco-Provençal or Arpitan). In increasingly archaic Standard German (it is not listed in my Cassell's German Dictionary), it can mean, indeed, Italian. And, as we have seen, the very similar English "Welsh" will mean the Celtic speaking Britons of Wales, although this has been reduced from its previous applications.
Wealh in Old English apparently was used to indicate pockets of British settlement after the conquest of the Angles, Saxons, etc., as in the place-names Walcot, Walden, Walford, and Wallington. We also have English and Scots surnames, like Wallace, Walsh, and Waugh, that have the root (cf. A Dictionary of Surnames, Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges, Oxford University Press, 1988, pp.563-564, 568). As a Scots name, "Wallace" goes back to the Britons of Strathclyde . We get Valland used in Icelandic for France ( Francia Occidentalis ). Even now, Walloon -- Waalsch in Dutch or Flemish -- is used for French speakers in Belgium.
This Germanic word for Romans seems to have been left, perhaps by the Goths, in the Balkans. It turns up as Vlach in Czech, one of many words for the Romance language, and its speakers, in Slavic languages. The Latin form "Blachus" and the Greek
, Vlakhos, also occur. We see surnames in Polish, Wloch, Russian, Volokhov, (the Uralic language) Hungarian, Olasz, etc.
In modern parlance, the convention for some time was that Romance speakers south of the Danube spoke "Vlach" and those north of the Danube spoke "Romanian." "Romanian" is now also coming to be used for the languages (Arumanian, etc.) south of the Danube also, with "Daco-Romanian" used to specific the north of the Danube language.
The Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia are the first Vlach/Romanian states that we see north of the Danube. They appear in the period after incursions from nomadic Steppe empires ceased. They were never subject to the Roman Emperors in Constantinople, and they occupied territories that had been abandoned by the Roman Empire in the Third Century , or never occupied by it in the first place. The arrival of the Turks subjected them to Ottoman suzerainty, but this was of varying rigor. The lines of Princes continued, but by 1711 the Sult.ân began to sell the seats to Greek tax farmers, a destructive practice that continued until 1821.
The most famous person in these lines is certainly Prince Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia. In legend and horror, one might almost say romance, this cruel man has grown into the paradigmatic vampire, Count Dracula, though his home has been slightly relocated, from Wallachia to Transylvania and the Carpathian Mountains (between Transylvania and Moldavia). For a while, I was under the impression that Prince Vlad Dracul (1436-1442, 1443, 1447) was Vlad the Impaler. However, a Romanian correspondent straightened me out, that Prince Vlad the Impaler was not Vlad Dracul but instead the subsequent Prince Vlad T,epesh (1448, 1456-1462, 1476, also Vlad "Draculea, Dracula"), his son. The correspondent also pointed out the interesting career of Iancu de Hunedoara (János Hunyadi) as Prince of Transylvania and Regent of Hungary, for which links have been installed.
My confusion about Vlad may have been due to Andreas Thiele's Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume II, Part 2, Europäiche Kaiser-, K�nigs- und F�rstenhäuser II Nord-, Ost- und S¨deuropa [R. G. Fischer Verlag, Second Edition, 1997, p.139]. Thiele lists a unnamed sister of Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus (Latin corvinus, crow or raven-like), and so a daughter of Iancu de Hunedoara, who married Vlad II Dracul, whose death is given as 1476, i.e. the year of the death of Vlad III (when he was assassinated and his head taken to Constantinople). I do not see this sister attested in other sources, and the children of Vlad II were the result of more than one marriage and several mistresses. The sister of Corvinus, if she existed, may have been lost in the shuffle and in any case is unlikely to have been the mother of the significant sons of Vlad II.
Vlad the Impaler's career had many ups and downs. In exile in Hungary, he was imprisoned by Corvinus, for as much as ten years (1462-1472), although the Hungarians then helped him return to Wallachia in 1476. The association of Vlad with vampires has now drawn Corvinus into that legend, as we see in the Underworld [2004, 2006, 2009] movies -- although without the slightest reference to the real history of Matthias or de Hunedoara. Vlad's practice of impaling enemies and prisoners was not his own bright idea. The Turks, with whom Vlad was a hostage, 1442-1447, practiced impalement; and we even hear about impalement in Islamic courts in India under the Moghuls . But Vlad is supposed to have employed the practice to excess, to the point where once even Meh.med II reportedly turned back from Wallachia in horror at the thousands or tens of thousands of bodies that Vlad had impaled along the Danube.
As with Iancu de Hunedoara, Vlad III was often successful against the Turks. After Meh.med II was driven from Wallachia, he supplied Vlad's younger brother, Radu cel Frumos, with troops and money to exploit local rivalries, undermine Vlad, and replace him, which he did. Meanwhile Stephen III of Moldavia (1457-1504) and Skanderbeg (1443-1463) continued to defeat the Ottomans and slow their advance in the Balkans. Recently, G.J. Meyer says of Vlad:
The West owed him as it owed Stephen, an immense debt. The two kept whole Ottoman armies tied up for decades. [The Borgias, The Hidden History, Bantam, 2013, p.48]
Nor does Meyer neglect de Hunedoara or Skanderbeg. Unfortunately, the genius of these leaders did not outlive their generation. The death of Stephen in 1504 meant that barely another twenty years would pass before the Ottomans would be in Hungary, preparing to stay there for a century and a half.
The title of these rulers was Voivode, a word that we even find in Bram Stoker (Dracula, Penguin Books, 1897, 1993, p.309). This term no longer appears in convenient Romanian or Hungarian dictionaries, for any of its meanings (c.f. NTC's Romanian and English Dictonary, Andreí Bantas, NTC Publishing Group, 1995; Hippocrene Concise Dictionary, Hungarian, Hungarian-English, English-Hungarian, Géza Takács, Hippocrene Books, 1996; or Hippocrene Standard Dictionary, English-Hungarian Dictionary, T. Magay & L. Kiss, Hippocrene Books, 1995). Those meanings began with "duke" or "prince" and ultimately declined to merely "governor," which would have been appropriate to Wallachia or Moldavia under the Turks. This word is actually Slavic, and is thus discussed under Eastern Europe , but its ultimate origin was the Roman title (dux, "leader") in Greek, stratêlatês ("army," stratos, "leader," elaunein, "to lead"), which was also the source of German Herzog .
The Vlach language of the Principalities, not a written language in the Middle Ages, came to be written in the Cyrillic alphabet
. The unified country itself became first "Roumania" or "Rumania," later further Latinized into "România," and soon the Cyrillic alphabet was traded in for the Latin alphabet, as the
Roman roots of the people were increasingly emphasized. The issue of România and the Vlach language and people is discussed further in " The Vlach Connection and Further Reflections on Roman History ."
In contrast to the original Romania, i.e. the Roman Empire (Imperium Romanum), the north-of-the-Danube state might usefully be characterized as "Lesser Romania" (Romania Minor) on analogy to " Lesser Armenia " in the Taurus; but this would probably be considered insulting by modern Românians. Perhaps "Later Romania" (Romania Posterior, Recentior) would be better, like the Later Han Dynasty -- making the Empire into the "Former Romania" (Romania Prior), like the Former Han Dynasty . However, since Armenia is rarely called "Greater Armenia" in contrast to Lesser Armenia, we might simply leave România as România and make the contrast with "Greater Romania" (Romania Maior) as the
Roman Empire, where clarity is needed.
The map shows all the territories that ultimately were assembled into modern România. Transylvania, although predominately Romanian speaking, was part of Hungary all through the Middle Ages right down to the end of World War I. Bessarabia also became part of România at that time, was subsequently annexed to the Soviet Union, and now is the independent, and painfully impoverished, nation of Moldova.
The list of Princes here is taken from the Regentenlisten und Stammtafeln zur Geschichte Europas, by Michael F. Feldkamp [Philipp Reclam, Stuttgart, 2002, pp.142-144 & 259-261].
Copyright (c) 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved
Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 1
In some Greek cities (including Byzantium), it was illegal for men not to wear beards. The Hellenophile Marcus Aurelius wore a beard, a style that kept coming back every so often -- neither Constantine nor Justinian wore a beard -- until it became permanent with the Greek speaking Emperors of the Middle Ages.
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Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 2
There is a series of books that works something like this. The Osprey Publishing [Oxford, New York] "Men-at-Arms" series divides all this history up between five small books (about 40 pages each). The first two are explicitly titled "The Roman Army," and the last two "Byzantine Armies." Michael Simkins authors the first two [1984, 1979], and Ian Heath the last two [1979, 1995]. The titles seem to reflect some differences in thinking. The "Roman" books are, first, "from Caesar to Trajan," and then "from Hadrian to Constantine."
The "Byzantine" books use dates, first "886-1118" (the death of Basil I to that of Alexius I), and then "AD 1118 to 1461" (i.e. to the fall of Trebizond). There is a rather large gap between the "Roman" and the "Byzantine" books, which is then filled with "Romano-Byzantine Armies 4th-9th Centuries," by a third author, David Nicolle [1992]. This book covers a vast amount of time and very different conditions, from Late Antiquity, including the Army of the Notitia Dignitatum, through the Arab Conquests to the beginning of the Macedonian Dynasty. The two "Roman" books have common illustrator, Ron Embleton, while all the others are illustrated by Angus McBride.
The impression we get from this is of two different centers of history, the "Roman" and the "Byzantine," which have a bit awkwardly and even tenuously been bridged with a treatment that reminds us, at last, that we are dealing with a continuous story. Yet this middle book covers events that call out for detailed treatment, from the German invasions and the Battle of Adrianople, to the Arab Conquest, to the development of the Themes and Tagmata, through the Arab Sieges of Constantinople and the use of Greek Fire. It is odd to see all that shoved together in the same small brief format as with all these books. It makes this part of the publishing project look more like an afterthought, which perhaps it is.
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Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 3
I've tried various ways to represent the events of the Tetrarchy. The Chart of the Tetrarchy provides timelines for all the legitimate Emperors and the significant usurpers also. The animation at right runs through nine different phases of the history, showing the legitimate Emperors (i.e. with mutual recogniation), until Constantine alone is left. But it begins when there are four Emperors, in 393, and the amount of time for each phase bears some relation to its actual duration, which makes it a little difficult to study each combination (without stopping the animation with the ESC key).
The most striking thing about the history, however, is that the Tetrarchy begins with Diocletian alone and ends with Constantine alone. The diagram below illustrates this circumstance the most vividly. It also illustrates two key features of the history of the Tetrarchy: (1) After the retirement of Diocletian and Maximinian, the appointment of new Emperors seems to have been usurped by Galerius, so that Severus, Maximinus II Daia, and Licinius were all protégés or even relatives of Galerius. This anomaly introduced an inequality between the Augusti and also a geographical anomaly, in that Severus and Lincinius were appointed to be Western Emperors, but neither ever established himself in the West. Severus was killed trying to do so, and it is not clear that Licinius ever tried. (2) The untimely death of Constantius Chlorus led to the proclamation of his son, Constantine, by their troops in Britain. Constantine was thus a usurper; but, perhaps considering the difficulty of removing him, Galerius recognized him as a Caesar.
But this provoked a reaction from Maxentius, son of Maximian, who had been passed over in 305 and rather resented it. Now, he is not going to stand by while the son of Constantius is elevated, but not him. So he rebels, and brings his father out of retirement with him. He even forms an alliance with Constantine, who marries his sister. Thus, the bottom of the diagram is red, as it were, with rebellion. At the death of Galerius in 311, there are no new appointments; so as Constantine gets rid of Maximian and Maxentius, Lincinus gets rid of Maximinus Daia, and then Constantine does the same for Lincius, the Tetrarchy is whittled down to its Last Man Standing. Meanwhile, there has been a revolution in religion, and Constantine has established both Christianity and a new Capital, Constantinople. It is a real roller coaster, which is a bit what the diagram looks like -- a wild ride of just forty years from the beginning of Diocletian's reign in 284 to Constantine achieving sole rule in 324. The Roman Empire is profoundly transformed.
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Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 4
Bede identifies several Emperors by number. This includes Claudius, #4, Marcus Aurelius, #14, Diocletian, #33, Gratian, #40, Arcadius, #43, Honorius, #44, Theodosius II, #45, Marcian, #46, and Maurice, #54. This numbering works if we eliminate three of the four Emperors of 69 AD, the ephemeral Emperors of 193 and 218, a couple of them from the Third Century , most of the Tetrarchy and Constantian coregents, and, most importantly, all of the Western Emperors after Honorius. The latter is especially striking because Bede mentions Valentinian III: "In the year of our Lord 449, Marcian became Emperor with Valentinian and fourty-sixth successor to Augustus" [Bede, A History of the English Church and People, Penguin Classics, translated by Leo Sherley-Price, 1955, 1964, p.55]. Since Theodosius II was already identified as the 45th Emperor, there is no number left for Valentinian (Emperor since 425), let alone Constantius III or John, who had been legitimate Emperors of the West. From Marcian to Maurice, the numbers only work if we then ignore all the rest of the Western Emperors , out of nine of which four were even recognized by the East. So Bede doesn't recognize any.
As it happens, it looks like Bede has gotten his numbered list from Orosius, who wrote the Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII, "Seven Books of Histories Against the Pagans" (or the Hormesta). This was written around 418 AD and thus ends in the reigns of Honorius and Theodosius II. It was a popular book in the Middle Ages, with almost two hundred surviving manuscripts, which is extraordinary, with translations into several languages, including English and Arabic -- where the latter made it accessible to Ibn Khaldûn . It does not have much favor, however, with modern historians, and is not issued in popular editions (such as Penguin Classics). Unlike Bede, Orosius sometimes discusses the nature of his numbering, for instance that Constantius II was the 35th Emperor "along with his brothers, Constantine and Constans," but they receive no number in their own right. One curious detail is that Claudius is "the third Emperor after Augustus," where Bede has him as the 4th Emperor, but both Orosius and Bede number Diocletian as #33. It looks like Orosius may have shifted from the number of the Emperor "after Augustus" to a numbering beginning with Augustus as the first, while Bede has the whole sequence regularized in the latter form. But there are also some actual disagreements. To Orosius, Gratian was the 39th Emperor (40th for Bede), Arcadius and Honorius, the 41st (43th and 44th for Bede). So Bede is not mechanically reproducing the assignments of Orosius [cf. Seven Books of History against the Pagans, Liverpool University Press, 2010]. This is a matter of some interest that I have never seen discussed.
Although writing in the 7th and 8th centuries (673-735), in the days of multiple Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in Britain , Bede nevertheless had a strong sense of the continued existence of the Roman Empire. He knows that the Empire is now centered in Christian Constantinople, and his awareness of this is strong enough that it actually erases the existence of the last Western Emperors. The idea common now that the Roman Empire fell in 476, wouldn't have made sense to Bede. He didn't even recognize the Emperor who "fell," Romulus Augustulus, as a successor of Augustus (neither did the East, for that matter). Ephemeral and puppet Emperors (whether in the 2nd or 5th centuries) don't make the cut in his reckoning. This is of a piece with most of the rest of Mediaeval opinion and perception, East and West. Since the Schism of 1054 between the Latin and the Greek Churches had not occurred yet, Bede would have seen the contemporary Emperor (a late Heraclian , mostly) invested with all the aura and authority of Constantine the Great.
Return to Text
Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 5
The 2004 movie King Arthur uses some of Littleton and Malcor's information to rework the Arthur legend into something like real history. However, its use of it, and of other history, although meriting an A for effort, involves some confusions and anachronisms. In the movie, the Iazyges are called "Sarmatians," which they were, but the more general name obscures the unique experience of the Iazyges in being settled and assimilated as Roman soldiers. Indeed, that circumstance is ignored, as the movie shows the Sarmatians apparently still living out on the steppe (in yurts) and somehow still obliged in the 5th century to furnish draftees to the Roman army. The Romans, however, were never in any position to send press gangs out onto the steppe, and such a foray in the 5th century, through Germans and Huns, is unbelievable. Nor is there any reason why Sarmatians well beyond Roman borders should pay any attention to obligations assumed three centuries previously. But the plot of the movie requires that the Saramatians feel exiled during their service in Britain. Instead, the Iazyges, men, women, and children, would have all been settled in Britain; the veterans all would have been given Roman Citizenship as the reward of their service; and by the fourth century they would have felt as Roman and/or British as anyone. The yearning of Arthur's men to go home is thus a purely fictional device. That Arthur himself still bears the name of Artorius Castus, his ancestor, is a fictional device also, but actually a rather clever and not impossible one.
The background offered in the movie about Sarmatian service in the Roman army leaves out that this involved the war fought by Marcus Aurelius featured in the movie Gladiator. A tribute to Gladiator might have been made but isn't. Instead, we get a gross anachronism, as the shields of what would have been Marcus's army in 175 AD already bear the Chi-Rho symbol of Constantine's Christianity. This may have just been a matter of economy in the prop department, where all the shields were prepared for the 5th century army. However, even this was a mistake, since we know from the Notitia Dignitatum that there were a great many designs used on Roman shields in the Christian Empire, including, remarkably, the first attested instance of the Chinese swirling Yin-Yang symbol. Shields were unique and distinctive to the units.
Beyond this, almost all the history in the movie is confused. The Western Emperor is not even mentioned, and the Pope is portrayed as directing political and military events. This is what Mediaeval Popes wanted to do, but it has nothing to do with the 5th or 6th centuries, when the Popes had no such power and would not have imagined that they did. Actual Italian Romans are portrayed unpleasantly, which creates a distinction (and a conflict) that wouldn't have existed in Late Antiquity. In general, Romans were Romans -- the movie perpetuates the idea that "Rome" meant the City, when this limitation was long gone. More importantly, the Romans never deliberately withdrew from Britain, and certainly not as late or as callously as shown in the movie. The usurper Constantine (407-411) stripped Britain of legions in order to invade Gaul and seize the Throne. When he was defeated, Honorius had to inform the British that, with the Suevi, Vandals, and Alans raging across Gaul and Spain, the forces simply did not exist to re-garrison Britain. Since the battle of Badon Hill is supposed to have happened eighty to a hundred years later, there is a fair bit of history that the movie reduces, in effect, to a couple of days. Finally, we have Saxons so confused or foolish as to land in Britain north of Hadrian's Wall. This would not have done them much good (as is obvious in the movie) and was way, way out of their way. The Saxons, Angles, and Jutes all crossed the North Sea and landed well south of the Wall. Only Vikings from Norway would later show any interest in the future Scotland . Finally, an early sequence in the movie has Arthur venturing north of the Wall to retrieve a Roman settler. What is this guy doing there? And how could his estate survive, surrounded by hostile Picts, especially when he treats the locals with appalling cruelty? This doesn't pass minimal standards of credibility.
The latter device may have some historical connection. We are told that St. Patrick wrote a letter to Ceretic (or Coroticus), a Briton or Roman governing the local tribe of the British Damnonii, complaining about his practice of selling Irish captives as slaves to the Picts. Ceretic was the beginning of the British Kings of Strathclyde . This is the right era, since Ceretic is supposed to have reigned c.450's-470's, while St. Patrick died in 461, and the right place, north of Hadrian's Wall. If this is what the movie is referring to, it fails to distinguish between Britons, Picts, and Irish; and Ceretic is certainly in no need of being rescued by Romans for cruelty to those he ruled. The cruelty would have been to one set of pagans (i.e. the Irish in Scotland, the Scots, who were still pagan until converted by St. Columba [d.597], although St. Patrick was meanwhile converting the Irish in Ireland) being sold to another set of pagans (the Picts). Although St. Patrick's solicitude for the Irish anywhere is understandable, Christians in general did not worry about enslaving pagans -- which is why the word "slave" is derived from "Slav," who were enslaved long before they converted to Christianity.
The peculiar or anachronistic devices in the movie all serve to create dramatic tension and conflict, which is well within understandable poetic license. In this it is perhaps moderately successful, but some distortions seem gratuitous, especially the negative impression left of Christianity. Pagans were generally tolerated at the time (not tortured or starved to death), but the Army and probably the Britons were overwhelming Christian. That Arthur found himself on the wrong side of one of the obscure contemporary theological disputes is a cute touch (based on the British monk Pelagius, whose teaching was condemned in 418) but is obviously introduced merely as a device to alienate him from the Church and from Rome. This fits the plot of the movie but cannot have had much to do with the substantive problems facing 5th century Britons. The matter in dispute, free will versus predestination, was never wholly settled to the complete denial of one or the other. Indeed, Catholic orthodoxy was more favorable to free will than Protestants like John Calvin would be later.
Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 6
Sancta Sophia is
Latin for "Saint Sophia" or, since sophía is Greek for " wisdom ," "Sacred Wisdom." This is not the form of the name usually seen. Justinian spoke Latin, but in time
Greek became the Court language at Constantinople. In Greek the Church was Hágia Sophía,
, which locally would have been the name used from the beginning.
As Mediaeval Greek developed, however, the "h" ceased to be pronounced and the "g" softened into a "y."
This later pronunciation is even preserved in the Turkish name of the Church, Aya Sofya. For many years, the version I seem to remember seeing was Santa Sophia, which would have to be Italian. Because of the later Italian influence in Romania, this version of the name certainly would have been used. Or, I may have just been seeing "St. Sophia" and thought of it as Santa because of living amid all the Spanish place names in California , where sancta has also become santa (e.g. Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Santa Cruz, etc.).
As it happens, it must be the case that I was seeing "Santa Sophia," because I see it now, in the Fourteen Byzantine Rulers by Michael Psellus [translated by E.R.A. Sewter, Penguin, 1966]. In the translator's introduction we've got "Santa Sophia" on page 10.
Rome and Romania, 27 BC-1453 AD, Note 7
The declension of
seems anomalous. Procopius uses
as the accusative plural [History of the Wars, Book III, xi, 16, Loeb Classical Library, Procopius, Volume II,
Harvard U. Press, 1916, 2006, p.104], which would correspond to the nominative plural
that I use above.
However, I would expect the accusative plural to be
(and so the nominative plural
), based on the Third Declension paradigm of
[A New Introduction to Greek, Chase and Phillips, Harvard U. Press, 1965, p.18].
The retension of the omega in the stem would make sense if
were a participle based on the contract verb
(which contracts to
); but the accent and the endings are inconsistent with it being a participle -- the accusative plural would be
.
The only explanation I can think of is that the alpha from that verb was in some sense retained in the noun, and the omega is still the result of a contraction. This theory may be supported by a term for "galley" that is used by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, which is
[De Administrando Imperio, Greek text edited by Gy. Moravcsik, Dumbarton Oaks Texts, 1967, 2008, p.246]. So we have a fixed root in
.
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Which is the world's deepest lake? | Deepest Lake in the World - Deepest Lake in the United States
Deepest Lake in the World
& Deepest Lake in the United States
Satellite Image of Lake Baikal : Image by Geology.com using NASA Landsat data.
The World's Deepest Lake
Lake Baikal in southern Russia is the world's deepest lake. It is an estimated 5,387 feet deep (1,642 meters), and its bottom is approximately 3,893 feet (1,187 meters) below sea level. Lake Baikal is also the world's largest freshwater lake in terms of volume.
It is difficult to comprehend how a lake in the middle of a continent could have a bottom that is nearly 4,000 feet below sea level. It is impossible for erosion to cut a channel that deep in the middle of a continent. The lake is so deep because it is located in an active continental rift zone. The rift zone is widening at a rate of about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) per year. As the rift grows wider, it also grows deeper through subsidence. So, Lake Baikal could grow wider and deeper in the future.
Related: World's Largest Lake
Lake Baikal map: Lake Baikal is located in southern Siberia near the city if Irkutsk. Map from the CIA Factbook.
Crater Lake: Panorama view of Crater Lake showing the steep crater wall that surrounds the lake and Wizard Island, a small volcano within the crater. Photo © iStockphoto / ziggymaj.
Deepest Lake in the United States:
The deepest lake in the United States is Crater Lake, a volcanic crater in southern Oregon. Its deepest measured depth is 1,949 feet (594 meters). It is the ninth-deepest lake in the world.
It is an amazing lake because no rivers flow into it or out of it. The water level in the lake is a balance between rainfall, groundwater flow and evaporation.
The lake was formed as a caldera by an explosive volcanic eruption and magma chamber collapse between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago.
Deepest Lakes in the World
Baikal
Washington, U.S.A.
1,486 ft (453 m)
Crater Lake bathymetry: Bathymetry image of Crater Lake by USGS. The deepest areas are in the northeast portion of the lake. Enlarge map .
Information Sources
[1] Crater Lake : Summary on the USGS Volcano Hazards Program website. Page last updated February 2015; last accessed August 2016.
[2] Facts about Crater Lake : Article on the Oregon Explorer Natural Resources Digital Library website, a collaboration of Oregon State University Libraries & Press and the Institute for Natural Resources. Last accessed August 2016.
[3] Morphometric Data for Lake Baikal : The INTAS Project 99-1669 Team, October 2002. Marc DeBatist of Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Last accessed August 2016.
Actual Lake Depths Will Vary
It is worth noting that estimated lake depths are just that - estimates.
Searching online, a person may find several different depths listed for the same lake. Why is this?
The recorded depth of a lake may vary over time, depending on multiple factors.
Crater Lake, for example, does not have any streams or rivers flowing into or out of the lake. The water level is relatively constant because, remarkably, the amount of water coming into the lake (via rainfall and snowfall) generally equals the amount of water going out of the lake (via evaporation and seepage).
Since the depth of Crater Lake is directly influenced by the climate, it is easy to imagine how the water level would drop in a year of drought, or how the lake would become deeper in a year of record precipitation. These ideas can be applied to lakes fed and drained by rivers as well.
Another example of how the depth of a lake can change is with Lake Baikal, which is located over a continental rift. The rift is slowly getting wider and deeper each year, which means that the size of the lake is changing, too.
In addition to our planet changing over time, methods of measuring also change. Back in 1886, the depth of Crater Lake was estimated to be 608 meters - measured using a piano wire and lead weight. In 1959, the maximum depth was reported to be 589 meters with sonar measurement. And in July of 2000, 594 meters was the depth reached by a multibeam survey.
Three different depths were recorded at three different points in time with three different methods of measurement. Which is correct? They could all be accurate, or, none of them may be exactly right. There's no way to know with 100% certainty.
That is why it's important to keep in mind that these statistics are simply estimates, and the actual measurements are constantly changing, ever so slightly, even from one day to the next.
More Earth Extremes
| Lake Baikal |
"Who joined Roy Jenkins, Bill Rogers and Shirley Williams as the Social Democrats ""Gang of Four""?" | Deep, ancient Lake Baikal in trouble? | Earth | EarthSky
Deep, ancient Lake Baikal in trouble?
By Daniela Breitman and Deborah Byrd in Earth | Human World | June 2, 2016
The world’s deepest lake – Lake Baikal – is also the world’s oldest lake. Controversy surrounds construction of hydropower stations on a river that feeds the lake.
Lake Baikal photo by Alexey Trofimov, photographer, traveler, photoguide on Baikal, Russian Geographical Society. View more photos from Alexey Trofimov.
Around 25 million years ago, a fissure opened in the Eurasian continent and gave birth Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world. The lake is located near the Russian city of Irkutsk, one of the largest cities in Siberia with about half a million population. Like many of Earth’s waterways today, Lake Baikal may be in trouble. That’s the conclusion of a strongly worded Siberian Times article published on May 25, 2016. The article spoke of a recent ecological assessment of Lake Baikal, and gave dire warnings this lake could suffer the same fate as the Aral Sea, formerly one of the four largest lakes in the world, now less than 10% of its original size after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects.
Lake Baikal is currently a natural reservoir – a UNESCO world heritage site – containing around 20% of the world’s unfrozen freshwater. But, according to Siberian Times:
Construction of three hydro power stations on the Selenga River and its tributaries can cause the unique lake to dry out.
The 25 million year old lake is on the edge of environmental catastrophe and if certain measures are not taken, it might disappear just like the Aral Sea.
In total, some 330 rivers and streams flow into Lake Baikal, some large like the Selenga and many small, while its main outflow is the Angara River.
Lake Baikal seen from space. Image via the SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE.
The Aral Sea in 1989 (l) and 2014 (r). Image via Wikimedia Commons.
What would be lost if Lake Baikal were to go the way of the Aral Sea? Holding 20% of all unfrozen surface fresh water on Earth, Lake Baikal is unlike other deep lakes in that it contains dissolved oxygen right down to the lake floor. That means creatures thrive at all depths in the lake.
Most of Lake Baikal’s 2,000-plus species of plants and animals are found nowhere else in the world. Scientists believe up to 40 per cent of the lake’s species haven’t been described yet. Species endemic to Lake Baikal have evolved over tens of thousands, perhaps millions, of years. They occupy ecological niches that were undisturbed, until the last few decades.
Lake Baikal’s rich and unique biodiversity includes species like the Baikal seal, also known as “nerpa.” It’s the only mammal indigenous to Lake Baikal.
The large freshwater seal indigenous to Lake Baikal, called a “nerpa.” Read more about the Lake Baikal seal at AskBaikal .
Scientists aren’t sure how these seals originally got into Lake Baikal. There are two primary hypotheses concerning this question, which you can read about here.
Another famous species native to Lake Baikal is the “omul,” a type of whitefish. It’s part of the Salmon family. This fish is the main product found at local fisheries. Due to overfishing, it was listed as an endangered species in 2004.
In additional to threat from dam-building, industrial development, paper mills, mining, agriculture, and general population growth on the lake’s shores have added toxic compounds, fertilizers and other pollutants into Lake Baikal. For example, a paper mill located on the shore of Lake Baikal used to discharge tons of toxic waste into the lake. The mill was shut down, re-opened, and shut down once again. There was much opposition to opening the mill due to environmental reasons. On the other hand, the mill provided over a thousand jobs and accounted for 80% of the income in a nearby town. Last we heard, authorities are trying to turn the mill into an environmentally-friendly business. Read more: How is pollution changing Lake Baikal?
On the far right side of this map, just above Mongolia, do you see the large blue crescent? That’s Lake Baikal. Map via Google.
Photo credit: Kyle Taylor
Bottom line: Russia’s Lake Baikal – located in southern Siberia – is the world’s deepest lake. It is an estimated 5,370 feet (1,632-1,642 meters) deep at its deepest. It provides a home for over 2,000 endemic species such as the omul and the Baikal seal.
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"Which politician was the first rail fatality, killed under the wheels of Stephenson's ""Rocket"" in 1830?" | William Huskisson: first railway fatality in British history
What happened on this day in history.
SEPTEMBER 15th
On this day in history in 1830 died William Huskisson.
Huskisson was a politician, who encouraged railway building, and was killed when he fell under the wheels of Stevenson�s Rocket.
William Huskisson began his career as a political clerk, in which profession, his talent was so manifest that in 1795 he was appointed undersecretary for war. He became was a member of Parliament in 1796 and served as secretary to the Treasury under William Pitt the Younger from 1804 to1805.
Huskisson became president of the Board of Trade in 1823 and attempted to modify the Corn Laws, which were causing acute economic distress among agricultural workers. From 1827 Huskisson became Secretary for the Colonies and leader of the House of Commons, but he resigned in 1828.
Huskisson was a railway enthusiast; fascinated by the developing British railway system and in 1830 he attended the opening ceremony of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The ceremony consisted of a procession of Stephenson�s Rockets each drawing carriages full of dignitaries including the Duke of Wellington . In his excitement, Huskisson strayed on to the railway track and was mowed down by one of Stevenson�s locomotives, thereby not only ruining the dignity of the ceremony, but also making him the first railway fatality in British history.
One of the other spectators, Lady Wilton described the accident as follows: �The engine had stopped to take a supply of water, and several of the gentlemen in the directors' carriage had jumped out to look about them. Lord Wilton, Count Bathany, Count Matuscenitz and Mr. Huskisson among the rest were standing talking in the middle of the road, when and engine on the other line, which was parading up and down merely to show its speed, was seen coming down upon them like lightening. The most active of those in peril sprang back into their seats; Lord Wilton saved his life only by rushing behind the Duke's carriage, and Count Matuscenitz had but just leaped into it, with the engine all but touching his heels as he did so; while poor Mr. Huskisson, less active from the effects of age and ill-health, bewildered, too, by the frantic cries of "Stop the engine! Clear the track!" that resounded on all sides, completely lost his head, looked helplessly to the right and left, and was instantaneously prostrated by the fatal machine, which dashed down like a thunderbolt upon him, and passed over his leg, smashing and mangling it in the most horrible way.�
Immediately, George Stephenson personally took the wounded gentleman to a safe place for treatment, in one of his locomotives, a distance of about 15 miles in 25 minutes, at the incredible speed of 36 miles an hour. At the home of the Revd Thomas Blackburne, Huskisson received what help was available, signed a codicil to his will and expired within an hour. A memorial now stands by the track with a marble tablet eulogising the lamented gentleman and poignantly quoting �In the midst of life, we are in death.� Huskisson was buried in St James Church, Liverpool. [Now Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, St. James Road, Liverpool L1 7AZ] A statue of Huskisson, dressed in a Roman toga, by the sculptor John Gibson, stands in a London park. [Pimlico Gardens, St. Georges Square, London SW1V 2HP]
| William Huskisson |
Numbers - how many lines are in a limerick ? | William Huskisson: first railway fatality in British history
What happened on this day in history.
SEPTEMBER 15th
On this day in history in 1830 died William Huskisson.
Huskisson was a politician, who encouraged railway building, and was killed when he fell under the wheels of Stevenson�s Rocket.
William Huskisson began his career as a political clerk, in which profession, his talent was so manifest that in 1795 he was appointed undersecretary for war. He became was a member of Parliament in 1796 and served as secretary to the Treasury under William Pitt the Younger from 1804 to1805.
Huskisson became president of the Board of Trade in 1823 and attempted to modify the Corn Laws, which were causing acute economic distress among agricultural workers. From 1827 Huskisson became Secretary for the Colonies and leader of the House of Commons, but he resigned in 1828.
Huskisson was a railway enthusiast; fascinated by the developing British railway system and in 1830 he attended the opening ceremony of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The ceremony consisted of a procession of Stephenson�s Rockets each drawing carriages full of dignitaries including the Duke of Wellington . In his excitement, Huskisson strayed on to the railway track and was mowed down by one of Stevenson�s locomotives, thereby not only ruining the dignity of the ceremony, but also making him the first railway fatality in British history.
One of the other spectators, Lady Wilton described the accident as follows: �The engine had stopped to take a supply of water, and several of the gentlemen in the directors' carriage had jumped out to look about them. Lord Wilton, Count Bathany, Count Matuscenitz and Mr. Huskisson among the rest were standing talking in the middle of the road, when and engine on the other line, which was parading up and down merely to show its speed, was seen coming down upon them like lightening. The most active of those in peril sprang back into their seats; Lord Wilton saved his life only by rushing behind the Duke's carriage, and Count Matuscenitz had but just leaped into it, with the engine all but touching his heels as he did so; while poor Mr. Huskisson, less active from the effects of age and ill-health, bewildered, too, by the frantic cries of "Stop the engine! Clear the track!" that resounded on all sides, completely lost his head, looked helplessly to the right and left, and was instantaneously prostrated by the fatal machine, which dashed down like a thunderbolt upon him, and passed over his leg, smashing and mangling it in the most horrible way.�
Immediately, George Stephenson personally took the wounded gentleman to a safe place for treatment, in one of his locomotives, a distance of about 15 miles in 25 minutes, at the incredible speed of 36 miles an hour. At the home of the Revd Thomas Blackburne, Huskisson received what help was available, signed a codicil to his will and expired within an hour. A memorial now stands by the track with a marble tablet eulogising the lamented gentleman and poignantly quoting �In the midst of life, we are in death.� Huskisson was buried in St James Church, Liverpool. [Now Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, St. James Road, Liverpool L1 7AZ] A statue of Huskisson, dressed in a Roman toga, by the sculptor John Gibson, stands in a London park. [Pimlico Gardens, St. Georges Square, London SW1V 2HP]
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Numbers - how many lines are in a sonnet ? | What Is a Sonnet? - Overview and Characteristics
What Is a Sonnet?
By Lee Jamieson
Updated September 11, 2016.
Shakespeare’s sonnets are written in a strict poetic form that was very popular during his lifetime . Broadly speaking, each sonnet engages images and sounds to present an argument to the reader.
Sonnet Characteristics
A sonnet is simply a poem written in a certain format. You can identify a sonnet if the poem has the following characteristics:
14 lines. All sonnets have 14 lines which can be broken down into four sections called quatrains.
A strict rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet is ABAB / CDCD / EFEF / GG (note the four distinct sections in the rhyme scheme).
Written in iambic Pentameter . Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter , a poetic meter with 10 beats per line made up of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables.
A sonnet can be broken down into four sections called quatrains. The first three quatrains contain four lines each and use an alternating rhyme scheme. The final quatrain consists of just two lines which both rhyme.
continue reading below our video
How to Write a Sonnet
Each quatrain should progress the poem as follows:
First quatrain: This should establish the subject of the sonnet.
Number of lines: 4. Rhyme Scheme: ABAB
Second quatrain: This should develop the sonnet’s theme.
Number of lines: 4. Rhyme Scheme: CDCD
Third quatrain: This should round off the sonnet’s theme.
Number of lines: 4. Rhyme Scheme: EFEF
Fourth quatrain: This should act as a conclusion to the sonnet.
Number of lines: 2. Rhyme Scheme: GG
| 14 |
"In ""Les Miserables"", what is the name of the policeman who continually tracks down the hero Jean Valjean ?" | Shakespearean Sonnet Basics: Iambic Pentameter and the English Sonnet Style
Shakespearean Sonnet Basics: Iambic Pentameter and the English Sonnet Style
Shakespeare's sonnets are written predominantly in a meter called iambic pentameter, a rhyme scheme in which each sonnet line consists of ten syllables. The syllables are divided into five pairs called iambs or iambic feet. An iamb is a metrical unit made up of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. An example of an iamb would be good BYE. A line of iambic pentameter flows like this:
baBOOM / baBOOM / baBOOM / baBOOM / baBOOM.
Here are some examples from the sonnets:
When I / do COUNT / the CLOCK / that TELLS / the TIME ( Sonnet 12 )
When IN / dis GRACE / with FOR / tune AND / men�s EYES
I ALL / a LONE / be WEEP / my OUT/ cast STATE ( Sonnet 29 )
Shall I / com PARE/ thee TO / a SUM / mer's DAY?
Thou ART / more LOVE / ly AND / more TEM / per ATE ( Sonnet 18 )
Shakespeare's plays are also written primarily in iambic pentameter, but the lines are unrhymed and not grouped into stanzas. Unrhymed iambic pentameter is called blank verse . It should be noted that there are also many prose passages in Shakespeare�s plays and some lines of trochaic tetrameter , such as the Witches' speeches in Macbeth .
Sonnet Structure
There are fourteen lines in a Shakespearean sonnet. The first twelve lines are divided into three quatrains with four lines each. In the three quatrains the poet establishes a theme or problem and then resolves it in the final two lines, called the couplet. The rhyme scheme of the quatrains is abab cdcd efef. The couplet has the rhyme scheme gg. This sonnet structure is commonly called the English sonnet or the Shakespearean sonnet, to distinguish it from the Italian Petrarchan sonnet form which has two parts: a rhyming octave (abbaabba) and a rhyming sestet (cdcdcd). The Petrarchan sonnet style was extremely popular with Elizabethan sonneteers, much to Shakespeare's disdain (he mocks the conventional and excessive Petrarchan style in Sonnet 130 ).
Only three of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets do not conform to this structure: Sonnet 99 , which has 15 lines; Sonnet 126 , which has 12 lines; and Sonnet 145 , which is written in iambic tetrameter.
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How to cite this article:
Mabillard, Amanda. Shakespearean Sonnet Basics: Iambic Pentameter and the English Sonnet Style. Shakespeare Online. 30 Aug. 2000. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/sonnetstyle.html >.
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Which world famous hotel shares its' name with a type of cabbage ? | The 55 Types Of Deliciously Famous Soups Of The World
The 55 Types Of Deliciously Famous Soups Of The World
130,271
Did you know that records of the first types of soups dated back to 6,000 BC? And that the main ingredient was the hippopotamus? Yeah.. it’s unimaginable but it’s true. Every culture in the world have their own types of soup. Some are thick, some are thin, some are spicy, some are taken with a side dish like bread. Below are soups drank by the world over.
Ajiaco
From Colombia, you have the Ajiaco, which ingredients typically include chicken, corn, at least two kinds of potatoes, sour cream, capers, avocado, and guasca.
Albondigas
A traditional Mexican meatball soup made with sauteed onions, garlic, broth, and tomatoes.
Avgolemono
Avgolemono in Greece means egg-lemon. This soup contains chicken, lemon and egg as it’s main ingredient.
Borscht
The strong red coloured vegetable soup from Eastern Europe that includes beet roots as it’s main.
Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse, originating all the way from the city of Marseille of France, is usually a fish stock containing different kinds of cooked fish and shellfish which usually are complemented with garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron.
Broccoli Cheese
The perfect broccoli cheese soup is thick, creamy, and cheesy.
Caldo verde
From the province of Minho, Northern Portugal comes this soup made of mashed potatoes, minced collard greens, savoy cabbage, kale, onions and slices of chorizo.
Callaloo
The thick, creamy soup made with okra and crab meat from Trinidad and Tobago.
Chicken Soup
The world’s most famous soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients.
Chlodnik
A cold variety of borsch — beetroot soup traditional to some Northern European and Slavic countries made with sour cream, soured milk, kefir or yoghurt, radishes or cucumbers, garnished with dill or parsley.
Clam Chowder
credit
A New England soup that contains clams with potatoes, onions and bacon. When done right, clam chowder should be rich and filling, but not sludgy or stew-like. Its texture should be creamy without feeling leaden, like you’re sipping on gravy. Tender chunks of potato should barely hold their shape, dissolving on your tongue, their soft texture contrasting with tender bites of salty pork and briny clam.
Cock-a-leekie
From Scotland, the soup dish of leeks, potatoes, chicken stock and sometimes with a hint of prunes.
Cullen Skink
From the town of Cullen in Moray, on the north-east coast of Scotland comes the soup that is often served as a starter at formal Scottish dinners. Always thick with smoked Finnan haddock, potatoes and onions as its ingredients.
Egg Drop
A Chinese soup of beaten eggs, chicken broth, and boiled water. Condiments such as table salt, black pepper, and green onion are also commonly added.
Erwtensoep
A thick pea soup, eaten in the Netherlands as a winter dish, traditionally served with sliced sausage.
Faki soupa
Lentils as it’s main, this Greek soup is both healthy and filling. It has since been made popular in the Middle East and Mediterranean. Others include onions, carrots, olive oil, parsley and possibly tomato sauce or vinegar.
Fanesca
credit
Traditional to Ecuador, Fanesca is usually served the week before easter and typically includes figleaf gourd, pumpkin, and twelve different kinds of grains (representing the disciples of Jesus), and salt cod (due to the belief that you must not eat red meat during these days).
Fasolada
Sometimes referred to as the ‘national food of the Greeks’. Fasolada is a soup of dry white beans, olive oil, and vegetables.
French Onion Soup
An onion and beef broth or a beef stock based soup traditionally served with croutons and cheese as toppings.
Fufu and Egusi
From Nigeria, Fufu and Egusi soup is made with vegetables, meat, fish, and balls of wheat gluten.
Gazpacho
credit
Hailing from Spain, this vegetable soup is popular in warmer areas and during the summer, particularly in Spain’s Andalusia and Portugal’s Alentejo and Algarve regions. Gazpacho is a concoction of bread, tomato, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, salt and vinegar.
Ginataan
A dessert soup from the Philippines whose name is derived from the Filipino word for coconut milk, ‘gata’, the main ingredient in the soup.
A very popular type of health soup found in Chinese & Korean communities made out of Ginseng roots. Chicken and other herbs and spices are often added to it.
Goulash
The Hungarian spicy dish, made of beef, onions, red peppers, and paprika powder. Goulash draws its name from the Hungarian word for a cattle stockman / herdsman.
Gumbo
Originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century, gumbo consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable holy trinity of celery, bell peppers, and onions.
Harira
Harira is a famous Moroccan soup that uses lamb, fresh tomatoes, chickpeas, and lentils, flavoured with harissa hot sauce.
Hot and Sour Soup
credit
Hot and sour soup is a Chinese soup claimed variously by the regional cuisines of Beijing and Sichuan as a regional dish. Hot and sour soup is a lot like chili; every family has their own recipe, and each family thinks that theirs is the best.
Kimchi jigae
A variety of jjigae or stew-like Korean dish made with kimchi and other ingredients, such as scallions, onions, diced tofu, pork, and seafood, although pork and seafood are generally not used in the same recipe.
Lablabi
A straightforward Tunisian garlic and cumin flavoured chickpea soup served over small pieces of stale crusty bread.
Lobster Bisque
Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth of lobsters.
Menudo
A traditional Mexican soup largely made out of tripe and hominy. It is considered by some as a cure for hangovers.
Minestrone
From Italy comes this vegetarian soup, made thick with the addition of pasta or rice. Beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes are commonly added to it.
Miso soup
Japan’s most famous soup made from fish broth, fermented soy and ‘dashi’.
Mulligatawny Soup
An Anglo-Indian curried soup which means ‘pepper water’ in Tamil.
Iskembe Corbasi
A type of tripe soup often seasoned with vinegar or lemon juice, prepared in Greece, Turkey and the Balkans.
Pasulj
A type of bean dish also popular throughout the Balkan nations. It is normally prepared with meat, particularly smoked meat such as smoked bacon, smoked sausage, and smoked joints, and is a typical winter dish.
Pho
The Vietnamese beef/chicken soup cooked with scallion, welsh onion, cherred ginger, wild coriander, basil, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and black cardamom.
Pozole
A pre-Columbian soup made from hominy, with pork, chile, and other seasonings and garnish, such as cabbage, lettuce, oregano, cilantro, avocado, radish, lime juice.
Rassolnik, made with kidneys or giblets and pickles, is known for hangover relief because rassol, the brining liquid from pickles, contains vitamins which help the body to hold water and counteract dehydration produced by drinking too much , which causes hangovers.
Sambar
credit
A South Indian stew made from pigeon peas, vegetables, tamarind and spices, Sambar is an everyday dish in Southern India. One of the myth is that it originated in the kitchen of Thanjavur Marathas ruler, Shahuji, during the 19th century from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shahji was trying to make a dish called amti, experimented with pigeon peas instead of mung bean, and tamarind pulp instead kokum, and the court named it sambhar after the guest of the day, Sambhaji, the second emperor of the Maratha Empire.
Scotch Broth
A filling soup from Scotland which principal ingredients are usually barley, a cut of beef or lamb, carrots, turnips or swedes, cabbage and leeks.
Shark Fin
A Chinese delicacy commonly served as part of a Chinese feast, usually at special occasions such as weddings and banquets as a symbol of wealth and prestige.
Shchav
A sorrel soup in Polish, Russian and Yiddish cuisines made from water, sorrel leaves, salt and egg yolks which is often served cold with sour cream.
Solyanka
Cabbage soup from Russia made of mainly three different kinds of main ingredient being either meat, fish or mushrooms. All of them contain pickled cucumbers with brine, and often cabbage, salty mushrooms, cream and dill.
Sopa Negra
Black bean soup Costa Rican style made of black beans, chicken broth, eggs, fresh cilantro, onions, garlic and sweet pepper.
Sour Soup
A cold soup popular in the summertime in Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia made from yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, nuts, dill, vegetable oil, and water.
Tomato Soup
Tomato soup, a very popular comfort food in Poland and United States, is made in a variety of ways.
Tom Kha Gai
Made with coconut milk, galangal, lemon grass and chicken. The fried chillies add a smoky flavor as well as texture, color and heat, but not so much that it overwhelms the soup.
Tom Yam
One of the most famous dishes in Thai cuisine known for its distinct hot and sour flavours made of stock and fresh ingredients such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, and crushed chillis.
Torpedo
Found commonly in parts of Malaysia especially Penang, Sup Torpedo is a type of exotic soup that includes the penis of a bull as the main ingredient. It is reputed to be an aphrodisiac.
Trahana
credit
Dried foods based on a fermented mixture of grain and yoghurt or fermented milk, usually consumed as soup found in Turkey, Greece, Egypt and Iraq. The Turkish tarhana consists of cracked wheat, yoghurt, and vegetables fermented then dried. The Greek trahana contains only cracked wheat and yoghurt.
Vichyssoise
A French style soup made of puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock traditionally served cold.
Waterzooi
Means “watery mess’ in Dutch. Made of fish or chicken, carrots, leeks and potatoes, herbs, eggs, cream and butter.
Zurek
| Savoy (disambiguation) |
Which world famous hotel shares its' name with a biscuit ? | The 55 Types Of Deliciously Famous Soups Of The World
The 55 Types Of Deliciously Famous Soups Of The World
130,271
Did you know that records of the first types of soups dated back to 6,000 BC? And that the main ingredient was the hippopotamus? Yeah.. it’s unimaginable but it’s true. Every culture in the world have their own types of soup. Some are thick, some are thin, some are spicy, some are taken with a side dish like bread. Below are soups drank by the world over.
Ajiaco
From Colombia, you have the Ajiaco, which ingredients typically include chicken, corn, at least two kinds of potatoes, sour cream, capers, avocado, and guasca.
Albondigas
A traditional Mexican meatball soup made with sauteed onions, garlic, broth, and tomatoes.
Avgolemono
Avgolemono in Greece means egg-lemon. This soup contains chicken, lemon and egg as it’s main ingredient.
Borscht
The strong red coloured vegetable soup from Eastern Europe that includes beet roots as it’s main.
Bouillabaisse
Bouillabaisse, originating all the way from the city of Marseille of France, is usually a fish stock containing different kinds of cooked fish and shellfish which usually are complemented with garlic, orange peel, basil, bay leaf, fennel and saffron.
Broccoli Cheese
The perfect broccoli cheese soup is thick, creamy, and cheesy.
Caldo verde
From the province of Minho, Northern Portugal comes this soup made of mashed potatoes, minced collard greens, savoy cabbage, kale, onions and slices of chorizo.
Callaloo
The thick, creamy soup made with okra and crab meat from Trinidad and Tobago.
Chicken Soup
The world’s most famous soup made from chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients.
Chlodnik
A cold variety of borsch — beetroot soup traditional to some Northern European and Slavic countries made with sour cream, soured milk, kefir or yoghurt, radishes or cucumbers, garnished with dill or parsley.
Clam Chowder
credit
A New England soup that contains clams with potatoes, onions and bacon. When done right, clam chowder should be rich and filling, but not sludgy or stew-like. Its texture should be creamy without feeling leaden, like you’re sipping on gravy. Tender chunks of potato should barely hold their shape, dissolving on your tongue, their soft texture contrasting with tender bites of salty pork and briny clam.
Cock-a-leekie
From Scotland, the soup dish of leeks, potatoes, chicken stock and sometimes with a hint of prunes.
Cullen Skink
From the town of Cullen in Moray, on the north-east coast of Scotland comes the soup that is often served as a starter at formal Scottish dinners. Always thick with smoked Finnan haddock, potatoes and onions as its ingredients.
Egg Drop
A Chinese soup of beaten eggs, chicken broth, and boiled water. Condiments such as table salt, black pepper, and green onion are also commonly added.
Erwtensoep
A thick pea soup, eaten in the Netherlands as a winter dish, traditionally served with sliced sausage.
Faki soupa
Lentils as it’s main, this Greek soup is both healthy and filling. It has since been made popular in the Middle East and Mediterranean. Others include onions, carrots, olive oil, parsley and possibly tomato sauce or vinegar.
Fanesca
credit
Traditional to Ecuador, Fanesca is usually served the week before easter and typically includes figleaf gourd, pumpkin, and twelve different kinds of grains (representing the disciples of Jesus), and salt cod (due to the belief that you must not eat red meat during these days).
Fasolada
Sometimes referred to as the ‘national food of the Greeks’. Fasolada is a soup of dry white beans, olive oil, and vegetables.
French Onion Soup
An onion and beef broth or a beef stock based soup traditionally served with croutons and cheese as toppings.
Fufu and Egusi
From Nigeria, Fufu and Egusi soup is made with vegetables, meat, fish, and balls of wheat gluten.
Gazpacho
credit
Hailing from Spain, this vegetable soup is popular in warmer areas and during the summer, particularly in Spain’s Andalusia and Portugal’s Alentejo and Algarve regions. Gazpacho is a concoction of bread, tomato, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, salt and vinegar.
Ginataan
A dessert soup from the Philippines whose name is derived from the Filipino word for coconut milk, ‘gata’, the main ingredient in the soup.
A very popular type of health soup found in Chinese & Korean communities made out of Ginseng roots. Chicken and other herbs and spices are often added to it.
Goulash
The Hungarian spicy dish, made of beef, onions, red peppers, and paprika powder. Goulash draws its name from the Hungarian word for a cattle stockman / herdsman.
Gumbo
Originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century, gumbo consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the vegetable holy trinity of celery, bell peppers, and onions.
Harira
Harira is a famous Moroccan soup that uses lamb, fresh tomatoes, chickpeas, and lentils, flavoured with harissa hot sauce.
Hot and Sour Soup
credit
Hot and sour soup is a Chinese soup claimed variously by the regional cuisines of Beijing and Sichuan as a regional dish. Hot and sour soup is a lot like chili; every family has their own recipe, and each family thinks that theirs is the best.
Kimchi jigae
A variety of jjigae or stew-like Korean dish made with kimchi and other ingredients, such as scallions, onions, diced tofu, pork, and seafood, although pork and seafood are generally not used in the same recipe.
Lablabi
A straightforward Tunisian garlic and cumin flavoured chickpea soup served over small pieces of stale crusty bread.
Lobster Bisque
Bisque is a smooth, creamy, highly seasoned soup of French origin, classically based on a strained broth of lobsters.
Menudo
A traditional Mexican soup largely made out of tripe and hominy. It is considered by some as a cure for hangovers.
Minestrone
From Italy comes this vegetarian soup, made thick with the addition of pasta or rice. Beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes are commonly added to it.
Miso soup
Japan’s most famous soup made from fish broth, fermented soy and ‘dashi’.
Mulligatawny Soup
An Anglo-Indian curried soup which means ‘pepper water’ in Tamil.
Iskembe Corbasi
A type of tripe soup often seasoned with vinegar or lemon juice, prepared in Greece, Turkey and the Balkans.
Pasulj
A type of bean dish also popular throughout the Balkan nations. It is normally prepared with meat, particularly smoked meat such as smoked bacon, smoked sausage, and smoked joints, and is a typical winter dish.
Pho
The Vietnamese beef/chicken soup cooked with scallion, welsh onion, cherred ginger, wild coriander, basil, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and black cardamom.
Pozole
A pre-Columbian soup made from hominy, with pork, chile, and other seasonings and garnish, such as cabbage, lettuce, oregano, cilantro, avocado, radish, lime juice.
Rassolnik, made with kidneys or giblets and pickles, is known for hangover relief because rassol, the brining liquid from pickles, contains vitamins which help the body to hold water and counteract dehydration produced by drinking too much , which causes hangovers.
Sambar
credit
A South Indian stew made from pigeon peas, vegetables, tamarind and spices, Sambar is an everyday dish in Southern India. One of the myth is that it originated in the kitchen of Thanjavur Marathas ruler, Shahuji, during the 19th century from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shahji was trying to make a dish called amti, experimented with pigeon peas instead of mung bean, and tamarind pulp instead kokum, and the court named it sambhar after the guest of the day, Sambhaji, the second emperor of the Maratha Empire.
Scotch Broth
A filling soup from Scotland which principal ingredients are usually barley, a cut of beef or lamb, carrots, turnips or swedes, cabbage and leeks.
Shark Fin
A Chinese delicacy commonly served as part of a Chinese feast, usually at special occasions such as weddings and banquets as a symbol of wealth and prestige.
Shchav
A sorrel soup in Polish, Russian and Yiddish cuisines made from water, sorrel leaves, salt and egg yolks which is often served cold with sour cream.
Solyanka
Cabbage soup from Russia made of mainly three different kinds of main ingredient being either meat, fish or mushrooms. All of them contain pickled cucumbers with brine, and often cabbage, salty mushrooms, cream and dill.
Sopa Negra
Black bean soup Costa Rican style made of black beans, chicken broth, eggs, fresh cilantro, onions, garlic and sweet pepper.
Sour Soup
A cold soup popular in the summertime in Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia made from yoghurt, cucumbers, garlic, nuts, dill, vegetable oil, and water.
Tomato Soup
Tomato soup, a very popular comfort food in Poland and United States, is made in a variety of ways.
Tom Kha Gai
Made with coconut milk, galangal, lemon grass and chicken. The fried chillies add a smoky flavor as well as texture, color and heat, but not so much that it overwhelms the soup.
Tom Yam
One of the most famous dishes in Thai cuisine known for its distinct hot and sour flavours made of stock and fresh ingredients such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, and crushed chillis.
Torpedo
Found commonly in parts of Malaysia especially Penang, Sup Torpedo is a type of exotic soup that includes the penis of a bull as the main ingredient. It is reputed to be an aphrodisiac.
Trahana
credit
Dried foods based on a fermented mixture of grain and yoghurt or fermented milk, usually consumed as soup found in Turkey, Greece, Egypt and Iraq. The Turkish tarhana consists of cracked wheat, yoghurt, and vegetables fermented then dried. The Greek trahana contains only cracked wheat and yoghurt.
Vichyssoise
A French style soup made of puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock traditionally served cold.
Waterzooi
Means “watery mess’ in Dutch. Made of fish or chicken, carrots, leeks and potatoes, herbs, eggs, cream and butter.
Zurek
| i don't know |
"In ""Les Miserables"", what is the name of the little orphan girl adopted by the hero Jean Valjean ?" | SparkNotes: Les Misérables: Character List
Les Misérables
Plot Overview
Analysis of Major Characters
Jean Valjean - Cosette’s adopted father. Valjean is an ex-convict who leaves behind a life of hatred and deceit and makes his fortune with his innovative industrial techniques. He finds fulfillment in loving his adopted daughter and helping people who are in difficult situations, even when it means risking his own life and welfare. Valjean adopts pseudonyms to evade the police and combines a convict’s street smarts with his newfound idealism and compassion. His whole life is a quest for redemption, and he ultimately finds bliss on his deathbed.
Read an in-depth analysis of Jean Valjean.
Cosette - Fantine’s daughter, who lives as Valjean’s adopted daughter after her mother dies. Cosette spends her childhood as a servant for the Thénardiers in Montfermeil, but even this awful experience does not make her hardened or cynical. Under the care of Valjean and the nuns of Petit-Picpus, Cosette ultimately blossoms into a beautiful, educated young woman. She finds fulfillment in her love for Marius. Cosette is innocent and docile, but her participation in Valjean’s many escapes from the law show that she also possesses intelligence and bravery.
Read an in-depth analysis of Cosette.
Javert - A police inspector who strictly believes in law and order and will stop at nothing to enforce France’s harsh penal codes. Javert is incapable of compassion or pity, and performs his work with such passion that he takes on a nearly animal quality when he is on the chase. He nurses an especially strong desire to recapture Valjean, whose escapes and prosperity he sees as an affront to justice. Ultimately, Javert is unable to say with certainty that Valjean deserves to be punished. This ambiguity undermines the system of belief on which Javert bases his life and forces him to choose between hypocrisy and honor.
Read an in-depth analysis of Javert.
Fantine - A working-class girl who leaves her hometown of Montreuil-sur-mer to seek her fortune in Paris. Fantine’s innocent affair with a dapper student named Tholomyès leaves her pregnant and abandoned. Although she is frail, she makes a Herculean effort to feed herself and her daughter, Cosette. Even as she descends into prostitution, she never stops caring for Cosette. She represents the destruction that nineteenth-century French society cruelly wreaks on the less fortunate.
Read an in-depth analysis of Fantine.
Marius Pontmercy - The son of Georges Pontmercy, a colonel in Napoléon’s army. Marius grows up in the home of his grandfather, M. Gillenormand, a monarchist. Marius has an identity crisis when he learns the real reason for his separation from his father, and this crisis sets him on the path to discovering himself. An innocent young man, Marius is nonetheless capable of great things and manages both to fight on the barricades and successfully court the love of his life, Cosette.
Read an in-depth analysis of Marius Pontmercy.
M. Myriel - The bishop of Digne. M. Myriel is a much-admired clergyman whose great kindness and charity have made him popular throughout his parish. He passes on these same qualities to Valjean and initiates the ex-convict’s spiritual renewal by saving Valjean from arrest and making him promise to live as an honest man.
M. Thénardier - A cruel, wretched, money-obsessed man who first appears as Cosette’s keeper and tormentor. Thénardier extorts money from whomever he can, and he frequently serves as an informant to whoever will bid the highest. His schemes range from robbery to fraud to murder, and he has strong ties to the criminal underworld in Paris. Blinded by greed, Thénardier is incapable of loving other human beings and spends every minute in pursuit of money.
Mme. Thénardier - M. Thénardier’s wife. Mme. Thénardier is just as evil as her husband and takes special pleasure in abusing Cosette. In later years, she becomes her husband’s most devoted accomplice and is particularly enthusiastic about his schemes to rob Valjean and Cosette.
Eponine - The Thénardiers’ eldest daughter. Eponine is a wretched creature who helps her parents steal, but she is eventually redeemed by her love for Marius. She proves that no one is beyond redemption, and she ultimately emerges as one of the novel’s most tragic and heroic figures.
M. Gillenormand - Marius’s ninety-year-old maternal grandfather. Gillenormand prevents Marius from seeing his father, Georges Pontmercy, because he fears that Pontmercy will corrupt Marius. A devout monarchist, Gillenormand rejects the French Revolution outright and also rejects Pontmercy’s Napoléonic beliefs. Although Gillenormand’s classist views sometimes offend Marius, he truly loves his grandson and ultimately does what is necessary to make Marius happy.
Gavroche - The Thénardiers’ oldest son. Gavroche is kicked out of the house at an early age and becomes a Parisian street urchin. He is a happy-go-lucky child who enjoys the small pleasures of life and demonstrates unusual generosity toward those even less fortunate than he is. He is also fierce and brave, and plays a decisive role in the barricade even though he does not have a gun.
Colonel Georges Pontmercy - An officer in Napoléon’s army and Marius’s father. Pontmercy is severely wounded at the Battle of Waterloo, and mistakenly believing that Thénardier has saved his life, he asks that Marius honor this debt. Although we know little about Pontmercy’s personal life, his politics greatly influence the young Marius.
Enjolras - The leader of the Friends of the ABC. Enjolras is a radical student revolutionary. He is both wild and beautiful. Together with Courfeyrac and Marius, Enjolras leads the insurrection at the barricade.
Fauchelevent - A critic of Valjean’s while Valjean is the mayor of Montreuil-sur-mer under the assumed name of Madeleine. Fauchelevent becomes indebted to Valjean when Valjean saves him from a carriage accident. When they meet again years later, Fauchelevent returns the favor by hiding Valjean and Cosette in a convent.
Petit-Gervais - A small boy whom Valjean robs shortly after leaving Digne.
Champmathieu - A poor, uneducated man who unfortunately resembles Valjean so much that he is identified, tried, and almost convicted as Valjean. Champmathieu proves to be too dim-witted to defend himself successfully, revealing the callousness of the French justice system.
M. Mabeuf - A churchwarden in Paris who tells Marius the truth about his father. Mabeuf and Marius become friends during tough times, and Mabeuf later dies a heroic death on the barricade.
Patron-Minette - Actually four people, Patron-Minette is a Parisian crime ring so close-knit that its four members—Montparnasse, Babet, Claquesous, and Gueulemer—are described as four heads of the same violent beast. Patron-Minette controls all the crime in one section of Paris and assists in the Thénardiers’ ambush of Valjean.
Felix Tholomyès - Fantine’s lover in Paris. Tholomyès is a wealthy student who thinks much less of his relationship with Fantine than she does. He gets Fantine pregnant and then abandons her as a joke. Tholomyès is Cosette’s biological father, although the two never meet.
Azelma - The Thénardiers’ younger daughter. Azelma grows up pampered and spoiled but ends up enduring the same poverty as the rest of her family.
More Help
| Cosette |
Prime Minister Harold McMillan had what Christian name, although he preferred to be known by his middle name, Harold ? | Les Miserables Audition Information
For more information email Director Alison Chambers at Alison (at) TheTwilightTheatre (dot) com
Principle Role Requirements and Descriptions: Males
JEAN VALJEAN is the hero of the story. It is his life journey that we follow. Jean Valjean is supposed to be stronger than other men, and so physically should appear robust. He should reasonably carry himself as mature and paternal. Valjean's ability to change is his greatest asset. The key to his character is his great humanity and compassion. Jean Valjean is a vocally demanding role.
Range: Tenor - Low A to High A
Audition Song: Bring Him Home
Age: 15 to 19 years
JAVERT is the inspector who serves as the antagonist to Jean Valjean. At first glance Javert might appear to be the villain of the story, but on closer examination it is clear that he is not an evil man, but is a man with a profound sense of duty. He sees everything in black and white and is unswerving in his pursuit of justice. His attitudes are rigid and unmoveable. He is stern, foreboding, and lacking in compassion. Must have a very strong and rigid, almost mean, presence and voice. Strong singer and actor.
Range: Low F to High F sharp
Audition Song: Stars
Age: 15 to 19 years
THENARDIER is the true villain of this show, but also the comic relief. He is amoral and an opportunist. That said, he should also possess a wicked sense of humor. He delights in cheating, robbing, fraud and blackmail, relishing every aspect of them with glee. He is tough, greedy, brutal, stupid and crafty and yet irresistible. Strong character role. Does not have to be a good singer.
Range: C (below Middle C) to G sharp (above Middle C)
Audition Song: Master of the House
Age: 16 to 19 years
ENJOLRAS is the student leader and is an old soul. He is handsome, brave, daring, and very mature for his age. He is described by Victor Hugo as “a thinker and a man of action”. He oozes with charisma and confidence. On the barricade he physically and vocally should dominate everyone else. Must have a very strong, confident presence and voice. His death at the barricade is one of the dramatic highlights of the show.
Range: Tenor or High Baritone - A to G above the middle C
Audition Song: Do You Hear the People Sing? and possibly Red and Black – be ready for both
Age: 15 to 19 years
MARIUS is the handsome romantic hero. Very impulsive, awkward, and naïve, but matures by the end of the show. Marius should have a lovely lyrical voice with a contemporary edge.
Range: Low A to High A flat
Audition Song: Empty Chairs and Empty Tables
Age: 15 to 19 years
BISHOP OF DIGNE is the kind man who saves Valjean with his compassion. A very strong supporting role. Needs a very lyric, compassionate, and soothing voice.
Range: Low A to High E
Audition Song: The Bishop’s part in the show. Music will be available at audition
Age: 15 to 19 years
GAVROCHE is a willful, cocky, charismatic boy who lives on the streets and hangs out with the ABC gang. Considers himself the leader of the streets. He is brave and witty. Think a young Artful Dodger. He has a dramatic death at the barricade. Note: Says “What the hell” in one song, so parents must be comfortable with that.
Range: B below middle C to G
Audition Song: His solo part in Look Down
Age: 8 to 11 years, height maximum of 58”
Supporting Role Requirements and Descriptions: Males
*Please prepare a Broadway song that shows off your range.
ABC SOCIETY is a secret society of students and workers, the letters "A" "B" "C", as pronounced in French, make the word "abaisse," which means "the underdog" or "the people below." The members are drawn from wealthy families, and members have chosen to fight for freedom in stark contrast to the poor who have no choice due to their downtrodden circumstance. Additional characters, besides Enjolras and Marius are:
COMBEFERRE - Is the philosopher and believer in peace. He is gentle, humane, strong and brave.
Feuilly - Is a worker, self-educated and an orphan. A believer in "nationality." Affectionate, warm and poetic.
COURFEYRAC - Is a student. His is youthful, passionate and fearless.
JOLY - A medical student. Eccentric and light-hearted, although sometimes morbid. His name is derived from the English word "jolly."
Prouvaire - A student of social studies. He is kind, softly spoken and at the right moments strong and masterful. He is also a poet.
LESEGLES - A student. Cheerful, laughing at life but unlucky. His close friend is Joly.
GRANTAIRE - A student. He is the opposite of Enjolras. He believes in nothing. Although he admires Enjolras he loves to mock him. Witty and drunken, he is happy being with the group and they put up with him because of his good humour. He also keeps a watchful eye on Gavroche, the mascot of the group, and is the most heartbroken when Gavroche is killed. So much so that Grantaire abandons his cynicism and rushes to die on the barricade.
Vocal ranges: Low A to F
PIMP controls the prostitutes at the docks. He is mean, aggressive and abusive. The Pimp has a small solo line in "The Docks." Does not have to be a strong singer.
Vocal range: E (below Middle C) to D
FAUCHELEVANT is the victim of the cart crash. Does not have to be a strong singer.
Vocal range: B (below Middle C) to E flat
JUDGE presides over mistaken Valjean’s trial – non singing part.
MISTAKEN VALJEAN is the man who Javert believes to be Jean Valjean – non singing part.
FOREMAN begins Fantine on her downward spiral of desperation. He should be virile, commanding and a bit sleazy around the edges. Does not have to be a strong singer.
Vocal range: E (below Middle C) to D flat (above Middle C)
CHAIN GANG consists of Jean Valjean's fellow prisoners. There are four soloists (indicated as convicts 1, 2, 3, 4).
Vocal range: Low F to High E flat
CONSTABLES guard the chain gang and catch Valjean when he flees from the Bishop’s house.
Vocal range: E to High E
FARMER turns Valjean away. Does not have to be a strong singer.
Vocal range: Middle C to D flat
LABORERS deride Valjean. Do not have to be strong singers.
Vocal range: A sharp to D flat
SAILORS are interested in the services of the Lovely Ladies. Do not have to be strong singers.
Vocal range: Low C to Middle C
BAMATABOIS is the "customer" who taunts Fantine into violence. He is dressed in expensive clothes. He is a wealthy dissolute young man who thinks of himself as a gentleman. He is drunk and in a sadistic mood and chauvinistically feels it is his right to buy anything, even Fantine. Does not have to be a strong singer.
Vocal range: D (below Middle C) to High D
MONTPARNASSE, BABET, BRUJON, and CLAQUESOUS are all members of Thenardier's gang of thieves.
Brujon - Physically very strong. The body of a bear and a pea sized brain. A genuine gangster, he is stupid and evil.
Babet - Physically frail. He is lean and cunning.
Claquesous - Tough, dangerous and secretive.
Montparnasse - A teenager. Handsome and dangerous. Kills with a knife.
Vocal ranges: C sharp (below Middle C) to E
Principle Role Requirements and Descriptions: Females
FANTINE is the beautiful young girl who, abandoned by her lover, is left to fend for herself and her daughter Cosette. She is rejected by society and forced through circumstances to become a prostitute. She is a brave woman defeated by life, sustained by her love for her daughter and clinging to her dignity. Sick with consumption, we witness her descent through poverty, hunger, cold, loneliness and destitution to death. She is a noble and proud character, whose life becomes a series of terrible events that rob her of her pride, character, and ultimately her life. This is a real heartbreaker of a role that requires a mature actress. This actress needs to comfortable with her emotions out in the open and has to have the ability to convincingly go from wistful to bitter to heartbroken to shouting at God, all in one song. Fantine’s physical and emotional pain needs to be very real.
Audition Song: I Dreamed A Dream
Age: 16 to 19
COSETTE is the beautiful daughter of Fantine. She is an intelligent, inquiring, personable girl. Once adopted by Jean Valjean, Cosette lives a comfortable, if secluded life. She is strong willed and loving. She falls instantly in love with Marius, changing her world and her priorities. The role calls for an excellent singer with a lovely, lyrical soprano voice.
Vocal range: B flat below middle C to High 2 octaves above middle C
Audition Song: In My Life and the ending of A Heart Full Of Love Reprise to check range
Age: 16 to 19 years
EPONINE is the daughter of the Thenardiers. She is a young girl who is streetwise and tough, but also sensitive and lonely. She is in love with Marius, and knowing that he will never love her, she is very vulnerable when it comes to him. She bravely follows Marius to the barricades in the hope that they will die there together. Eponine is a tragic character, hopelessly in love with Marius and dies there. Strong singing and acting.
Range: F Sharp below middle C to E
Audition Song: On My Own
Age: 16 to 19 years female
LITTLE COSETTE is Cosette as a child and the ward of the Thenardiers, who force her into slavery at their inn. She is a trembling little creature, underfed, beaten by Madame Thenardier and bullied by Eponine, but very sweet despite her circumstances.
Range: A below middle C to C
Audition Song: Castle on a Cloud
Age: 8 to 11 years – height maximum of 53”
MADAME THENARDIER is the drunk and vulgar wife of Thenardier. Madame Thenardier is as "one" with Thenardier. Together they con the world as partners in crime. They were made for each other, although she complains about him. She is coarse and vulgar; unhappy in her existence without knowing why. She is greedy, evil, and larger than life. She is mean and nasty to Little Cosette and able to improvise in nearly any situation. Strong character actress. Does not have to be a strong singer. Note: She has to swear at the end of “Master of the House”, so parents please listen to it before your daughter auditions.
Range: G Sharp below middle C to D
Audition Song: Master of the House
Age: 16 to 19 years
Supporting Role Requirements and Descriptions: Females
*Please prepare a Broadway song that shows off your range.
LITTLE EPONINE is the pampered daughter of the Thenardiers and a spoiled brat who taunts Little Cosette. The role requires no singing or speaking.
FACTORY GIRL fights with Fantine. She is mean, catty and selfish. She also is having an affair with the Foreman and is jealous of Fantine. Strong singer and actress.
Vocal range: B flat (below Middle C) to C (above Middle C)
OLD WOMAN is a nice feature part. This is the character that purchases Fantine's hair.
Vocal range: E (above Middle C) to D
LOVELY LADIES are ladies of the night.
FACTORY WORKERS: Strong singing and acting roles. Must be willing to portray prostitutes (not tasteful, but not too bad either) in one scene as Lovely Ladies.
Age: 13 to 19 years
Supporting Role Requirements and Descriptions:
Males and Females
*Please prepare a Broadway song that shows off your range.
Street Urchins/Gavroche’s Gang: Young street orphans who sing and dance in several scenes in the show.
Males or Females
Age: 10 to 13 years
Hotel Patrons, Wedding Guests, and People of Paris: Males and Females
Age: 10 to 19
(NOTE: From this group several smaller solo roles will also be cast.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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"In which T.V. Detective series did ""Charlie Hungerford"" appear ?" | Terence Alexander - Telegraph
TV & Radio Obituaries
Terence Alexander
Terence Alexander, the actor, who died on May 28 aged 86, played gentlemen and rogues, combining the two in his most famous role, Charlie Hungerford in the television detective series Bergerac.
12:02PM BST 02 Jun 2009
With John Nettles in the title role, Alexander brought humour and suavity to Bergerac as the detective’s millionaire ex-father-in-law. His lightness of touch was perfect for the slim, silver-haired Charlie, constantly puffing a cigar and often in a flap.
Launched in 1981, Bergerac was shown in more than 35 countries, and Charlie Hungerford became easily the best-known and most successful role in Alexander’s 50-year career. He only landed the part by chance, however, having been spotted in the street by a producer who was driving through Fulham. The actor’s contract stipulated that he appear in every Bergerac episode. “Over the years I’ve done a lot of rubbish,” he admitted in 1989, “but I’ve kept working. And Charlie is the best part I have ever had.”
He had previously made numerous appearances on stage, screen and radio (although as a supporting rather than a leading player). With his long, straight face, faintly bumptious air, toothy grin and jovial personality, Alexander built a line in beguiling rogues, upper-class charmers, and, occasionally, twits. “Some directors see me as an idiot,” he reflected, “some as a villain, so I’ve always had a range of some sort to fall back on.”
He performed in many West End comedies and farces, including Fringe Benefits (Whitehall, 1976) and Alan Bennett’s Habeas Corpus (Nottingham Playhouse, 1980).
Alexander’s numerous films included the comedies The Square Peg (1958), with Norman Wisdom, and Carry On Regardless (1961). He also appeared in the epic Waterloo (1970) and the thriller The Day Of The Jackal (1974). But probably his best film role was as an ex-officer turned bank robber in the comedy adventure The League Of Gentlemen (1960).
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01 Aug 2014
An only child, Terence Joseph Alexander was born in London on March 11 1923, but brought up in Yorkshire, where his parents were the master and matron of Knaresborough hospital, formerly the town’s workhouse. Educated at Ratcliffe College, Leicestershire, he entered the theatre at 16 as an assistant stage manager on 10 shillings a week with the White Rose Players, Harrogate.
His first professional appearance, as a young journalist in JB Priestley’s The Good Companions (Opera House, Harrogate, 1939), ignited a lifelong passion for the stage. “I was absolutely hooked,” he confessed. “When I was up to £2 a week, I left home.”
Wartime service from 1942 as a lieutenant with the 27th Lancers interrupted his career. He was seriously wounded by artillery fire in Italy and on leaving the army in 1947 was awarded a 50 per cent disability pension. As late as the mid-1970s Alexander had to undergo surgery to remove a piece of shrapnel from his foot, and the war left him with a constant whistling in his ears.
But he continued his acting career and made his first film appearance in Comin’ Thro’ The Rye in 1947. Widespread experience in repertory led to his first London stage appearance, as Tom Williams in Val Gielgud’s comedy Party Manners (Princes, now Shaftesbury, 1950).
He also began his successful television career in the 1950s and subsequently appeared in many series, including The Forsyte Saga, the Les Dawson and Dick Emery shows, Terry and June, and The New Statesman. His radio work included several plays as well as the series Law and Disorder and The Toff.
A shy and sensitive man in private life, Alexander was reputedly superstitious, and required his wife to say: “I love you, good luck” three times whenever he left the house.
His great loves were golf and wine. Asked to name his favourite hobby, he replied: “Searching for drinkable wine at a reasonable price.” Questioned further about the one person in the world he would like to meet, he declared: “The owner of Chateau Mouton Rothschild — to help him drink some of it.”
Alexander’s first marriage to Juno Stevas, the sister of Lord St John of Fawsley, was dissolved after 23 years. In 1970 she had resigned her seat on Richmond council in south-west London after shocking fellow members by wearing black stockings and false eyelashes, and calling the mayor “baby darling”.
In 1976 Terence Alexander married, secondly, the actress Jane Downs, with whom he lived in Fulham . She survives him, with two sons from his first marriage.
Published June 2 2009
| Bergerac |
"The controversial book ""The Naked Ape"" appeared in 1967. Who was the author ?" | "Bergerac" (1981) - Episodes cast
Season 1, Episode 1: Picking It Up
18 October 1981
Recovering alcoholic Jim Bergerac, a sergeant in the Jersey police force, returns to the island after a period of absence during which he has recovered from injuries sustained on the job. Nonetheless he is not considered fit enough to join the newly-formed Bureau Des Etrangers, headed by Inspector Crozier. Thus Jim does some unofficial sleuthing into the death of colleague Tom Draycott, and, helped by Draycott's girlfriend, artist Francine, uncovers a plot to sell arms to South Africa. His success in catching the culprit leads to his being accepted into the bureau though he still has to contend with the reluctance of his ex-wife Deborah, daughter of shady millionaire Charlie Hungerford, to see their daughter Kim.
Season 1, Episode 2: Nice People Die in Bed
25 October 1981
Now renting a cottage from Francine, Jim is called in when charity director Sir Edward Lister dies in a Jersey hotel and the pathologist claims the body was moved onto the bed after death. After the room is ransacked, Jim apprehends two journalists who were trying to find a document which Lister had prepared to expose a charity fraud. However, thanks to a fellow attendee at Alcoholics Anonymous, Jim learns that both Sir Edward and his assistant, a young vicar, had secrets that they did not want to be exposed.
Season 1, Episode 5: See You in Moscow
15 November 1981
Civil servant Margaret Semple, in fact a Soviet spy, gets a call telling her that MI6 are onto her and she must leave London for Jersey, where a boat will take her to France on her way to Russia. Arriving on the island she attracts attention when she goes on the run after accidentally killing her boat-man as she refuses to go on without her lover Grigori. By the time Grigori arrives he has orders to dispose of Margaret, who has become a liability and Jim must get to her first.
Season 1, Episode 8: Late for a Funeral
6 December 1981
Diver Terry Castleford is murdered after finding the skeleton of Luftwaffe pilot Karl Scheringer in his aircraft, which crashed into the sea in World War Two. Karl's parents arrive to collect his remains, followed by two German men whom the mother recognizes and who are extremely keen for Charlie's salvage firm to raise the plane. Club owner Ronnie Bishop and ex-Battle of Britain pilot Tuchel are also interested in it, leading Jim to believe that there was something of great value in the crashed aircraft along with the pilot's corpse.
Season 1, Episode 10: The Hood and the Harlequin
20 December 1981
When Annie Escale, fiancée of notorious French gangster Jacques Tabouis, turns up on Jersey, Jim determines to follow her in the hopes that she will lead him to Tabouis, but the man whom she meets in the night club and is found dead after giving Jim the slip is somebody completely different. At the same time Jim is not happy that Francine, for some time his live-in girlfriend, is spending so much time with a charming Canadian photographer whom she met on the ferry - and he has every right, for this man is not who he claims to be.
Season 2, Episode 9: The Moonlight Girls
6 March 1983
The morning after Simone, a Belgian stable girl, is found dead on a beach, Marianne identifies her as an escort girl whom she saw at a bankers' convention. Bryony Green, the stable owner, is initially unhelpful but later admits that she is one of several people who agreed for money to nominally employ the girls, who are in fact part of a call-girl ring. Simone's friend Nikki, who saw her die unintentionally at the hands of a man who liked rough stuff, has gone into hiding but Jim persuades her to help him set a trap for Simone's killer.
Season 3, Episode 3: Holiday Snaps
17 December 1983
Whilst Jersey couple Tony and Janet Morel are staying at a French camp-site Janet is murdered, requiring Jim to liaise with the French police. A local found with some of Janet's possessions is arrested but Jim learns that Janet was a domineering wife and Tony is the subject of a hate campaign by local youths. Kim tells Jim that Tony was also a voyeur, who took secret pictures of young girls. Certainly he is an obsessive photographer and his photo albums hold the key to both Janet's murder and one at the same camp site some years earlier.
Season 4, Episode 1: The Last Interview
11 October 1985
Television journalist Arlene Roskin comes from New York to interview Howard Bailey, a reclusive, retired television interviewer with particular interest in an interview he had with a former Mafia boss Abbalini, who squealed on his associates. Arlene is followed by a mystery man who robs her hotel room looking for that taped interview and efforts are made to blackmail Bailey into keeping quiet. Then Jim receives an interesting piece of news to suggest that Arlene is an impostor, who will do anything to get at Abbalini - but not for the reasons she is claiming.
Season 4, Episode 8: Sins of the Fathers
13 December 1985
Piggish German actor Henry Hoffman antagonizes everybody on set whilst making a film about Jersey's occupation by the Nazis, a fact which adds to local hostility and to the list of suspects when Hoffman receives death threats. Further complications are provided by the fact that Hoffman's father, a Wehrmacht soldier, was executed by firing squad during the war for raping a woman who is still alive and whose family may be seeking revenge. Thus when Hoffman is blown up at sea Jim is left with no end of potential murderers.
Season 4, Episode 10: Fires in the Fall
26 December 1986
Jim investigates when Charlie expresses concern at the influence supposed medium Raoul Barnaby has over elderly Mrs. Jardine with his story that he was contacted by the spirit of a little girl who died in a fire twenty years earlier. Jim finds that she was accidentally killed by Mrs. Jardine's son, who then committed suicide out of remorse but Plemont, the detective in charge, hushed matters up. After Mrs. Jardine has accused Barnaby of being a fraud, her niece Pauline, who is in league with Barnaby to rook the old lady, pushes her aunt downstairs. Following Mrs. Jardine's funeral a ghostly hooded monk appears to Plemont, who is later found dead. The monk exacts retribution once more before Jim discovers his identity - though even then there will be room for - supernatural - doubt.
Season 5, Episode 4: A Desirable Little Residence
24 January 1987
Susan is selling Carol Miles's late grandmother's bungalow but she cannot understand why shady builder Tim McVie, camp mainlander Toby Newsom and surly young Kirk Barnett are all so eager to pay tens of thousands of pounds over the asking price. Is it because they believe that stolen jewels never recovered are buried in the ground over which the property is built? Or is it connected to the development plans Charlie has for the adjacent land? Either way one of the potential buyers is an obsessive, with a secret, and that places Susan in great danger.
Man in Car (as Mark Harrison)
Season 5, Episode 6: S.P.A.R.T.A.
7 February 1987
Philippa Vale approaches Jim after being threatened by a thug who claims she has a notebook listing the members of S.P.A.R.T.A, an ultra-right wing organization though Philippa denies all knowledge. She does, however, recall robbing industrialist Sir Clive Hamer of a diamond choker some months earlier and deduces that he is the group's leader. When she sets out to find out more from Sir Clive without telling Jim, she lands herself in hot water from which Jim has to save her, but fortunately they have a valuable ally in Hamer's wife.
Season 5, Episode 8: Poison
21 February 1987
Alec Price dies after drinking poisoned wine whilst being received into the local Masonic Lodge. At his wake another mason dies, seemingly a random victim, having eaten a poisoned cake. Jim learns that the lodge were raising money to build a community hospital on the island but the funds have disappeared. Jim knows that the killer was one of the other masons but the culprit's motives turn out to be very strange indeed. The case solved, Jim is reunited with Susan, who, fed up at being neglected because of his work commitments, has had an affair with another man.
Season 5, Episode 9: Treasure Hunt
26 December 1987
Tony Bragg, suspected fence in a huge diamond heist is pushed to his death from his London flat. Bragg had visited Jersey some while earlier and Scotland Yard ask for Jim's help. Then Philippa Vale arrives on the island with Bragg's associate Ormond, who is also killed. Philippa tells Jim that Ormond asked her to rob three local worthies, one of whom double-crossed Bragg and stole the diamonds. As the pair of them work outside the law to locate the culprit - who also murdered Ormond - they find that nobody can be trusted.
Season 6, Episode 1: Whatever Lola Wants
2 January 1988
Supergrass Reggie Betts arrives in Jersey with his domineering mother Lola to escape the wrath of fellow criminals anxious to locate a cache of stolen diamonds. They are followed by Joey Brown, whom Reggie double-crossed, and his men, and Jim is assigned to be Lola's minder until the police recover the jewels. Lola knows the stay on Jersey will not be forever and has plans of her own, including dating Charlie and selling Reggie out for a cut of the diamonds. By the time Jim has caught the villains and found the diamonds he has been dumped by Susan, who feels he puts the job above their relationship.
Season 6, Episode 2: Crossed Swords
9 January 1988
At an open day at their fencing school the Lefevre brothers are accused by Paul Rousillon of stealing his ancestors' swords. The families have been involved in a long-standing feud, not helped by Paul's cousin Marianne's marriage to Jack Lefevre, and Paul is found murdered after fighting a duel with Jack. There are other suspects, including Dolly Hayward, who has reasons for Rousillon not buying her hotel, and Jack's hot-tempered younger brother Alain. Jim catches the killer, getting injured in the process, which at least brings Susan back into his life to console him.
Season 6, Episode 3: A Horse of a Different Colour
16 January 1988
Valuable stud horse Crimson Cavalier is stolen from unpopular breeder Chester Ackerman and a ransom note for three million pounds delivered. Jim suspects that another stable owner, Miles Cockburn, in debt to Ackerman, has taken the horse and passed him off as his brother to win a prestigious race, and the fact that Ackerman's stable lad and Cockburn's stable girl are a couple adds to the list of suspects. Phillipa Vale, released from prison, returns to Jersey and follows her own investigation, helping Jim to recover Crimson Cavalier, as well as being an unlikely go-between for him and Susan.
Season 6, Episode 6: A Man of Sorrows
6 February 1988
When a secret operation Crozier is conducting with Scotland Yard goes wrong and a drugs courier is murdered, Jim is sent to London to work with melancholy Sergeant Alan Hallowes, though he has no idea what he is doing there. However, it would appear that Hallowes is a rogue cop, who stole the heroin he was meant to hand over to feed his own habit and Jim's job is to expose him, whilst it also looks as if Crozier has gone over to the bad guys. All is revealed at a midnight rendezvous, though the result leaves a bitter taste for Jim.
Season 8, Episode 1: A True Detective
14 January 1990
Jim returns early from his voyage and stays with Charlie, who is getting ready to go to a trade convention. Susan is also due to attend but never gets there, her body being found next morning washed up on a beach. The pathologist suggests she was murdered. Crozier, recalled from head-quarters, arrests surly doorman Withers, the last person to see her alive and who bore Jim a grudge. Jim is more interested in John Tetteh, a West African delegate anxious to meet Susan. He is investigating a fraud perpetrated by his government and Susan's company, behind her back. Exposure of the fraudster will solve the murder.
Season 8, Episode 2: My Name's Sergeant Bergerac
21 January 1990
Shlomo Denkovitz, an incompetent fraudster, claims to be Jim whilst working as a private eye for his uncle, in pursuit of Giles Grey, a charmer who rooks wealthy widows. Chased by two criminals whose forged identity papers he has forged but mislaid, he has to be rescued by Jim whilst Charlie's friend Eva sets a honey-trap to catch Giles. In addition the drugs squad has unceremoniously taken over the bureau for a stake-out on the island - one way and another it seems unlikely that Jim will get the night's rest he badly needs.
Season 8, Episode 8: All the Sad Songs
4 March 1990
Jim befriends former pop idol Tony Hubbard, now singing at a local night club. The first night audience includes Dawn Gray, Tony's old flame and ex-singing partner whose surly husband Nick is less than enchanted by Tony's presence as the erstwhile duo still seem to have feelings for each other. Then Tony is found shot dead. Is he the victim of a jealous spouse or did he stumble upon something illegal at the club? Having solved the case Jim is joined on Jersey by Danielle, who has been disowned by her father.
Season 8, Episode 10: Diplomatic Incident
18 March 1990
With less than a month's service before he quits the bureau, Jim is recalled from his French holiday to help protect Per Wemstrom, a political economist whose enemies wish to stop him from attending a conference in support of Russian economic growth. Wemstrom survives an assassination attempt, after which Gillis, his male secretary, disappears, causing Jim to suspect his involvement. And what of the American, Colley, supposedly advising Danielle on viticulture but overly interested in Jim's work? Before he can retire to France, Jim must find who is out to kill Wemstrom.
Season 8, Episode 11: There for the Picking
26 December 1990
Jim is now at the vineyard and it is grape-picking time. One of the young casual workers is English boy Roderick. However, he is also a computer hacking genius who is able to transfer 90% of the previous day's takings on the Tokyo stock exchange into his own account. The son of the wealthy Hargreaves, he also targets Charlie and other Jersey residents. In addition to Roderick's activities Jim is recalled to the island when a consignment of hand grenades is discovered in a cargo of whiskey and a French connection is suspected.
Season 9, Episode 1: Something to Hide
5 January 1991
Jim has quit the force to live and work with Danielle at the vineyard. They attend a fashion show in Aix staged by her cousin Alain, after which one of Alain's best customers, Etienne, is shot dead and Alain is framed. His girlfriend Denise, who saw what happened, disappears. Her brother Gerard was once Alain's manager but was sacked for corruption and Alain's original backer, Leon, infatuated by Denise, wants all his money back. Most of Alain's associates seem to have something to hide. Whilst Alain was clearly not the murderer was Etienne the intended victim? Jim finds out.
Season 9, Episode 2: The Dark Horse
12 January 1991
When Jim returns to Jersey to give evidence in court, Charlie asks him to find Anne-Claire Leighton, French wife of a business associate, who has gone missing and whose signature is required for an important transaction for Charlie's syndicate. Jim discovers that she is having an affair with D.C. Lomas but Charlie works out that bank manager Wenslow could profit if the deal falls through and goes to Charlie's rivals, and that Anne-Claire could be colluding with him and using Lomas. Jim must therefore find the lady and save his ex-colleague's job, as well as dealing with a proposal from Charlie that he sets up as a private eye.
Season 9, Episode 5: My Friend Charlie
2 February 1991
Charlie is suspicious when American businessman Karl Goldman asks him to invest seven million pounds in a deal that needs a swift closure. Then Goldman's daughter Giselle arrives and asks Jim to help abduct him and return him to Florida to stand trial for her mother's murder ten years earlier. Matters are complicated when it turns out that the police are surveying Goldman as a possible drug smuggler. Jim is reluctant to help in an illegal abduction and Giselle's persistence makes him wonder if she is all she claims to be.
Season 9, Episode 7: The Waiting Game
16 February 1991
Solicitor Lesgate from the Economic Advisors' Office asks Jim to investigate a company's application for a Jersey trading licence but there is no evidence that the firm existed. Danielle becomes suspicious of Faraday, a friend of Charlie, who seems overly interested in Jim's activities, which is not surprising when Lesgate asks Jim to look into a second company, also owned by Faraday. The businesses are a front for something far more sinister and a man dies whilst gathering evidence for Jim. Faraday claims he is merely being used but can Jim believe him?
Season 9, Episode 10: The Lohans
9 March 1991
Rosa Zeenak asks Jim to guard the Lohans, a set of porcelain figures she is putting up for sale, though there is a suspicion that they were stolen from the valuable Wiess collection in Switzerland. When a burglar takes the figures Rosa accuses prospective buyer John Kelp, but she has held back one of the figures as bargaining power and asks Jim to act as broker with Kelp. However, the death of an innocent antiques expert whose help Jim had sought leads him to suspect collusion between Zeenak and Kelp and he goes after them - and the reward offered for the collection's retrieval.
Season 9, Episode 11: All for Love
26 December 1991
After receiving a letter from Danielle ending their relationship, Jim starts drinking again. To keep him out of trouble, Charlie takes him to Bath, where art dealer Rupert Draper will be buying a painting that Charlie was given as payment for a debt. Once in Bath, Jim falls for the charms of Rupert's faithless wife, unaware that she is using him to take the rap for a murder, back in Jersey, where a body is found in the burnt-out remains of Rupert's shop. Fortunately Deborah helps Jim to clear his name, after which Charlie recommends him to head a new crime unit on the island.
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Which city is the most easterly in Australia ? | Australian Cities, States and Territories - Tourism Australia
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Mainland Australia is the world’s largest island but also the smallest continent. The country is divided into six states and two territories.
What are Australia's cities, states and territories?
Mainland Australia is the world’s largest island but also the smallest continent. The country is divided into six states and two territories.
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) bounds the national capital of Canberra and is the centre of government. The Australian Capital Territory is located approximately 290 kilometres (180 miles) south of Sydney, and is home to a number of important national institutions, including Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial and the National Gallery of Australia.
New South Wales
New South Wales (NSW) is Australia’s oldest and most populous state. New South Wales was originally settled as a penal colony on the shores of Port Jackson where the bustling capital city of Sydney now stands. Sydney is the nation’s largest city and is renowned for its idyllic beaches, great walks and world-class dining. New South Wales is also home to popular attractions including the Blue Mountains and the Hunter Valley wine region.
Northern Territory
At the top end of Australia lies the Northern Territory (NT). Darwin , on the northern coast, is the capital, and Alice Springs is the principal inland town. Alice Springs is the physical heart of Australia, almost exactly at the nation's geographical centre. The Northern Territory is home to the famous Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) and Kakadu National Park .
Queensland
Queensland (QLD) is Australia’s second-largest state (in size) and is home to the world famous Great Barrier Reef , the world’s most extensive subtropical rainforest and the beautiful Queensland Islands – including the World Heritage-listed Fraser Island . Brisbane is the state’s capital; it enjoys more winter sunshine and warmth than most Australian cities and is perfect for outdoor activities and water sports.
South Australia
South Australia (SA) sits in the southern central part of the country, and covers some of the most arid parts of the continent. The state’s capital is Adelaide and is a great base for exploring the Barossa wineries, the Flinders Ranges and Kangaroo Island . South Australia has a thriving arts scene and is known as the ‘Festival State’, with more than 500 events and festivals taking place there each year.
Tasmania
Tasmania (TAS) is separated from mainland Australia by the Bass Strait and is the smallest state in Australia. The capital, Hobart , was founded in 1804 as a penal colony, and is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. One-fifth of Tasmania is covered by national parks and wilderness – abundant in driving routes and walking trails – and it is one of the world’s most mountainous islands.
Victoria
Victoria (VIC) is the smallest of the mainland states in size but is home to the country’s second most populated city, Melbourne . Often referred to as the nation’s cultural capital, Melbourne is famed for its graffiti laneways, fashion-forward boutiques and booming café scene. Victorians' enthusiasm for sport is also legendary and this is where Australian Rules football began. The only thing more sacred than the footy is Melbournians love of coffee, and here you’ll find some of Australia’s best flat whites, cappuccinos and piccolo lattes.
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is Australia’s largest state and is a place of true contrasts: from desert in the east to 13,000 kilometres of pristine coastline on the west. The state’s capital is Perth ; the fourth most populous city in Australia and famed for its uncrowded beaches, parklands and fresh seafood. Off the coast of Esperance, in the state’s south, is Middle Island, which is home to the extraordinary pink-coloured Lake Hillier .
Australia also administers Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, the Cocos (or Keeling) Islands, the Coral Sea Islands, Heard and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island and the Australian Antarctic Territory (covering 42 per cent of the Antarctic continent) as external territories.
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| Brisbane |
What was the Roman name for Scotland ? | Major Cities and Towns in Queensland - Postcodes Australia
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital city of Queensland and located in the south-east corner of the state. Established in 1825 as a penal colony and recognised as a city in 1902, Brisbane is now a thriving metropolis and home to one and a half million residents.
Gold Coast
The Gold Coast in south-eastern Queensland is approximately 60km long and boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in the area. Home of the famous "Surfer's Paradise" hotel in the 1920s and 30s which brought tourism to the area initially, the Gold Coast is now dominated by high rise accommodation.
Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast is located in south-east Queensland, north of the state capital Brisbane . It is a popular tourism centre and home to beautiful beaches, national parks and many popular attractions including Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, Aussie World, the Majestic Theatre and the Big Pineapple.
Bundaberg
The south-east Queensland city of Bundaberg was founded in 1867, but not named until 1870. Today it's main industries are sugar cane production, tourism and fruit and vegetable farming. The city's tourism is mainly thanks to it's proximity to the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.
Hervey Bay
Hervey Bay in south-eastern Queensland is a resort city that has been formed from an amalgamation of growing seaside villages in the last 25 years. The bay itself is a large sweeping beach on the South Pacific shore with several others close by, and these beaches and the subtropical climate make the area a very popular tourist destination.
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"At the recent Cheltenham festival, the horse ""Bob's Worth"" won the Cheltenham Gold cup. Who trains this horse ?" | Bobs Worth Betting | Cheltenham Festival Runners | Gold Cup Form and Odds
Cheltenham Results
Bobs Worth Betting
Its fair to say that Bobs Worth has developed into something of a Cheltenham Festival specialist for trainer Nicky Henderson. The horse has won at the Festival for the past three years and nearly always seems to save his best form and performances for Prestbury Park in the Spring. In 2011 Bobs Worth won the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle ahead of some excellent horses to mark himself out as a real horse to follow.
His followed that up at the 2012 Festival when he produced a fine battling display to win the RSA Chase ahead of First Lieutenant. He went into the race off of the back of a solid if unspectacular season but he showed all of his class and Cheltenham know how to produce on the day ahead of some very good horses indeed.
In truth though those moments were put firmly in the shadows last season when Bobs Worth got up to win a thrilling Gold Cup . With Barry Geraghty on board, Bobs Worth simply bounded up the hill to claim his third Festival win on the bounce ahead of Sir Des Champs. On paper it looked a very strong Gold Cup field and he will be aimed at back-to-back wins for sure this season. It is also worth noting that prior to his Gold Cup success, he won the Hennessy Gold Cup in good fashion at Newbury to put himself right at the top of the staying chase division.
This season we can expect Bobs Worth to be trained with the Gold Cup in mind and it is entirely possible that he will only have the one prep race, as he did last season, in the build-up to Cheltenham. It would be no surprise though to see him triumph again at the Festival in March with his Cheltenham record simply sensational thus far during his career.
Recent Bobs Worth Form Guide
Date
| Nicky Henderson |
"At the recent Cheltenham festival, the horse ""Hurricane Fly"" won the Champion hurdle. Who trains this horse ?" | Cheltenham Gold Cup | Cheltenham Race Festival
/in Cheltenham News /by Jockey
Bobs Worth looks set to go off as favourite in the Cheltenham betting odds for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the feature of the week at the Festival.
Nicky Henderson’s mount has not been seen since his impressive performance in the Hennessy earlier in the season at Newbury where he conceded weight to the majority of the field.
The eight-year old is not only unbeaten in two starts at the Festival but he has won all four of his appearances at Prestbury Park. In 2011 he landed the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle and then last year he followed that up by getting the better of First Lieutenant in the RSA Chase.
Henderson will also have strong hopes of winning the race this year with the 2011 winner Long Run. Despite finishing second in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, he outstayed the field to win his second King George Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day. He was though unable to defend his crown 12 months ago in the blue riband contest at Cheltenham where he could only finish third behind Synchronised and The Giant Bolster. If he does regain his title next month, he will join Kauto Star as only the second horse to achieve the feat in the history of the race.
Also near the top of the market is Silviniaco Conti who represents Paul Nicholls’ best chance in the bet365 racing betting odds this year. The Champion Trainer has had a lot of success in recent years largely down to Kauto Star and Denman but will be hoping his talented chaser can follow in their footsteps at Cheltenham. The seven-year old has had just two runs this season. He held off the challenge of Long Run in the Betfair Chase and then was an emphatic winner of the Denman Chase at Newbury. His run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup will be his first taste of the Festival.
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"In which T.V. Detective series did ""DCI Michael Jardine"" appear ?" | Michael Jardine | Taggart Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
Edit
Detective Chief Inspector Michael Jardine joined the Taggart team in 1987 in the episode The Killing Philosophy as a young DC working alongside Jim Taggart and Taggart's then right-hand man, DS Peter Livingstone . After DS Livingstone left the area, Jardine became Taggart's new neighbour working with him on all of his cases up until Jim's death in 1994. Taggart was always very fond of Michael, saying that they 'were from the same drawer' which was referring to the fact that DS Livingstone was a graduate policeman whereas both Taggart and Jardine had worked their way up the ranks. Jackie Reid was a policewoman assisting CID on a case in the episode 'Death Comes Softly'. Mike and Jackie seemed attracted to each other until Taggart noticed and put a stop to it. They didn't ever get together but became firm friends. Michael had a series of failed relationships with women, who always seemed to be involved in the cases somehow, apart from one woman who was a legal advocate. They all ended up letting him down in some way apart from later in the series when he finally seemed to have found someone suitable, this was in the form of policewoman Heather McIntyre. After Jackie got married to Brian Holmes we didn't see Heather again so nothing seemed to have come of that relationship after all. In the 2002 episode Death Trap , DCI Matthew Burke was put onto a murder case and Michael got suspended, leaving Burke in charge of the case. Michael was later lured to the edge of the Clyde at night by a recently released prisoner who blamed Michael for sending him to prison, knocking him unconscious and into the water below, leaving him to drown to death. Jackie Reid, Robbie Ross and Stuart Fraser were all devastated by his death. In 1994 after Mike was promoted to DI, Stuart Fraser took over his job as the long-suffering sidekick. In 1998 after Jack McVitie 's death Robbie Ross joined the team, taking on the role of Jardine's former position as Detective Inspector and Michael was promoted to Detective Chief Inspector. Michael died on 14 January 2002 aged 41. The plaque on his gravestone shows that he was born in 1961. In the episode Apocalypse, Michael Jardine's brother Ian shows up and is revealed to be part of a religous cult group; in a conversation he once had with Jim Taggart, he mentions his brothers, so we know that he had more than one besides him. In Gingerbread, it was revealed by an old flame of his, Gemma Normanton, that he used to bring half a bottle of vodka to school and keep it in his desk. This was a surprise as Michael had been teetotal as far as we knew, the main reason for this was that his father, who was also a policeman, had his career ruined by alcoholism. The only time we ever saw Michael have an alcoholic drink, was when Taggart insisted he have a whisky with him in the episode 'Ring of Deceit' and when Michael had a drink after being suspended in the episode 'Death Trap', but ended up throwing the rest of the contents of the whisky bottle down the sink. Gemma also revealed that he was going to be an airline pilot. DCI Jardine was played from 1987 to 2002 by James MacPherson.
Personality and appearance
Edit
In the episode Devil's Advocate, DI Jardine had a disastrous bout in the witness box, and the press described him as puritanical and prudish. He has also been described as being rigid and hierarchial by fellow officer Jackie Reid. In the episode Angel Eyes he was told to unbutton it a little by Superintendent McVitie when he found out that DC Stuart Fraser was gay and his homophobic attitude threatened the progress of the investigation they were working on. In that episode, Jardine is also seen moving into a new flat and the wallpaper that he decides on reflects his tastes and personality. Michael usually liked to work by-the-book. Sometimes, Michael even went too far, like when in Berserker, he punched a fellow detective who comments on his relationship with Jackie. He had blonde hair, blue eyes and sculpted cheekbones and was always smartly dressed, whereas Robbie Ross always looked as though he had just got out of bed and often wore the same shirts he had on the day before. In the episode Wavelength, he is described as working too hard and used to getting his own way. In the episode Death Trap, his personality and attitude is shown at his worst when he is taken off a murder investigation. He doesn't get on well with Burke or Patterson at all. But there was no denying that he had charm and used in the same episode to try and charm Sheenagh. It works, although later on he is given a lecture by DSI Valerie Patterson about the sensitivity of the case.
Relationships
Edit
In Death Trap, Jardine was replaced as Senior Investigating Officer and was forced to work alongside DCI Matthew Burke - a man who was completely the opposite of him. The pair did not hit it off at all and Jardine even accused Burke of corruption. Yet even when the team complained that Burke wasn't doing things properly it was Jardine told Jackie to give him a chance. When the group found him dead on the mudflats at Langbank, Burke appeared to assume it was suicide, but Jackie was unconvinced. Burke was also present at Michael's funeral with DSI Valerie Patterson.
DS Peter Livingstone
Edit
Livingstone, who was Taggart's first sidekick, was less than pleased when he came back from his holidays to discover that Jardine was part of the team. He seized every opportunity to give Jardine a hard time and on one occasion, Livingstone left Michael alone in a gay bar. Their last appearance together is in Forbidden Fruit.
DS Jackie Reid
Edit
Michael and Jackie first met in the episode Death Comes Softly, which was also the one when they sung in the same choir. There was some initial attraction between the two but they remained good friends even when Robbie Ross came onto the scene. Taggart warned Jardine about getting any more friendly with Jackie and that he would be transferred to another station and he wouldn't be able to work with him again. In the episode Dead Reckoning, Jackie goes undercover at an outward bounds activity course in the Highlands, and Michael comes to her rescue when the murderer, Peter Lesser, unclips the rope and she falls in the water below towards the end of the episode. Michael saved Jackie's life by jumping off the cliff into the rushing waterfall below after punching the murderer to the ground. In the episode, Fearful Lightning, when Martin Strange (Larry Lamb) claims to communicate with the ghost of their old boss, Jim Taggart, Michael is showing to appear to be sceptic about this. As an apology for an earlier argument, Jardine gave her a bar of chocolate which she took with her later. Jardine didn't seem to like the fact that Jackie was growing closer to DI Robbie Ross and so she lied to him on the night that Robbie had invited her round for a meal. She said that was simply going out with some friends. In Long Time Dead, Jackie's friend Elaine, who was a computer consultant was Michael's partner for the annual Strathclyde Police Dinner and their relationship ended after it was revealed she'd had an affair with the first victim and she became a suspect. It seemed that Jardine wasn't really sure if he wanted Jackie for himself or not, as he was never particularly backward with women in the past, it seemed that he just didn't want Robbie to have her. In Gingerbread, Jackie was clearly concerned about him when it was revealed that Jardine's former girlfriend, Gemma, was already engaged to someone else. Michael himself desribed her to Gemma as just a colleague although he himself was probaby not sure if it was something more.
DI Robbie Ross
Edit
Michael Jardine and Robbie Ross were first introduced in the episode A Few Bad Men, by which point Michael had been promoted to Detective Chief Inspector. He marked Robbie down as a troublemaker, while Robbie thought that Michael's idea of a wild goose chase was investigating a counterfeit money scam. Robbie, already on his first day at Maryhill CID, was causing trouble in the horseracing industry - which Michael had been informed of by the Chief Constable.
Michael initally appeared to be threatened by Jackie's growing relationship with Robbie and so she lied to Jardine on the night she was to go round for a meal at his place. She said that she was going to have dinner with some friends, but unknown to him, Robbie had asked her round for dinner.
Michael was also furious with Robbie for interfering in his love life, particularly when he sent some flowers to WPC Heather McIntyre on Jardine's behalf - but at least it allowed Michael to take his relationship with the WPC one step further.
In Skin Deep, DCS Brian Holmes arrived to inform Michael that he was investigating Robbie Ross for corruption, which caused a minor rift in their relationship when Jardine gave no sign of support for Robbie. He was later proved innocent and the two mended their differences eventually.
The pair later attended Jackie and Brian's wedding where Ross told Jardine he was going to be late and was seen rushing to get to the registry office on time while carrying a statue under his arm. In Death Trap, it was Robbie who arrived at Michael's flat to suspend him from the Johnny Innes case, and he was devastated at Mike's death later in the episode. Ross later attended Michael's funeral.
DC Stuart Fraser
Edit
Mike found it difficult to adjust the fact that his young colleague. DC Stuart Fraser was gay. They met in the episode Black Orchid but Jardine didn't find out about Fraser's sexuality until the episode Angel Eyes. He eventually came to respect him and fortunately the two worked well together. Later, it was Fraser who would get a call from Langbank telling him that Michael's body had been found there. Naturally enough, Fraser was devastated by the sudden loss.
WPC Heather McIntyre
Edit
Towards the end of his time on the show, it was shown that Jardine appeared to be about to start a relationship with Woman Police Constable Heather McIntyre who worked on CID, and admiring glances had passed between them for a few episodes. It seemed obvious to everyone that they liked each other but Jardine seemed unsure of making a move. In Football Crazy, he wanted to order some flowers for her but changed his mind on the phone, worried that it might be taken as sexual harrassment in the workplace, only to be overheard outside his office by Robbie. Heather did receive some flowers from Michael to his surprise which Robbie had rather cheekily sent for him on his behalf, insisting that he was trying to help him out. Michael was initially furious with Robbie for his interference but was secretly glad Robbie had stepped in. In Skin Deep, when she brings a cup of tea to his office, Michael says "You never give up do you?" In Falling in Love, Michael went round to Heather's to bring Jackie and Brian's wedding present - a statue - that she'd left in the car and she even invited him in for some cocoa, what happened after that we do not know. Towards the end of the episode you can see Heather looking up at Michael on the balcony with Robbie and him looking down at her, something obviously between them whilst they are present at Jackie and Brian's wedding as they take their vows. We didn't see Heather again in the new series after that, and no explanation was given as to where she went, so obviously any relationship between them didn't last long!
Dr Stephen Andrews
Edit
Jardine met Dr Stephen Andrews in the episode The Killing Philosophy. Their last appearance together was in the episode, Falling in Love. The character disappeared soon afterwards and it is unknown whether he was alive around the time of Michael's death or if he attended the latter's funeral in Death Trap. If he had, then he would have no doubt been devastated to hear that Michael had died.
Relationships with women
| Taggart |
"The controversial book ""The Female Eunuch"" appeared in 1970. Who was the author ?" | Taggart celebrates 100th show
Taggart celebrates 100th show
Gritty Glaswegian detective drama gets ready to solve another murder with its 100th episode.
The world's longest running detective show Taggart is set to celebrate its 100th episode over Christmas.
The STV drama, which has become a cult hit around the world, now airs in 80 countries and has been translated into dozens of languages since its very first episode.
It was first conceived in 1983 as a one-off drama set in Glasgow with gritty straight-talking Mark McManus in the title role.
Since the pilot episode, Killer, there has been various changes in the line up but Taggart's key formula remains the same - grisly murders, constant plot twists and regular doses of black humour.
John Michie, who plays DI Robbie Ross in the show, praises the writers for the continuing success of the drama.
He said: "I have to credit the writers with their success in creating a whodunnit in 47 minutes. It's really complicated with four main characters. We are getting better and better at it."
And asked if he thinks it could go to 200 episodes, he said: "I don't see why not."
The 100th episode, Fact or Fiction, will feature another murder - this one based on a copycat kiling from a famous novel. That will bring a total of 251 victims in the series who have met their end in various ways - including being shot, drowned, poisoned, stabbed and even bitten by a snake.
Grumpy DCI Taggart was first played by Glaswegian Mark Mcmanus but following his death in 1994, James MacPherson, who had played his sidekick Det Michael Jardine, took over the lead role.
Today the actor Alex Norton who plays DCI Matt Burke, is in charge and the longest serving member of team is Blyth Duff, alias DS Jackie Reid, who has been in more than 80 stories.
During the 100 episodes an array of well known Scots actors have made their name on the show, including Dougray Scott, Alan Cumming, John Hannah, Annette Crosbie and Hannah Gordon.
The centenary show will air on Christmas Eve and more programmes are already commissioned for next year.
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In cooking, to what ingredient is AGAR AGAR a vegetarian alternative ? | 3 Vegetarian Substitutes for Gelatin (Because Vegans Love Jello Too!) — Ingredient Intelligence | The Kitchn
(Image credit: violeta pasat /Shutterstock)
Sweets like panna cotta, mousse, and jellies rely on gelatin for their unique textures. Gelatin is made from animal collagen, but if you're a vegetarian or vegan, you can still make these delicious desserts. Here are three great gelatin alternatives and some tips on using them!
Note: The substitution amounts given below are just a rule of thumb. You may need to play around depending on your recipe.
(Image credit: Green Cilantro; Anjali Prasertong)
1. Agar , Agar-Agar, or Kanten
What it's made of: Cooked and pressed algae.
Where it's often used: Asian desserts and firm jellies .
Flavor and texture: Flavorless and has a firmer, less jiggly texture than gelatin.
How to use it: Agar needs to be heated to dissolve properly. The powdered form of agar is easiest to measure and use; bars and flakes should be dissolved in water first or can be broken down into a powder using a coffee or spice grinder. It sets in about an hour at room temperature.
1 teaspoon gelatin = 1 teaspoon agar powder (this will set 1 cup of liquid)
1 teaspoon agar powder = 1 tablespoon agar flakes = 1/2 agar bar
(Image credit: Only Fabrizio /Shutterstock)
2. Carrageenan, Carrageen, or Irish Moss
What it's made of: Dried seaweed; carrageen extract called carrageenan is used in some vegan Kosher gel products like Lieber's Unflavored Jel.
Where it's often used: Soft jellies, puddings, mousses, soups, ice creams, and dairy products.
Flavor and texture: Flavorless and sets things more softly than regular gelatin; melts in the mouth. Use iota carrageenan for soft gels and puddings and kappa carrageenan in harder gel products.
How to use it: To use the carrageen in its dried seaweed form (look for whole, not powdered), rinse it well, soak it in water for about 12 hours until it swells, then boil it thoroughly with the liquid you want to set before you strain it out.
To set 1 cup of liquid, use 1 ounce dried carrageen
(Image credit: Natural Desserts )
3. Vegan Jel
What it's made of: Faith highly recommends Unflavored Vegan Jel by Natural Desserts, which is made of vegetable gum (we're not sure what kind), adipic acid, tapioca dextrin, calcium phosphate, and potassium citrate.
Where it's often used: Anywhere gelatin is used.
Flavor and texture: As Faith wrote in her panna cotta post, Vegan Jel "sets softly, melts in the mouth, and is by far the closest thing to regular unflavored gelatin that I have found."
How to use it: Beat this powder into cold water until dissolved.
1 teaspoon gelatin = 1 1/2 teaspoons Vegan Jel
Have you used any of these gelatin alternatives, or do you have others to recommend?
Updated from a post originally published in May 2013.
| Gelatin |
"Which famous western movie ends with the line :- ""The old man was right- only the farmers won. We lost. We will always lose "" ?" | Coconut agar-agar jellies (woon ga-ti) recipe : SBS Food
Cooling time 20 minutes
Chilling time 4 hours
You'll need a 32-hole (1 tbsp-capacity) silicone decorative mould tray, from specialty kitchen shops, for this recipe. Alternatively, ice cube trays will work just as well.
Divide grated coconut among holes in tray.
Combine remaining ingredients and 1 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil, then cook, whisking, for 3 minutes or until mixture starts to rise. Remove from heat, transfer to a jug and pour over grated coconut in moulds. Cool to room temperature, then chill for 4 hours or until firm. Invert onto a serving plate and serve cold.
Note
• Agar-agar, a gelatinous substance made from seaweed, is a vegetarian alternative to gelatine. Available from health and Asian food shops.
Photography Brett Stevens. Styling Berni Smithies.
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What was the Roman name for Ireland ? | History Ireland
Published in Features , Issue 2 (Summer 1996) , Pre-history / Archaeology , Pre-Norman History , Volume 4
Emperor Claudius – invaded Britain in AD43.
A number of areas are worth exploring in this regard: not only the possibility of a Roman invasion of Ireland but also Roman geographical knowledge and perceptions of Ireland and Roman attitudes to their empire generally. Whilst debates about an invasion of Ireland, however fascinating, may always be inconclusive, it is ironic—Roman perceptions of space and power being what they were—that Rome did not need to set foot in Ireland in order to claim imperium over it.
Greek geographers
First we must establish Ireland’s place in the Roman world in geographical terms. The first known geographer to mention Ireland is the Greek Pytheas of Massilia, who, according to a later historian Polybius, made a journey in which he at least visited Britain. Whether he landed in Ireland we do not know, but we can be confident that he learned of its existence. It is possible that later authors, principally Strabo and Diodorus Siculus, used the work of Pytheas as a source for their writings. Diodorus Siculus, a first-century author writing in Greek, mentions an island in the north on which there was a magnificent spherical shrine to the god Apollo, adorned with many votive offerings. It has been suggested that this may have been Navan, which had been visited in the second century BC by a Greek or Phoenician traveller. This individual brought a gift of a barbary ape, the remains of which have been found at the site.
It is not until the works of Latin authors mention Ireland that we receive a clearer picture. There is no doubt that the Romans knew of the existence of ‘Hibernia’, long before any direct contact, as the Greeks did of ‘Ierne’, their name for Ireland. Better knowledge was prompted by better communication, mainly as a result of trade. The later, and probably most famous of early geographers, Claudius Ptolemy, also notes that the ports and coasts of Ireland were well-known by traders.
Fig 1. Strabo’s view of Western Europe –
claimed that Ireland was ‘barely habitable on account of the cold’
Caesar
The first Roman writer to refer to Ireland is Julius Caesar, in his account of his campaigns in Gaul, which was probably published around 50 BC. Caesar considered Ireland to be two-thirds the size of Britain, from which it was separated by a strait of equal width to that between Britain and Gaul. Pliny the Elder merely tells us that it was the same breadth as Britain, but two hundred miles shorter, adding that the shortest route by sea to Ireland was thirty miles. In the period between these two authors, Strabo wrote a vast work of geography on more ethnographical lines concerning the ‘inhabited world’. He placed Ireland north of Britain, on the limits of the known world, and claimed that it was ‘barely habitable on account of the cold’. (See fig.1) He generously considered the inhabitants more savage than the Britons, since they are man-eaters as well as heavy-eaters, and since they count it an honourable thing when their fathers die to devour them, and openly to have intercourse not only with other women, but with their mothers and sisters as well; but I say this only with the understanding that I have no trustworthy witnesses for it.
Another author, Pomponius Mela, echoed the theme that the Irish were more savage than any other race. He also notes that Ireland was unsuitable for growing wheat, but was so rich in grass that cattle would burst from eating too much if unrestrained. The lack of arable farming seems to be borne out by pollen records which suggest a decrease in agricultural activity between 100 BC and AD 200. Solinus, who wrote in the third century AD and who may have depended on the work of Pliny and Mela, claimed that the Irish were an inhospitable race, but incidentally is the first to refer to the lack of snakes before the arrival of Patrick. The fifth century writer Orosius describes Ireland as being inhabited by the Scoti, and indeed surpassing Britain in climate and fertility.
Tacitus
Despite this miscellany of references, by far the best evidence for Ireland remains the work of Tacitus, and it is certainly the most important for our purposes.
Ireland…is small in comparison with Britain, but larger than the islands of the Mediterranean. In soil and climate, and in the character and civilisation of its inhabitants, it is much like Britain; and its approaches and harbours have now become better known from merchants who trade there.
With the advent of the Romans, geographical knowledge continued to be important, though for different reasons. Provinces and other regions were explored from a military point of view. Indeed, we could claim that Roman geographical knowledge advanced hand-in-hand with the development of military professionalism. Intelligence became important and was chiefly gained from merchants and traders. It is interesting to note that Tacitus specifically mentions these individuals in his description of Ireland. One good example of the gathering of intelligence is recorded by Julius Caesar, who sent a soldier named Volusenus to collect information on British inhabitants, harbours, and landing places and to produce a report. We know also that Caesar commissioned the first known world map. His adoptive son, who became Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, developed this attention to maps further, highly interested as he was in surveying for fiscal purposes. With him also grew the symbolism of empire manifest in Augustan literature, of which more later.
Claudius
From these rather colourful, but incomplete, geographical accounts of Ireland and its inhabitants by Greeks and Romans, we now must turn to the evidence for an invasion. Any such attack would have come in the aftermath of the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43. Bede, relying largely on the accounts of the Latin historians, Orosius and Eutropius, states in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, that the emperor Claudius attacked Britain ‘wishing to prove that he was a benefactor to the state, (and) sought to make war everywhere and to gain victories on every hand’. This is a surprisingly accurate appraisal of Claudius’s motives. He was certainly no soldier, having come to power rather ingloriously as the candidate of the Praetorian Guard (the bodyguard of the emperor), the murderers of the previous emperor, Caligula. Claudius had to assert his position with a clear-cut victory and travelled to Britain himself for the final campaign in AD 46. He returned to Rome after six months to hold a magnificent triumph, the traditional medium for the celebration of victories by those Roman generals who had participated personally in a victory. Claudius had thereby satisfied the army whose support he desperately needed.
Agricola
We must return to Tacitus as our starting point in deciding whether or not there was a subsequent Roman invasion of Ireland. He states that
Agricola started his fifth campaign (AD 83) by crossing the river Annan; and in a series of successful actions subdued nations hitherto unknown. The side of Britain that faced Ireland was lined with his forces. His motive was hope rather than fear. Ireland, lying between Britain and Spain, and easily accessible also from the Gallic sea, might serve as a very valuable link between the provinces forming the strongest part of the empire.
This is significant both because it shows an awareness of strategy, and because Tacitus goes on to note that, on several occasions, Agricola claimed that he would need only one legion to conquer Ireland. Tacitus also records that Agricola befriended an Irish prince, possibly with the intention of using him as a bargaining tool or collaborator in a conquest. This has been taken by some scholars to indicate that there was an invasion, and they also quote Juvenal, who wrote that ‘we have advanced our armies to Ireland, and the recently conquered Orkneys, and Northern Britain with its short clear nights’. But Juvenal was a satirist, and as such, using his work as evidence is problematical; he may be referring to invasions, but equally, he may refer to failures! It should also be pointed out that the Orkneys and Northern Britain were never fully invaded or organised, and advancing armies to a region is quite different from invading it. Finally, the later Chronicle of Tysilio, which is corroborated by the Norman propagandist Geoffrey of Monmouth, mentions a Romano-British expedition to conquer Ireland during the reign of Claudius, but the details of this are unclear.
Fig.2. Roman coins such as these of Augustus and Trajan depict emperors holding the earth in such ways as to suggest power over it.
Drumanagh
Until very recently there has been little archaeological evidence for a Roman invasion. The astonishing find of a ‘Roman fort’ at Drumanagh fifteen miles north of Dublin would seem at first sight to show that there was an invasion. This need not be the case, and at any rate we cannot be sure that the final results will be conclusive. The site has not been excavated, so any conclusions drawn now could be dangerously premature. A proper scepticism should also be maintained because the site is unique and no other ‘forts’ are known or evidenced. It is also entirely probable that, because of trading links with Britain, many Roman and British merchants travelled to Ireland with their goods, and the idea that this ‘fort’ was a
trading outpost should not be discounted. Gold coins have already been found near Dublin and at Bray; silver and bronze coins at Newgrange; brooches at Knockawlin and Cashel; occasional finds of grave goods have included Roman or Romano-British items. Richard Warner of the Ulster Museum has noted what he claims to be ‘a Roman grave’ at Kilkenny with a cremation in an urn. He is surely wrong to claim that this evidence implies ‘a strong and secure Roman community’ when he himself admits that the number of Roman artefacts found in Ireland is small and that literary evidence is absent. We do not have to accept that there was an invasion simply because there was some Roman influence in the area. Romans often traded with regions that they did not invade. Only after a full excavation of the site can we examine with any confidence the question of a Roman military presence in Ireland.
This is not much to go on but the possibility of an invasion remains. Claudius’s intentions when he invaded Britain were almost certainly to conquer the whole archipelago, and he was not affected by any notion of frontiers or controlling only part of the islands. He knew of Ireland, and that it was close to Britain. It is possible that Agricola, in AD 83, tried to invade Ireland but was unsuccessful, or that he had one legion on standby for such an expedition, supported by Irish allies, but permission was not forthcoming from Rome. Some suggest that he was called home in disgrace which prompted his son-in-law Tacitus to write his biography. Perhaps the tone of Tacitus’ account implies an old man who still rankled in his retirement about his recall before he could launch his final conquest.
The evidence against an invasion is quite strong: no ancient source known specifically mentions one. But if there was no invasion or if there was an unsuccessful foray which was not followed up, why was this the case? Around this time there is a loss of impetus generally in the Roman conquest of Britain, possibly caused by military problems elsewhere in the empire, in the Rhine and Danube regions. The Roman army was not large enough to fight on many fronts, and thus soldiers may have been withdrawn from Britain to conflicts elsewhere. The drive to expand in Britain never really returned, which may explain why there was no subsequent invasion of Ireland. After the mid-second century, Roman frontiers were always under pressure from some direction. By this stage they certainly knew what Ireland was like and that it probably was not worth the trouble of invasion. Additionally, Solinus notes that the Irish were an unfriendly, warlike people who smear the blood of slain enemies on their faces and so do not distinguish from right and wrong. Ergo, Ireland had not been ‘romanised’, let alone conquered by AD 200.
Fig.3. The Hereford Map(c. AD 1300),in which Augustus is shown issuing orders to three surveyors(mensores). Ireland,above the heads of the mensores, is depicted as being part of the Roman world.
Frontiers
Instead of speculating on the Roman invasion theory let us consider Roman attitudes towards their empire and the wider world and their conceptions of space and power. Frontiers as we understand them did not exist before the seventeenth century, and certainly not in Roman times. Two main reasons for this have been identified. First, poor geographical knowledge meant that the Romans tended to underestimate the distance between the centre of their empire and its periphery; second, regions beyond the centre were perceived in terms of power rather than territory. Having power over, influence over, or even connections with a region was enough for the Romans to claim it as part of their empire, regardless of whether they had good geographical knowledge of it. Thus the emperor Augustus could claim that he had forced the mighty Middle-Eastern empire of Parthia ‘to seek as suppliants for the friendship of the Roman people’, even though there was no direct conflict. Contemporary poets expressed the belief that he could bring the whole world under Roman rule; indeed, the poet Virgil, in his epic poem the Aeneid, promises that the Romans will enjoy ‘power without end’ and that the Roman empire will rule over the whole world. These sentiments were not without parallel. The historian Dio paints a colourful picture of the triumph celebrated by Julius Caesar in 46 BC in celebration of his victories in Gaul, Egypt, Pontus, and Africa:
this occasion he climbed the steps of the Capitolium on his knees, neither casting his eyes upon the chariot dedicated to Jupiter in his honour, nor upon the image of the oikoumene [literally ‘the inhabited world’] lying beneath his feet, nor upon the inscription which it bore; but later he had the word ‘demi-god’ erased from the inscription.
Despite this magnanimous gesture, the implication is that Rome enjoyed power over the whole world.
Other poets and writers follow suit: Livy, the great historian, stated that Rome was at the ‘head of the world’, and Horace boasted that ‘the fame and majesty of the empire had been extended to the rising of the sun from its western couch’. Additionally, Roman coins depict emperors holding the earth in such ways as to suggest power over it. (See fig. 2) Of course, whatever the boasts of the literary fraternity, or any other symbol, this was not really the case. Augustus was a great conqueror, but was painfully aware of how the empire could be over-extended, especially after a disaster in Germany in AD 9, when three whole legions fell to German tribes. His advice to his successor Tiberius, reported in a famous passage of Tacitus, was ‘not to extend the empire beyond its limits’. The Latin is ambiguous, and what this phrase actually means has been the subject of dispute. It may mean beyond the empire’s present limits, but it could equally mean beyond its potential limits, perhaps the coastlines of the empire.
Beyond the frontiers
At any rate, we have established that the Romans, or at least their poets, aspired to conquering and controlling ‘the inhabited world’. But to what lengths were they prepared to go? Were the words of the poets simply imperialist rhetoric? Augustus, we saw, was careful; his diplomatic rather than military victory over Parthia is testament to that. Tiberius consolidated rather than expanded. His successor Gaius Caligula was at best incompetent, at worst insane. Claudius needed the military victory, but chose the victim carefully. After Claudius, there was some expansion in Britain, but this eventually came to a standstill. We have to turn to Strabo to understand our problem. He stated that the people beyond the empire were treated as part of it. Clemency and friendship were extended to them, but in most cases these realms were considered unsuitable for occupation owing to weak internal infrastructures. Only those parts of the oikoumene which were considered worthy were to be occupied and organised, although the rest could certainly be exploited. This is also stated by the earlier historian Polybius, who notes that only the known parts of the inhabited world were ruled by Rome.
The arguments and views are complex, and in a sense contradictory; most Romans surely knew that they did not control the whole world, otherwise how could any imperial expansion take place? However, we must now try and fit Ireland into this picture. It is clear that Roman geographical knowledge of Ireland was not good, with its climate considered by Strabo to be uninhabitable, at least for Romans in their togas! It probably lacked the infrastructure, either economic or administrative, that would have appealed to the Romans. Too much initial organisation would have been necessary in order to exploit the new province to the limit. Why would the Romans invade Ireland if there was little to interest them? Rome only took over economically viable territories; she did not conquer indiscriminately. The Panegyric on Constantine Augustus, the first Christian emperor of Rome, states that Ireland was not thought worthy of conquest; the effort was probably not worth the gain.
Conclusion
Taking into consideration that the claims and hopes of Roman poets did not always reflect the true picture, and that Ireland had little to offer in terms of wealth to the Romans, is there really a case for a Roman invasion of Ireland? The fact that it is featured on maps of the Roman empire is not important. (See fig. 3) These were not representations of regions directly controlled by the Romans, but rather maps of all areas over which the Romans claimed to have influence. This is an important distinction as communication or trade with Ireland was not a precursor to or a result of invasion. Conquest was not a necessary prerequisite of ‘rule’ in a Roman sense.
Colin Adams is a postgraduate student in ancient history at the University of Oxford.
Further reading:
| Hibernia |
Of the numbers from 1 to 12, which would score highest on plain squares as a word in the game of scrabble ? | Celtic Ireland in the Iron Age: the Celts
Everyday life in Celtic Ireland
The Arrival of the Celts:
As the Bronze Age in Ireland drew to a close, there appeared in Ireland a new cultural influence. Developing in the Alps of central Europe, the Celts spread their culture across modern-day Germany and France and into the Balkans as far as Turkey. They arrived in Britain and Ireland around 500BC and within a few hundred years, Ireland's Bronze Age culture had all but disappeared, and Celtic culture was in place across the entire island.
The map on the left [3] shows how Europe looked around 400BC. Celtic influences (for it was a culture, not an empire) had spread across much of central Europe and spread into Iberia and the British Isles. The Celts called Britain and Ireland the "Pretanic Islands" which evolved into the modern word "Britain". The word "Celt" comes from the Greeks, who called the tribes to their north the "Keltoi", but there is no evidence that the Celts ever referred to themselves by that name. To the south a small upstart republic, with its capital at Rome, was minding its own business. However it was these Romans who, a few centuries later , would supercede Celtic culture across most of Europe when they built their huge Roman Empire, which stretched from Palestine to England.
The Celts had one major advantage - they had discovered Iron. Iron had been introduced to the Celtic peoples in Europe around 1000 to 700BC, thus giving them the technological edge to spread as they did. Iron was a far superior metal to bronze, being stronger and more durable. On the other hand, it required much hotter fires to extract it from its ore and so it took a fair degree of skill to use iron. None of this is to be taken to mean that bronze fell out of use. Rather, iron simply became an alternative metal and many bronze objects have been found that were made in the Iron Age.
The Ireland Story
"Pagan Celtic Ireland"
Whether or not the arrival of the Celts in Ireland was an actual invasion, or a more gradual assimilation, is an open question [1]. On the one hand, the Celts - who were by no means pacifists - must have arrived in sufficiently large numbers to obliterate the existing culture in Ireland within a few hundred years. On the other hand, other better documented invasions of Ireland - such as the Viking invasions of the 7th and 8th centuries AD - failed to have the effect of changing the culture on an islandwide scale. Current academic opinion favours the theory that the Celts arrived in Ireland over the course of several centuries, beginning in the late Bronze Age with Celts of the early iron-using Hallstatt group of people, to be followed after 300BC by Celts of the La T�ne cultural group which formed within the Hallstatt group.
Some have postulated that, as the Romans invaded and took control of the continental Celtic territories of Gaul [France] and Iberia [Spain and Portugal], some of the displaced Celts travelled to unconquered Celtic lands such as Britain and Ireland. The medieval "Book of Invasions" talks about Milesians and F�r Bolg arriving in Ireland. These have been identified with displaced Celts from Spain and Belgium, respectively, although this is conjecture [1].
Early Accounts:
The earliest pseudo-historical information that we have about Iron Age Celtic Ireland is from Carthaginian, Roman and Greek writers, who probably got their information from sailors who had been to the British Isles. There are writings from the 4th century AD by the Roman Avienus which are thought to be based on accounts from an early Greek voyage in the 6th century BC. These describe Celts in France and in the North Sea, where the British Isles are. He calls Ireland Insula Sacra (Holy Island) and its inhabitants gens hiernorum, thought to be a Latinisation of the Greek word for Ireland, Ierne. This, in all likelihood, is a modification of the word �riu, which may be an original Celtic word for Ireland and a root of the later Irish word Eire and eventually the English word Ireland. The Greek Pytheas refers to the British Isles as the Pretanic Islands, which is derived from Priteni - definitely a Celtic word. In 52BC, the Romans were referring to Ireland as Hibernia, possibly extracted again from the Greek word Ierne.
By far the most interesting historical account of these early times is that of the Greek Ptolemy. His map of Ireland, published in Geographia, was compiled in the second century AD, but based on an account from around 100AD. No surviving originals exist, but we do have a copy dating from 1490AD. To see the map [1], click on the thumbnail on the left [56kB].
Historians have been able to use this fascinating map to identify some of the Celtic tribes living in Ireland at the time. Many of the names cannot be identified with known tribes (particularly those in the west), and the names have been badly corrupted by being passed word-of-mouth. However, others are readily identifiable. Also on the map are the names of rivers and islands which can be identified with existing features. All this information has allowed historians to create a picture of the probable Celtic tribes living in Ireland at the time (100AD). Our map is given below. Note that Ireland was by no means isolated. Some of the tribes straddled both sides of the Irish Sea, while others had relations in Gaul (France).
Roman Influences and Irish Colonies:
In the last centuries BC, the rest of Celtic Europe fell to the expanding Roman Empire. The Celts of southern Britain were conquered in 43AD. Stopping short of the Picts of modern-day Scotland, the Roman emperor Hadrian built his famous wall between the Celts of the north and Roman Britain. Did the Roman armies invade Ireland? The answer is no, but we know they did consider it. During a foray into southern Scotland, the Roman General Agricola looked across the North Channel towards the Irish coast. The writer Tacitus reports that Agricola "saw that Ireland... conveniently situated for the ports of Gaul might prove a valuable acquisition" and that "I have often heard Agricola declare that a single legion, with a moderate band of auxilaries, would be enough to finish the conquest of Ireland" [2]. However an invasion never took place - not because the Irish would be too hard to defeat, but simply because the Romans decided it wouldn't be worth the effort.
However, Ireland did come under heavy Roman influence, even if not under its rule. In the first and second centuries AD, there is evidence that there was sporadic trading between the Irish and the Romans of Britain. Tacitus, writing in the first century AD, says of Ireland "the interior parts are little known, but through commerical intercourse and the merchants there is better knowledge of the harbours and approaches" [5]. Evidence of a Roman trading post has been found near Dublin. However, it was not until the fourth and fifth centuries AD that there is evidence of prolonged Roman influences in Ireland. Roman coins and other implements have been found in Ireland. There is evidence that the language spoken by the E�ganacht of Munster, who arrived at the end of the Iron Age, had been heavily influenced by Latin. Finally, it is certain that Ogham, the first written scripts in the Irish language, was based on the Latin alphabet (see language , below).
Towards the end of the pre-Christian period, as the Roman Empire and its colony in Britain declined, the Irish took advantage and began raiding western Britain.
Picts from Scotland and Saxons from Germany raided other parts of the colony. As their raids got ever more successful, the Irish began to colonise western Britain. The �rainn of Munster settled in Cornwall, the Laigin of Leinster settled in south Wales while the D�isi of south-east Ireland settled in north Wales. Cormac of Cashel (writing much later, in 908AD) records that "The power of the Irish over the Britons was great, and they had divided Britain between them into estates... and the Irish lived as much east of the sea as they did in Ireland" [2]. These colonies were all defeated by the Britons within the next century or so, although Irish kings seemed to be still ruling in south Wales as late as the tenth century. The map on the left shows these colonies.
But by far the most successful colony was that of the D�l Riata in western Scotland. Their colony thrived and, in fact, it seems that most or all D�l Riatans ultimately left northern Ireland for the new colony. Probably founding the colony around 400-500AD, D�l Riata was well established by 563AD and in the ninth century it took control of Pictland, to the east, and founding the united kingdom of Scotland.
Celtic Constructions: Royal Sites [1]
During the Iron Age, there was a general consolidation of territories and kingdoms. Most of these territories had a defended hilltop fort as their centre of power. However, a number of very large-scale works were undertaken. Referred to as the 'royal sites', these consisted of earthworks of various kinds, burial mounds and enclosures. Most of these were constructed around the 2nd century BC.
E
main Macha - Now called Navan Fort, in county Armagh, today consists of a circular enclosure with a mound in the centre. In the late Iron Age it was the royal seat of the Ulaid during their rise to power in Ulster, making it certainly the most important such site in Ulster. The most famous king of the Ulaid was Connor and the legendary warrior C� Chulainn. However, the events that took place at the construction of Navan Fort are remarkable. Around 100BC, a huge circular building was constructed: 43 metres (143 feet) in diameter. It was made from a series of circles of progressively taller wooden poles, and the entire cone-shaped building was thatched. This was a huge building in Iron Age standards. However, even more remarkable was the fact that the building seems to have been partially burned and partially demolished shortly after its completion, and covered over with a mound of limestone and earth. This all suggests that the building was part of some large-scale ritual and was not used for any domestic purpose. To compound the mystery, the remains of a Barbary Ape was also found on the site - an animal native to north Africa which was probably an exotic gift. Navan today boasts an extensive visitors' centre. (The reconstruction above is by D Wilkinson of the Environment Service, DOENI.)
The Ireland Story
"Pre-Christian Ireland"
D�n Ailinne - D�n Ailinne, in county Kildare, appears to have been the royal site of south Lenister. It underwent several transformations, but at its height it seems to have included a circular enclosure 29 metres (96 feet) in diameter with several tiers of benches around it. Around the time of Christ, a circle of timbers was built, then burned and buried in a mound. Like Emain Macha, D�n Ailinne seems to have served a ritual purpose.
Tara - The Hill of Tara in county Meath is home to a large number of monuments. There is a Neolithic passage tomb called the Mound of the Hostages as well as some post-Iron Age ringforts. Around the main part of the site is a large earthen enclosure. Tara was an important site throughout the Celtic period where it was a royal centre and, ultimately, the seat of the High King of Ireland.
Celtic Constructions: Decorated Stones [1]
A large number of carved stones were created in the last centuries BC. Probably serving a ritual purpose, they were stones up to 2 metres (7 feet) in height and feature complex swirling patterns of a style common with central European Celtic cultures. We can only speculate on what kind of ritualistic purpose it may have served. Some have argued that these are the most durable of a variety of materials used for these objects, such as wood. The most famouse example is the Turoe Stone, in county Galway, which is pictured on the left (Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland).
Celtic Constructions: Hilltop and Promontory Forts [1]
Most kingdoms, or Tuath, in Ireland had a hilltop fort which was used either as a permanent residence for the king or as a temporary refuge in times of conflict. They are typically built on the top of a hill and surrounded by a stone wall. Often these sites coincide with previous Bronze Age burials, and frequently they showed a lack of respect for these previous monuments, sometimes re-using their stones. Unlike the royal sites, which were made from earthen banks, they had very well constructed stone walls made from close-fitting cut stones. Some of the most well defended hillforts were built with one edge at the top of a cliff. So-called promontory forts were built both on inland mountains and coastal cliffs.
Everyday Life in Celtic Ireland:
Although very like the Celtic cultures of the rest of Europe, that of Ireland had been influenced in part be the preceding Bronze Age culture. So Ireland's culture was not totally like that of mainland Europe. However, in many regards it was very similar. Much of what we know about specifically Irish culture has come down through the years in the form of Heroic Tales, such as the Ulster Cycle which tells of the exploits of C� Chullain, the Hound of Ulster. Once thought to be historicaly unreliable, these Heroic Tales describe a way of life that fits well with what we now know about the Celts of mainland Europe. Thus it seems that, while the events described may have been embelished over the years, the underlying themes and props in the stories may be accurate descriptions of life in Iron Age Ireland.
The Ireland Story
Art and Society"
It was, in many ways, a culture based around war. Ireland was divided into dozens - possibly hundreds - of petty kingdoms. Within the kingdoms, it was the blacksmiths, druids and poets who were held in high esteem: the blacksmiths for making the weapons of war, the druids for making prophesies and soothsaying, and the poets for putting the exploits of warriors to verse, to be sung around the cooking fires. The aristocracy in this culture was made up of the warriors, who sought fame and recognition by doing battle with their enemies. The young warrior would be initiated by mounting his chariot (a two wheeled wooden cart pulled by two horses), before proceeding to battle and cutting off the heads of his enemies to bring them home as trophies [1]. At the celebratory banquet afterwards, the warriors would compete for the "hero's portion" of the food being served. The weapons brandished by these warriors consisted of round wooden, bronze or iron shields, with iron spears or swords. The spear seems to have been more common than the sword.
Political Structure
By the later Celtic period, Ireland was ruled by a series of perhaps 100 to 200 kings, each ruling a small kingdom or tuath. The kings came in three recognised grades, depending on how powerful they were. A r� t�aithe was the ruler of a single kingdom. A 'great king', or ruiri, was a king who had gained the allegiance of, or become overlord of, a number of local kings. A 'king of overkings', or r� ruirech, was a king of a province. Ireland had between 4 and 10 provinces at any one time, because they were always in a state of flux as their kings' power waxed and waned. Today's 4 provinces (Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connaught) represent only the final state of these borders. Each province had a royal site, a place where important events took place. In 100AD there were royal sites at Emain Macha, near Armagh; Tara, county Meath and D�n Ailinne, county Kildare as well as other locations (see Celtic constructions above).
For most of the civilian population, however, life was spent in small farming units consisting of a wooden or wattle-and-daub house within a circular enclosure. Most would have had access to common land on higher ground on which to graze animals. Dairying was common, but almost everyone grew grain crops such as corn, oats, barley, wheat and rye. The land was ploughed using wooden ploughs pulled by oxen. Almost all farming was subsistence-based, and there was very little trade in food.
The only interruption to the daily ritual of grazing animals and growing crops would have been cattle-raids from neighbouring warriors, who may have pillaged and burned on their way to battle, although in general warfare seems to have been a highly formalised affair in which the peasants were usually not involved. By 400AD there were probably between half a million and 1 million people living in Ireland. This number would have fluctuated due to the recurrent plague and famine which affected all prehistoric cultures in Europe.
Brehon Law [7]
The law that the Celts of Ireland used has been called Brehon law. Forms of Brehon Law were used in Ireland for hundreds of years. A full treatment of Brehon Law is beyond the scope of this article, but the idea was that a person's identity was defined by the kingdom in which they lived. A peasant had no legal status outside the tuath, with the exception of men of art and learning. Those who were tied to their tuath were unfree and worked for the king. All land was owned by families, not by individuals. Wealth was measured in cattle, and each individual had a status measured in terms of wealth. Almost any crime committed against an individual could be recompensed by paying a fine equal to the status of the individual. For example, a 50 cows for an important person, 3 cows for a peasant. There was no death penalty; but, an individual could be ostracised from the tuath in certain circumstances.
Language
The language spoken by the Celts in Ireland was Celtic, a variant of the Celtic languages which were used across Europe. In the British Isles, there were at least two dialects in use: Brittonic (P-Celtic) which was spoken in southern Britain and France, and Goidelic (Q-Celtic) which was spoken in Ireland and northern Britain. Brittonic is the root of modern Welsh, Cornish and Breton. Goidelic is the root of modern Irish and Scots-Gaelic. Brittonic and Goidelic must have been heavily influenced by the Bronze Age languages of Ireland.
The first written Irish appeared in the fifth century, around the same time as the initial Christianisation of Ireland. Called Ogham script, it consists of a series of grooves on the corner of a stone. Each combination of grooves represents a different letter of the Latin alphabet, and a number of Ogham stones have been found in Ireland and in Wales. Those in Ireland are mostly along the south coast. Usually they give the name of a person or ancestor and were probably commemorative. The picture on the left shows the Ogham stone at Coolmagort, county Kerry [4].
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References / Sources:
[1] P Harbinson: "Pre-Christian Ireland, from the First Settlers to the Early Celts", Thames and Hudson, 1994
[2] RF Foster: "The Oxford History of Ireland", Oxford University Press, 1989
[3] "The Times Atlas of World History", Times Books, 1994
[4] Sean Duffy, "Atlas of Irish History", Gill and Macmillan, 2000
[5] G. Stout and M. Stout, writing in the "Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape", Cork University Press, 1997, pp31-63
[6] Various authors, "The Oxford Companion to Irish History", Oxford University Press, 1998
[7] M�ire and Conor Cruise O'Brien, "A Concise History of Ireland", Thames and Hudson, 1972
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| i don't know |
Of the months of the year, which would score highest on plain squares as a word in the game of scrabble ? | Innuo | Machine learning, statistics etc.
Machine learning, statistics etc.
October 31, 2010 mlstat 3 comments
The question is frequently raised as to why the theory and practice of machine learning are so divergent. Whereas if you glance at any article about classification, chances are that you will find symbol upon lemma & equation upon inequality, making claims about the bounds on the error rates, that should putatively guide the engineer in the solution of her problem.
However, the situation seems to be that the engineer having been forewarned by her pragmatic colleagues (or having checked a few herself) that these bounds are vacuous for most realistic problems, circumvents them altogether in her search for any useful nuggets in the article.
So why do these oft-ignored analyses still persist in a field that is largely comprised of engineers? From my brief survey of the literature it seems that one (but, by no means, the only) reason is the needless preponderance of worst-case thinking. (Being a panglossian believer of the purity of science and of the intentions of its workers, I am immediately dismissing the cynical suggestion that these analyses are appended to an article only to intimidate the insecure reviewer.)
The cult of universality
An inventive engineer designs a learning algorithm for her problem of classifying birds from the recordings of their calls. She suspects that her algorithm is more generally applicable and sits down to analyze it formally. She vaguely recalls various neat generalization error bounds she learned about during her days at the university, and wonders if they are applicable.
The bounds made claims of the kind
“for my classifier whose complexity is
, if trained on
examples, then for any distribution that generated the data, it is guaranteed that the
generalization error rate
error rate on the training set + some function of (c,m)
with high probability”.
Some widely used measures of the complexity of a classifier are its VC dimension and its Rademacher complexity, both of which measure the ability of the classifier to separate any training set. The intuition is that if the classifier can imitate any arbitrary labeling of a set of vectors, it will generalize poorly.
Because of the phrase “for any distribution” in the statement of the bound, the bound is said to be universally applicable. It is this pursuit of universality which is a deplorable manifestation of worst-case thinking. It is tolerable in mathematicians that delight in pathologies, but can be debilitating in engineers.
The extent of pessimism induced by the requirement of universality is not well appreciated. The following example is designed to illustrate this by relaxing the requirement from “any distribution” to “any smooth distribution”, which is not much of a relaxation at all.
Assume that I have a small training data set
in
drawn from a continuous distribution
. Assume further that
is reasonably smooth.
I now build a linear classifier under some loss (say an SVM). I then take all the training examples that are misclassified by the linear classifier and memorize them along with their labels.
For a test vector
, if
is within
of a memorized training example I give it the label of the training example. Otherwise I use the linear classifier to obtain my prediction.
I can make
very small and since the training examples will be in general position with probability one, this classification scheme is unambiguous.
This classifier will have zero error on all training sets and therefore will have high complexity according to the usual complexity measures like VC, Rademacher etc. However, if I ignore the contribution of the memorized points (which only play a role for a set of vanishingly small probability), I have a linear classifier.
Therefore, although it is reasonable to expect any analysis to yield very similar bounds on the generalization error for a linear classifier and my linear+memorization classifier, the requirement of universality leads to vacuous bounds for the latter.
Even if I assume nothing more than smoothness, I do not know how to derive reasonable statements with the existing tools. And we almost always know much more about the data distributions!
To reiterate, checking one’s learning algorithm against the worst possible distribution is akin to designing a bicycle and checking how well it serves for holding up one’s pants.
“The medicine bottle rules”
Our engineer ponders these issues, muses about the “no free lunch” results that imply that for any two classifiers there are distributions for which either one of them is better than the other, and wonders about the philosophical distinction between a priori restricting the function space that learning algorithm searches in, and a priori restricting the distributions that the learning algorithm is applicable for.
After a short nap, she decides on a sensible route for her analysis.
1. State the restrictions on the distribution. She shows that her algorithm will perform very well if her assumptions of the data distribution are satisfied. She further argues that the allowed distributions are still broad enough to cover many other problems.
2. State to what extent the assumptions can be violated. She analyzes how the quality of her algorithm degrades when the assumptions are satisfied only approximately.
3. State which assumptions are necessary. She analyzes the situations where her algorithm will definitely fail.
I believe that these are good rules to follow while analyzing classification algorithms. My professor George Nagy calls these the medicine bottle rules, because like on medicine label, we require information on how to administer the drug, what it is for, what is bad for, and perhaps on interesting side effects.
I do not claim to follow this advice unfailingly and I admit to some of the above crimes. I, however, do believe that medicine bottle analysis is vastly more useful than much of what passes for learning theory. I look forward to hearing from you, nimble reader, of your thoughts on the kinds of analyses you would care enough about to read.
, if we choose the transformation
with
, linear inner products in this transformed space will approximate
.
Gaussian RBF Kernel
The Gaussian radial basis function kernel satisfies all the above conditions and we know that the Fourier transform of the Gaussian is another Gaussian (with the reciprocal variance). Therefore for “linearizing” the Gaussian r.b.f. kernel, we draw
samples from a Gaussian distribution for the transformation.
Parzen Window Density Estimation
, the the so-called Parzen window probability density estimator is defined as follows
where
is often a positive, symmetric, shift-invariant kernel and
is the bandwidth parameter that controls the scale of influence of the data points.
A common kernel that is used for Parzen window density estimation is the Gaussian density. If we make the same choice we can apply our feature transformation to linearize the procedure. We have
where
has been absorbed into the kernel variance.
Therefore all we need to do is take the mean of the transformed data points and estimate the pdf at a new point to be (proportional to) the inner product its transformed feature vector with the mean.
Of course since the kernel value is only approximated by the inner product of the random Fourier features we expect that the estimate pdf will differ from a plain unadorned Parzen window estimate. But different how?
Experiments
Below are some pictures showing how the method performs on some synthetic data. I generated a few dozen points from a mixture of Gaussians and plotted contours of the estimated pdf for the region around the points. I did this for several choices of
and
(the scale parameter for the Gaussian kernel).
First let us check that the method performs as expected for large values of
because the kernel value is well approximated by the inner product of the Fourier features. The first 3 pictures are for
for various values of
D = 10000 and gamma = 2.0
D = 10000 and gamma = 1.0
D = 10000 and gamma = 0.5
—————————————————————————
—————————————————————————
Now let us see what happens when we decrease
. We expect the error in approximating the kernel would lead to obviously erroneous pdf. This is clearly evident for the case of
.
D=1000 and gamma = 1.0
D=100 and gamma = 1.0
—————————————————————————
D = 1000 and gamma = 2.0
—————————————————————————
—————————————————————————
Discussion
It seems that even for a simple 2D example, we seem to need to compute a very large number of random Fourier features to make the estimated pdf accurate. (For this small example this is very wasteful, since a plain Parzen window estimate would require less memory and computation.)
However, the pictures do indicate that if the approach is to be used for outlier detection (aka novelty detection) from a given data set, we might be able get away with much smaller
. That is, even if the estimated pdf has a big error on the entire space, on the points from the data it seems to be reasonably accurate.
Given a training data set
, most learning algorithms learn a classifier
that is parametrized by a vector
by minimizing a loss function
where
is the loss on example
and
is some function that penalizes complexity. For example for logistic regression the loss function looks like
for some
.
If, in addition, the examples came with costs
(that somehow specify the importance of minimizing the loss on that particular example), we can perform cost sensitive learning by over/under-sampling the training data or minimize a cost-weighted loss function (see this paper by Zadrozny et. al. )
We further constrain
. So the unweighted learning problem corresponds to the case where all
.
A Game Against An Adversary
Assume that the learner is playing a game against an adversary that will assign the costs
to the training examples that will lead to the worst possible loss for any weight vector the learner produces.
How do we learn in order to minimize this maximum possible loss? The solution is to look for the the minimax solution
For any realistic learning problem the above optimization problem does not have a unique solution.
Instead, let us assume that the adversary has to pay a price for assigning his costs, which depends upon how much they deviate from uniform. One way is to make the price proportional to the negative of the entropy of the cost distribution.
We define
(the Shannon entropy of the cost vector, save the normalization to sum to one).
The new minimax optimization problem can be posed as
subject to the constraints
Note that the regularization term on the cost vector
essentially restricts the set of possible cost vectors the adversary has at his disposal.
Optimization
For convex loss functions (such as the logistic loss)
is convex in
for a fixed cost assignment, therefore so is
. Furthermore,
is concave in
and is restricted to a convex and compact set. We can therefore apply Danskin’s theorem to perform the optimization.
The theorem allows us to say that, for a fixed weight vector
, if
The maximization in step 1 is also simple and can be shown to be
As expected, if
, the costs remain close to one and as
the entire cost budget is allocated to the example with the largest loss.
Of types and tokens
This line of work was motivated by the following intuition of my colleague Marc Light about the burstiness of types in language data.
For named entity recognition the training data is often drawn from a small time window and is likely to contain entity types whose distribution is not representative of the data that the recognizer is going see in general.
(The fact that ‘Joe Plumber” occurs so frequently in our data is because we were unlucky enough to collect annotated data in 2008.)
We can build a recognizer that is robust to such misfortunes by optimizing for the worst possible type distribution rather than for the observed token distribution. One way to accomplish this is to learn the classifier by minimax over the cost assignments for different types.
For type
be the set of all tokens of that type and
be the number of tokens of that type. We now estimate
by
under the same constraints on
as above. Here
is the observed type distribution in the training data and
is the KL-divergence.
The algorithm is identical to the one above except the maximum over
for a fixed
is slightly different.
Related Work and Discussion
1. The only other work I am aware of that optimizes for a similar notion of robustness is the one on adversarial view for covariate shift by Globerson et. al. and the NIPS paper by Bruckner and Scheffer. Both these papers deal with minimax learning for robustness to additive transformation of feature vectors (or addition/deletion of features). Although it is an obvious extension, I have not seen the regularization term that restricts the domain for the cost vectors. I think it allows for learning models that are not overly pessimistic.
2. If each class is considered to one type, the usual Duda & Hart kind of minimax over class priors can be obtained. Minimax estimation is usually done for optimizing for the worst possible prior over the parameter vectors (
for us) and not for the costs over the examples.
3. For named entity recognition, the choice of how to group examples by types is interesting and requires further theory and experimentation.
4. For information retrieval often the ranker is learned from several example queries. The learning algorithm tries to obtain a ranker that matches human judgments for the document collection for the example queries. Since the queries are usually sampled from the query logs, the learned ranker may perform poorly for a particular user. Such a minimax approach may be suitable for optimizing for the worst possible assignment of costs over query types.
In the next post I will present some experimental results on toy examples with synthetic data.
Acknowledgment
I am very grateful to Michael Bruckner for clarifying his NIPS paper and some points about the applicability of Danskin’s theorem, and to Marc Light for suggesting the problem.
Example 3 (five prototypes)
After first iteration
The right most panel shows the first two “transformed features”, i.e., the kernel values of the examples to the first two prototypes.
After second iteration
Implementation details and discusssion
The algorithm runs through the whole data set to update the betas (fixing everything else), then runs over the whole data set again to update the prototypes (fixing the betas and the kernel params), and then another time for the kernel parameter. These three update steps are repeated until convergence.
As an indication of the speed, it takes about 10 minutes until convergence with 50 prototypes, on a data set with a quarter million examples and about 7000 binary features (about 20 non-zero features/example).
I had to make some approximations to make the algorithm fast — the prototypes had to be updated lazily (i.e., only the feature indices that have the feature ON are updated), and the RBF kernel is computed using the distance only along the subspace of the ON features.
The kernel parameter updating worked best when the RBF kernel was re-parametrized as
.
The learning rate for betas was annealed, but those of the prototypes and the kernel parameter was fixed at a constant value.
Finally, and importantly, I did not play much with the initial choice of the prototypes. I just picked a random subset from the training data. I think more clever ways of initialization will likely lead to much better classifiers. Even a simple approach like K-means will probably be very effective.
is the BWT of string
.
Since the Burrows-Wheeler transform involves just the construction of a suffix array, the computation of our compression based evaluation metric is linear in time and space in the length of the model and system summary strings.
Some Technical Details
For our implementation, we considered each word in a string as a separate symbol. Our alphabet of symbols therefore contained all the words in the two strings being compared. The words were normalized by lower casing and removing punctuation. Because BWT needs an ordered alphabet, we used the lexicographic order on the words in the alphabet.
Results
The results on the TAC-AESOP task (above) show that the BWT based metric (FraCC in the table) is reasonable for summarization evaluation, especially because there are not very many knobs to tune. I obtained these results from Frank (who will present them at TAC next week). The “best metric” is the AESOP submission that seemed to have high scores across several measures.
____oa_nnosans_oomeoord_
A useful property
Effros et. al. showed that for a string generated by a finite-memory source, the BWT of the string is asymptotically (in the length of the string) indistinguishable from a piece-wise independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) string. This is not surprising given that symbols with similar contexts appear sequentially in the BWT string, and for finite memory sources the current symbol is generated i.i.d. given a finite length context.
This property can be exploited to easily cluster words according to context by using BWT.
Word clustering
In this paper , among other things, Brown et.al. present a word clustering algorithm based on maximizing the average mutual information between the cluster ids of adjacent words. Some results are presented in Table 2 in the paper.
Such word clusters can be useful for feature engineering for sequence tagging tasks such as part-of-speech tagging or named-entity recognition. One of the most commonly used features for such tasks is one which checks if the current word is in a carefully constructed list of words.
Brown et. al. admit that, even after optimizations, their algorithm is slow and resort to approximations. (I realize that computers have gotten much faster since but still their algorithm is cubic in the size of the vocabulary.)
Word clustering based on BWT
We will cluster two words together if they appear independently given certain contexts (albeit with different probabilities). We first perform a BW transform on the input string of words (considering each word as a symbol, unlike in the example above) and measure whether the two words appear independently in an i.i.d. fragment.
Instead of actually trying to chop the BWT string into i.i.d. fragments before analysis, we adopt a proxy metric. We check if the number of times the two words are next to each other in the BWT string is large compared to what we would expect from their frequencies. We compute this as probability ratio with appropriate smoothing.
Another neat consequence of doing the clustering by BWT is that we only need to consider pairs of words that do appear next to each other in the BWT string. Therefore the selection of candidates for clustering is linear in the length of the string and not quadratic in the size of the vocabulary.
Some results
I ran this algorithm on about a month’s worth of New York Times and Wall Street Journal news data and these are the pairs of words with the highest scores.
january february 0.177721578886
goes gone go going went
known seen well
travel review leisure weekly editorial
cultural financial foreign editorial national metropolitan
thursdays wednesdays fridays sundays tuesdays
thursday today monday sunday yesterday wednesday saturday friday tuesday
…
Discussion
1. For the above results, I only did the clustering based on right contexts. We can easily extend the word-pair score to take into account left contexts as well by concatenating the BWT of the reversed string to the BWT of the original string, and calculating the scores on this double length transformed string.
2. The word clustering algorithm of Brown et. al. proceeds by iteratively merging the best pair of words and replacing the two words in the alphabet (and the string) by a merged word. We can imagine doing something similar with our approach, except, because BWT uses the order on the alphabet, we need to decide where to insert the merged word.
3. One thing that I should have done but didn’t for the above results is to order the alphabet (of words) lexicographically. Instead I assign positive integers to the words based on their first appearance in the string, which is the order BWT uses to sort. Fixing this should improve the results.
| January |
Which country produces 70 % of all European olive oil ? | Full text of "My First School-book: To Teach Me to Read and Spell Words, and Understand Them"
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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http : //books . google . com/ isrreAO'C 'i,rr^. vv ^3 1 1 . 'i JIY FIRST W OOL-BOOK AND SPELLIHO Hdu,*T-]5'e.t'U i-4->- /I /■\ HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY ■ ^ ^^^^^^ 3 2044 081 497 083 > MY FIEST SCHOOL-BOOK. TO TEACH ME READ AND SPELL WORDS, AKD UNDERSTAND THEM. We think that nine tenths of the labor and disgust of learning to read may be saved ; and that, iifstead of frowns and tears, the usual haitingers of learning, cheerfiilness and smiles may initiate willing pupils in tkt MMl d^uU 9f M AiMium tUtainmtiUt, — Bboi worth. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY T. R. MARVIN 1861. BUMSTEAD'S PRIMARY SCHOOL SERIES. L — MT LITTLE PRIMER ; to teach a few words and th« alphabet. The different words are veiy few, thinly scattered, aii» oft repeated } Just to give the child a ttari in learning to read and spell II.— MY FIRST SCHOOIr-BOOK. IIL — SECOND READING-BOOK in the Primary School, designed to follow the Beading Lessons of ** My First School-Book." IV.— THIRD READING-BOOK in the Primary Schcol V. — SPELLING AND THINKING COMBINED ; or, th« Spelling Book made a Medium of Thought. * In t^enr itage we should vnM^ as the bane of eood habits of thoti^t, the com* anon on orthe hoxsknsk columitb of a ipellinfr-book. Nothing more pernicious eottkl be eontrived. The uae of them prerents thinking, withovt teaching t« ipell.^ — Thb 8oHooi.MA,STKa, bj Qkokok B. Emkjcsov. VL — TABLE FOR TRAINING THE ORGANS OP SPEECH IN ARTICULATION. A large sheet, about five feet squara, intended to be attached to the wall of a school-room. VIL — THE BLACK-BOARD IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL. A Manual for Teachera, to illustrate some valuable Meth odfl of interesting and instructing young Children. Vni.— MT FIRST ARITHMETIC. The style of this book if unique ; differing essentially from all other Primary Aritlune- Ucs. IX. — READING TABLE for the youngest scholars. X — PUNCTUATION TABLE. XL — NUMERATION TABLE. Tht hst three are WaU Tabkts. At a meeting of the Boston Primaiy School Committee, held on the 4th insunt, it was Fotmlj That the book called " Mr FiasT Bchoov-Book ** be introdueed into the Primary Schools, for the use of the third and fourth classes. JOSEPH CURTIS, Secrstery BosTOzr, June 5, 1839. EifTiasD aceoiding to A ct of Conp ess. in the year 18S3, by J. F BuxsTiAO, in the depffg^ffiSio^M^t, Court of the Diatria €f TO THE TEACHER. ** Hurrah ! there's a sleigh ! s-l-a, sleigh ! s-l-a, sleigh ! I " " John,** said his father, " that doesn't spell sleigh,^ *« Don't it ! What does it spell, sir ? " " O, I don't know, — it doesn't spell any thing." ** Why, father ! What is it in my book for ? " In preparing the following pages, it has been the inten* tion to make them a suitable aid to children in learning to read and spell ; and to have them contain only that which is intelligible and useful — only that concerning which a child, on making the inquiry, What is it in my hook for f would at once receive a satisfactory answer. There is here an exclusion of those fragments of words which have usually been presented to the eyes and ears of children in their first exercises. Such lessons, it is believed, are as unnecessary as they are uninteresting ; conveying no thought, but rather teaching a child not to think. Children are delighted with ideas ; and in school exer- cises, if nowhere else, they are disgusted with their ab- sence. The present selection of words has been made with reference to this fact ; and it is hoped that no one can be found which is not, partially at least, intelligible to the young scholar, or capable of being made so. The^main point, in the arrangement of the columns, has Kieen the aenstf and not the sound. The words are groupei^ 4 FOURTH PAGE. in families, just as the objects or actions they represent * may have an ^iffinity to each other. This arrangement is novel, and has the advantage over all others of making col- umns interesting and intelli^ble. There are two ways of epelUng — one that is appre- hended by the ear^ and the other by the eye. The former is the ordinary, and, to a great extent, the exclusive method in primary, schools. But it is wanting in practical charac- ter. It trains the ear, and not the eye ; and, therefore, ia deceptive to those who suppose that an ability to utter the names of the letters of a word secures practical spelling, or an ability to place the forms of those letters in proper arrangement on paper. The latter method, on the contrary, is entirely practical. It is, in fact, the spelling of every- day life. And such is its superiority, it may be safely af- firmed, that to write a dozen words from memory or dicta- tion on a slate is a more profitable exercise than the mere vocal spelling of fifly words. This method, therefore, is believed to be indispensable, in a measure at least, to all those who would be sure of making their scholars good spellers. Experience has proved that children of the earliest age at school may be taught to make quite legible marks on the slate in imitation of the printed letters ; and this, too, with much pleasure on their part, and little trouble on the part of the teacher. Although the reading lessons are placed entirely afler the columns, it is not intended to have the child proceed ac cording to this arrangement As soon as he is able t& master a few pages of columns, he may commence with tk« sentences, and have the variety of alternation every day. J. F BUMBTKAP FIFTH PAGE. On the Last Page of this Book there is an alphabet and the numeral fibres. It will be noticed that the letters and figures are composed of circles. The object of that page is to show how letters, words, and figures may be made by children with small circular pieces of paper or other materiaL In many schools there is apt to be a lack of employment and amruemerU combined, and this device is suggested as one means of supply. It has been tried, and found to answer well. Let a Quantity of circular pieces of thick paper be pro- cured, of about the size of a small button-mould. Or these moulds themselves are perhaps better than any thing else, and may be bought by the gross at little cost On some table or form (or, with nothing better, a clean floor will answer) the children may thus go to work and play* The pa^e guides as to the number of circles for each letter and their relative position. Another mode is that of having a small frame covered with cloth and staffed, pincushion like, and using pins to make the letters. This novelty commends itself to favor in manjr re- spects : it trains the eye and hand in requiring the child to place the circles as they are in the book ; it is an excellent exercise in spelling ; it helps in learning to count, inasmuch &fl the exact number of circles found in the book must he used ; it is a perfectly noiseless operation ; it is unexpen- dve, and contributes to make school hours pleasant hOTE. Mt First Bchool-Book and the other 8peUing4x>ok of the ■eriea— Spelling and Thinkino combined — were originally print- ed with the words of the columns undivided into syllables. Three years ago the plates of the latter were recast with the words divided. The former book has continued until now without this change. The obvious propriety of having both alike in this respect has led to the present revision. At the suggestion of those whose experience ana Judgment entitle them to Che highest regard, another change has been made. The columns have been remodelled, breaking them up into smaller portions, and so arranging the words that those of the easiest acquisition precede the othen in a better manner than heretofore. Boston, August, 1852. mXTU PAGE. a THE ALPHABET. b c d e f ^ h • 1 • J k 1 m n P q r s w t u V X y z 8EVBa!TTH PAGE. "T man boy girl boy girl girl man man boy man boy girl boy girl man girl man boy man boy girl man boy girl boy man girl € mOHTH PAGE head eye nose eye nose nose head head eye head man nose eye boy head nose girl eye head eye nose head eye nose nose eye head NINTH PAGE. 9 jump quick lazy quick lazy lazy jump jump quick jump head lazy quick eye jump lazy nose quick jump quick lazy jump quick lazy quick jump lazy 10 TENTH PAGE. one • two two three three four four five boy five six girl man six head jump eye lazy nose girl quick six boy six five man five four four three J three two two one ELETTENTH PAGE. II Read, boys, read. boy man girl boys men girls girl boy man girls boys men Read, girls, read. head eye face heads eyes faces hair nose ear hairs noses ears Read, man, read. lip arm leg lips arms legs tooth hand foot teeth hands feet n TWELFTH PAGE. I have them. tooth arm one teeth arms arm gum hand two gums hands arms You have them. leg foot one legs feet foot kn«e toe five kn^es toes toes We have them. thumb nail one thumbs nails thumb fin ger h-and five fingers hands fingers THIRTEENTH PAGE. 1 Put on my things • cap shoe cap caps shoes on hat boot my hats boots head Take off my things. coat gown shoes coats gowns on frock sock my frocks socks feet Put away my things. shirt shawl sock shirts shawls on jacket bonnet my jackets bonnets foot 14 POURTKRNTH PAGE. My dog jumps quick. dog dogs kit kit ten pony colt horse dog pup puss colts pup puppy cat pussy horse cow cows cat kit cats hors es calf puss Our ox is very strong. ox ox en sheep lamb goat goats kid kids hog hogs pig pigs colt cow goat kid lambs oxen sheep lamb swine sty hog swine My hen and chickens. hen horse bird chick hens horses birds chicks chick ox dove duck chick en oxen doves dove duck cows robin bird ducks calf rob ins hens FIFTEENTH PAGE. Cat ! see the rat. 16 rat rats frog frogs toad toads rat mouse mouse bug worm toad mice toad toads bugs ant ants worms spi der spi ders frog bug ant To eat and drink. bread meat salt but ter sugar tea loaf bread water flour water milk milk meal milk butter tea corn meat good 8ugar po ta to bread sup per To put on the table. cup cups sau cer bowl bowls dish spoon spoons knife plate cup bowl sau cers dish es knives mug plate plates mug mugs fork forks dish spoon 16 SIXTEENTH PAGK The house we live in. house step room door hous es steps rooms gate gate win dow stair house gates win dows stairs step door blind clos et doors doors blinds clos ets blind f The house you live in brick plank lime post bricks planks mor tar posts stone tim ber glass board stones tim bers putty stone board beam paint brick boards beams paper plank More things of our house. nail bolt bell scre^ nails bolts bells brad brad lock latch nail brads locks latch es bolt screw key hinge lock screws keys hing es kei' • SEVENTEENTH PAGE. 17 In the parlor. table rug sofa stool ta bles rugs sofas chair chair mat lamp table chairs mats lamps carpet stool car pet cloak mat stools carpets cloaks rug In the chamber. bed sheet cot quilt beds sheets cots sheet pillow blank et crib bolster pil lows blank ets cribs blanket bol ster quilt bed cot bol sters quilts pillow crib In the kitchen. pot tub ladle pails pots tubs la dies pans pan m lid pots pans jugs lids jugs pail bottle cover tubs pails bottles 2* covers lids 18 EIGHTEENTH PAGE. Work in the kitchen. w6rk bake boil roast works bakes boils bake working baking boiling boil cook oven toast toast cooks range toasts cook cook ing fire place toast ing work Something to eat. beef tur key egg steak pork tur keys eggs veal mut ton * goose I^am. pork Iamb geese hams geese veal fowl bacon go6se steak fowls beef fowl To keep us warm. coal fire flame soot coals fires flames ashes wood heat blaze fire bark heats blazes wood chip bum smoke bark chips bums smokes coal NINETEENTH PAGE. 1» Very good fruits. ap pie peach grape ap pies peach es grapes pear fig mel on pears figs mel ons plum nut lem on plums nuts lem ons plum pear apple fig nut grajw See them in the garder i. tree sprig leaf twigs trees sprigs leaves roots root stem bush trees roots stems bush es buds twig bud shrub stems twigs buds shrubs sprigs Look at these trees. ap pie tree fig tree fir tree pear tree cher ry tree spruce tree plum tree oak tree wil low tree peach tree elm tree pop lar tree chest nut tree pine tree ash tree walnut tree ma pie tree box tree 90 TWENTIETH PAGE. I love them all. papa mamma fa ther moth er broth er broth ers sis ter sisterd uncle un cles aunt aunts babe baby home homes school schools teach er teach ers scholar scholars sister brother ihother father uncle aunt home school scholar teacher Some play is good. fun ball kite frolic fimny balls kites sport sport football hoop fun sports bat hoops balls frolic bat ball swing bats frolics hock ey swings hoops Work must be done. sew pin mend trim sewing pinning mending trimming hem knit patch hem hemming knitting patching hemming trim . dam stitch knit trimming darning stitching knitting cloak cloaks vest vests robe robes cape capes TWENTY-PmST PAGE. Things to wear. stra^) straps string strings bow bows ribbon ribbor> belt belts clasp clasps hook hooks loop loops 81 cape robe vest cloak bow string strap clasp Parts of dress. tape lace skirt braid tapes laces skirts cord cord but ton apron tape cords buttons a prons lace braid buckle hood button braids buc kles hoods buckle To make our clothes. cloth cloths cotton cot tons linen linens wool wool len woollens sUk silks silky crape crapes straw straws flan nel flan neis linen cotton cloth crape straw silk / IS TWENTY-SECOND PAGE. par lor par lors cham ber cham bers entry en tries stair case stairway Some parts of the house. bed room waH bed rooms walls kitch en floor kitch ens floors clos et eel lar clos ets gar ret chim ney chim neys attic sky light entry parlor closet chimnej kitchen cellar floor walls Out of doors. yard cis tern slate post yards cis terns slates posts shed sink spout pil lar sheds sinks spouts pil lars well roof gut ter stake wells roofs gut ters stakes pump shin gle fence yard pumps shin gles fenc es shed rag rags scrap scraps Not to crumb crumbs crust crusts be lost. bit bits piece piec es shred shreds odds ends TWENTY-THIRD PAGE. Useful things. 38 bam team coach whips bams teams chaise sleigh hay loft cart sled coach stall carts sleigh chaise stalls truck saddle truck wagon trucks bridle wagon wagons carryall whip sleds Useful men. famier driver tanner planter farai ers driv ers tan ners farmer plant er miller ped ler driver plant ers mill ers ped lers miller wag on er meal man trad er tanner wag on ers meal men trad ers pedler team ster wood man tinman trader teamsters wood men tinmen traders Useful tools. axe chisel saws spade axes chis els file spades ham met awl files hoe hammers awls gimlet hoes hatch et saw gimlets chisel u TWENTY-FOURTH PAGR Things about us. skin neck throat breast waist back brow eye brow eye lid eye lash nostril uostrils mouth jaw jaws tongue cheek cheeks chin beard dim pie heart blood vein rib ribs bone bones joint joints. elbow el bows wrist wrists pulse shoul der palm fist hip thigh shin ankle heel sole beard jaw bones wrist More parts of the house. arch frame sill sash sash es pane panes eaves coving scut tie dome lobby sa loon library nurs er y cup board shelf shelves drawer draw ers pan try lar der vault vaults drain drains ash hole coal bin mar ble gran ite soap stone tile tiles joist clap board pad lock key hole knob knobs handle knock er name num her arch dome &ame siU sash TWENTY-riLFTH PAGE. 35 Different colors. white buff olive black black brown or ange red gray drab pink green red pur pie scar let gray blue yel low white )lue green crim son jet brown God is good to us. stin light show er cold moon lights show ers hot star dark sprin kle warm stars dark ness (iriz zle heat sky noon snow sultry fikies mid night snows melt sun shine mid day snow y melts sun rise air flake thaw sun set airy ice thaws sun down wind icy thawy day winds i ci cle fog days windy haU %gy night cloud hails mist nights clouds sleet misty mom cloud y frost haze mom ing rain frosty hazy eve rains froze chill e vening rainy c frozen chilly 26 TWENTY-SIXTH PAGE. To keep clean. wash scrub ,mop soap wash ing scrubs mops soaps wipe scour swab sweep wiping scours swabs sweep? water clean dust broom bath clean ing dust er brush soap sweep scrape scrub basin sweep ing scrap er wipe nap kin brush basin wash nap kins brush es napkin scour towel broom towel swab towels brooms towels mop To put things in. box bin basket can boxes bins bask ets cans case till trunk 3^^ cases tills trunks jars bag keg chest purse bags kegs chests sack sack cask caddy bag sacks casks firkin case pnrse barrel fir kins box purses bar rels buck et chest wallet pipe buck ets trunk ' wallets hogs head pig gin barrel { TWENTY-SEVENTH PAGE. SfZ The sailor knows them. sea sloop mast stem seas sloops masts stem ocean coast er yard head wave coast ers yards hold waves pack et sail hull tide pack ets sails keel tides boat rope hatch ship boats ropes ^ berth ships long boat deck ship brig life boat decks sloop brigs barge cabin brig schoon er barg es cabins boat More about water. river pond flood spray riv ers ponds floods foam rill pool fresh et falls riUs pools gust pool brook fall blast pond brooks falls storm lake stream rapid storms creek streams rap ids squall stream creek foam squalls brook creeks foams gale rills lake sheet gales flood lakes spray tem pest flood* TWENTY-EIGHTH PAGE. Found on the land. city square sta tion wood cit ies squares depot woods town track en gine grove towns tracks ten der groves street rut car for est streets ruts cars tracks road lane hill riits roads \. lanes hills paths path alley dale roads paths al leys vale hiUs court rail val ley vales courts rail road val leys dales Learn to write. desk ream write- wafer desks reams writer wa fers ink pen writ ing quills ink stand pens wrote pens black ink quill let ter pencil red ink quills let ters ruler paper pen cil note reams pa pers pen cils notes quira sheet knife bil let desk sheets knives sand letter quire ruler blot ter note quires rulers rub ber billet TWENT<rJlN,TH PAGE. At school ye must be 39 early prompt tidy neat de cent clean deanly po lite civil gen teel busy brisk quiet si lent stead y still gen tie manly clev er frank sin cere true mild love ly kind prompt civil polite At school we mtist not be late nois;^^,^^^ cross stingy tardy Q^wfisy saucy vulgar ab sent ^tu pid proud an gry heed less mean cruel ^^y rude pert naugh ty care less sulky wicked surly sullen bad At school we must not Lspcr tie push pinch shove slam hunch shrug 3» frown pout scowl tease fret vex bawl cry scream twitch scratch meddle .1 80 THIR' ^KBPAGE. Many littles, make much. ounce ounces pound pounds ton \ tons x^ inch inches foot feet yard yards big large . huge bulky small little heav J light square oval flat th rod rods acre acres dozen doz ens doub le ScDup le giUs j pint pints V quart quarts gal Ion gal Ions peck pecks bush el bush els pack bunch bundle dies The way curly rough even wide broad nar row high deep low strong weak stiff day days week weeks month months year years hour hours min ute minutes to tell them. limber tall lofty long short thick thin clear dull sharp bright tough L THIRTY-FIRST PAGE. Parts of many creatures. ai 1 horn hock claw fin s horns hocks claws fins ^k mane fetlock tusk gill b manes bill tusks giUs }r: bunch bills snout bris tie itL hoof beak snouts bristles ' hoofs beaks fang tail s paw nib fangs tails r paws nibs venom wing s web foot talon trunk wings Uti What they can do. itrot purr climb crow leap frisk spring warble gallop bark jump croak can ter howl hop baa fe roar hover caw / yelp fly coo / growl flutter quack snarl flap cackle hmo "^ squeal sing gabble fivs squall buzz nib ble OK screech hum twittex nX yell chirp neigh sctT ^ bellow cluck bleat &3l^ burrow chuck grunt 3d THIRTY-SECOND PAGE. Menagerie. nag lion hind ape ass lions buck hound asses li on ess doe lynx mule el e phant wolf stag don key camel fox mule lap dog buffalo foxes mules hound rein deer lynx nag span iel moose bea ver lion mas tiff deer mon key camel bulldog stag mon keys \ deer Bird convention. eagle swan par rot gan der ea gles raven owl gos ling ea glet ravens owls squab hawk OS trich gull sgimbs crow peacock coot V^s red breast black bird magvEil Bwal low black birds torn tit swal lows blue bird cuchc B spar row snow bird cucJo 1 spar rows snow birds skyla^; marten thrush skyltfr lin net wood cock pig^T blue jay partridge Pig*1 t THIRTY-THIRD PAGR. Various characters. rabbit rab bits bunny squir rel hare turtle tor toise snail firefly mil ler bee bees drone wasp hor net lo cust flea gnat grub bee tie moth crick et viper ser pent fish fishing net nets seine fish hook Amusement. scull snake snail turtle miller hornet viper drone hare At the fish market. cod lob ster hal i but whale had dock crab pick er el shark salmon smelt mack er el perch trout eel por poise trout perch seal her ring shad shad dol phin floun der smelt pole line bait lead row rowing sculling bow bows arrow ar rows quiv er shoot shoot ing hunt hunt er hunt ing M THIRTY-FOURTH PAGE. Flow many things we can do! hear hark hush see spy look gaze peep wink speak ask nod call cry bawl talk chat tell blab roar sing chant hum hiss eat drink bite sip suck taste lick gnaw cram grin laugh smile groan yawn sleep doze nap dream snore wake breathe weep smell sneeze blow kiss touch feel' toss jerk fling climb pat slap hit hold squash Buy at the beet onion carrot on ions car rots tur nip rad ish tur nips eel e ry pars nip let tuce pars nips spin age pump kin cu cum her to ma to to ma toes market, sir loin spare rib fillet cut let liver steak chop rhu barb caul i flow er horse rad ish sweet po ta to oyster clam. clams lard suet beets onion dan de li on cab bage as par a gus sugar peas \ THIRTY-FIFTH PAGE. Country places and things. held peak dike crop fields brow slough flock pasture cleft pit fleece meadow cliff wick et herd plain ch^sm pick et cattle swamp c../e • stile drove marsh cavern land dro ver lawu grot soil grass glade grot to loam clover thick et track furrow tuft hedge ditch seed swath mound trench turf field moun tain sluice sod meadow At the variety store. cravat mantle fan wig collar scarf brace let curls bosom gus set watch lock et turban frill seal ring let veil flounce key feath er habit ruffle breast pin plume kerchief clothes brush toothbrush handkerchief hairbrush toothpick van dyke shoe brush tooth pick er waist band over shoes tooth pow der 06 THIRTY-8IXTH PAGE. More things we can do. shake slap haul chase stand squeeze tear drive hop wait hug cut carry leap stoop clasp carve fetch dive stir beat cleave lift swim rest flog break pluck jump sit turn split catch bound rise crook join grasp jog fall fold mend clinch step try bend soil walk squat search twist wear march creep find scrape shove come crawl seek claw stave go trudge get strike draw run strut keep rap puU race stop lose More things in the country. sheaf blade fori age scythe sheaves stalk swill sickle flax cob orts flail hemp ker ne] plough chum tow bran har row blade wheat chaff yoke stalk bar ley stub ble muz zle chaff oats feed rake sheaf com fodder pitch fork sheaves THIRTY^EVENTH PAGE. m Take care of the tools beetle pin cers crow bar square wedge nip pers steps bevel drill pliers hone borer gouge hand saw grind stone plane plane rasp foot rule drill borer wrench dividers wedge auger pick axe yard stick beetle To make many things 1. gold lead coral gem silver pewter garnet crystal iron tin topaz metal steel zinc di a mond ore brass pearl jewel ingot copper ivory jew els ebony Forward, march ! drum viol trumpet whis tie drums vi lin trumpets sing fife guitar bugle sings fifes flag e let bu gles tune flute harp organ tunes flutes harps organs drums fiddle clar i on piano music 88 THIRTY-EIGHTH PAGE. Sold at the grocery. coffee all spice starch roll cocoa nut meg wick rolls rice mace wicks rye sago clove loaf yeast cheese cloves loaves hon ey pepper cas sia bis cuit jelly mas tard oil crack er wax vin e gar can die rusk chalk pearl ash can dies muffin pic kle ginger in di go bunn pic kles choc late . cinnamon molasses molasses sper ma ce ti chocolate At the dry goods' store. nankin satin fer ret thim ble cam brie baize thread hooks ging ham wad ding twist eyelet merino wors ted hank pins dim i ty crew el skein needles mus lin bob bin spool work box lawn gal loon scis sors work bag gauze edging shears ragbag work basket nee die case knit ting nee die pin cush ion scis sors case knit ting nee dies TfflRTY-NINTH PAGE. Beauties in or chard or chards sap ling cedar cy press hick ry- beech birch hem lock knag bough branch shoot scion sprout sap fo li age shrub acorn rush the country. this tie pink brier bur balm rue bulb ivy lUy pansy tulip ev er green un der wood brush wood chick weed bur dock wood bine shrub her y dwarf tree ice plant ge ra ni um ja pon i ca sweet bri er hon ey sue kle chi na as ter holly cow slip violet myrtle dah li a jas mine lau rel hare bell snow drop moss rose sun flow er but ter cup prim rose tube rose car na tion fox glove family fam i lies kindred re la tion re la tions fel low Family ties. friend friends part ner chum neigh bor neigh bors guide guest guides mate lead er cro ny con duct or fellow vis it or chum stran ger friend FORTIETH PAGE. coun try coun ty village ham let farm More of the country. ferry arbor bower hot house green house hay mow farm house hay stack cot hay ma ker cot tage reap er hut dai ry log house hive fer ry man horse boat bridge flood gate tide gate cross road high way turn pike tollhouse farms cots huts hamlet village cottage bower arbor dairy ferry draw bridge foot bridge guide board wind mill wa ter mill tide mill grist mill pa per mill saw pit saw mill bark mill mill dam fac to ry tan house tan pit forge lime kiln brick kiln coal pit hay scales pound pin fold windmill tidemiU young old child chil dren child hood Young and old. boy hood eld er girl hood eld est man hood old er in fant old est youth youn ger jun lor senior age aged old age FORTY-FIRST PAGE. 41 Farmers have enough to do — til lage weed ag ri cul ture weed ing gar den hoe gar den ing hoe ing mow root root ing prune prun ing bud bud ding reap reaping thresh thresh ing mowmg plough plough ing plant planting sow sowing rake raking glean glean ing shear shear ing chum chum ing feed feed ing hew hewing chop chopping pile piling heap heap ing load load ing team teaming fence fencing ditch ditch ing drain draining hedge hedging sail sailing cruise cruis ing steer steering \eer Teering scud scudding And sailors, too. beat beat ing tow tow mg pump pumping reef reefing drift hoist hoist ing haul hauling pull pulling rig rigging calk drifting calking 4» scull scull ing float floating dive diving swim swim ming watch watching A FORTY-SECOND PAGE. Upon the wave, the sailor brave — bay gulf light house cas tie hur ri cane tor na do bow sprit bul wark surf fort ice berg state room eddy flag staff thun der chart shore shoal sand beach sand bank light ning bark quad rant spy glass cove sea weed smack com pass buoy bea con billow surge clip per cut ter mag net load stone isl and break er fleet steer age harbor calm navy ca boose port dock squall breeze skiff yawl foremast mainmast wharf tem pest canoe mizzen Act well your part. son male madam townsman 1 daugh ter fe male mis tress vil la ger twin maid master trav el ler neph ew maiden miss trav el lers niece bachelor miss es lodge cous in hus band widow lodg er kinsman wife wid ow er land lord kinsmen wives or phan land lady woman women lady guardian gen tie man ma tron groom waiter FORTY-THIRD PAGE. Improve present time. Sab bath Mon day Thurs day Lord's day Tues day Fri day Sun day Wednes day Sat ur day January May Sep tem ber Feb ru a ry June Oc to ber March July No vem ber April Au gust De cem ber summer dog days last week winter to-day birth day spring tomor row stunmer au tumn yes ter day winter faU fort night spring new year next week autumn Christ mas • E lee tion • Thanks giv ing In de pen dence Fast day Fourth of July Honor them. mayor pres i dent mon arch al der man sen a tor em pe ror al der men king em press gov em or queen president representative prince governor 44 PORTY-POURTH PAGE. Easier to eat than to spell. cherry cher ries a pii cot a pri cots rareripe rare ripes quince quin ces or ange or ang es chest nut chest nuts nee tar ine ground nut ground nuts shag hark shag barks filbert fil berts raisin raisins al mond al monds cur rant cur rants nee tar ines pine ap pie pine ap pies hazelnut ha zel nuts wa ter mel on wa ter mel ons musk mel on musk mel ons straw her ry straw her ries rasp her ry rasp ber ries mul ber ry lime limes olive ol ives dam son dam sons date dates apricot rareripe quince orange mulberries black ber ry black ber ries blueberry blue ber ries goose ber ry goose ber ries hue kle ber ry hue kle ber ries cran ber ry cran ber ries chick a ber ry chick a ber ries win ter ber ry win ter ber ries FORTY-FIFTH PAGE. 45 All sorts of work done here. stew stew ing broil broil ing hash hash ing melt melt ing strain strain ing sift sifting grind grind ing potind pound ing beat beat ing crack crack ing scrape scrap ing skim skim ming scoop scoop ing scald scalding scorch scorch ing rub rub bing spUt split ting hew hew ing slop slop ping spill spill ing spoil spoil ing twist twist ing loose loos ing hook hook ing Made by the maid. soup pie broth pies chow der cake dough nut cim bal plum cake pas try pan cake seed cake sponge cake ap pie pie squash pie ap pie tart pud ding cus tard pound cake ome let gin ger bread jour ney cake plum pud ding ap pie pud ding dump Ung hom i n^ white bread brown bread fam i ly bread muffin muffins crum pets rORTY-SIXTH PAGE. Household matters. couch couch es pic ture pic tures por trait por traits bust busts crock er y earth en ware su gar bowl su gar tongs cream pitch er cream la die but ter knife carv ing knife books book case book shelf news pa per plat ter ewer tu reen cruise School matters. pupil mon i tor ques tion pu pils mon i tors ques tions school mate read qt an swer school mates read ers an swers school fel low spell er com mit tee school fel lows satch el hoi i day school mas ter les son play day in struct or les sons vacation Forget them not. grand fa ther grand son grand moth er grand daugh ter great grand fa ther great grand moth er FORTY-SEVENTH PAGE. 47 Any honest business is good. store mar ket paver stores ware house saddler office hat store florist offices shoe store seeds man bank cur ri er gro eer banker weaver coop er brok er tailor tin man mer chant tai lor ess baker law yer mil li ner bar her phy si cian watch ma ker mason editor jew el ler tailor me chan ic gold smith weaver ma chill ist op ti cian painter artist thread store artist paint er hard ware lawyer sculp tor auc tion eer broker en grav er car pen ter banker en gin eer house Wright office sur vey or mason market book sell er brick lay er florist ^ta tion er stone cut ter paver man u fac tur er mu si cian count ing room hair dress er bon net ma ker per fum er wheel Wright soap boil er cop per smith truck man black smith lamp light er -48 FORTY-EIGHTH PAGE. How do you dol health faint cough ague ill health faint ing coughs fever Ul ness faint ed hoarse fit sick diz zy hoarse ly fits sick ly diz zi ness croup spasm sick ness weak choke ulcer unwell weak ness chok ing can cer dis ease head ache colic wart pain tooth ache sprain wen pains ear ache lame humoi agony cold lame ness sore swoon colds crip pie scab Pretty well. I thank you. pimple palsy dose blis ter can ker gout salve plaster whit low doc tor pUl bath dropsy nurse pow der bot tie scald watch er bal sam phial scar phys ic nitre drops 4 phyi sician recipe a poth e ca ry vac ci na tion med icine small pox drug gist con sump tion pre scrip tion oint ment ' 1 FORTY-NINTH PAGE. Love the house of God church clerk gallery Bible chap el stee pie cupola lay man pew lay men pews sex ton aisle psalms hymns ode dome choir al tar pray vane mu sic font pray er belfry ves try pas tor min is ter sing ers bap tism or gan Sa viour mar riage gos pel wed lock love praise preach preach er sermon rec tor wed ding truth lecture bish op bride an gel tPXt clergy dea con bride groom ser aph bride maid cher ub pul pit desk We must die. death mon u ment dirge decease urn beU fix ner al tomb toll ing cem e ter ; Y sep ul chre knell bury bier sor row burying coffin grave shroud grave stone hearse tears hope joy res ur rec tion im mor 1 tality M FIFTIETH FA6B. How far can you count ? one two three four Ave six Bey en eight nine ten e lev en twelve thir teen four teen fifteen sixteen sev en teen eigh teen nine teen twen ty twen ty one twen ty two twen ty three twen ty four twen ty five twen ty six twen ty seven twen ty eight twen ty nine thirty thir ty one thir ty two thir ty three thir ty four thir ty five thir ty six thir ty sev en thir ty eight thir ty nine forty for ty one for ty two for ty three for ty four for ty five for ty six for ty sev en forty eight for ty nine fifty fifty one fifty two fifty three fifty four fifty five fifty six fifty seven fifty eigjiit fifty nine sixty six ty one six ty two six ty three six ty four six ty five six ty six ONE HUN DEED six ty sev en six ty eight six ty nine sev en ty sev en ty one sev en ty two feev en ty *hree sev en ty four sev en ty five sev en ty six sev en ty sev en sev en ty eight sev en ty nine eigh ty eigh ty one eigh ty two eigh ty three eigh ty four eigh ty five eigh ty six eigh ty sev en eigh ty eight eigh ty nine nine ty nine ty one nine ty two nine ty three nine ty four nine ty five nine ty six nine ty sev en nine ty eight nine ty nine From one hundred spell backwards. PIPTY-FIRST PAGS. 61 From the reading lessons, two or three words at a time. Caution. Avoid here, in the process of spelling, the link- ing of one word with a part only of another. Thas in dear mother^ after spelling and pronouncing the syllable moth, the child must not say dear moth. 0:p* Prononnce the words together at the outset and at the close, but in the inter- val spell and pronounce them separately, as independent words. little child read and spell mean to try learn the words speak them well very small indeed cannot walk cannot stand was so small take care of could not take dear mother she held me she washed me she nursed me she kissed me called sweet names my little hed going to sleep love me much every day our little kitten playing with ball good time roll it about touch with paw it goes rolling love dearly always very kind little brother on the carpet play with him my little sister two years old us at home who love her she is worth weight in gold play together begin to find make sis ter hap py must be kind 53 PIFTY-^ECOND PAGE. always gentle we run about think of taking her little toys must not tease nor angry be darling sister God has given walks along briskly al ways gets there punctual scholar Peter Smith always cries mother wishes brush and comb his hair combed sticking up flying about how much better smooth and nice his face washed in the bam he looked up in the corner many spiders' webs cobwebby place swept away not look well parlor cobwebs kitchen cobwebs chamber cobwebs pretty kite out of sight pretty it flies to the skies what you spy bright blue sky large black dog very little girl fell into water black dog jumped pulled her out very kind dog something to eat would pat him in the pasture rest ing her self upon the ground eating grass standing still ; what sober faces they never laugh but no matter her little lamb fleece was white every where that Mary went he followed her nPTY-THIRD PAOE. 58 against the rule made the children laugh and play teacher turned him lin gered near waited patiently keep from harm eager children teacher did reply the bright sun every morning every evening much larger all this world great way off moon and stars in the daytime it is cloudy he walked home father laughed somebody saw two birds together they are pecking never quarrel about another boy was very angry she did something raised his hand shameful thing 6* would not strike so overcome with the kindness burst into tears was very sorry studies her lesson before breakfast always ready does not tease polite scholar tidy scholar com mand ment thought nobody he reached up and took down little mouse behind the dishes much frightened sugar bowl fell broken to pieces sugar scattered mother came in had happened feel very badly because he had beautiful field pretty pear tree very pretty bough Frank was driving 54 JFTPTY-POURTH PAGE. went into water did not sink but it floated much obliged knitting work kitty jumped knocked off under the chairs she tangled it running crisscross did not hurt Jane un tan gled wound it up dangerous thing sharp penknife stopped to ask he ought not cried loudly cut his finger blood was running mind immediately come James get your sled Round HiU capital coasting snow so deep frozen so hard hill so steep boys all ready have determined an agreement com ing from school must not break and hurrah James minded all scampered and for aught coasting there still dog cannot learn the reason is great deal little white chicken there was vacation into the country with his aunt their breakfast he rose early bowl of meal flock around him its feathers were he stooped down patted it softly yes indeed ungrateful boy directly mind in her bosom taught me how has the headache FIFTY-FIFTH PAGE. 56 quite silently noisy play triflmg troubles sit down quiet pleasant face cheerful scholar walking along currant bushes beautiful nest smooth speckled eggs naughty cruel boys lovely scholar where did you delightful place pleasant indeed like my cousins there is nothing sun shines brighter although I knew their puss Tabby hap pi est an i mals peaceful and loving have often thought nothing to hinder easy and desirable love my work idleness will give they are twins how they differ ringing merrily money to spend she concluded she wondered treat yourself these nice things buy some or ang es quite parched generous girl tears trickled down curly headed boy pleasant eye trotted off every body loved honest youth when the people ask the reason can see whether to remember tries to avoid she never slights but takes pains makes mistake her own clothes is old enough iron her clothes every body happy they are blind beautiful rainbow S6 FIFTY-SIXTH PAGE. 1. one. L 2. two. II. 3. three. III. 4 four. IV. 5. five. V. '6. SIT. VI. 7. seven. VII. 8. eight. vni. 9. nine. IX. 10. ten. X. 11. eleven. XL 12. twelve. XIL 13. thirteen. xra. 14. fourteen. XIV. 15. fifteen. XV. 16. sixteen. XVI. n. seventeen. xvn. 18. eighteen. xvra. 19. nineteen. XIX. 20. twenty. XX. 30. thirty. XXX. 40. forty. XL. 50. fifty. L. 60. sixty. LX. 70. seventy. LXX. 80. eighty. LXXX. 90. ninety. XC. 100. hundred. C. ) Jan. January. 31 days. Feb. February. 28 days. Mar. March. 31 days. Apr. April. 30 days. May. 81 days. June. 30 days. July. 31 days. Aug. August. 31 days. Sept. September. 30 days. Oct. October. 31 days. Nov. November. 30 days. Dec. December. 31 days. FIFTY-SEVENTH PAGE. W PAUSES OR STOPS IN READING. [Instruction in the pauses from the printed page can be hardly more than giving the names of the marks. The main part can only be learned audibly from the Hying voice. The teacher must show how to make the fuU stop, the interrogative and exclamatory intonations, &c., or the child will not have them early in his reading. It may be well to remember that children already in their talking make these pauses — that without thinking or knowing any thing of a period, comma, interrogation, or exclamation, they make every one of them very well. Why, therefore, when beginning to read, may they not be easily led' to extend this habit to the new exercise ?] We cannot read well unless we make the right pauses ; and to help us in this, little marks are placed here and there among the words. These are the marks — • • 1 f _ • 5 5 • • • Now, whenever you come to any one of these, he sure that you make some stop there ; be sure that you do not go from the word before it to the word after it as you would if there were no mark between. At first you must learn from the teacher's voice what each mark means — what kind of a stop it is ; she will make it, and you must make it like her. Tkub Length op Vausbs. — Every pause should be just long enough to give the sense of the words. [X^ Pauses in wrong places may give a wrong meamng. Uncle John, sayi our Jenny, is a good girl. Uncle John says, our Jenny is a good girl. Davi'l ha» twenty nails upon each hand ) five and twenty on hands and feet. David has twenty nails ; upon each hand five ; and twenty on hands and feet. PIPTY-EIGHTH PAGE. • Period. 9 Comma. S Semicolon. S Colon. . . Period means the end. Wh^n jou come to this mark j-ou are at the end of the sen- tence. The next word be- gins a new sentence. Make a FULL stop at the period because it is the end. These are founds not at the end» but before we reach the end. We must noi make full stops at them. At the Comma make a short stop ; at the Semicolon a longer stop; at the Colon, longer stilL X Intebbooatiok. f Exclamation. . These marks show how the words before them should be read. The pause is often like a period with a full stop ; but sometimes it is only a short stop, like the comma. 9 # - Dash. . . . (Comma and '\ Dash.. . J Semicolon ' ' (^ and Dash. ( Colon and "] Dash.. . The dash is sometimes a short stop, like the comma, and sometimes a much longer one. The dash added to another mark increases the length of the pause. PIFTY-NINTH PAGE. READING LESSONS. I mean to try To learn the words, And read them very welL This is about Myself. Once I was very small indeed. Then my name was haby. A baby cannot walk. No, he cannot stand up. I could not take care of myself when I was so small. Who was it that took care of me 1 I know who it was th^t took care of me. This is about dear Mother. My dear mother took care of me. She held me in her arms. She nursed me and fed me. She washed and dressed me. She laid me on my little bed. She used to sing a pretty song. -— ' 60 SIXTIETH PAGE. She kissed me, and called me sweet names. God gave me my mother. I must love God. Our little Kitten. See our little kit- ten! She is playing with a ball. What a good time she has! She likes to have a ball to play with. She likes to have a ball, becaijse she can roll it about. She only has to touch it with her paw. See how it rolls about the room ! I love, dearly, to see our kitten play with a balL I will always be very kind to otir little kitten. Ann and her Brother. Ann has a little brother ; he is a baby. Ann loves to sit on the carpet and play with him. Ann loves to take care of her little brother. Ann is always kind to her little baby brother. SIXTY-FmST PAGE. 61 My little Sister. I have a little sister; She is only two years old; But to us at home, who love her. She is worth her weight in gold. We often play together; And I begin to find, That to make my sister happy, I must be very kind; And always very gentle When we run about and play, Nor ever think of taking Her little toys away. I must not even tease her. Nor ever angry be With the darlmg little sister That God has given me. Who is he that walks along so briskly to school, and always gets there in season ? I will tell you who he is: he is the punctual scholar. SIXTY-SECOND PAGE. Peter Smith. Peter Smith al- ways cries when his mother wishes to brush and comb his nair. What a silly boy, unwilling to have his hair combed! How a little boy looks with his hair all sticking up and flying about! How much better it is to have your hair look smooth, and nice! Peter always cries when he has his face washed. What a silly boy Peter Smith is ! He cries because his mother washes his face. Cobwebs. A boy went out one day to swing in the bam. He looked up in the comer, and saw spiders' webs. Then he said, I wiU not go into that cobwebby place. Cobwebs do not look very well in a house. Let me see if any are in this room. No, they are all swept away. We must have none in the parlor. SIXTY-TfflRD PAGE. Nor any in the kitchen; nor any in the chamhers. The spiders may make their cobwebs in the bam. My Kite. O, look at my kite ! Almost out of sight ; How pretty it flies. Right up to the skies! Pretty kite! pretty kite! Almost out of sight; Pray what do you spy In the bright blue sky? AJbcmt a large Black Dog. Once a girl fell into the water. There was no one near but a large black dog. He jumped into the water, and pulled her out. very He was kind dog. If I should see him, I would give him something to eat. I would pat him, and say. Good dog^ good dog ! 64 SIXTY-FOURTH 'PAGE. The Cows. See the cows in the pasture ! One of them is resting herself upon ihe ground. One of them is eating the grass, and another is standing still. What sober face? all the cows have! Cows always look very sober, I think; they never laugh. But no matter, they seem to have a good time, eating the fresh grass. Mary and her little Lamb. Mary had a little lamb; Its fleece was white as snow ; And every where that Mary went, The lamb was sure to go. He followed her to school one day; — That was against the rule; — It made the children laugh and play To see a lamb at school. So the teacher turned him out; But still he lingered near. SIXTY-jnPTH PAGE. 61 And waited patiently about, Till Mary did appear. And then he ran to her, and laid His head upon her arm. As if he said, I 'm not afraid ; You 'U keep me from all harm. What makes the lamb love Mary sol The eager children cry; O, Mary loves the lamb, you know, The teacher did reply. The bright Sun. How bright the sun is ! I never saw any thing so bright. The sun gives us light and heat. Every morning rises in the east. Every evening sets in the west. The sun is very large ; it is much 6* it it larger than all this world. The sun does not look so very large. It is a great way off, and that is the reason why it looks so small. Who made the great, bright sun? It was God. SIXTY-SIXTH PAGE. The Moon and Stars. The moon and stars shine in the night. We cannot see the stars in the daytime, because the sun is so bright. When it is cloudy in the night, we can- not see the moon and stars. Then how very dark it is! Charles said, as lie walked home oae evening with his father. See, father, see the big moon, and the stars ! I think the moon is the little stars* mother ! It made the father laugh to hear his boy say that. T\do Birds. A little boy had two birds in a cage,^ And one day, they both got out and flew away. A man, seeing two birds on a tree, said, There they are ! See ! they are peck- ' ing at each other. \ O, no, said the^ ^ boy ; they cannot be my birds. My birds are own brothers, and never quarrel. SIXTY-SEVENTH PAGE. 67 Would you do as she did? I will tell you about another boy, who once was very angry. He was very an- gry with his sister, because she did some- thing which he did not like. When he was so angry, he raised his hand, and struck her on the fece. Is it possible ! O, what a shame- ful thing for a boy to strike his own dear sister! What do you think his sister then did to him] I will tell you But first, I will teU you how she felt. She did not feel angry at all. She raised both her hands, but not to strike him back. No, it was for something very dif- ferent She put her arms round his neck, and kissed him, saying. My dear brother, if you knew how much I love you, I am sure you would not strike me. The kindness of His dear sister melt- ed him. He burst into tears, and said he was very sorry. He never struck Ibis sister anv more 68 SIXTY-EIGHTH PAGE. About Lucy is a good girl; she never for- gets to pray every morning and every night. When she gets up in the morning, she washes her hands and face, and cleans her teeth. After that, she takes her book and studies her lesson before breakfast When her mother Lucy. / wants her to work, she is always ready to do what is told her. When she sits at the table, she does not tease her mothex for sugar or cake. She is very careful not to drop her bread or spill her milk. Lucy is a very neat, tidy girl. Every body loves her. Who is he that always makes a bow when he comes in and goes out of school 1 I will tell you who he is. He is the polite scholar. Who is he that always looks as clean and neat as a piuk 1 I will tell you who he is. He is thp tid^ scholar. SIXTY-NINTH PAGE. Thou shalt not steal. One day, a boy went into a closet to steal some sugar. He forgot the eighth command- ment, — Thou shalt not steal. He thought nobody was there to see him. He forgot that God is every where. He reached up to the shelf, and took down the sugar-bowl, and put in his fingers to take out a lump. But when he put in his fingers to. take out a lump, he heard a little mouse run- ning along behind the dishes. This naughty boy was quite frightened when he heard the mouse. He was so fright- ened that he let the bowl fall out of his hands. It fell upon the floor, and was broken to pieces. All the sugar was scattered upon the floor. Pretty soon, his mother came in, and saw what had hap- pened. How badly his mother felt ! She was sorry that he had broken the bowl. But more sorry that he had been so naughty. 70 SEVENTIETH PAGE. A pretty In a beautiful field stands a pretty pear tree. What is on the tree? A pretty branch; branch on the tree; tree in the ground. What is on the branch ? A pretty bough ; bough on the branch; branch on the tree; tree in the ground. What is on the bough ? A pretty nest ; nest on the bough; bough on the branch ; Pear Tree. branch on the tree; tree in the ground. What is in the nest] A pretty egg ; egg in the nest; nest on the bough ; boiigh on the branch ; branch on the tree; tree in the ground- What is in the A pretty bird ; bird in the egg; egg in the nest; nest on the bough; bough on the branch ; branch on the tree; tree in the ground. Who is he that always has such a bright eye and pleasant face? I will tell you who he i^ He is the cheerful scholar. SEVHNTY-PIRST PAGE. 71 Frank and As Frank was driving his hoop down a hill, it went into the water. The hoop did not sink, hut it floated upon the top of the water. Pretty soon, a large boy came along, and got it out for him. Frank was very much obliged to the boy, and said to him, / tharik you. Frank put his hoop in the sun, and soon his Hoop. it was quite dry, so that he could play with it again. If the hoop had been of iron, it would have sunk in the water. Any thing made of wood will not sink, but will float in the water. I must find out what makes the dif- ference ; Why it is that one thing sinks and an- other floats. What Kitty did. One day, our Jane weiit out, and left her knitting-work on the tabla While she was gone, Kitty jumped up on the table. . And what did she 72 SEVENTY-SECOND PAGE do, but knock off the ball of yam ! Then she jumped down, and began to play with the ball. She made it roll under the chairs and under the table. The yam was tangled all about the legs of the table and chairs. Jane came in, and found her knitting- work on the floor ; Her nice yam, too. criss-cross about the room. « She said, O Kitty, Kitty, what a Kittj you are! What have you done with my work ! Jane was a kind girl; so she did not hurt Kitty.'. Jane untangled the yam and wound it up. Then she put the ball into a drawer where Kitty could not get it. Dangerous Things. Once a boy went to a desk, and took into his hand a sharp penknife. His father said to him, Put the knife down, my son ; it is a dangerous thing. He did not put it down at once, but stopped to ask, Whai is a dangerous thing? SEVENTY-TfflRD PAGE. 73 It was right for the boy to ask that. But he ought not to have asked till he had first put the knife down. All at once, he cried very IJDudly. What wa4.the mat- ter nowl He had cut his finger with the sharp, dangerous knife. The blood was running very fast It is dangerous for little boys to have sharp knives. It is dangerous, too, for children not to mind their parents immediately. Coasting. Come, James, get your sled, And away let us haste, To the top of Round Hill; There is no time to waste. It is capital coasting, The snow is so deep, It is frozen so hard, And the hill is so steepi The boys are all ready And waiting to go, 74 SEVENTY-FOURTH PAGE. And we have determined No snow-balls to throw. We made an agreement When coming from school. And those who are there Must not break the ruler. There's a time and a season For all things, you know; And tjiey who are coasting No snow-balls should throw. So run, get 'your sled; There 's no time to stand still ; And hurrah for a coast On famous Eound Hill ! James minded his brother, And ran for his sled. And took it in haste From its place in the shed. Then away they all scampered For the top of Round Hill ; And, for aught that I know, They are coasting there still . SEVENTY-nPTH PAGE. 7i George and George Hill lives in Boston. In vacation time, •he often goes into the country to see his aunt. On the first morn- ing of his being there, his aunt said, George, you may give the chickens their breakfast This was what George liked very much. Every morning he was up bright and early, among the chickens. See him going out with his bowl of meal and water! Hear him call the chickens, — Chick, the Chickens. chick, chick, chick, chick ! The chickens were always glad to hear and see George ; yes, they would quickly flock around him. One of them he liked very much, be- cause its feathers were very white. His aunt told him he might have that white chicken for his own. One day, he asked his aunt to go out with him, and see his own white chicken. She went, and he stooped down, and patted it with one hand, while he fed it with the other 76 SEVENTY-SIXTH PAGE. See, aunt, said George, how my lit- tle chick loves me ! •What makes it love you sol said his aunt. O, it is because I am so kind to it, said George. Who is it that is so kind to George, and gives him his food and clothes, and makes him well when he is sick? It is God, said Geoi^e ; He is very, very kind to me. Yes, indeed He is, said his aunt; and if you should not love and obey Him, you would be a verr ungrateful boy. Dogs cannot read. Suppose a dog should come to our school, and the teach- er should try to teach him. That would be funny ; do n't you think so? , But the dog can not learn. He can- not learn to read, and spell, and count, as we do. The best that a dog can do in speak- ing is to make the noise, Bow wow, wow ! Bow wow ! He cannot learn anything about tho SEVENTY-SEVENTH PAGE- sun, and moon, and stars. No, the teacher would find it of no use to try to teach faim these things. What is the rea- son that boys and girls can learn so much, and dogs can- not learn 1 The reason is, that •-very boy and girl has a soul, but a dog has no soul. God has made me so that I can learn, and know a great deal. If I had no soul, I could only eat, and. drink, and sleep, like the dog. I could not think, and talk, and read, as I now do. The Busy Bees. How busy are the bees In laying up their store ! And do they not a lesson teach, To love my book still more 1 Learning — that choicer sweet • I must, I will obtain ; Despising idleness, like bees, I '11 try with might and main IS SEVENTY-EIGHTH PAGE. A YeUow^rcPs Nest Every day, I take a walk in the garden with my little boy. This morning, as we walked along, a yellow-bird flew out of the bushes, and lighted on the fence. I looked among the currant-bushes, where the bird flew from; and what do you think I saw ? Why, I saw a beautiful nest, with five eggs in it. They were round, smooth, and spec- kled eggs One, two, three, four, five; just as many eggs as the fingers on one of my hands. I lifted up my boy so that he could see the nest, and all the speckled eggs in it Some boys like to go and steal such pretty nests with the eggs in them. But they are very naughty, cruel boys. I hope none of you will ever do so cruel a thing. Who is he that is so happy himself, and makes others so happy 1 I will tell you. He is the lofoely scholar. iSEV£NTY--NINTH PAGE. W My Mother. I must not tease my mother, For she is very kind ; And every thing she says to me I must directly mind. For when I was an infant, And could not speak or walk. She let me in her bosom sleep, And taught me how to talk. I must not tease my mother ; And when she likes to read. Or has the headache, I will step Quite silently indeed. I will not choose a noisy play, Nor trifling troubles tell. But sit down quiet by her side. And try to make her well. Who is he that always has his lesson ready in time to recite 1 I will tell you who he is. He is the diligent scholar. w EIGHTIETH PAGE. Visiting at Emily. Jane, did you go away yester- day] Jane. Yes, Emi- ly, I went to aunt Gray's, and returned this morning. Emily. Quite a long visit. Jane. I am al- ways so happy when there, that I love to stay. Emily. Why are you so happy there 1 Jane. O, it is a delightful place. Emily. I suppose they have nice fruit, flowers, and other things. Jane. Yes, but that is not all I care for. Aunt Grains. Emily. What is it, then, pray 1 Jane. O, they are all so kind and pleas- ant ; — I think they love me, and I am sure I love them. Emily. It must be charming indeed to visit there. Jane. I am sure you would like my cousins; for they are the best girls I ever knew. Emily. I begin to love them now. Jane. Aunt Gray, too — so kind as she is ; and with so many good stories to tell ; and when we sing — O, there is nothing like it EIGHTY-FmST PAGE. 81 Emily. What do you sing there % Jane. We sang tliis morning about the sun, as it shone 80 brightly. JEmily. Does the sun shine brighter there than any where else? Jane. It seems so to me, although I know it does not. Emily. That was because the song was about the sun. Jane. Yes, so I suppose : every thing there is pleasant ; even their puss Tab- by and their dog Skip are the happi- est creatures I ever saw. Emily. Have they taught the cat and dog to love each other ] Jane. All I can « say is, that Tabby and Skip are very peaceful and loving in their way. Emily* How de- lightful, it must be there ! Jane. I do wish that all would live in love and peace, just as they do. Emily. And so do I. Would it not be very easy 1 Jane. It seems to me, there is nothing to hinder, if people would only be will- ing to do so, Emily. That is easy enough, surely. Jane. Yes, indeed it is. UGBTYSECtiSD PAGE. Susan and Julia. I know two young misses, whose names are Susan and Julia. They are twins, and they look ex- actly alike. But they are not at all alike in some things. I will tell you how they differ. On last Indepen- dence day, in the morning they were up early. The bells ringing so merrily awaked them. As soon as they saw their father, they both said. Independence day! father. He then gave to each of them twelve cents. After break&st, they took their mon- ey, and went out to walk. Susan, very soon, spent half of her money for lemon- candy and sugar plums. As you may easily suppose, it did not take long for these to disappear. Her next pur chase was an ice cream, taking every cent of her money. Susan wondered why Julia did not buy something. Why ! Julia, said she, are you not go- EIGHTY-THIRD PAGE. ing to treat yourself to some of these nice things 1 I have been think- ing, said Julia, that I will buy some or- anges. And I will give them to that sick girl who belongs to our class. Julia then bought three nice oranges with the whole of her money. Now, said she, let us go and see our schoolmate. They found the poor child on her bed very sick of a fever. Having her mouth parched with thirst, the taste of orange was deUcious. The mother, with tears in her eyes, thanked the gener- ous Julia again and again. Which of the sis- ters, Susan or Julia, do you think, felt the happier at that moment 1 Was it not JuUa 1 What do you think of that girl who is so neat and tidy ^ I think she is a credit to herself to her mother, and to her school. How different from the slattern I d4 EIGHTy-POURTH PAGE. The honest Boy. Once there was a little boy, With curly hair and pleasant eye ; A boy who always told the truth, And never, never told a lie. And when he trotted off to school, The children, all about, would cry. There goes the curly-headed boy, The boy who never tells a lie. And everybody loved him so. Because he always told the truth. That every day, as he grew up, 'T was said. There goes the honest youth. And when the people that stood near, Would turn to ask the reason why, The answer would be always this — Because he never tells a lie. Who is he that scorns to do or say any thing that is mean and vulgar 1 I will tell you who he is. He is the manly scholar. EIGHTY-PIPTH TAGE. What Girl is this? I will tell you some things about a little girl, and you can see whether you know her or not She always minds what her father and mother say to her. She takes pains to remember what they tell her. When she is told of a fault, she tries to avoid it another time. She likes to sit by her mother, and learn to sew and knit. She never slights her work, but takes pains to do it well. K she makes a mis- take, she is sorry. She is always very careful to keep her work clean. If her hands are dirty, she washes them before she begins tit work. She seldom loses her thread, neecues, or pins. She does not stick needles into her sleeve, nor put pins into her mouth. She puts her needles into her needle-book, and has a pin-cushion for her pins. She takes care of her own clothes, and folds them up very neatly. When she sees a hole in any of her clothes, she mends it, or speaks to her moth- er about it. She does not wait until the hole becomes larger, for then she knows it will be more work to mend it 86 E30HTY-SIXTH PAGE. She does not like to see any good thing wasted. As soon as she is old enough, she means to make her own bed, and iron her own clothes. She always likes to be busy and use- ful, and is always ready to assist ber mother. She is happy her- self, and makes every one so around her. She is a comfort to her parents and all her friends. Now, who is this girl? Does she be- long to this school? Blind Children. Not long ago, I visited the school for the blind in Boston. It is in a very large and beautiful house. There I saw a great number of boys and girls who can make no use of their eyes ; they are blind. They cannot see their father or mother. They cannot see the bright sun, nor the beautiful moon and stars. They cannot see the splendid rainbow in the skies. They do not know how pretty the flowers look, that grow in the garden. All the world ap- pears dark to them. Suppose you should live in a house that has no window. EIGHTY-SEVENTH PAGE. tn That would be a dark house to live in. Well, those boys and girls in the blind school, live in a house with no window. I mean, it is just the same thing to them, because they cannot see. Now I will tell you another thing about them ; they can read, although they are so blind. Yes, it makes them very happy to be able to read. And should it not make us happy to know this thing about them? How do you think they can read? I will tell you ; they do it by passing their fingers over the let- ters, which are so made that they can feel them. A shameful Thing. A little bird built A warm nest in a tree. And laid some blue eggs in it. One, two, and three, And then very glad And delighted was she. So, after a while, But how long I cannot tell. « EIGHTY-EIGHTH PAGE. % The little ones crept, One by one, from the shell; And their mother was pleased, And loved them right well. She spread her soft wings on them All the day long, To warm and to guard them. Her love was so strong; And her mate sat beside her. And sung her a song. One day, the young birds Were all crying for food; So off flew the mother Away from her brood; And up came two boys, Who were wicked and rude. They took the warm nest down Away from the tree; And the little ones cried, But could not get free; At last they all died away, One, two, and three. EIGHTY^NINTH PAGR But when back again The poor mother did fly, O! then she began A most pitiful cry; She mourned a long while, Then lay down to die. A brotherly Boy. Do you not know Charles Aiken? I think he is a very brotherly boy. I often see him taking care of his young sister. It seems to be a great pleasure to him to have the care of her, and to try to amuse her. I never saw him, when walking with his sister, impatient, because her little feet could not keep up with his. He never gave her 8* a sly twitch, as some boys are apt to do. No, he is always kind to her. When the snow is on the ground, he likes to draw her on his sled. One day, he met a boy who wished him to leave his sister, and go and coast on the Common. Do you think, said he, that I would leave my sister alone ? O, no, I am sure I cannot do any such thing. NINETIETH PAG£l Useless Wishes. Children often have wishes that do no good. In winter, they wish it was summer \ in Slimmer, they wish it was winter. When it is cold, they wish it was hot ; when it rains, they wish it was fair. When it is night, they wish it was day. The little boy wish- es he was a great man; and the little girl wishes she was a great woman. When it is some other afternoon, they wish it was Wednes- day or Saturday after- noon. All such wishes are very foolish ; they do no good. We cannot change the season, nor the weather, nor the time. We ought not to wish for things which we cannot have. It is better to be contented. Yes, contented peo- ple are always happy Who is he that gives his teacher all his looks wnen she is speaking to him, and reinembers what she says ? I will tell you who he is. He is the aUeur tive scholar. Take a red-hot poker in your hand rather taan a dishonest c^nt. NINETY-FIRST PAGB. WhaJt I Uke.— What I dislike. I like to see chil- dren listening when they are spoken to. I like to see a boy standing upright on both legs, when a per- son is talking to him. I like to have him hear another through, before he begins to answer. I like to have him answer in a good clear voice, and with a kind tone. I do not like to see a boy with his hat on in the house. I do not like to see a boy with his hands in his pockets. I do not like to see a boy with his thumb in his mouth. I do not like to see a boy come to school with his shoes untied. I do not like to hear a boy say What^ instead of Sir. Are you polite ? Good little girls do never say, I will — and— Give me these; O, no, that never is the way ; But— -Mb^Aer, if you please. And — j^ you please^-^io sister Ami, Good girls to say are ready; And-— Y65, mV— to a gentleman. And-— Yes^ ma'am—- to a lady; NmETY-SECOND PAOK Ahby loves When Abby is go- ing to school, she nev- er stops by the way, to play. Sometimes, perhaps, when she sees a pretty flower by the side of the road, she says, O, here is a pretty flower! I will stop and get it, and give to my teacher. her Teacher. Abby loves hct teacher very much. Very often, she asks her mother to let her carry something for a present One day, she carried to her teacher a very fine large apple. At another time, she earned a beautiful red peach. Walter^s Toothache. One afternoon, as Walter was engaged in play with his broth- ers and sisters, all at once a tooth began to ache. He ran home as quick as he could, groaning and crying all the way. His motiier wished him to let her tie a string round his tooth, and pull it out. It will hurt me ! he said ; it will hurt me ! I can 't have it pulled out; and so he kept on groaning and cry- ing. I suppose it would hurt him some, and NINETY-THIRD PAGE. * perhaps, a great deal, to have it out. But what if it did ! It is not such a terri- ble thing to be hurt, if it is only for a mo- ment. A boy who can- not make up his mind to be hurt for a mo- ment, when it is ne- oess£Lry, is a cowardly boy. He ought immedi- ately to have stopped crying, and opened his mouth wide, so that his mother could tie the string, and jeik his tooth out. Then it would have been all over, and he could have gone back to play with his broth- ers and sisters. And, perhaps, they would have asked him about it, and said, Walter, did it hurt you much ? And he might have answered. Hurt me ! yes! indeed it did! I tell you ; but who cares for that? — Where's the rest of my ginger- bread ? Be brave, boys, be brave always, when it is necessary. Who is he that takes good care of his books, and makes them last a long time ? I will tell you who he is. He is the careful scholar. Would you like to become a good, great, and wise man ? Be sure, then, and begin while you are a boy. NINETY-FOURTH PAGE. The disobedient Rabbit. Beneath the ground There may be found, Sometimes, a little hole. Well burrowed out, Wound- round about| By rabbit or by mole. And in such nest, In happy rest. By whosoever sought her. There might be seen, The moss between, A rabbit, with her daughter. This little child. Not rude and wild, As many we may see, Was good and kind As you could find, Or wish yourself to be. %' One fault she had,— I'm very sad To tell you she had any; But few we know — I must say so— • Who have not very many. NINETY-FIFTH PAGE. . M When called away From work or play To do some thing or other. She'd often stay, Content to say, Yes, in a minute, mother. The mother knew Not what to do, To check so bad a habit; But she was taught Before she thought, This naughty little rabbit One day at rest. Within the nest, She quietly was dozing: On bed of hay She softly lay. In happy mood reposing; Then, suddenly And earnestly. She heard her mother call — Quick ! if you wait, 'Twill be too late For you to come at all! O dear! cried she, What can it be? NINSTY-OXTH PACHB. I wonder what's the hmry; My dear mamma. You always are In such a dreadful worry! But while she spoke, The ceiling broke, And hushed her foolish mirth; For, sad to tell, Plump down there fell A load of stones and earth. In woful plight. As dark as night. The fallen rabbit lay, Thinking, no doubt, Should she get out. Her mother she'd obey. But what to do She hardly knew; Held down by heavy stones, They fastened her, — She could not stir,-— And almost crushed her bones. Now from without She heard a shout!-— The weight was lightened some ; A ready hosti NINETY^-SEVENTH PAQE. m A score at most, Had to her rescue come. And when set free, How glad was she Once more the earth to treao, To see the light, And with delight To find she was not dead! And from that day, None heard her say, I'm coming in a minute;-— 'Twas very right That such a fright Should have a lesson in it About being rich. Frank, one day, said to his mother, Mother, I do not see why people want to be rich. I am sure it must be trouble- some. It is so, my dear, said his mother; but I what made, you think of that ? I'll teU you, mother. You know the quarter of a dollar that aunt Jane gave me ; I have been trying all day long to think how to spend it. I am sure I M NINETy-BIGHTH PA0B. do n't know what I should do if I had a great many hundred dollars. Well, my dear, you would be a hundred times more unhappy if you were so selfish as to wish to use it only for yourself. Kind-hearted Fanny. Fanny is a little girl, who tries to make herself useful to her moth». She is ready to run for any thing that is wanted, whether it is up stairs or down. Very often she asks her mother if there is any thing she would like to have her do. And when she knows any thing is wanted, she does not wait to» be told to get it One day, as soon as she knew her mother li^as thirsty, she went out of the room, not saying a word. She soon came back with a tumbler of fresh water in her hand, for her mother. At another time, when a neighbor in- vited the children to ride, there was room for all but one; I will stay at home with mother, said Fanny, and go some other time. I would much rather have you all go, than go myself Who could help lov ing such a kind-heart ed, obliging girl ? NINETY-^ONTO PACK* Boy and Lark. Who taught you to sing, My sweet. pretty birds? Who tuned your beautiful throats ? You make all the woods And the valleys to ring, You bring the first news Of the earliest spring. With your loud and silvery notes. Who painted your wings, My sweet pretty birds. And taught you to soar in the sky? It was God, said a lark, As he rose from the earth; He gives us the good we enjoy. He painted our wings. He gave us our voice. He finds us our food. He bids us rejoice; — Good morning, beautiful boy! Who is he that likes to have the scholars stand straight, and still, and in a row, when the class recites? I will tell you. He is the orderly scholar. IM ONE HUNDREDTH PAGE Perseverance. Here's a lesson all should heed— - Try, try, try again. If at first you do n't succeed, Try, try, try again. Let your courage well appear; If you only persevere, You will conquer — never fear — Try, try, try again ! Twice or thrice though you should fail, Try again. If at last you would prevail. Try again. When you strive, there 's no disgrace, Though you fail to win the race ; Bravely, then, in such a case. Try, try, try again ! Let the thing be e'er so hard. Try again. Time will surely bring reward — Try again. That which other folks can do. Why, with patience, may not you? Why^ with patience^ may not you ? Try, try, try aoain ! ONE HUNDRED AND FIRST PAGE. Ml 'Profane The Bible says, Swear not at alL Sometimes, as I pass along in the street, I hear boys swear. Evexy time I hear them, O! how those words seem to ring in nay ear— Swr^ar not at all! 1 never in my life heard a girl swear, and I hope I never shalL Swearing never does any good; it never makes any body wiser or happier. He who swears, shows that he keeps bad company. When I hear one using bad language, it is plain to me that he has been with vul- gar people*. 9» Suoearing. One day, a man was looking at a house, to see if it would do to move his family into it. It was a new house, and in a beautiful sit* nation. He liked it much, and thought he would hire it. But when he saw, close by there, a num- ber of children play- ing, and heard one of them using a very wicked word, — Then the man said to himself, This is no place for my children ; and he made up his mind not to take that house. Avoid the company of all who use bad lan- guage as you would the plague. 108 ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND PAafi. Conversation between Maria and Juiia. Ma/Ha. Julia, I wish you would come to our house to-mor- row afternoon. Julia. I will ask mother, when I go home, and see if she will let me. Maria, Do you think she will? Julia. She will, if it does not rain. Maria. O! do come, even if it does rain: I shall want you the more for that. Julia. K it should be very wet, mother will not be willing. Maria. I never like to have it rain. Julia. How can you say that, Maria! I think we ought to be very glad when it rains. Think how much good it does. Maria. I know it ; but then it is so dull, when the sun does not shine ! Julia. My father says, that the sun does shine all the time; only it is hid from us, sometimes, by the clouds. Maria. It does not shine all the time; not in the night, surely. Julia. Yes, it does, Maria ; it shines in the night, too. Maria. Then 1 should like to know what hides the sun in the night. Julia. It is the great, dark earth un- der our feet. Maria. I thought it must be something darker than a cloud. ONE HUNDRED AND THIRD PAGX. Vk Julia. Yes, we can 8ee when the clouds hide the sun ; but when the earth hides the sun, it is very dark. MoHa. Pray tell me, Julia, how it is that the earth hides the sun. Julia. The earth keeps turning round and round all the tim^ and carries us with it Sometimes, the side where we are is next to the sun ; and then it is day. But the earth keeps on turning, and soon brings this side away from the sun ; and then* it is night. Mana. WeU, I hope that the earth will turn to a good bright sun, to-mor- row ; so that you can come to our house. Julia. I hope so, too. Good-by. Maria. Grood-by, Julia. Henry and his Father. Upon his father's knee Was Henry's happy plac^e,: And, very thoughtfully. He looked up in his face. And these his simple words t Father, how cold it blows ! — > What 'comes of all the birds, Amidst the storms and snows? .104 ONE HUNDRED A}SD FOURTH PASS. They fly far, far away From storma, and snows, and rain ; But, Henry dear, next May, They'll all come back again. And will my flowers come too? The little fellow said; And all be bright and new That now looks cold and dead ? O! yes, dear; in the spring The flowers will all revive, The birds return and sing. And all be made alive. Who shows the birds the way. Father, that they must go. And brings them back in May, When there is no more snow ? And when no flowers are seen Upon the hill and plain, Who'll make it all so green. And bring the flowers again? My son, there is a Power, That none of us can see. Takes care of every flower. Gives life to eVery tree. ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTH PAOA IW He, through the pathless air. Shows little birds their way ; And we, too, are his care — He guards us night and day. Father, when people die, Will they come back in May ? Tears were in Henry's eye— • Will they, dear father, say? No, they will never come; We go to them, my boy; The good have all a home— > A home of endless joy. Upon his father's knee Still Henry kept his place; And, very thoughtfully. He looked up in his face. . The Sabhalh-Day. Let the Sabbath-day be blest, Day of joy and day of rest : God this blessed day has given. To prepare our souls for heaven. Gladly hear his holy word. Gladly learn the way to God. IM cam Ha^DRED and sixth PAOEi The Ten Commandments. I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 11. Thou sh^lt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that b in the earth be- neath, or that is in the water under the earth ; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I, the Lord. thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniqtiity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my command- ments in. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for the Lord-will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. IV. Hemember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou laboi and do all thy work ; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God ; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy mauHSiervant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that ia within thy gates ; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, ,the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the sev enth day ; wherefore thie • Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it. Honor thy father and ihj mother; ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTH PAGE. 107 that thy days may be long tfpon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. VI. Thoa shalt not kilL VII. Thoa shalt not commit »#tultery. VHL Thou shalt not steal IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neigh* bor. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house ; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maidnsiervant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. The Lord!s Prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory Amen. ^' oo so 'bo ?s K OQOQJDQ. ooqo J30! qOo OOo o°Oo 0(^ *^ nOO- This book should be returned to the Library on or before the last date stamped below. A fine of five cents a day is incurred by retaining it beyond the specified time. Please return promptly. r nose irl jump bn man quick niuu u ^ '>oy lazy gii^ on (3 fo^^^ three V tii ti • «S man jscirl bov
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"Who wrote the opera ""Les Troyens"" ?" | Performed in French with projected English translations
Performance running time: 4 hours 40 minutes including 2 intermissions
Les Troyens Opera Overview
“With touches of Homer, Shakespeare, and music like none ever written before... [Les Troyens] is the grandest French opera. Every performance is an occasion.”
- Los Angeles Times
The drama of the Trojan War, replete with heroes and tragedy, has captivated audiences from literature to film, and nowhere does it come to life more vividly than in French opera’s most astounding work, Les Troyens. Grand and glorious in its musical and dramatic breadth, this operatic retelling of Virgil’s Aeneid is rarely performed because of its enormous scale. Experience the tidal wave of sound from Lyric’s massive chorus and orchestra and the exciting ballet as this theatrical tour de force unfolds with a powerhouse cast. Sir Andrew Davis conducts this much-anticipated Lyric premiere that will draw opera lovers from all over the world!
Photo: Michael Cooper/Canadian Opera Company
#LyricTroyens
Les Troyens (The Trojans) Opera Resources
Les Troyens Post-Performance Audience Discussions: Stay after your matinee performance for a 30-minute talk with General Director Anthony Freud and artists from the production.
Synopsis
Part 1 — The Taking of Troy
The Greeks’ siege of Troy seems to have ended after ten years when they leave an enormous wooden horse, apparently as a parting gift, but the Trojan princess Cassandra prophecies disaster. She is proven correct: Greek soldiers emerge from the horse and wreak catastrophe on what remains of the city. The women of Troy join Cassandra in committing suicide rather than submit to the Greeks. The hero Aeneas escapes, ready to fulfill his destiny by founding a new Troy in Italy.
Part 2 — The Trojans at Carthage
Aeneas and his men lead Carthage’s army to victory in battle. Queen Dido of Carthage and Aeneas fall in love, but their idyll ends when the hero realizes that fate is too strong: he must leave for Italy. The despairing Dido mounts a funeral pyre and, after proclaiming the coming of a Carthaginian general (Hannibal) who will avenge her, she stabs herself with Aeneas’s sword. She dies envisioning Carthage’s eventual destruction at the hands of Rome, as her people curse Aeneas and his descendants.
ACT FIVE
ACT ONE
The Trojans are ecstatic to discover that the Greeks have apparently abandoned the siege of their city and sailed away. A huge wooden horse has been left outside the city gates, and everyone assumes this is an offering the Greek army has made to Pallas Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom.
Cassandra, daughter of Troy’s king, Priam, is beset by visions of destruction threatening Troy, and laments that her father and the people will not listen to her warnings. Cassandra’s betrothed, Chorebus, cannot convince her to join in the people’s celebrations. Instead she begs him to leave Troy before disaster strikes, but he refuses.
King Priam and Queen Hecuba lead the people in thanking the gods for the departure of the Greeks. Everyone is shocked at the despair of Andromache, the grieving widow of the fallen hero Hector. Then Aeneas, a Trojan warrior, brings awful news: the priest, Laocoön, believing the wooden horse was some kind of trick, pierced it with his spear and urged the Trojans to burn it, but moments later two sea serpents devoured him. Thinking that the serpents are a sign of Pallas Athena’s anger at Troy’s rejection of her gift, Aeneas leads the people to bring the horse into the city, despite Cassandra’s terrified feelings of foreboding.
ACT TWO
That night the ghost of Hector comes to Aeneas. He tells him that Greek soldiers have poured out of the wooden horse to take the city, that Troy is burning, and that Aeneas must escape to found a new city in Italy.
Cassandra convinces the terrified Trojan women that they must commit suicide, rather than be defiled and enslaved by the Greeks. When enemy soldiers appear, Cassandra and her companions kill themselves, consoled by the knowledge that Aeneas has escaped and that he will build a new Troy.
ACT THREE
The people of Carthage proclaim their devotion to Dido, their queen. She thanks them for their achievements in building a new city, while warning them that they face new threats from the neighboring King Iarbas, who is trying to force her into marriage. Anna, Dido’s sister, urges the reluctant queen, a widow, to fall in love again and provide Carthage with the king it needs.
A group of foreigners come to seek refuge in Carthage, just as King Iarbas begins his threatened invasion of Carthage. The foreigners’ leader reveals that he is Aeneas, and offers to help Dido defend her city. Leaving Ascanius, his son, in her care, he and his men go into battle alongside the Carthaginians.
ACT FOUR
Having defeated Iarbas’s army, Aeneas has remained in Carthage. He and Dido have fallen in love.
Anna dismisses the fears of Narbal, Dido’s chief adviser, who sees the queen giving herself up to pleasure and ignoring her duties, and who is well aware that Aeneas is destined to leave for Italy. Anna however is certain the lovers will marry and rule Carthage together.
Anna has arranged an entertainment to delight the lovers, but Dido is restless and nothing pleases her. She asks Aeneas to finish telling the story of Troy’s last days. He tells her how Andromache, Hector’s widow, finally agreed to marry the Greek prince who captured her at the fall of Troy. Dido feels that Andromache’s example releases her from her vow to stay faithful to the memory of her dead husband. Left alone under the night sky, Dido and Aeneas rejoice in their love.
ACT FIVE
Hylas, a young Trojan sailor, longs for his homeland, but most of the Trojans are impatient to set sail for Italy.
Aeneas has told Dido he must leave, but, still passionately in love, he dreads the final farewell. He is visited by the ghosts of Cassandra, Chorebus, Hector, and Priam, who order him to depart at once to found the new Trojan state.
Dido is enraged and in despair at the reality of Aeneas’ leaving. When he begs her to understand that although he loves her, he has no choice but to obey the gods, she curses him.
Once Aeneas has gone, Dido orders a pyre built in order to burn the gifts she and Aeneas have shared since his arrival in Carthage. Left alone, Dido prepares for death and bids farewell to her city.
The pyre is ready to be burned. In her despair, the queen prophesies the coming of a general from Carthage, Hannibal, who will one day take her revenge on Rome and Aeneas. Then, to everyone’s horror, she stabs herself. Envisioning Carthage destroyed by Rome, she dies crying “Rome…Rome… eternal,” as her people curse Aeneas and his descendants.
AT LAST AT LYRIC!
Berlioz's visionary masterwork Les Troyens is as epic as the poem that inspired it and the themes that drive the story. It requires years of planning, hundreds of hours of rehearsals, more than 225 performers, and a virtual army of technical and creative staff to present this monumental piece.
Staging an opera like this is a historic experience for Lyric, due to the sheer scale of the production. And operas of epic scale like Les Troyens need epic supporters — and we hope you will consider making a special gift and join the Trojans Circle.
Trojans Circle donors will have exclusive access to specific rehearsals, special events with cast and crew, and an opportunity to learn what goes into creating this ambitious new production.
We hope that you will be part of this extraordinary moment in our history and join the Trojans Circle.
| Hector Berlioz |
In the electromagnetic spectrum, which type of wavelength has the longest wavelength. It's main uses are in communication. | OPERA NEWS - Les Troyens
Les Troyens
Royal Opera
6/25/12
Anna Caterina Antonacci (downstage) as Cassandre in David McVicar's new production of Les Troyens at Covent Garden
© Bill Cooper 2012
Antonacci with Fabio Capitanucci as Chorèbe
© Bill Cooper 2012
Eva-Maria Westbroek as Didon, Bryan Hymel as Énée and Barbara Senator as Ascagne
© Bill Cooper 2012
The biggest throw of the Royal Opera's 2011–12 season, Berlioz's epic Les Troyens, opened on June 25 in a two-knight production directed by (newly knighted) Sir David McVicar and conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano. Toward the end of May the keenly anticipated staging suffered the withdrawal (as have some other recent events) of star tenor Jonas Kaufmann, due to sing Énée. He was replaced by American tenor Bryan Hymel, whose star is in the ascendant. The other main cast members remained as announced — Anna Caterina Antonacci as Cassandre and Eva-Maria Westbroek as Didon.
Four decades have passed since the company last presented Berlioz's entire five-act epic; Covent Garden had previously inscribed its name on the Berliozian annals by becoming the first house to stage the piece virtually complete in one evening (1957), an English-language production by John Gielgud that played under the baton of Rafael Kubelik. Subsequently, the work had become a speciality of former music director Colin Davis, in both the theater and the concert hall, as well as on disc. The current production had a lot to live up to.
It was certainly a partial success. McVicar and his designers, Es Devlin (sets) and Moritz Junge (costumes), provided a visual reference point in Berlioz's own time, the French Second Empire, when Napoleon III pursued a policy of national and colonial aggrandizement that ended with the almighty crash of the Franco–Prussian War of 1870 and the terrors of the Paris Commune of 1871. (Berlioz, who composed the piece in 1856–58, died in 1869.) Military uniforms and opulent period dresses distinguished the formal wear of the Trojan court as it paraded in to the strains of the famous Trojan March in Act I. Throughout the two acts of the drama's Trojan section, played in front of and within a mighty semi-circular metallic wall protecting the city of Troy, which was fatally prized open to allow the entrance of a monumental horse constructed from used weaponry, McVicar's stagecraft and direction were assured and incisive.
Both benefited from the outstanding individual performance of the evening, Antonacci's Cassandre. Grand and intense, her smoky, wide-ranging voice amply fleshed out the Trojan princess's baleful visions, her skilled use of physicality embodying the character's terrified isolation. She was strongly supported by Fabio Capitanucci's forthright Chorèbe, a portrayal boldly etched and sustained in a formidable, martial baritone. Adding to the evening's visual distinction, the dumb-show of Hector's widow Andromache and their son Astyanax was beautifully acted by Sophia McGregor and Sebastian Wright.
When the production moved on to Carthage after the first interval, McVicar's touch became altogether less assured. Initially, a use of warm Mediterranean colors in both the costuming and the vast layered cityscape representing the North African locale brought welcome contrast to the dour, dark-toned look of the developing Trojan disaster. But the stage picture became fixed at this point, varied only by the use of a plain drop curtain for Dido's great final scene that rose to reveal a rather meager-looking pyre for the queen to ascend. Episodes such as the Royal Hunt and Storm — a crucial moment in the narrative — and the ghostly reappearance of Énée's former fellow citizens, urging him on to Italy, were ineptly presented. The decorative Act IV ballet, poorly choreographed by Andrew George, seemed otiose. The reappearance of the Trojan Horse at the end of the final scene, now crowned with a semi-human head, was mystifying.
Westbroek's Didon, too, failed to match the all-round excellence of Antonacci's Cassandre. The part sounded low for her, its emotional warmth and dignity only partially realized in a presentation that registered as nervous and small-scale. She had able support from the engaged Anna of Polish mezzo Hanna Hipp and the lordly bass of Brindley Sherratt as her chief minister, Narbal. German mezzo Barbara Senator's lithe vocalism gave her Ascagne grace and charm.
The only character to sing in all five acts of the opera is Énée, in which role Hymel proved to be a more than creditable replacement for Kaufmann — an artist who now probably ranks as the opera world's favorite tenor. With high notes placed expertly and delivered with security, as well as a keenly focused overall approach that took on all the tension and drive of the character with complete confidence, Hymel came through with flying colors.
Pappano steered the music along with care and attention, if not quite the constant fire and electricity Berlioz demands. The result maintained excitement during the first two acts but fell short in the last three, which felt tepid and occasionally becalmed. Despite this, the standard of choral singing and orchestral playing remained high throughout the long evening.
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"Which chemical element, discovered in 1898 by Ramsay and Travers was given a Greek name associated with ""new thing"" ?" | Neon, Chemical Element - water, uses, elements, metal, gas, number, name, symbol
PRONUNCIATION
NEE-on
Neon has relatively few uses. The most familiar is neon lighting. Today, neon signs of every color, shape, and size exist. Neon signs are often filled with neon gas, but they may also contain other gases as well. The gas contained in the sign tube determines the color of light given off. The color given off by neon itself is reddish-orange.
Discovery and naming
It took humans centuries to understand air. At one time, philosophers thought air was an element. Among the ancient Greeks, for example, the four bask elements were air, fire, water, and earth.
The first research to disprove that idea was done in the 1770s. In that decade, two new elements were discovered in air: nitrogen and oxygen. For some time, chemists were convinced that these two gases were the only ones present in air. That idea is easy to understand. Between them, nitrogen and oxygen make up more than 99 percent of air.
But over time, chemists became more skilled at making measurements. They recognized that something else was in air besides nitrogen and oxygen. That "something else" accounted for the remaining one percent that is not nitrogen or oxygen. In 1894, a third element was discovered in air: argon. Argon makes up about 0.934 percent of air. So, nitrogen, oxygen, and argon together make up about 99.966 percent of air.
But what was responsible for the remaining 0.034 percent of air? Chemists knew that other gases must be present in very small amounts. But what were those gases?
That question was answered between 1895 and 1900. Five more inert gases were discovered in air. One of those was neon.
Detecting gases in very small amounts was very difficult in the 1890s. Equipment was often not good enough to capture a tiny fraction of a milliliter of gas. But a new method, called spectroscopy, was developed that "sees" even small amounts of an element. Spectroscopy is the process of analyzing the light produced when an element is heated. The light pattern, or spectrum, produced is different for every element. The spectrum (plural: spectra) consists of a series of very specific colored lines.
In 1898, Ramsay and Travers were studying the minute amount of gas that remained after oxygen, nitrogen, and argon had been removed from air. They heated the sample of gas and studied the spectrum produced by it. Ramsay and Travers found spectral lines they had never seen before. They described their discovery:
A computer-generated model of a neon atom.
The blaze of crimson light from the tube told its own story, and it was a sight to dwell upon and never to forget. It was worth the struggle of the previous two years; and all the difficulties yet to be overcome before the research was finished. The undiscovered gas had come to light in a manner which was no less than dramatic. For the moment, the actual spectrum of the gas did not matter in the least, for nothing in the world gave a glow such as we had seen.
Ramsay's son was one of the first people to hear about the discovery. He wanted to name the new element novum, meaning "new." His father liked the idea, but suggested using the Greek word for "new," neos. Thus, the element was named neon.
"The blaze of crimson light from the tube told its own story, and it was a sight to dwell upon and never to forget.'
Physical properties
Neon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas. It changes from a gas to a liquid at -245.92°C (-410.66°F) and from a liquid to a solid at -248.6°C (-415.5°F). Its density is 0.89994 grams
A man bends a glass tube that will be used for neon lighting. The completed, glowing tubes are in the background.
per liter. By comparison, the density of air is about 1.29 grams per liter.
Chemical properties
Neon is chemically inactive. So far, it has been impossible to make neon react with any other element or compound.
Occurrence in nature and Extraction
The abundance of neon in normal air is 18.2 parts per million (0.0182 percent).
Isotopes
Three isotopes of neon exist, neon-20, neon-21, and neon-22. Isotopes are two or more forms of an element. Isotopes differ from each other according to their mass number. The number written to the right of the element's name is the mass number. The mass number represents the number of protons plus neutrons in the nucleus of an atom of the element. The number of protons determines the element, but the number of neutrons in the atom of any one element can vary. Each variation is an isotope.
Three radioactive isotopes of neon are known also. A radioactive isotope is one that breaks apart and gives off some form
The neon lights of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the early 1990s.
of radiation. Radioactive isotopes are produced when very small particles are fired at atoms. These particles stick in the atoms and make them radioactive.
None of the radioactive isotopes of neon has any commercial application.
Extraction
Neon can be obtained from air by fractional distillation. The first step in fractional distillation of air is to change a container of air to a liquid. The liquid air is then allowed to warm up. As the air warms, each element in air changes from a liquid back to a gas at a different temperature. The portion of air that changes back to a gas at -245.92°C is neon.
Uses
The best known use of neon gas is in neon lights. A neon light consists of a glass tube filled with neon or some other inert gas. An electric current is passed through the tube. The electric current causes neon atoms to break apart. After a fraction of a second, the parts recombine. When they recombine, they give off neon light. The light produced is the light given off by the neon light.
Neon lighting was invented by French chemist Georges Claude (1870-1960). Claude displayed his first neon sign at the Paris Exposition of 1910. He sold the first neon advertising sign to a Paris barber two years later.
By the 1920s, neon lighting had become popular in many parts of the world. Neon lights were fairly inexpensive, lasted a long time, and were very attractive. Probably the most spectacular collection of neon lighting is in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hotels, night clubs, and restaurants seem to try to outdo everyone else in having the biggest and brightest neon sign.
Neon lighting is now used for many other purposes. For example, neon tubes are used in instruments used to detect electric currents. Neon is also used in the manufacture of lasers. A laser is a device for producing very bright light of a single color. Lasers now have many uses in industry and medicine. They are very efficient at cutting metal and plastic. They can also be used to do very precise kinds of surgery.
Compounds
| Neon (disambiguation) |
The battle for Stalingrad was one of the turning points of the second world war. Who was the commander of the Russian forces in this battle ? | Krypton»the essentials [WebElements Periodic Table]
Element News
Krypton: the essentials
Krypton is present in the air at about 1 ppm. The atmosphere of Mars contains a little (about 0.3 ppm) of krypton. It is characterised by its brilliant green and orange spectral lines. The spectral lines of krypton are easily produced and some are very sharp. In 1960 it was internationally agreed that the fundamental unit of length, the metre, should be defined as 1 m = 1,650,763.73 wavelengths (in vacuo) of the orange-red line of Kr-33.
Under normal conditions krypton is colourless, odourless, fairly expensive gas. Solid krypton is a white crystalline substance with a face-centered cubic structure which is common to all the "rare gases". Krypton difluoride, KrF2, has been prepared in gram quantities and can be made by several methods.
Image adapted with permission from Prof James Marshall 's (U. North Texas, USA) Walking Tour of the elements CD.
Krypton: historical information
Krypton was discovered by Sir William Ramsay, Morris W. Travers in 1898 at Great Britain. Origin of name : from the Greek word "kryptos" meaning "hidden".
Krypton was discovered in 1898 by Sir William Ramsay and his student Morris Travers in the residue left after liquid air had nearly boiled away. Krypton was left in the residue after boiling away water, oxygen, nitrogen, helium, and argon from the sample of air. Krypton is present in the air at about 1 ppm. Neon was discovered by a similar procedure by the same workers just a few weeks later.
Krypton around us
Read more »
Krypton has no biological role.
Krypton is present in the air to the extent of about 1 ppm. The atmosphere of Mars contains a little krypton (about 0.3 ppm).
Abundances for krypton in a number of different environments. More abundance data »
Location
Second ionisation energy : 2350.4 kJ mol‑1
Isolation
Isolation : krypton is present to a small extent (about 1 ppm by volume) in the atmosphere and is obtained as a byproduct from the liquefaction and separation of air. This would not normally be carried out in the laboratory and krypton is available commercially in cylinders at high pressure.
Krypton isotopes
Read more »
Krypton isotopes are used in various medical and scientific applications. Kr-82 is used for the production of Rb-81/Kr-81m generators. Many of the stable isotopes of Krypton are used in the study of the pulmonary system. Kr-78 can be used for the production of Br-75 although production of Br-75 via Se-76 is more common. Kr-86 has been used to define the standard measure of length: 1 meter is exactly 1,650,763.73 wavelengths of this isotope.
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Which guitarist was awarded an O.B.E. In January 1995 ? | Guitar Player Magazine Backissues
Guitar Player Magazine Backissues
Hard To Find Magazine Backissues
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Please Note: Prices are for magazine backissues only...add postage at bottom of list
Item
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in stock
September 1970 - JOSE FELICIANO
Guitar Player September 1970....Volume 4, No. 6
Articles on Jose Feliciano, Pros on Amps, Travelling Quicksilver, Varying Attack Time, Speakers: An Integral Element, Amplifier Maintenance, Power Ratings, etc
Very Good Complete Condition. No mailing label. (C)
in stock
October 1970 - PHIL OCHS
Guitar Player October 1970....Volume 4, No. 7
Articles on Phil Ochs, Bill Haley and Bo Diddley, Barney Kessel, Clapton's Guitar, Guitar in College, Damage Part II,Full Page ads from Guild, Sho-Bud, Kustom, etc
Very Good Complete Condition. No mailing label. (C)
in stock
December 1970 - STRING SYMPOSIUM
Guitar Player December 1970....Volume 4, No. 8
Articles on Mason Williams, Jimmy Stewart,String Symposium, John Mayall, Happy Traum, Chet Atkins, Full Page Ads by Guild, Ludwig Phase II Synthesizer, Gretsch Chet Atkins models, Goya, Sigma, Espana, etc
Very Good Condition. (C)
February 1971 - CHUCK BERRY
Guitar Player February 1971....Volume 5, No. 1
Articles on Chuck Berry Interview, John Hartford, The Ventures, Reese Anderson, Tony Mottola, Pros on Picks, Strings Part 2, Sam Ash Stores, Full page Martin guitar ad (featuring Mike Longworth), Kustom Gretsch Chet Atkins, Ovation (Glen Campbell), Ludwig,etc
Very Good Condition. (C)
March 1971 - ANNUAL ARTIST ISSUE
Guitar Player March 1971.... Volume 5, No. 2
Includes: Jerry Reed, Carlos Montoya, John Lee Hooker, Ry Cooder, Hoyt Axton, Dave Van Ronk , Buddy Merrill, Jerry Hahn, Pentangle, full page ads,etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front. (B)
in stock....
April 1971 - JERRY GARCIA
Guitar Player April 1971....Volume 5, No. 3
Articles on Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead, Jim Fielder, Speedy West, Navy Guitarists, Malvina Reynolds, Guitar in Schools , Flamenco Pt 1, Full Page ads by Fender (P-bass), Ovation (Glen Campbell), etc
Very Good Condition. (B)
June 1971 - SEGOVIA
Guitar Player June 1971.... Volume 5, No. 4
Articles on Segovia, Mike Bloomfield, John Fogerty, Guitar Making, Puerto Rico Guitar, Flamenco Pt 2, Strings, Full Page ads by Goya, Fender, Gretsch, Espana, Martin (Vega banjo), Guild (amps) etc
Very Good Condition. Label on front. (B)
in stock....
August 1971 - TERRY KATH
Guitar Player August 1971....Volume 5, No. 5
Includes: Michael Bloomfield, Part II, Terry Garthwaite, Terry Kath, Woody and Arlo, Leon Rhodes, Sabicas, cool full page ads,etc
Good Condition. (B)
September 1971 - SPECIAL GUITAR ISSUE
Guitar Player September 1971....Volume 5, No. 6
Includes: Leo Fender, Klaus Roder, Pros on Axes, Woods (Richard Schneider & Fred Gerlach), The Martin Factory tour ,etc
Good Condition.
October 1971 - JULIAN BREAM / ALVIN LEE
Guitar Player October 1971...Volume 5, No. 7.
Includes: Julian Bream, Alvin Lee, Peter Cetera, Farina & Jans, Gene Leis, Bottleneck ,etc
Very Good Condition. (C)
December 1971 - FOLK GUITAR IN BRITAIN
Guitar Player December 1971....Volume 5, No. 8
Articles on Joan Baez, Folk Guitar in Britain, Dobro History, Martin Barre, Bassists Surveyed, Sonny Curtis,A New Wizard,etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front. (D)
in stock....
February 1972 - CHET ATKINS' OWN STORY
Guitar Player February 1972....Volume 6, No. 1
Includes: Chet Atkins (part 1 of his story), Jimmy Bryant, Segovia/Oribe, Build The Ping Pong, John Lee Hooker, Stu Cook (Creedence) , etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front.
in stock....
March 1972 - ANNUAL ARTIST ISSUE
Guitar Player March 1972....Volume 6, No. 2
Includes: Chet Atkins, James Burton, Jerry Byrd, Roy Buchanan, Leo Kottke, Jesse Fuller, Carol Kaye, Oscar Ghiglia, etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front.(D)
in stock....
April 1972 - MOUNTAIN -LESLIE WEST/FELIX PAPPALARDI
Guitar Player April 1972....Volume 6, No. 3
Articles on The Romeros, MOUNTAIN..Leslie West & Felix Pappalardi, John Fahey, Elvin Bishop, Billy Bauer,Dawn of The Steel Guitar, Classical Gas notation, etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front.
in stock....
Guitar Player May 1972....Volume 6, No. 4
Plus: Pete Townshend, Grant Green, Andy Kulberg, Mundell Lowe, Barney Kessel, Guitar on TV, etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front. (B)
in stock....
April 1973 - STEVE HOWE
Guitar Player April 1973....
Articles on Steve Howe, Luthiers Of Spain, Jose Ramirez III, Big Bill Broonzy, Jorge Santana, Jim Croce, Robert Guthrie , etc
Very Good complete condition. no mailing label... (D)
in stock....
May 1973 - SERRANITO
Guitar Player May 1973....Vol. 7 No. 4
Includes: The Gibson Les Paul - It's Beginnings (by Les Paul), Meet Bobby Black of Commander Cody, Chris Donald of Sha Na Na, The Impro II, Duane Allman Tribute, Serranito-Flamenco Master, Music For Jazz Guitar, "Waltz For Django" by Frank Evans, two-page GIBSON ad for Les Paul Recording guitar and bass with flex-disc demo! etc
Very Good + Condition. No Mailing label.. (D)
in stock....
Guitar Player July 1973....Vol. 7 No. 5
Includes: The Grateful Dead's Gear, Brewer and Shipley, Guitar Notation, Ritchie Blackmore, Wes Montgomery, etc
Very Good complete condition. No Mailing label..(E)
in stock....
July 1974 - EARL SCRUGGS
Guitar Player July 1974....Volume 8 No. 7
Includes Robben Ford, Flamenco Part II, Sal Salvador, Guitar Repair, rory Gallagher, Earl Scruggs, Guitar Glossary, etc
VG condition, No mailing label.. (E)
in stock....
August 1974 - JOHNNY WINTER
Guitar Player August 1974....Volume 8 No. 7
Includes Skip James Blues Great, Flamenco Technique III, Artificial Reincarnation, Lloyd Green, Scotty Moore, Johnny Winter, etc
VG condition, no mailing label (C)
in stock....
September 1974 - GREG LAKE
Guitar Player September 1974....Volume 8 No. 9
Includes Irving Ashby, Peggy Malone, Lenny Breau, Guitar In School, Greg Lake, New At NAMM, etc
VG condition, no mailing label (E)
in stock....
April 1975 - PAUL SIMON
Guitar Player April 1975....Volume 9 No. 4
COVER PAGE LISTINGS: ... Paul SIMON ~At Guitar Study Center; Eldon Shamblin ~Western Swing Great; Bill Kirchen ~Of Commander Cody; Michael Howell ~Fingerstyle Jazz; Peter Lang ~A Pro Replies; Treble Booster ~Build Your Own; Free Martin D-18 ~GP Giveaway #3...
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... Michael Howell, Finger style jazz master; Eldon Shamblin, Of Bob Wills Fame; Bill Kirchen, Commander Cody lead guitar; Treble Booster, Build Your own; Tony Zemaitis, Luthier to Clapton, Harrison, etc.; Paul SIMON, A Guitar Study Center workshop.. ...
COLUMNS ... Peter Lang: A Pro Replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Howard Roberts: Around The Melody; B.B. King, Advisory board tips; Happy Traum: Fiddle Tunes II; Jerry Hahn: Augmented Patterns; Bob Baxter: Playing Backup; Jimmy Stewart: Minor Scales; Stefan Grossman: Miss. John Hurt; Barney Kessel: Answers questions. ...
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Album notes; Alembic report; It's new; Bulletins....
SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES ...Thad Maxwell (Randall); Curly Chalker, Buddy Emmons ,Jerry Reed (Peavey); transcription for Paul Simon's AMERICAN TUNE ; Dave Nelson (Ovation), Gibson Grabber Bass (color), loads of cool advertisements and articles...
Very Good Complete Condition (F)
Price $13.50
May 1975 - JAN AKKERMAN
Guitar Player May 1975....Volume 9 No.5
Jan Akkerman, Of Holland' Focus; Amos Garrett, From Butterfield On; Bill Harris, Jazz Master; John Martyn, British Fingerpicker; The SJ 200, Country Classic; George Kooymans, Of Golden Earring; Free Framus Guitar, GP Giveaway #4. ...
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... Bill Harris, From The Clovers to the classics; The SJ 200 Super Jumbo, The history of a western hero; Amos Garrett, Butterfield, Chuck, Muldaur, etc; Sing Out, That Magazine's first quarter century; John Martyn, Britain's leading folk picker; Blue Bear Waltzes, Another unusual guitar school; Jan Akkerman, Holland's great rocker. ...
COLUMNS ... George Kooymans: A Pro Replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Barney Kessel: Advisory board tips; Bob Baxter: Flat picking practice; Chuck Rainey: Modern bass; Stefan Grossman: Ragtime guitar; Howard Roberts: Melodic Continuity; Jerry Hahn: Diminished scales; Jimmy Stewart: Chromatic Progression; Happy Traum: Strictly Folk. ...
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Album Notes; Alembic Report; Bookpicking; It's New SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES...Hoyt Axton, A&M
Good Condition with normal wear. (C)
Price $15.00
June 1975 - JOE WALSH
Guitar Player June 1975....Volume 9 No. 6
COVER PAGE: ... Joe WALSH; Tal Farlow; Oswald Kirby; Hector Garcia; Bill Withers; Free Sho-Bud Steel, GP Giveawy #5. ...
INSIDE COVER STORIES Arch-Top Collecting, One man's experiences; Hector Garcia, Fostering Classical Guitar; Brother Oswald Kirby, The Dobro Great; Tal Farlow, The name means jazz guitar; Joe Walsh, James Gang, Barnstorm and beyond; Classroom Guitar, Never in your wildest dreams. ...
COLUMNS ... Bill Withers: A Pro Replies; Rusty Young: Steel Symposium; Charlie Byrd: Advisory board tips; Bob Baxter: Quickie Lead Sheets; Chuck Rainey: Modern Bass; Stefan Grossman: Ragtime Guitar, II; Howard Roberts: Fingerboard Study; Jerry Hahn: Diminished Scales; Jimmy Stewart: Modulation; Happy Traum: Delmore Brothers; Alembic Repoert: Les Paul & Strats. ..
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; It's New. ... SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES ... Dave Nelson, Ovation; Herb Ellis, Mastercord; Larry Coryell, Mu-Tron III
Very Good Condition, mailing label on front.
Price $17.50
Guitar Player July 1975....Volume 9 No. 7
COVER PAGE: ... Stanley Clarke, Randy Bachman, Gabor Szabo, The Stromberg History, Latin America's Guitar Heritage ...
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... The Picks of Rock & Roll (Who uses What), Bee Houston (On Blues Guitar)
COLUMNS ... Stefan Grossman: A Pro Replies; Rusty Young: Steel Symposium; Howard Roberts: Advisory board tips; Bob Baxter: Quickie Lead Sheets II; Chuck Rainey: Modern Bass; Stefan Grossman: Ragtime Guitar, II; Jerry Hahn: Scale Arpeggio Patterns I; Jimmy Stewart: Ear Training, IX; Happy Traum: More Delmore Brothers; Alembic Report: GMT/Gallien. ..
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; It's New. ... SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES ... RANDALL, Yamaha, Tascam, Leo Kotke (Buffalo Pickup), Ampeg, Sigma Guitars, Maestro, Alvarez, etc...
Very Good Condition, no mailing label (B)
$17.50
August 1975 - RICK DERRINGER
Guitar Player August 1975....Volume 9 No. 8
COVER PAGE LISTINGS: ..Rick DERRINGER, Rock Powerhouse; Jack Bruce, Bass Guitar Great; The Haggertys, Terry and Frank; Lee Ritenour, Watch For Him; Brian May, A Pro Replies; Free Mossman Guitar, GP Giveaway #7; Hound Dog Taylor, British Folkie...
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... Hound Dog Taylor, Sliding the blues; Lee Ritenour, From studio to concert stage; Fostering Classical guitar, The guitar foundation of America; Mike Longworth, Martin's guitar historian; Jack Bruce, Master bass guitarist; Two generations of great guitar, Terry and Frank Haggerty; Rick Derringer, Rock and roll powerhouse..
COLUMNS ... Brian May: A Pro Replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Larry Coryell: Advisory board tips; Bob Baxter: Barred Chrods; Chuck Rainey, Modern Bass guitar; Stefan Grossman, Ragtime guitar, iv; Howard Roberts: Melodic suspension, II; Jerry Hahn: Scales, Arpeggios, patterns, II; Jimmy Stewart- Ear training; Happy Traum- Fingerpicking fiddle tunes; Alembic report: Chords cables connections. ... OTHER COLUMNS ... Leters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Album notes; It's new
SOME FULL PAGE AD FEATURES ...Jefferson Kewley, Randall; Loggins & Messina, Ovation; Eric Clapton, Music Man Fender's love machine; Jeff Beck, Univox; the Rolling Tones, maestro; backcover, Gibson, Jack Bruce.
VG condition, mailing label on back.
$19.50
September 1975 - JIMI HENDRIX
Guitar Player September 1975....Volume 9 No. 9
COVER PAGE LISTINGS: ..JIMI HENDRIX, The GP special edition with contributions by John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, Johnny Winter, Les Paul, Mike Bloomfield, John Hammond...and others
Plus...Rare Interviews, Jimi's Technique, His Equipment, Unique Photos, INCLUDES original soundsheet!
Loads of great full page ads too...unbelievable Ibanez color inside cover ad but, of course, the focus here is Jimi.
VG condition, mailing label on back.
in stock....
October 1975 - DAVE MASON
Guitar Player October 1975....Volume 9 No. 10
COVER PAGE LISTINGS: .Dave MASON, A Rock Departure; Al DiMeola, Of Return To Forever; Rey de la Torre, Classical Master; Larry Taylor, Bass Guitar Wizard; Charlie Daniels, A Pro Replies; Free Hagstrom Guitar, GP Giveaway #9; Inlaying, A Detailed Guide...
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... Al DiMeola, Of Return To Forever; Rey De La Torre, A true classical master; Larry Taylor, Bass Guitar for Canned Heat, Mayall, etc.; New At NAMM '75, Meet 1976's new products; The Art Of Inlaying, A detailed introduction; Annual Guitar Poll Ballot, A chance to pay tribute to the best; Dave Mason, The pop star as master guitarist...
COLUMNS ... Charlie Daniels: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Larry Coryell: Advisory board tips, part II; Bob Baxter: Capos; Chuck Rainey: Modern bass guitar; Stefan Grossman: Ragtime guitar, part v; Howard Roberts: Melodic suspension, III; Jerry Hahn: Patterns for improvisation; Jimmy Stewart: Ear training, part xi; Happy Traum: Fingerpicking fiddle tunes; Alembic Report: Product tests ... OTHER COLUMNS ...Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Bookpicking; Album notes; It's new.
SOME FULL PAGE AD FEATURES ...Bob Weir, Ibanez; Rick Petrone, Randall; Howard Roberts, Playback; Herb Ellis, Mastercord.
VG condition, mailing label on back.
$19.50
November 1975 - JOHN ENTWISTLE
Guitar Player November 1975....Volume 9 No. 11
COVER PAGE LISTINGS: ..John Entwistle, Bass for "The Who" , Robt. Jr. Lockwood (Still In The Blues); Jeff Beck (Stretching Out); Eddie Condon ( A Recollection); Jim Stafford (Behind TV's Star); Roy Clark (His Rare Guitars);
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... Guitar In Africa, see also cover page listings.
COLUMNS ... Joe Byrd: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Stanley Clarke: Advisory board tips; Bob Baxter: Transposing; Chuck Rainey: Modern bass guitar; Stefan Grossman: Mance Lipscomb; Howard Roberts: Sonic Shapes; Jerry Hahn: Scales & Arpeggios; Jimmy Stewart: Ear training, part XII; Happy Traum: "Gypsy Davey" pt I; Alembic Report: Three Guitar Factories... OTHER COLUMNS ...Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Bookpicking; Album notes; It's new.
SOME FULL PAGE AD FEATURES ... Bob Weir, Ibanez; Waylon Jennings, Randall; Jerry Reed for Peavey, Music Man amps, HOhner guitars, Roland effects, SYairi guitars, Yamaha guitars, Guild guitars, etc....
VG condition, mail label back cover..
$19.50
December 1975 - RON WOOD
Guitar Player December 1975....Volume 9 No. 12
COVER PAGE: Ron WOOD, Faces to Stones; Michael Lorimer, Visits USSR; Ralph Towner, Of Oregon; Pickups, Most Frequent Questions; Free Randall Amp, GP Giveaway #11; Reggie Young, Studio Great; Guitar Poll Results, 1975 Winners
INSIDE COVER STORIES: Ralph Towner, Jazz classicist of Orego; Reggie Young, Studio main man; Pickups, 10 most frequent questions; Michael Lorimer, First UUSR Tour; Ron Wood, Of Faces and Stones; 75 Guitar Poll Results, The 13 winners for this year
COLUMNS: Laurie Wisefield: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Chuck Rainey: Modern bass guitar; Stefan Grossman, Spoonful; Howard Roberts: More sonic shapes; Bob Baxter: Constructing chords; Jerry Hahn: Rhythm changes; Jimmy Stewart: Transcribing from LP's; Happy Traum: Gysy Davey, part II
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Album notes; Bookpicking; It's New
SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEAURES: Randy Scruggs & Carl Perkins, Ibanez; Johnny Tillotson & John Beland, Randall; Bob Gallien & Rich Krueger; Walcott & McCandless & Moore & Towner, Guild; Conway Twitty, Shure; Leo Kottke, Capitol; Elton John Band, Peavey
PICTURES OF 75 Artists of the year: John McLaughlin; Jeff Beck; Julian Beam; Leo Kottke; Roy Clark; Carlos Montoya; Eric Clapton; Jose Feliciano
VG condition, mailing label on back.
$19.50
January 1976 - STEPHEN STILLS
Guitar Player January 1976....Volume 10 No. 1
.........COVER PAGE: Stephen STILLS, Interview; Mickey Baker, R&B great; Buck Dharma, Blue Oyster Cult; Vibrato Tailpieces, past, present future; Maria Sao Marcos, Classical Guitar Great; Tom Brumley, Steel Star; Free Alembic Guitars, GP Giveaway
...INSIDE COVER STORIES: Mickey Baker, Expatriot R&B great; Maria Livia Sao Marcos, European classical standout; Buck Dharma, Of Blue Oyster Cult; Guitar As A Career, Meet producers who know; Tom Brumley, The Stone Canyon band steel; The Vibrato Tailpiece, It's past, present and future; Stephen Stills, Performer and collector; Flamenco Technique, Introducing the farruca
...COLUMNS: Artie Traum: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Jerry Hahn: Progressive blues; Bob Baxter: Head, Gears, Strings; Howard Roberts: Sonic Shapes; Stefan Grossman: Alternating bass; Jimmy Stewart: Guitar from Records, II; Happy Traum: Little Sadie; Chuck Rainey: Modern bass guitar; Alembic Report: Echo devices
...OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Album notes; It's new
...SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES: Randy Scruggs & Carl Perkins, Ibanez; Stull & Rucker & Densmore & Richman, Randall; Bob Gallien & Rich Krueger; Loretta Lynn, Shure; Lynyrd Skynyrd, Peavey
Good complete condition... normal wear. (D)
Price $16.50
February 1976 - ELVIN BISHOP
Guitar Player February 1976....Volume 10 No. 2
.........COVER PAGE: Elvin BISHOP, Good Time Guitar; Bola Sete, By John Fahey; John Abercrombie, New Jazz Star; Tim Schmit, Bass For Poco; Slide Guitar, Some Hints; Free Ibanez Guitar, GP Giveaway #13; Otis Rush, Chicago Blues Guitar
...INSIDE COVER STORIES: Bola Sete, A personal view; Otis Rush, Chicago blues great; John Abercrombie, New jazz guitar wizard; Tim Schmit, Bass guitarist for Poco; Slide guitar tunings, A brief exploration; Musing with Glen, Advisory board tips by Glen Cambell; Luthiers of the Philippines, An entire town's livelihood; The D'Addarios, Eight generations of string makers; Elvin Bishop, Letting the good times roll
...COLUMNS: Jerry Donahue: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Chuck Rainey: Chording, III; Happy Traum: No depression blues; Jimmy Stewart: Tribute to Eddie Lang; Stefan Grossman: Alternating bass, II; Howard Roberts: Fingerboard dexterity; Box Baxter: The guitar nut; Jerry Hahn: Comping
...OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Album notes; It's new; Questions
...SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES: Marlo Henderson, Ibanez; Jessi, Randall; Merle HAGGARD, Norlin; Bob Gallien_Rich Krueger; Dave Mason, Ovation; Montrose, Badass; Eric Clapton, Music Man
Good complete condition...mailing label back cover.. (C)
Price $16.50
March 1976 - RICHARD BETTS
Guitar Player March 1976....Volume 10 No. 3
.........COVER PAGE: Cover and feature story is on Richard Betts. Great cover photo of Betts. Also includes: Lute Construction, Luther Allison (Blues Guitar Boss), Craig Chaquico/Neal Schon, The Harpguitar, Dave Laibman,etc.
Marlo Henderson (with Minnie Riperton) in full page inside cover ad for Ibanez Artwood Twin (6-12 double neck guitar). Cool Gretsch ad with Chet Atkins, Pat Metheny-Mick Goodrick, Alvarez full page ad,, Jim Messina full page ad for Ovation Guitars...tons of great ads and articles...
Good condition...mailing label back cover... (C)
Price $16.50
April 1976 - JOE PASS
Guitar Player April 1976....Volume 10 No. 4
.........COVER PAGE: Joe Pass, Jazz Virtuoso; Hawaii, GP special Section; Leland Sklar, LA Studio Bassist; College, Guitar Programs; Carl Wilson, Beach Boy; Jerry Byrd, Hawaii Called; Free Woodson Mixer, GP Giveaway #15
INSIDE COVER STORIES: Guitar in Hawaii A GP Special: Introduction, The State of Guitar in Hawaii, The Hawaiian Music Foundation, Slack Key: Unique guitar style, Slack Key Discography \ Opihi Moemoe, Jerry Byrd: Hawaii Called; Carl Wilson, Beach Boy guitarist; Lee Sklar, Busy LA Bass Guitarist; College Guitar Programs, A personal overview; Joe Pass, Hottest name in jazz guitar
COLUMNS: Trevor White: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Jeff Baxter: Customizing your strat; Craig Anderton: Electronics; Stefan Grossman, Raggin the blues; George Gruhn: Collectible, part I; Jimmy Stewart: Charlie Christian; Michael Lorimer: Segovia, part II; Howard Roberts: Major scale patterns; Bob Baxter: Adjusting the bridge; Jerry Hahn: Techniques & More exercises; Chuck Rainey: Phrasing part I
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Album notes; It's new; Questions
...SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES: Marlo Henderson, Ibanez; Krieger - Stull - Densmore - Rucker - Richman, Randall; Ralph Johnson & Freddie White, Tama; Chick Corea, Kustom; John Davidson, Shure. ...
VG condition...no mailing label (B).
in stock....
November 1976 - DJANGO!
Guitar Player November 1976....Volume 10 No. 11
...COVER PAGES: DJANGO! -a GP special-guitar legend Django Reinhardt, Django Reinhardt recalled, In Reinhardt's Footsteps, Django's Far-Reaching Impact, Form DSP-33, A Reinhardt Discography, plus Ted Nugent,Denny Dias, Lowell Fulson, Flamenco Guitar In Spain, Bud Isaacs, Taking Care Of Business and more
Good complete condition, no mailing label..
Price $16.50
December 1976 - ROBERTSON/DANKO
Guitar Player December 1976....Volume 10 No. 12
COVER PAGES: Robertson/Danka, mainstays of "The Band"; '76 Poll results; Jimmy Reed, Blues Big Boss Man; Max Bennett,Jazz and Rock Bassist: Paul Yandell, Chet's Nashville Favorite; Tony Rizzi and his five guitarists
Good complete condition, no mailing label
Price $16.50
September 1977 - ALBERT KING
Guitar Player September 1977....Volume 11 No. 9
Albert KING, one of a kind Blues great; Monk Montgomery, Hank Marvin, Namm '77, Scotty's Steel Convention, Larry Cragg, Electric Bass Pioneer; Dave Davies, of "The Kinks"; Joe Beck, Jazz Rocker
Good complete condition, no mailing label..
Price $14.50
October 1977 - TODD RUNDGREN
Guitar Player October 1977....Volume 11 No. 10
Todd RUNDGREN, space age guitarist; Gary Richrath, of "R.E.O. Speedwagon"; Gene Bertoncini, New York Studio Mainstay; Miguel Abloniz, Classical Guitar Mentor; Jazz Chords, altered and extended
Good complete condition. no mailing label..
Price $14.50
November 1977 - KEITH RICHARD
Guitar Player November 1977....Volume 11 No. 11
...COVER PAGES: Keith RICHARD - Rolling Stones Great Guitarist; John Sebastian ; Tony Mottola; Phil Lesh; Phoebe Snow ; The Who's Sound System, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Honest Tom Pomposello, Eliminating Feedback,etc...
Good complete condition. no mailing label.. (B)
Price $14.50
December 1977 - LES PAUL
Guitar Player December 1977....Volume 11 No. 12
...COVER PAGES: Les PAUL, an exclusive interview with a pioneer of the solidbody guitar; plus '77 Poll results; Women & Guitar; The Outlaws, Vincente Gomez, Tony Rice, Funkadelic, New york's session men..etc...
VG condition. no mailing label.. (B)
in stock....
Guitar Player January 1978....Volume 12 No. 1
......Domenic Troiano, Arranging For Guitar, Noel Boggs, G.I.T., Mike Elliott, Barrios, Steve Miller, etc
Good Condition, No mailing label...
Price $12.50
March 1979 - JOE PERRY
Guitar Player March 1979....Volume 13 No.3
Articles on Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, J.B. Hutto, Wireless Transmitters, Steve Khan, The Carter Family, etc.
Good Condition. No Mailing label. (B)
Price $14.50
April 1979 - MIKE BLOOMFIELD
Guitar Player April 1979....Volume 13 No.4
Articles on Michael Bloomfield, Bootsy Collins, Avant-Garde Guitar, Wilbert Longmire, Stefan Grossman, John Renbourn, Juan Martin, Buying the Right Guitar, etc.
VG condition. No Mailing label.
in stock....
May 1979 - LARRY CARLTON
Guitar Player May 1979....Volume 13 No.5
Articles on Larry Carlton, David Gilmour, Alice Artzt, Lonnie Mack's "Memphis", Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Weldon Myrick, Flamenco Today In Spain, Sonny Greenwich, etc.
Very good condition. No Mailing label.
Price $17.50
June 1979 - HOWARD ROBERTS
Guitar Player June 1979....Volume 13 No.6
Articles on Howard Roberts, David Briggs, Guitar Warranties, Pete Carr, James Jamerson, Guitar Woods, Eric Schoenberg, etc.
Cover in rough condition with some tearing at staples and rips..rest is good and complete
Price $9.50
July 1979 - GEORGE BENSON
Guitar Player July 1979....Volume 13 No.7
Articles on George Benson, Mark Knopfler, Guitar Attachments, Roy Bookbinder, The Vintage Guitar Market, Brian Jeffery, Guitar Research Engineers, Leon Gaer, Expanding Technique, Phil Upchurch,, etc.
Very good condition. Thick issue...cover is loose at staples. (B)
Price $14.50
August 1979 - TED NUGENT
Guitar Player August 1979....Volume 13 No.8
. Articles on Ted Nugent, Albert Collins, American Institute Of Guitar, Steve Burgh, Corrective Nail Filing, Robbie Shakespeare, Built-In Bass Preamps, Eddie Durham, Stereos As Amps, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label.
Price $14.50
September 1979 - MICK RALPHS
Guitar Player September 1979....Volume 13 No.9
Articles on Mick Ralphs, Tim bogert, 8-String Guitar, Arlen Roth, Poll Ballot, Eric Gale, Pedal Steel Guitar, John Scofield, Travis Picking Variations, Paul rodgers, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label.
Price $9.50
October 1979 - CHET ATKINS
Guitar Player October 1979....Volume 13 No.10
Articles on Chet Atkins, Waddy Wachtel, The Guitar Cord, Ray Parker,Jr, Namm Expo '79, Carmen Marina, Howie Collins, Guitar Books, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label. (D)
Price $24.50
November 1979 - RICK NIELSEN
Guitar Player November 1979....Volume 13 No.11
Articles on Rick Nielsen, Brothers Johnson, Electric Guitar in Country Music, Albert Valdez Blain, Greg Douglass, Renwick Gallery, Ryo Kawasaki, Performance Theory, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label.
Price $14.50
December 1979 - NANCY WILSON/ROGER FISHER of HEART
Guitar Player December 1979....Volume 13 No.12
Articles on Roger Fisher, Howard Leese, Nancy Wilson, Steve Fossen, Son Seals, Harmonic Analysis, Ben Benay, Western Swing Steel, Attila Zoller, Poll Results, Fylde Guitars, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label.
OUT
January 1980 - PAT TRAVERS
Guitar Player January 1980....Volume 14 No.1
Articles on Pat Travers, Pat Thrall, Grant Geissman, Problems Of Tall Guitarists, Sea Level, GP's 13-year artist index, Bucky Barrett, Teaching Blind Guitarists, etc.
Very good complete condition (E)
Price $14.50
February 1980 - TOMMY TEDESCO
Guitar Player February 1980....Volume 14 No.2
Articles on Tommy Tedesco, Mick Taylor, Guitar Synthesizer Update, Michael Newman, Chicago Sessiona Guitarists, Arvella Gray, Bass Popping Techniques, Monnette Sudler, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label.
Price $14.50
March 1980 - RY COODER
Guitar Player March 1980....Volume 14 No.5
Articles on Ry Cooder, Larry Graham, AIR-Directed Movement, Winnie Winston, Herb Ellis Guitar Seminar, Nashville, Charts, Guitar Kits & Parts, etc.
Good Condition, NO Mailing label.
Price $14.50
November 1982 - RANDY RHOADS REMEMBERED
Guitar Player November 1982....Volume 16 No.11
Randy Rhoads, Careers: Method Books, Guitar Player Giveaway #2, David Hood, Top Of The Line, II, George Sakellariou, New Gear '82, Mike Stern,etc.... Rare Bird- Gibson One Of A Kind Double Neck....
VG condition, mailing label bottom left front
in stock....
December 1982 - ALLAN HOLDSWORTH
Guitar Player December 1982....Volume 16 No.12
Allan Holdsworth, Inner-City Guitar, Bridges & Tailpieces, Eric Johnson, Readers Poll Winners, Verve Jazz Classics, Van Halen on Diver Down, Larry DiMarzio,etc.... Rare Bird- C.F Martin Electric....
good condition, small tear front cover (pickguard area of guitar Allan holds)
Price $14.50
October 1985 - STANLEY JORDAN
Guitar Player October 1985....Volume 19 No. 10
Articles on Stanley Jordan, Robbie Blunt, Equipment Extravaganza, Nathan East, Photos Of Jim Marshall, Instrumental Rock's Unsung Heroes, Donald Kinsey Returns to the Blues, etc.... Rare Bird- Gibson's Stereo ES-345
good condition, soundsheet included (D)
Price $10.50
November 1985 - JEFF BECK
Guitar Player November 1985....Volume 19 No. 11
Articles on Jeff Beck On Rock, Jeff Beck Odyssey, Steve Khan Looks Beyond Fusion, Survivor's Frankie Sullivan, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Custom Colors, etc.... Rare Bird- Fender's Former Flagships...Jazzmaster & Jaguar
good condition with soundsheet (D)
Price $10.50
December 1985 - PERSONAL STUDIOS
Guitar Player December 1985....Volume 19 No. 12
Articles on Personal Studios, Studios of the Pros, Nils Lofgren, India's Slide Guitar Maestro Brij Bhushan Kabra, Jorma Kaukonen new album & new band, etc.... Rare Bird- Gigantic Larsen Brothers Acoustic
good condition, soundsheet intact (Free Record: John Scofield Burns It Up) (E)
Price $10.50
January 1986 - Robert Fripp
Guitar Player January 1986....Volume 20 No. 1
Features include: Robert Fripp, The Art Of Freelance Guitaring, Bluesman Ronnie Earl, New York's Robert Quine, The Uncompromising Anthony Jackson, Reggie Young Inside Nashville, Creative EQ, Leo Brouwer Cuban Classicist, Steve Carnelli's Cartoon Guitar, Half Notes (Requiem for Merle Watson). Retrospec....Kustom's Roll-and-Tuck Amps.
Good Condition all 154 pages and Robert Fripp soundsheet intact.("Easter Sunday")
Price $11.50
January 1986 - Robert Fripp
Guitar Player January 1986....Volume 20 No. 1
Features include: Robert Fripp, The Art Of Freelance Guitaring, Bluesman Ronnie Earl, New York's Robert Quine, The Uncompromising Anthony Jackson, Reggie Young Inside Nashville, Creative EQ, Leo Brouwer Cuban Classicist, Steve Carnelli's Cartoon Guitar, Half Notes (Requiem for Merle Watson). Retrospec....Kustom's Roll-and-Tuck Amps.
Good Condition all 154 pages intact, soundsheet missing
Price $9.50
February 1986 - AL DiMEOLA
Guitar Player February 1986....Volume 20 No. 2
Articles on Al DiMeola's Radical Shift, Elliot Easton Stretches Out, Robert Cray's Blues, Mario Maccaferri: Luthier/Visionary, Electrifying G.E. Smith, Bassist Jerry Peek, Chris Proctor's Acoustic Elegance. Rare Bird....Guild's hip little Bluesbirds.
Good Condition , Soundsheet intact "DiMeola's Private Lesson" (D)
Price $10.50
March 1986 - Billy Gibbons ZZ TOP!
Guitar Player March 1986....Volume 20 No. 3
Features include: Billy Gibbons, Billy Gibbons' Ten Unsung Greats, Billy Sheehan Soundpage (missing) & Lesson, Tony MacAlpine's Dazzlilng Debut (soundpage missing), Bireli Lagrene Gypsy Jazz Phenom, Strat Supercharge Plus, Will Lee & Sid McGinnis, Learn To Read Tab, Del Vecchio's Resonator guitar, Distortion/Good, Bad & Ugly, Half Notes (Ricky Nelson & Eric Yuncker remembered). Rare Bird....Rickenbacker's style 381
Good Condition, all 138 pages intact. Back cover has small tear..
Price $14.50
April 1986 - GEDDY LEE
Guitar Player April 1986....Volume 20 No. 4
Features include: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Kazumi Watanabe, Equipment Explosion, Arlen Roth, Flamenco's Paco Pena, Expanded Jazz Bass, Lloyd Ellis' Jazz Heritage, Beautiful Licks, Al Casey, Unsung Session Star. Rare Bird....RAY WHITLEY Recording King made by Gibson.
Good Condition all 162 pages intact, no flex-disc
Price $10.50
August 1986 - JOE PASS
Guitar Player August 1986....Volume 20 No. 8
Privat Lesson with Joe Pass, Tom Petty & Mike Campbell, New York Underground, Pete Cornish: Custom Pedalboards, Inside Peavey, The Tail Gators, Bassist Bunny Brunel, The Legend Of Big Bill Broonzy, Martin's Fanciest Acoustic. includes free soundpage...
Price $15.00
September 1986 - GTR Steve Howe/Steve Hackett
Guitar Player September 1986....Volume 20 No. 9
Features include: GTR: Steve howe & Steve Hackett, Larry Carlton/Center Stage, Darryl Jones On Bass, Equipment Spectacular, Miss Off The Wall 1986, Guitar History/Forrest White, 1986 Readers Poll Ballot, Soundpage (missing) David Tanenbaum, New York Underground/The Bands, Half Notes (Joe Maphis & C.F.Martin III remembered). Rare Bird....A Gibson Les Paul 12 String
very good dondition, all 154 pages and SOUNDSHEET (David Tanenbaum "Sonata K. 336") plus FREE "Off The Wall Guitars" POSTER intact. (C)
Price $10.50
October 1986 - STEVE VAI
Guitar Player October 1986....Volume 20 No. 10
Articles on Steve Vai, Pro's Reply: Barney Kessel, NAMM Equipment Extravaganza, The Kinetic Scott Henderson, Country Classics instruments made for Merle Travis, Jimmie Rodgers, Gene Autry,etc. Paul Samwell-Smith Bassist/Visionary, Alex Malheiros of Azymuth, Fingernails/Care & Feeding...Rare Bird....two Vox 12 strings
very good condition, includes soundsheet (Michael Hedges and Steve Vai)... (E)
Price $10.50
November 1986 - John Abercrombie
Guitar Player November 1986....Volume 20 No. 11
Features include: John Abercrombie Improviser, Pro's Reply/Mike Marshall, Johnny Winter Plays The Blues, Brad Gillis' Red Hot Tips & Tricks, Southern Pacific, Bassist Tommy Shannon, The Eclectic Frederic Hand, Hot-Wire Your Guitar's Controls. Half Notes (Swinging bluesman Steve Samuels; Cymbiosis magazine/cassette for progressive rock).
Good Condition, All 154 pages intact.soundpage included
Price $9.00
December 1986 - Billy Sheehan/ Best Rock Bass
Guitar Player December 1986....Volume 20 No. 12
Features include: Billy sheehan, 17th Annual Readers Poll, Pro's reply/Steve Morse, Build The No-Zap, Jamie West-Oram Of The Fixx, Guadalcanal Diary, Segovia Master Class '86, Big Guitars From Austin, Christmas Soundpage (missing), Robert Lee's Elegant Marquetry, Nashville's Marty Stuart. Half Notes (Antonio Lauro remembered), includes soundpage. Rare Bird..Fender's Original Precision Bass.
Good Condition , All 170 pages intact.
Price $9.00
January 1987 - 20th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
Guitar Player January 1987....Volume 21 No. 1
Articles on Frank Zappa & Dweezil Zappa, Memorabilia: Our First Year, magazine milestones, Jon Sievert Photo Gallery, 20 Most Beautiful Guitars Ever Made, Column Classics, Essential Guitar Albums, Equipment Landmarks...
good condition. Soundsheet included (Frank Zappa/Dweezil Zappa "Sharleena")..
Price $17.50
February 1987 - Los Lobos
Guitar Player February 1987....Volume 21 No. 2
Features Include: Los Lobos, Steve Miller, Fernando Saunders, Carlos Rios, Producer Primer, Gibson's Amazing "Florentine", Telecaster Master Jerry Donahue, 10-way Strat Project, Dan Crary's Straight Talk...
Good Condition . All 162 pages and soundsheet intact. (blues great Hubert Sumlin "Down In The Bottom")(F)
Price $9.00
March 1987 - MIKE STERN
Guitar Player March 1987....Volume 21 No. 3
Articles on Mike Stern, The Smithereens, Bruce Thomas of the Attractions, Tax Tips for Guitarists, Precision Bass Modification, Wowling Green John Cephas, Roy Lanham's Hillbilly Jazz...Vintage Amps- Magnatone MP-3
good condition, soundpage included (Adrian Belew) (D)
Price $10.50
April 1987 - Warren De Martini
Guitar Player April 1987....Volume 21 No. 4
Features Include: Ratt's Warren De Martini, Jimmy Bryant's "Stratosphere Boogie" Soundpage, Pro's Reply/Herb Ellis, Warner Hodges, Scorcher, Equipment Explosion, Buddy Guy's Red-Hot Blues, Living With Feedback, Robbin Crosby, Scott Johnson, Rock Classicist, Johnny Gayden, Bass Man,etc...
Good Condition, all 155 pages intact. with soundpage
Price $9.00
May 1987 - Robert Cray
Guitar Player May 1987....Volume 21 No. 5
Features Include: Robert Cray, Pro's Reply/Tony Rice, Georgia Satellites, Equipment Explosion, Playing The Pits, David & David, Bassist Avery Sharpe, In Session: Brent Rowan, Tim Donahue/ Fretless Guitarist, William Kanengiser, Build A Headphone Amp,etc...
Good Condition, All 162 pages intact. Soundsheet included..
Price $10.50
June 1987 - JOHN SCOFIELD
Guitar Player June 1987....Volume 21 No. 6
Articles on John Scofield/Jazzman, Alex de Grassi, Guitars of Graceland, Monterey Pop Revisited, Pedal Steeler Steve Fishell, Southwest Guitar Show, Neil Jason On Bass, Earl King Resurfaces. Rare Bird...Rickenbacker's Model 4000 Bass....
Good Condition with Jorge Morel soundsheet ("Danza Para Emiko") (D)
Price $10.50
July 1987 - ALEX LIFESON, RIK EMMETT, LIONA BOYD, ED BICKERT Together!
Guitar Player July 1987....Volume 21 No. 7
Articles on Canadian Guitar Summit, Andy West Pro Reply, Masters Series: Creativity, Rickenbacker Exports, Bassist Brian Bromberg, Eduardo Fernandez, The Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood, Tips for Staying in Tune. Rare Bird...The 1957 Fender Sunburst Telecaster....
Good Condition , Sound page (Beyond Borders) intact (F)
Price $10.50
July 1987 - ALEX LIFESON, RIK EMMETT, LIONA BOYD, ED BICKERT Together!
Guitar Player July 1987....Volume 21 No. 7
Articles on Canadian Guitar Summit, Andy West Pro Reply, Masters Series: Creativity, Rickenbacker Exports, Bassist Brian Bromberg, Eduardo Fernandez, The Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood, Tips for Staying in Tune. Sound page intact, Rare Bird...The 1957 Fender Sunburst Telecaster....
Good Condition , sound page missing
Price $8.50
August 1987 - Strat Mania !
Guitar Player August 1987....Volume 21 No. 8
Features Include: Strat Mania, Pro's Reply/Heeere's Bob Bain, Freddie Green Remembered, Richard Cousins/Blues Bassist, Merle Haggard/Clint Strong, Legendary Jimmy Rogers, Masters Series/Redirecting Reactions, Carlos Alomar's Synth Excursion,etc...
Good Condition . All 162 pages intact. Soundsheet - David Starobin "Chase" included..
Price $10.50
September - 1987 SPEED!
Guitar Player September 1987....Volume 21 No. 9
Articles on SPEED, New Orleans' Brian Stoltz, Bassist Billy Cox, Pro's Reply: Randy Hebert, David Rhodes, Henry Kaiser, Inside St. Louis Music, Rare Bird...Bigsby Super Thin Electric...
Good Condition with soundpage ..(C)
Price $10.50
October 1987 - VAN HALEN & HAGAR!
Guitar Player October 1987....Volume 21 No. 10
Articles on Eddie Van Halen & Sammy Hagar, Pro's Reply: Richie Havens, Mason Ruffner, Guitarists' Legal Primer, Suzanne Vega's Acoustic Artistry, Doug Wimbish: Bass In Your Face, Otis Rush Plays The Blues, Martin's Depression-Era Classics, Ichiro Suzuki's Zen Visions, Maximize Your Piezo Pickups. Rare Bird...Dobro's Model 27 Resophonic guitar..
Good Condition . soundpage- Albert Lee's "Fun Ranch Frolics" included
Price $14.50
November 1987 - George Harrison
Guitar Player November 1987....Volume 21 No. 11
Features Include: George Harrison, Pro's Reply/Leo Kotkke, Masters Series/Modal Management, Segovia Remembered, Steve Swallow's New Directions, Make Money Playing Classical Guitar, The Beatles' Fab Gear, Master Volume & Tone Project,etc...
Good Condition . soundpage- David Torn "A Sigh On Barriers" included
Price $14.50
December 1987 - Sneak Previews! Guitar Gear '88
Guitar Player December 1987....Volume 21 No. 12
Features Include: Trends And Innovations, Tools Of The Trade (88 models), Close Ups, Pro's Reply/wolf Marshall, Herb Ellis, With Bryan Adams/Keith Scott, Sergio & Odair Assad, Webb Wilder & The Beatnecks, Readers Poll Winners, Jazz Bassist Steve Rodby, etc...
Good Condition . All 170 pages intact. Soundsheet - Herb Ellis Quartet "Jingle Bells" included..
Price $12.50
December 1987 - Sneak Previews! Guitar Gear '88
Guitar Player December 1987....Volume 21 No. 12
Features Include: Trends And Innovations, Tools Of The Trade (88 models), Close Ups, Pro's Reply/wolf Marshall, Herb Ellis, With Bryan Adams/Keith Scott, Sergio & Odair Assad, Webb Wilder & The Beatnecks, Readers Poll Winners, Jazz Bassist Steve Rodby, etc...
Good Condition . All 170 pages intact. Soundsheet missing..
Price $10.50
January 1988 - LYNYRD SKYNYRD
Guitar Player January 1988....Volume 22 No. 1
Articles on Lynryd Skynyrd, Carlos Santana (soundpage), Pro's Reply: Steve Katz, Richard Lloyd's 6-string Alchemy, Carmine Rojas: Bowie's Bass, Guitars Of The Hard Rock Cafe, Omar Dykes, Masters Series: Liona Boyd, Privat Lesson: Jack Wilkins, Insurance for Guitarists, Snooks Eaglin. Rare Bird...Leo Fender's G&L 200..
good condition, Carlos Santana & Chester Thompson "Blues For Salvador" soundsheet intact. (D)
Price $12.50
February 1988 - JOE SATRIANI
Guitar Player February 1988....Volume 22 No. 2
Articles on Joe Satriani (soundpage missing), Pro's Reply: Chet Thompson, Guitar Poster Art, True Blues, Jimmy Haslip: Buzzing On Bass, masters Series: Deciphering Rhythms, Hi-Tech Guitar: What's In It For You?, Eugene Chadbourne Runs Amok, Christopher Parkening Returns, Kevin Dukes, Sidemaster. Rare Bird...Fender's Primordial four-neck steel..
good condition with soundsheet intact (Joe Satriani "Power Cosmic", "The Crush Of Love") (D)
Price $10.50
March 1988 - GO CHUCK GO! CHUCK BERRY
Guitar Player March 1988....Volume 22 No. 3
Articles on Chuck Berry, Ry Cooder: In Search Of The Big Note, Soundpage Recording Cooder & Vai: The "Crossroads" Duel, Pro's Reply: Al Hendrickson, High-Tech Guitar: A Digital Audio Primer, Bassist Emory Gordy, Jr., Rory Stuart/Improvisor, Masters Series: Right-Hand Technique, Eldon Shamblin/Texas Playboy. Rare Bird...Prehistoric Electric Guitars..
good condition, Soundpage - Ry Cooder & Steve Vai "Crossroads Guitar Duet" included
Price $10.50
March 1988 - GO CHUCK GO! CHUCK BERRY
Guitar Player March 1988....Volume 22 No. 3
Articles on Chuck Berry, Ry Cooder: In Search Of The Big Note, Soundpage Recording Cooder & Vai: The "Crossroads" Duel, Pro's Reply: Al Hendrickson, High-Tech Guitar: A Digital Audio Primer, Bassist Emory Gordy, Jr., Rory Stuart/Improvisor, Masters Series: Right-Hand Technique, Eldon Shamblin/Texas Playboy. Rare Bird...Prehistoric Electric Guitars..
Back cover & last page torn & partly missing, Soundpage missing , AS IS
Price $7.50
April 1988 - JOE WALSH
Guitar Player April 1988....Volume 22 No. 4
Articles on Joe Walsh, "The 12 Greatest All-Time-Forever Guitar Solos", Tuck Andress' Debut , Pro's Reply: Norman Blake, Slide Wiz Sonny Landreth, Inside Jackson Guitars, On Call: Fretless Bassist Mick Karn, A Lood Of New Guitars, High-Tech Guitar: Putting Digital Tools To Work, Avan-Gardist Derik Bailey, Right Hand Technique.. Rare Bird...Prehistoric Electric Guitars..Part II.
good condition , soundpage - Tuck Andress "Everything's Gonna Be All Right" & "Yogurt Blues" included
Price $10.50
May 1988 - ALBERT COLLINS !
Guitar Player May 1988....Volume 22 No. 5
Articles on Albert Collins, Jerry Donahue (soundpage missing), Pro's Reply: Miles Copeland, Kenny Aaronson: Rock Bottom, Steve Vai's "Skyscraper" Secrets, Technology Showcase, High-Tech Guitar: Acoustics, Instant Composition, The EBow: Singing Strings, Rockin' With Roland Janes... Rare Bird...Classic Fender "Tweed" Amps and How To Date Them.
good condition , Soundsheet - Jerry Donahue's "The Beak", "The Claw" "Examples & Commentary" intact. (C)
Price $10.50
June 1988 - FRANK GAMBALE
Guitar Player June 1988....Volume 22 No. 6
Frank Gambale, Pro's Reply/Tony Melendez, Ted Nugent Licks 'Em, High-Tech Guitar: MIDI for Real Guitarist, Arch-Top Of The Line, Andy Brauer, Equipment Specialist, Masters Series: Bach's "Prelude In D Major", Pedal Steeler Jay Dee Maness... Rare Bird...Martin's 000-28.
good condition , soundsheet - John Patitucci on 6 string bass "Our Family" intact
Price $15.00
July 1988 - JERRY GARCIA
Guitar Player July 1988....Volume 22 No. 7
Articles on Jerry Garcia, Soundpage Competition Winner (soundpage included), Pro's Reply: Mila, Eric Clapton's "Crossroads", Vinnie Moore's "Time Odyssey", Bassist Gary Grainger, On The Avant-Garde, All About Chord Progressions, Players' Choice: Roger Sadowsky, In Search Of Infinite Sustain.. Rare Bird...Rickenbacker's Electric 12 string.
Very Good Condition. soundpage included - Competition Winners - Brad Jones "Back Porch Boogie", "Salty Dog Blues" & James Blackthorne: "Spak" (F)
In Stock
August 1988 - CLAPTON
Guitar Player August 1988....Volume 22 No. 8
Clapton Celebration Cover & Free Record, Pro's Reply: Jerry Holmes, Classical Masterpieces, Stuart Hamm: Two Hands On Bass, Lydia Mendoza- The Lark Of The Border, High-ech Guitar: Sampling Applications, Big Fun On The Bayou, Masters Series: All About Chord Progressions, Fred Newell of "Nashville Now", Copyright For Guitarists. Rare Bird...1951 Broadcasters, Nocasters and Telecasters.
Good Condition.... soundpage intact (unreleased Derek & The Dominos playing Hendrix "Little Wing")...NOTE: also have one with no soundpage for $12.00(C)
Price $15.00
September 1988 - Robben Ford
Guitar Player September 1987....Volume 22 No. 9
Features Include: Robben Ford, Pro's Reply/Sal Salvador, Bill Carter/A Blue Messiah Screams, Fine-Tune Your Floyd, Hiram Bullock, Readers Poll Ballot, Bassist Jeff Andrews, High-Tech Guitar/Psychoacoustics, Playing With Pain, Chord Progressions, Nashville Acoustic (Mark Casstevens, Billy Joe Walker, Jr. Pat Flynn),etc...
Good Condition...small tear in cover, All 154 pages intact. Soundsheet included..
Price $8.50
October 1988 - BURNIN' VERNON REID
Guitar Player October 1988....Volume 22 No. 10
Articles on Vernon Reid (soundpage missing), Ronnie Montrose's "The Speed Of Sound", Hot Time/Hot Gear in Atlanta, Verdine White, Garry Tallent/E Street Bass, Soukous Chimurenga Mbaqanga & More, Flamenco Basics, High-Tech Guitar: MIDI Control.. Rare Bird...The '57 Gold Top and the "doll factor".
good condition with soundsheet (Living Colour: "Cult Of Personality") (E)
Price $10.50
November 1988 - AMPS ! Special Edition
Guitar Player November 1987....Volume 22 No. 11
Features Include: Special Amps Edition, The New Generation, The Mystique Of Tubes, Vintage Classics, How To Buy An Amp, Pro's REply/Santana, Care & Feeding, Performance Bargains, Hotrodders, Articles Index Marshall Factory Tour, Dating Early Fenders, Body & Hand Position, Guitar Speak,etc...
Good Condition. All 162 pages intact. Soundsheet - Nikita Koshkin "Guitar" solo included..
Price $14.50
December 1988 - GUITAR IN THE USSR
Guitar Player December 1987....Volume 22 No. 12
USSR Guitar, Jeff Golub's Unspoken Words, Standing In The Shadows: Motown Guitars, Inside Steinberger, Masters Series: Beyond Scales & Arpeggios, Avat-Funk With A Metal Edge, Outfit Your Band Giveaway, Tendinitis Blues,Free Record: FOLEY,etc...
Good condition, All 162 pages intact. Soundsheet included..(Foley on Lead Bass)(C)
Price $10.50
January 1989 - WHO ARE THE WORLD'S BEST?
Guitar Player January 1989....Volume 23 No. 1
Articles on Readers Poll Winners, Joe Satriani, Pro's Reply: David Kershenbaum, A Celebration Of Les Paul, Hans Reichel (soundsheet intact), The 1830s Stauffer Martin, Mark Egan & His Singing Bass, Masters Series: Harmonics, High-Tech Guitar: Inside MIDI messages, Ultimate Strat Switch. Rare Bird...Mosrite's Ventures Model.
Good condition, soundsheet - Hans Reichel "solo dachsophone and guitar" and "Old Bones" excerpt included
Price $10.50
February 1989 - THE ART OF IMPROVISATION
Guitar Player February 1989....Volume 23 No. 2
Articles on Improvisation,Frank Gambale's Modal Magic (soundsheet included), Pro's Reply: Alan Douglas, Sonic Youth, Buck Owens Is Back, 100 Pro's Picks Poster intact, Steve Vai's Martian Love Secrets, Daryl Stuermer Steps Out, Portraits In Blues, Stanley Clarke Rare Bird...Fender's Unusual Bass V and Bass VI.
Good Condition , soundsheet - Frank Gambale "Modal Magic" included (D)
Price $10.50
March 1989 - UNKNOWN GREATS !
Guitar Player March 1989....Volume 23 No. 3
. Articles on Unknown Greats, Danny Gatton Unmasked (soundsheet included but not attached), Pro's Reply: Fatdog, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Steve Vai's Martian Love Secrets, Masters Series: Sight-Reading Basics, Fender Bass Classics, David Lindley's "Very Greasy".. Rare Bird...Gretsch Country Gentleman
Good condition with soundsheet (incredible Danny Gatton "Nit Pickin") (D)
Price $12.50
April 1989 - METALLICA RULES!
Guitar Player April 1989....Volume 23 No. 4
Metallica, Pro's Reply: Ron Fucuals, Johnny Shines' Deep Blues, Benny Reitveld: Bass Man For Miles, Tax Tips, Calling All Teachers, Gibson's Electraharp, Mick Goodrick's Fingerstyle Brilliance, Sound Systems Primer, Steve Vai's Martian Love Secrets, Free Record Fisk Plays Real Paganini...
Good condition with soundsheet included (Eliot Fisk Plays Real Paganini solo guitar) (D)
Price $14.50
May 1989 - UNRELEASED JIMI !
Guitar Player May 1989....Volume 23 No. 5
Articles on Jimi Hendrix "Red House" (soundpage included/not attached), Noel Redding, Billy Cox, Joe Satriani, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pro's Reply: Warwick Stone, Jennifer Batten/ On Two Hand Tapping, Jimmy Johnson's Bass Magic Roy rogers Slides Again, Guitars Devour Southern California, Brazil's Turibio Santos, Steve Vai's Martian Love Secrets (part 4)... Rare Bird...Martin's Underrated D-18
Good condition with soundsheet intact (Jimi Hendrix: "Red House") (B)
Price $10.50
June 1989 - DIGITAL MAGIC
Guitar Player June 1989....Volume 23 No. 6
Articles on Programmable Multi-Processors, Free Record/ The Sounds Of Jimi Hendrix, Pro's REply/Marvelous Mel Miller, Larry Carlton's Triumph, A Private Lesson with Paul gilbert, Carl Perkins; Mr Blue Suede Shoes, Jerome Harris' Double Life, Steve Vai's Martian Love Secrets Part 5, Rare Bird...An Early Fender In Dallas
good condition with soundsheet included (Jimi Hendrix: excerpts from "Fuzz, Feedback & Wah Wah, Whammy Bar & Finger Grease")(E)
Price $10.50
good condition - Soundpage included...David Tronzo "Spin"
Price $7.50
May 1990 - STEVE VAI
Guitar Player May 1990....Volume 24 No. 5
Articles on Steve Vai (Passion And Warfare), Transcription: Jimi And Wes, Vai-Style, All Those Fabulous Picks!, Mountains Of Equipment, Ernie Isley Gets Hot, South American Rhythms, James Blood Ulmer, Bassist Willie Weeks
good complete condition...shows wear, couple of tears in covers
Price $9.50
June 1990 - MAESTRO JULIAN BREAM
Guitar Player June 1990....Volume 24 No. 6
Articles on Julian Bream, A View From The Road, The Hendrix Chronicles: Jimi's Discovery, Let's Get Small, Quick-Release Straps, J.J. Cale Naturally, Carl Verheyen, Jack Bruce Roars Back
Rare Bird- Strat Market Crash
good condition , Soundsheet missing (C)
Price $7.50
January 1991 - GUESS WHO?
Guitar Player January 1991....Volume 25 No. 1
Articles on Bass mutant Victor Wooten, historic electric Dobro, Howard Roberts on finding the pocket, and the debut of Notes From the Underground, Faith No More, Double Whammy/ Junior Brown, Russian Beauties, Electric LEO/ Leo Kottke, Mandelson & Mustafa, China Memoir, Speaker Basics
Rare Bird- PrePrototype Mosrite Ventures. VGC (D)
Price $6.50
February 1991 - HOT ROD YOUR AXE
Guitar Player February 1991....Volume 25 No. 2
Articles on Bass mutant Victor Wooten, historic electric Dobro, Howard Roberts on finding the pocket, and the debut of Notes From the Underground, Faith No More, Double Whammy/ Junior Brown, Russian Beauties, Electric LEO/ Leo Kottke, Mandelson & Mustafa, China Memoir, Speaker Basics
Rare Bird- PrePrototype Mosrite Ventures.
Price $7.50
March 1991 - STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN EXCLUSIVE TRIBUTE
Guitar Player March 1991....Volume 25 No. 3
Articles on Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute (Pride & Joy, Brothers, The Final Interview, Soul to Soul, The Last Show, SRV Photo Gallery, Stevie's Greatest Solo?), Jason Becker Reanimates David Lee Roth, Jesse Gress, Andrew Farriss Of INXS, Jane's Addiction
Good Condition (some water marks upper right corner...nothing missing) with normal wear.
Rare Bird- Fender XII prototype.
Price $9.50
April 1991 - NUNO BETTENCOURT
Guitar Player April 1991....Volume 25 No. 4
Nuno, Andy Summers, Testament's Alex Skolnick, Roger McGuinn Takes Off, Mark Whitfield's Renaissance, The Pixies, etc
Rare Bird -Gretsch Rancher Cutaway good condition (D)
Price $6.50
August 1991 - NEW RAGE
Guitar Player August 1991....Volume 25 No. 8
New Rage, Sonic Youth, Fish Bone, Primus, Chris Cain, Paul Leary, Larry Collins, Curtis Mayfield, Eddie Van Halen, Leo Fender, Selling Your Record,etc
Price $9.50
September 1991 - METAL AGE CRISIS KIRK HAMMETT
Guitar Player September 1991....Volume 25 No. 9
Articles on Metallica, Alex De Grassi, Evan Johns, Diblo, Jerry Garcia, Richard Thompson, Scott Henderson, Jimmy wilsey, Leo Fender, Dinosaur Jr. gets loud, Eric Gales gets blue Erkan Ogur gets lonely and Robben Ford gets down..
Rare Bird- Hofner's Beatle Bass
Price $9.50
October 1991 - GODS OF SEX FUNK RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Guitar Player October 1991....Volume 25 No. 10
Articles on Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gand Of Four's Andy gill, EMF's Ian Dench, Jessie Mae Hemphill, King's X, Duke Robillard, Jim Hall, A Les Paul CD celebration, Phranc talk, Stu Hamm from the road, Phillip DeGruy's 17-string and essential country for tenderfoots.
Off the Wall- The Bajo Sexto
Price $9.50
November 1991 - RUSH
Guitar Player November 1991....Volume 25 No. 11
Rush Redefined, Robbie Nevil, Happy Mondays, Mimi Fox, Simple Minds, Guitarists Of P-Funk, Queensryche, Tube Talk, Harmony Unchained, etc
Rare Bird- Gibson ES-5 tenor
Price $9.50
March 1992 - NEIL YOUNG
Guitar Player March 1992....
Articles on Neil Young, Richie Sambora, Smashing Pumpkins, Blues Traveler & Widespread Panic, Tube Combo Shootout, The Cult's Billy Duffy, The Guitar Legacy of Miles Davis, Vince Gill, Crowded House, Voivod, Myles boisen, news and more
Off The Wall- Bukrns' Beauties....(D)
Price $6.50
April 1992 - UNPLUGGED! THE ACOUSTIC REVOLUTION
Guitar Player April 1992....
Acoustic Thunder, Acoustic Design, Portraits In Acoustic, MTV Unplugged, Steel-String Fire: Lessons From The Masters, Tried & True (Acoustic secrets of Beatles, Stones, Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman,etc), Teenage Fanclub, Ray Flacke, Hubert Kappel and more
Rare Bird - Wildwood Thin-line Telecaster?...(C)
Price $6.50
May 1993 - VAN HALEN
Guitar Player May 1993....Volume 27 No. 5
Includes: An Audience with Edward, Van Halen Lesson, Ed Notes, Mick Jagger's Jimmy Rip, Jesus Jones, Christopher Parkening, Steve Wariner, Muddy Waters Tribute Izzy Stradlin, The right hand of Adrian Legg...
good condition. Rare Bird: Fancy Dobros
Price $7.50
June 1993 - GREAT HOME RECORDINGS / LES CLAYPOOL & PRIMUS
Guitar Player June 1993....Volume 27 No. 6
In The Studio With Primus, Home Brew, Home Studio Do's & Don'ts, Digital Demystified, Studio Smarts, Daniel Lanois, Lenny Kravitz, Chris Leuzinger, Buddy Guy, Richie Kotzen,etc..
Encore: Gretsch Jumbo Synchromatic... Good condition....(D)
Price $5.50
July 1993 - GODS OF THE TELECASTER / ALBERT COLLINS
Guitar Player July 1993....Volume 27 No. 7
The Big Twang, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Danny Gatton, Tele Visions, Midnight Oil, Butthole Surfers, Anthrax,etc..
good condition. Encore: 1957 Guild Johnny Smith Award
Price $10.50
| Eric Clapton |
"In Italy, if you were served ""Pomodori"", what foodstuff would you be about to eat ?" | Guitar Player Magazine Backissues
Guitar Player Magazine Backissues
Hard To Find Magazine Backissues
Good, Clean Fun. No Wait Period. No registration. No Taxes. Think about it...Where can you have this much fun for so cheap? You've seen some of the absolute junk people spend twenty bucks on. Here you're getting a vintage magazine backissue with great guitar transcriptions, really interesting articles and useful information ....along with some of the coolest full page color ads...No better way to spend a few bucks and get yourself feeling good. Say good-bye to those pesky anti-depressant side effects. When's the last time you've heard any police negotiator or distraught mother shouting ...."Put down the magazine and come down from there..."? You see what I'm saying...
Please Note: Prices are for magazine backissues only...add postage at bottom of list
Item
Includes: Chet Atkins, Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel,The Jefferson Airplane,etc
Very Good Condition.
February 1967
Guitar Player February 1967....
Includes: Flamenco - Juan Serrano, History of the Guitar Part I, Country Joe and the Fish, Pass on Jazz - Joe Pass, The One Armed Yankee-Jack Northrup, Full page ads- Richie Havens for OVATION, SUNN amps, DANELECTRO,The Animals Noel Redding Andy Kulberg Billy Blue for HAGSTROM , two-page ad spread for EKO guitars, Glen Campbell for MOSRITE guitars,entire back cover is Fender (Herman's Hermits, Don Baldwin, Francois Vaz,) etc
Very Good Condition. (B)
April 1967 - LAS VEGAS GUITAR
Guitar Player April 1967....vol 2. No 2
Includes: Las Vegas Guitar, Making a Classical guitar (Jose Oribe), Joe and Rose Lee Maphis, History of the Guitar part II, taping TV with the Grass Roots, cool full page ads ....Lovin' Spoonful for Temple Sound Columns, Bobby Joe Fenster for MARTIN GUITAR, Buffy Sainte-Marie for OVATION GUITAR, SUNN MUSICAL, Joe Maphis for STANDEL amps, Joe and Rosie Lee Maphis for MOSRITE guitars! two-page ad spread for EKO guitars, entire back cover is Fender (Telecaster Trio, Mustang Bass, Bronco ,etc)
Very Good Condition. (A)
October 1967
Guitar Player October 1967....
Includes: Teaching Them Folk - Laura Weber, Really Smashing - The Who, Mance and His Music - Mike Birnbaum, Johnny Smith, Buck Owens Music, Why Can't You Read Music? - Gene Leis, full page ads: VOX guitars, Joe Maphis for STANDEL AMPS, MARTIN GUITARS, GIBSON guitars, DOBRO (by Mosrite...shows Californian), HALLMARK SWEPT WING GUITAR, LA BAYE "2 by 4" GUITAR, entire back cover is Fender (Bass VI, Banjos, Wildwood Coronado Bass,etc)
Very Good Condition. (B)
December 1967
Guitar Player December 1967....
Includes: Pete Seeger, Bola Sete, George Van Eps and the 7-string, A Night At The Fillmore, music by George Van Eps ("Midnight"), music by Pete Seeger ("Living In The Country"), Full page ads for VOX amps, GRETSCH guitars (Viking), SUNN amps, DANELECTRO (Coral Sitar, guitars, Turtles, the Cyrkle), Richie Havens for OVATION, HALLMARK Swept Wing Guitar, two-page ad spread for EKO guitars, entire back cover is Fender (Bass VI, Banjos, Wildwood Coronado Bass,etc)...pg 35 has portion torn away...
Good Condition. (A)
Articles on Cream, Theo Bikel,etc
Very Good Condition.
October 1968 - THE STRING THING
Guitar Player October 1968....
Includes: Dave Guard's Colour Guitar, Dobro, Beck, Zap, The String thing ,etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front. (B)
in stock
Articles on Jimi Hendrix, Nashville Celebration, The String Thing... ,etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front. (A)
in stock
August 1969 - PETER PAUL & MARY
Guitar Player August 1969....
Articles on Albert King, Peter Paul & Mary, Creedence Clearwater Revival,etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front.
in stock
Guitar Player December 1969....Volume 3, Number 6
Includes: B.B. King, Manuel Ramos, Phil Upchurch, Gabor Szabo ,etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front.
in stock
March 1970 - SPECIAL ISSUE
Guitar Player March 1970....
Includes: Simon & Garfunkel, Roger McGuinn, Jorge Morel, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Glen Campbell, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Kenny Burrell, Van Eps, Johnny Smith, etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front. (B)
in stock
April 1970 - STEVEN STILLS
Guitar Player April 1970....Volume 4, No. 3
Articles on Crosby , Stills , Nash & Young, Blues Isn't A Color, Simon and Garfunkel, Chet Atkins' Festival, Making it-How?, Pro's Reply: Tal Farlow, Is Howard Roberts Guilty?, Steve Miller, cool Gibson ad showing 68 Les Pauls, cool Martin ad showing reintroduced D-45 , etc
Very Good Condition. (C)
June 1970 - CONTEST CLAPTON/NOW
Guitar Player June 1970....Volume 4, No. 4
Articles on Eric Clapton, Roy Clark, Christopher Parkening-America's Classic Virtuoso, B.B. King, Santana-T.J. to S.F. , Bossa Guitar by Laurindo Almeida, etc
Good Condition.Page 10 has entry form cutout.
in stock
August 1970 - ASTROLOGY AND GUITARISTS
Guitar Player August 1970....
Articles on Taj Mahal, Howard Roberts , Coryell, Richard P. Havens, Six String Poetry, Thumb Technique ,etc
Very Good Condition. No mailing label. (D)
in stock
September 1970 - JOSE FELICIANO
Guitar Player September 1970....Volume 4, No. 6
Articles on Jose Feliciano, Pros on Amps, Travelling Quicksilver, Varying Attack Time, Speakers: An Integral Element, Amplifier Maintenance, Power Ratings, etc
Very Good Complete Condition. No mailing label. (C)
in stock
October 1970 - PHIL OCHS
Guitar Player October 1970....Volume 4, No. 7
Articles on Phil Ochs, Bill Haley and Bo Diddley, Barney Kessel, Clapton's Guitar, Guitar in College, Damage Part II,Full Page ads from Guild, Sho-Bud, Kustom, etc
Very Good Complete Condition. No mailing label. (C)
in stock
December 1970 - STRING SYMPOSIUM
Guitar Player December 1970....Volume 4, No. 8
Articles on Mason Williams, Jimmy Stewart,String Symposium, John Mayall, Happy Traum, Chet Atkins, Full Page Ads by Guild, Ludwig Phase II Synthesizer, Gretsch Chet Atkins models, Goya, Sigma, Espana, etc
Very Good Condition. (C)
February 1971 - CHUCK BERRY
Guitar Player February 1971....Volume 5, No. 1
Articles on Chuck Berry Interview, John Hartford, The Ventures, Reese Anderson, Tony Mottola, Pros on Picks, Strings Part 2, Sam Ash Stores, Full page Martin guitar ad (featuring Mike Longworth), Kustom Gretsch Chet Atkins, Ovation (Glen Campbell), Ludwig,etc
Very Good Condition. (C)
March 1971 - ANNUAL ARTIST ISSUE
Guitar Player March 1971.... Volume 5, No. 2
Includes: Jerry Reed, Carlos Montoya, John Lee Hooker, Ry Cooder, Hoyt Axton, Dave Van Ronk , Buddy Merrill, Jerry Hahn, Pentangle, full page ads,etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front. (B)
in stock....
April 1971 - JERRY GARCIA
Guitar Player April 1971....Volume 5, No. 3
Articles on Jerry Garcia of Grateful Dead, Jim Fielder, Speedy West, Navy Guitarists, Malvina Reynolds, Guitar in Schools , Flamenco Pt 1, Full Page ads by Fender (P-bass), Ovation (Glen Campbell), etc
Very Good Condition. (B)
June 1971 - SEGOVIA
Guitar Player June 1971.... Volume 5, No. 4
Articles on Segovia, Mike Bloomfield, John Fogerty, Guitar Making, Puerto Rico Guitar, Flamenco Pt 2, Strings, Full Page ads by Goya, Fender, Gretsch, Espana, Martin (Vega banjo), Guild (amps) etc
Very Good Condition. Label on front. (B)
in stock....
August 1971 - TERRY KATH
Guitar Player August 1971....Volume 5, No. 5
Includes: Michael Bloomfield, Part II, Terry Garthwaite, Terry Kath, Woody and Arlo, Leon Rhodes, Sabicas, cool full page ads,etc
Good Condition. (B)
September 1971 - SPECIAL GUITAR ISSUE
Guitar Player September 1971....Volume 5, No. 6
Includes: Leo Fender, Klaus Roder, Pros on Axes, Woods (Richard Schneider & Fred Gerlach), The Martin Factory tour ,etc
Good Condition.
October 1971 - JULIAN BREAM / ALVIN LEE
Guitar Player October 1971...Volume 5, No. 7.
Includes: Julian Bream, Alvin Lee, Peter Cetera, Farina & Jans, Gene Leis, Bottleneck ,etc
Very Good Condition. (C)
December 1971 - FOLK GUITAR IN BRITAIN
Guitar Player December 1971....Volume 5, No. 8
Articles on Joan Baez, Folk Guitar in Britain, Dobro History, Martin Barre, Bassists Surveyed, Sonny Curtis,A New Wizard,etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front. (D)
in stock....
February 1972 - CHET ATKINS' OWN STORY
Guitar Player February 1972....Volume 6, No. 1
Includes: Chet Atkins (part 1 of his story), Jimmy Bryant, Segovia/Oribe, Build The Ping Pong, John Lee Hooker, Stu Cook (Creedence) , etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front.
in stock....
March 1972 - ANNUAL ARTIST ISSUE
Guitar Player March 1972....Volume 6, No. 2
Includes: Chet Atkins, James Burton, Jerry Byrd, Roy Buchanan, Leo Kottke, Jesse Fuller, Carol Kaye, Oscar Ghiglia, etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front.(D)
in stock....
April 1972 - MOUNTAIN -LESLIE WEST/FELIX PAPPALARDI
Guitar Player April 1972....Volume 6, No. 3
Articles on The Romeros, MOUNTAIN..Leslie West & Felix Pappalardi, John Fahey, Elvin Bishop, Billy Bauer,Dawn of The Steel Guitar, Classical Gas notation, etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front.
in stock....
Guitar Player May 1972....Volume 6, No. 4
Plus: Pete Townshend, Grant Green, Andy Kulberg, Mundell Lowe, Barney Kessel, Guitar on TV, etc
Very Good Condition. Mailing Label on front. (B)
in stock....
April 1973 - STEVE HOWE
Guitar Player April 1973....
Articles on Steve Howe, Luthiers Of Spain, Jose Ramirez III, Big Bill Broonzy, Jorge Santana, Jim Croce, Robert Guthrie , etc
Very Good complete condition. no mailing label... (D)
in stock....
May 1973 - SERRANITO
Guitar Player May 1973....Vol. 7 No. 4
Includes: The Gibson Les Paul - It's Beginnings (by Les Paul), Meet Bobby Black of Commander Cody, Chris Donald of Sha Na Na, The Impro II, Duane Allman Tribute, Serranito-Flamenco Master, Music For Jazz Guitar, "Waltz For Django" by Frank Evans, two-page GIBSON ad for Les Paul Recording guitar and bass with flex-disc demo! etc
Very Good + Condition. No Mailing label.. (D)
in stock....
Guitar Player July 1973....Vol. 7 No. 5
Includes: The Grateful Dead's Gear, Brewer and Shipley, Guitar Notation, Ritchie Blackmore, Wes Montgomery, etc
Very Good complete condition. No Mailing label..(E)
in stock....
July 1974 - EARL SCRUGGS
Guitar Player July 1974....Volume 8 No. 7
Includes Robben Ford, Flamenco Part II, Sal Salvador, Guitar Repair, rory Gallagher, Earl Scruggs, Guitar Glossary, etc
VG condition, No mailing label.. (E)
in stock....
August 1974 - JOHNNY WINTER
Guitar Player August 1974....Volume 8 No. 7
Includes Skip James Blues Great, Flamenco Technique III, Artificial Reincarnation, Lloyd Green, Scotty Moore, Johnny Winter, etc
VG condition, no mailing label (C)
in stock....
September 1974 - GREG LAKE
Guitar Player September 1974....Volume 8 No. 9
Includes Irving Ashby, Peggy Malone, Lenny Breau, Guitar In School, Greg Lake, New At NAMM, etc
VG condition, no mailing label (E)
in stock....
April 1975 - PAUL SIMON
Guitar Player April 1975....Volume 9 No. 4
COVER PAGE LISTINGS: ... Paul SIMON ~At Guitar Study Center; Eldon Shamblin ~Western Swing Great; Bill Kirchen ~Of Commander Cody; Michael Howell ~Fingerstyle Jazz; Peter Lang ~A Pro Replies; Treble Booster ~Build Your Own; Free Martin D-18 ~GP Giveaway #3...
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... Michael Howell, Finger style jazz master; Eldon Shamblin, Of Bob Wills Fame; Bill Kirchen, Commander Cody lead guitar; Treble Booster, Build Your own; Tony Zemaitis, Luthier to Clapton, Harrison, etc.; Paul SIMON, A Guitar Study Center workshop.. ...
COLUMNS ... Peter Lang: A Pro Replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Howard Roberts: Around The Melody; B.B. King, Advisory board tips; Happy Traum: Fiddle Tunes II; Jerry Hahn: Augmented Patterns; Bob Baxter: Playing Backup; Jimmy Stewart: Minor Scales; Stefan Grossman: Miss. John Hurt; Barney Kessel: Answers questions. ...
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Album notes; Alembic report; It's new; Bulletins....
SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES ...Thad Maxwell (Randall); Curly Chalker, Buddy Emmons ,Jerry Reed (Peavey); transcription for Paul Simon's AMERICAN TUNE ; Dave Nelson (Ovation), Gibson Grabber Bass (color), loads of cool advertisements and articles...
Very Good Complete Condition (F)
Price $13.50
May 1975 - JAN AKKERMAN
Guitar Player May 1975....Volume 9 No.5
Jan Akkerman, Of Holland' Focus; Amos Garrett, From Butterfield On; Bill Harris, Jazz Master; John Martyn, British Fingerpicker; The SJ 200, Country Classic; George Kooymans, Of Golden Earring; Free Framus Guitar, GP Giveaway #4. ...
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... Bill Harris, From The Clovers to the classics; The SJ 200 Super Jumbo, The history of a western hero; Amos Garrett, Butterfield, Chuck, Muldaur, etc; Sing Out, That Magazine's first quarter century; John Martyn, Britain's leading folk picker; Blue Bear Waltzes, Another unusual guitar school; Jan Akkerman, Holland's great rocker. ...
COLUMNS ... George Kooymans: A Pro Replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Barney Kessel: Advisory board tips; Bob Baxter: Flat picking practice; Chuck Rainey: Modern bass; Stefan Grossman: Ragtime guitar; Howard Roberts: Melodic Continuity; Jerry Hahn: Diminished scales; Jimmy Stewart: Chromatic Progression; Happy Traum: Strictly Folk. ...
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Album Notes; Alembic Report; Bookpicking; It's New SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES...Hoyt Axton, A&M
Good Condition with normal wear. (C)
Price $15.00
June 1975 - JOE WALSH
Guitar Player June 1975....Volume 9 No. 6
COVER PAGE: ... Joe WALSH; Tal Farlow; Oswald Kirby; Hector Garcia; Bill Withers; Free Sho-Bud Steel, GP Giveawy #5. ...
INSIDE COVER STORIES Arch-Top Collecting, One man's experiences; Hector Garcia, Fostering Classical Guitar; Brother Oswald Kirby, The Dobro Great; Tal Farlow, The name means jazz guitar; Joe Walsh, James Gang, Barnstorm and beyond; Classroom Guitar, Never in your wildest dreams. ...
COLUMNS ... Bill Withers: A Pro Replies; Rusty Young: Steel Symposium; Charlie Byrd: Advisory board tips; Bob Baxter: Quickie Lead Sheets; Chuck Rainey: Modern Bass; Stefan Grossman: Ragtime Guitar, II; Howard Roberts: Fingerboard Study; Jerry Hahn: Diminished Scales; Jimmy Stewart: Modulation; Happy Traum: Delmore Brothers; Alembic Repoert: Les Paul & Strats. ..
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; It's New. ... SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES ... Dave Nelson, Ovation; Herb Ellis, Mastercord; Larry Coryell, Mu-Tron III
Very Good Condition, mailing label on front.
Price $17.50
Guitar Player July 1975....Volume 9 No. 7
COVER PAGE: ... Stanley Clarke, Randy Bachman, Gabor Szabo, The Stromberg History, Latin America's Guitar Heritage ...
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... The Picks of Rock & Roll (Who uses What), Bee Houston (On Blues Guitar)
COLUMNS ... Stefan Grossman: A Pro Replies; Rusty Young: Steel Symposium; Howard Roberts: Advisory board tips; Bob Baxter: Quickie Lead Sheets II; Chuck Rainey: Modern Bass; Stefan Grossman: Ragtime Guitar, II; Jerry Hahn: Scale Arpeggio Patterns I; Jimmy Stewart: Ear Training, IX; Happy Traum: More Delmore Brothers; Alembic Report: GMT/Gallien. ..
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; It's New. ... SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES ... RANDALL, Yamaha, Tascam, Leo Kotke (Buffalo Pickup), Ampeg, Sigma Guitars, Maestro, Alvarez, etc...
Very Good Condition, no mailing label (B)
$17.50
August 1975 - RICK DERRINGER
Guitar Player August 1975....Volume 9 No. 8
COVER PAGE LISTINGS: ..Rick DERRINGER, Rock Powerhouse; Jack Bruce, Bass Guitar Great; The Haggertys, Terry and Frank; Lee Ritenour, Watch For Him; Brian May, A Pro Replies; Free Mossman Guitar, GP Giveaway #7; Hound Dog Taylor, British Folkie...
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... Hound Dog Taylor, Sliding the blues; Lee Ritenour, From studio to concert stage; Fostering Classical guitar, The guitar foundation of America; Mike Longworth, Martin's guitar historian; Jack Bruce, Master bass guitarist; Two generations of great guitar, Terry and Frank Haggerty; Rick Derringer, Rock and roll powerhouse..
COLUMNS ... Brian May: A Pro Replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Larry Coryell: Advisory board tips; Bob Baxter: Barred Chrods; Chuck Rainey, Modern Bass guitar; Stefan Grossman, Ragtime guitar, iv; Howard Roberts: Melodic suspension, II; Jerry Hahn: Scales, Arpeggios, patterns, II; Jimmy Stewart- Ear training; Happy Traum- Fingerpicking fiddle tunes; Alembic report: Chords cables connections. ... OTHER COLUMNS ... Leters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Album notes; It's new
SOME FULL PAGE AD FEATURES ...Jefferson Kewley, Randall; Loggins & Messina, Ovation; Eric Clapton, Music Man Fender's love machine; Jeff Beck, Univox; the Rolling Tones, maestro; backcover, Gibson, Jack Bruce.
VG condition, mailing label on back.
$19.50
September 1975 - JIMI HENDRIX
Guitar Player September 1975....Volume 9 No. 9
COVER PAGE LISTINGS: ..JIMI HENDRIX, The GP special edition with contributions by John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, Johnny Winter, Les Paul, Mike Bloomfield, John Hammond...and others
Plus...Rare Interviews, Jimi's Technique, His Equipment, Unique Photos, INCLUDES original soundsheet!
Loads of great full page ads too...unbelievable Ibanez color inside cover ad but, of course, the focus here is Jimi.
VG condition, mailing label on back.
in stock....
October 1975 - DAVE MASON
Guitar Player October 1975....Volume 9 No. 10
COVER PAGE LISTINGS: .Dave MASON, A Rock Departure; Al DiMeola, Of Return To Forever; Rey de la Torre, Classical Master; Larry Taylor, Bass Guitar Wizard; Charlie Daniels, A Pro Replies; Free Hagstrom Guitar, GP Giveaway #9; Inlaying, A Detailed Guide...
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... Al DiMeola, Of Return To Forever; Rey De La Torre, A true classical master; Larry Taylor, Bass Guitar for Canned Heat, Mayall, etc.; New At NAMM '75, Meet 1976's new products; The Art Of Inlaying, A detailed introduction; Annual Guitar Poll Ballot, A chance to pay tribute to the best; Dave Mason, The pop star as master guitarist...
COLUMNS ... Charlie Daniels: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Larry Coryell: Advisory board tips, part II; Bob Baxter: Capos; Chuck Rainey: Modern bass guitar; Stefan Grossman: Ragtime guitar, part v; Howard Roberts: Melodic suspension, III; Jerry Hahn: Patterns for improvisation; Jimmy Stewart: Ear training, part xi; Happy Traum: Fingerpicking fiddle tunes; Alembic Report: Product tests ... OTHER COLUMNS ...Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Bookpicking; Album notes; It's new.
SOME FULL PAGE AD FEATURES ...Bob Weir, Ibanez; Rick Petrone, Randall; Howard Roberts, Playback; Herb Ellis, Mastercord.
VG condition, mailing label on back.
$19.50
November 1975 - JOHN ENTWISTLE
Guitar Player November 1975....Volume 9 No. 11
COVER PAGE LISTINGS: ..John Entwistle, Bass for "The Who" , Robt. Jr. Lockwood (Still In The Blues); Jeff Beck (Stretching Out); Eddie Condon ( A Recollection); Jim Stafford (Behind TV's Star); Roy Clark (His Rare Guitars);
INSIDE COVER STORIES ... Guitar In Africa, see also cover page listings.
COLUMNS ... Joe Byrd: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Stanley Clarke: Advisory board tips; Bob Baxter: Transposing; Chuck Rainey: Modern bass guitar; Stefan Grossman: Mance Lipscomb; Howard Roberts: Sonic Shapes; Jerry Hahn: Scales & Arpeggios; Jimmy Stewart: Ear training, part XII; Happy Traum: "Gypsy Davey" pt I; Alembic Report: Three Guitar Factories... OTHER COLUMNS ...Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Bookpicking; Album notes; It's new.
SOME FULL PAGE AD FEATURES ... Bob Weir, Ibanez; Waylon Jennings, Randall; Jerry Reed for Peavey, Music Man amps, HOhner guitars, Roland effects, SYairi guitars, Yamaha guitars, Guild guitars, etc....
VG condition, mail label back cover..
$19.50
December 1975 - RON WOOD
Guitar Player December 1975....Volume 9 No. 12
COVER PAGE: Ron WOOD, Faces to Stones; Michael Lorimer, Visits USSR; Ralph Towner, Of Oregon; Pickups, Most Frequent Questions; Free Randall Amp, GP Giveaway #11; Reggie Young, Studio Great; Guitar Poll Results, 1975 Winners
INSIDE COVER STORIES: Ralph Towner, Jazz classicist of Orego; Reggie Young, Studio main man; Pickups, 10 most frequent questions; Michael Lorimer, First UUSR Tour; Ron Wood, Of Faces and Stones; 75 Guitar Poll Results, The 13 winners for this year
COLUMNS: Laurie Wisefield: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Chuck Rainey: Modern bass guitar; Stefan Grossman, Spoonful; Howard Roberts: More sonic shapes; Bob Baxter: Constructing chords; Jerry Hahn: Rhythm changes; Jimmy Stewart: Transcribing from LP's; Happy Traum: Gysy Davey, part II
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Album notes; Bookpicking; It's New
SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEAURES: Randy Scruggs & Carl Perkins, Ibanez; Johnny Tillotson & John Beland, Randall; Bob Gallien & Rich Krueger; Walcott & McCandless & Moore & Towner, Guild; Conway Twitty, Shure; Leo Kottke, Capitol; Elton John Band, Peavey
PICTURES OF 75 Artists of the year: John McLaughlin; Jeff Beck; Julian Beam; Leo Kottke; Roy Clark; Carlos Montoya; Eric Clapton; Jose Feliciano
VG condition, mailing label on back.
$19.50
January 1976 - STEPHEN STILLS
Guitar Player January 1976....Volume 10 No. 1
.........COVER PAGE: Stephen STILLS, Interview; Mickey Baker, R&B great; Buck Dharma, Blue Oyster Cult; Vibrato Tailpieces, past, present future; Maria Sao Marcos, Classical Guitar Great; Tom Brumley, Steel Star; Free Alembic Guitars, GP Giveaway
...INSIDE COVER STORIES: Mickey Baker, Expatriot R&B great; Maria Livia Sao Marcos, European classical standout; Buck Dharma, Of Blue Oyster Cult; Guitar As A Career, Meet producers who know; Tom Brumley, The Stone Canyon band steel; The Vibrato Tailpiece, It's past, present and future; Stephen Stills, Performer and collector; Flamenco Technique, Introducing the farruca
...COLUMNS: Artie Traum: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Jerry Hahn: Progressive blues; Bob Baxter: Head, Gears, Strings; Howard Roberts: Sonic Shapes; Stefan Grossman: Alternating bass; Jimmy Stewart: Guitar from Records, II; Happy Traum: Little Sadie; Chuck Rainey: Modern bass guitar; Alembic Report: Echo devices
...OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Questions; Album notes; It's new
...SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES: Randy Scruggs & Carl Perkins, Ibanez; Stull & Rucker & Densmore & Richman, Randall; Bob Gallien & Rich Krueger; Loretta Lynn, Shure; Lynyrd Skynyrd, Peavey
Good complete condition... normal wear. (D)
Price $16.50
February 1976 - ELVIN BISHOP
Guitar Player February 1976....Volume 10 No. 2
.........COVER PAGE: Elvin BISHOP, Good Time Guitar; Bola Sete, By John Fahey; John Abercrombie, New Jazz Star; Tim Schmit, Bass For Poco; Slide Guitar, Some Hints; Free Ibanez Guitar, GP Giveaway #13; Otis Rush, Chicago Blues Guitar
...INSIDE COVER STORIES: Bola Sete, A personal view; Otis Rush, Chicago blues great; John Abercrombie, New jazz guitar wizard; Tim Schmit, Bass guitarist for Poco; Slide guitar tunings, A brief exploration; Musing with Glen, Advisory board tips by Glen Cambell; Luthiers of the Philippines, An entire town's livelihood; The D'Addarios, Eight generations of string makers; Elvin Bishop, Letting the good times roll
...COLUMNS: Jerry Donahue: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Chuck Rainey: Chording, III; Happy Traum: No depression blues; Jimmy Stewart: Tribute to Eddie Lang; Stefan Grossman: Alternating bass, II; Howard Roberts: Fingerboard dexterity; Box Baxter: The guitar nut; Jerry Hahn: Comping
...OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Guitaring; Album notes; It's new; Questions
...SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES: Marlo Henderson, Ibanez; Jessi, Randall; Merle HAGGARD, Norlin; Bob Gallien_Rich Krueger; Dave Mason, Ovation; Montrose, Badass; Eric Clapton, Music Man
Good complete condition...mailing label back cover.. (C)
Price $16.50
March 1976 - RICHARD BETTS
Guitar Player March 1976....Volume 10 No. 3
.........COVER PAGE: Cover and feature story is on Richard Betts. Great cover photo of Betts. Also includes: Lute Construction, Luther Allison (Blues Guitar Boss), Craig Chaquico/Neal Schon, The Harpguitar, Dave Laibman,etc.
Marlo Henderson (with Minnie Riperton) in full page inside cover ad for Ibanez Artwood Twin (6-12 double neck guitar). Cool Gretsch ad with Chet Atkins, Pat Metheny-Mick Goodrick, Alvarez full page ad,, Jim Messina full page ad for Ovation Guitars...tons of great ads and articles...
Good condition...mailing label back cover... (C)
Price $16.50
April 1976 - JOE PASS
Guitar Player April 1976....Volume 10 No. 4
.........COVER PAGE: Joe Pass, Jazz Virtuoso; Hawaii, GP special Section; Leland Sklar, LA Studio Bassist; College, Guitar Programs; Carl Wilson, Beach Boy; Jerry Byrd, Hawaii Called; Free Woodson Mixer, GP Giveaway #15
INSIDE COVER STORIES: Guitar in Hawaii A GP Special: Introduction, The State of Guitar in Hawaii, The Hawaiian Music Foundation, Slack Key: Unique guitar style, Slack Key Discography \ Opihi Moemoe, Jerry Byrd: Hawaii Called; Carl Wilson, Beach Boy guitarist; Lee Sklar, Busy LA Bass Guitarist; College Guitar Programs, A personal overview; Joe Pass, Hottest name in jazz guitar
COLUMNS: Trevor White: A Pro replies; Rusty Young: Steel symposium; Jeff Baxter: Customizing your strat; Craig Anderton: Electronics; Stefan Grossman, Raggin the blues; George Gruhn: Collectible, part I; Jimmy Stewart: Charlie Christian; Michael Lorimer: Segovia, part II; Howard Roberts: Major scale patterns; Bob Baxter: Adjusting the bridge; Jerry Hahn: Techniques & More exercises; Chuck Rainey: Phrasing part I
OTHER COLUMNS: Letters to the editor; Album notes; It's new; Questions
...SOME FULL-PAGE AD FEATURES: Marlo Henderson, Ibanez; Krieger - Stull - Densmore - Rucker - Richman, Randall; Ralph Johnson & Freddie White, Tama; Chick Corea, Kustom; John Davidson, Shure. ...
VG condition...no mailing label (B).
in stock....
November 1976 - DJANGO!
Guitar Player November 1976....Volume 10 No. 11
...COVER PAGES: DJANGO! -a GP special-guitar legend Django Reinhardt, Django Reinhardt recalled, In Reinhardt's Footsteps, Django's Far-Reaching Impact, Form DSP-33, A Reinhardt Discography, plus Ted Nugent,Denny Dias, Lowell Fulson, Flamenco Guitar In Spain, Bud Isaacs, Taking Care Of Business and more
Good complete condition, no mailing label..
Price $16.50
December 1976 - ROBERTSON/DANKO
Guitar Player December 1976....Volume 10 No. 12
COVER PAGES: Robertson/Danka, mainstays of "The Band"; '76 Poll results; Jimmy Reed, Blues Big Boss Man; Max Bennett,Jazz and Rock Bassist: Paul Yandell, Chet's Nashville Favorite; Tony Rizzi and his five guitarists
Good complete condition, no mailing label
Price $16.50
September 1977 - ALBERT KING
Guitar Player September 1977....Volume 11 No. 9
Albert KING, one of a kind Blues great; Monk Montgomery, Hank Marvin, Namm '77, Scotty's Steel Convention, Larry Cragg, Electric Bass Pioneer; Dave Davies, of "The Kinks"; Joe Beck, Jazz Rocker
Good complete condition, no mailing label..
Price $14.50
October 1977 - TODD RUNDGREN
Guitar Player October 1977....Volume 11 No. 10
Todd RUNDGREN, space age guitarist; Gary Richrath, of "R.E.O. Speedwagon"; Gene Bertoncini, New York Studio Mainstay; Miguel Abloniz, Classical Guitar Mentor; Jazz Chords, altered and extended
Good complete condition. no mailing label..
Price $14.50
November 1977 - KEITH RICHARD
Guitar Player November 1977....Volume 11 No. 11
...COVER PAGES: Keith RICHARD - Rolling Stones Great Guitarist; John Sebastian ; Tony Mottola; Phil Lesh; Phoebe Snow ; The Who's Sound System, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Honest Tom Pomposello, Eliminating Feedback,etc...
Good complete condition. no mailing label.. (B)
Price $14.50
December 1977 - LES PAUL
Guitar Player December 1977....Volume 11 No. 12
...COVER PAGES: Les PAUL, an exclusive interview with a pioneer of the solidbody guitar; plus '77 Poll results; Women & Guitar; The Outlaws, Vincente Gomez, Tony Rice, Funkadelic, New york's session men..etc...
VG condition. no mailing label.. (B)
in stock....
Guitar Player January 1978....Volume 12 No. 1
......Domenic Troiano, Arranging For Guitar, Noel Boggs, G.I.T., Mike Elliott, Barrios, Steve Miller, etc
Good Condition, No mailing label...
Price $12.50
March 1979 - JOE PERRY
Guitar Player March 1979....Volume 13 No.3
Articles on Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, J.B. Hutto, Wireless Transmitters, Steve Khan, The Carter Family, etc.
Good Condition. No Mailing label. (B)
Price $14.50
April 1979 - MIKE BLOOMFIELD
Guitar Player April 1979....Volume 13 No.4
Articles on Michael Bloomfield, Bootsy Collins, Avant-Garde Guitar, Wilbert Longmire, Stefan Grossman, John Renbourn, Juan Martin, Buying the Right Guitar, etc.
VG condition. No Mailing label.
in stock....
May 1979 - LARRY CARLTON
Guitar Player May 1979....Volume 13 No.5
Articles on Larry Carlton, David Gilmour, Alice Artzt, Lonnie Mack's "Memphis", Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Weldon Myrick, Flamenco Today In Spain, Sonny Greenwich, etc.
Very good condition. No Mailing label.
Price $17.50
June 1979 - HOWARD ROBERTS
Guitar Player June 1979....Volume 13 No.6
Articles on Howard Roberts, David Briggs, Guitar Warranties, Pete Carr, James Jamerson, Guitar Woods, Eric Schoenberg, etc.
Cover in rough condition with some tearing at staples and rips..rest is good and complete
Price $9.50
July 1979 - GEORGE BENSON
Guitar Player July 1979....Volume 13 No.7
Articles on George Benson, Mark Knopfler, Guitar Attachments, Roy Bookbinder, The Vintage Guitar Market, Brian Jeffery, Guitar Research Engineers, Leon Gaer, Expanding Technique, Phil Upchurch,, etc.
Very good condition. Thick issue...cover is loose at staples. (B)
Price $14.50
August 1979 - TED NUGENT
Guitar Player August 1979....Volume 13 No.8
. Articles on Ted Nugent, Albert Collins, American Institute Of Guitar, Steve Burgh, Corrective Nail Filing, Robbie Shakespeare, Built-In Bass Preamps, Eddie Durham, Stereos As Amps, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label.
Price $14.50
September 1979 - MICK RALPHS
Guitar Player September 1979....Volume 13 No.9
Articles on Mick Ralphs, Tim bogert, 8-String Guitar, Arlen Roth, Poll Ballot, Eric Gale, Pedal Steel Guitar, John Scofield, Travis Picking Variations, Paul rodgers, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label.
Price $9.50
October 1979 - CHET ATKINS
Guitar Player October 1979....Volume 13 No.10
Articles on Chet Atkins, Waddy Wachtel, The Guitar Cord, Ray Parker,Jr, Namm Expo '79, Carmen Marina, Howie Collins, Guitar Books, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label. (D)
Price $24.50
November 1979 - RICK NIELSEN
Guitar Player November 1979....Volume 13 No.11
Articles on Rick Nielsen, Brothers Johnson, Electric Guitar in Country Music, Albert Valdez Blain, Greg Douglass, Renwick Gallery, Ryo Kawasaki, Performance Theory, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label.
Price $14.50
December 1979 - NANCY WILSON/ROGER FISHER of HEART
Guitar Player December 1979....Volume 13 No.12
Articles on Roger Fisher, Howard Leese, Nancy Wilson, Steve Fossen, Son Seals, Harmonic Analysis, Ben Benay, Western Swing Steel, Attila Zoller, Poll Results, Fylde Guitars, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label.
OUT
January 1980 - PAT TRAVERS
Guitar Player January 1980....Volume 14 No.1
Articles on Pat Travers, Pat Thrall, Grant Geissman, Problems Of Tall Guitarists, Sea Level, GP's 13-year artist index, Bucky Barrett, Teaching Blind Guitarists, etc.
Very good complete condition (E)
Price $14.50
February 1980 - TOMMY TEDESCO
Guitar Player February 1980....Volume 14 No.2
Articles on Tommy Tedesco, Mick Taylor, Guitar Synthesizer Update, Michael Newman, Chicago Sessiona Guitarists, Arvella Gray, Bass Popping Techniques, Monnette Sudler, etc.
Good Condition. NO Mailing label.
Price $14.50
March 1980 - RY COODER
Guitar Player March 1980....Volume 14 No.5
Articles on Ry Cooder, Larry Graham, AIR-Directed Movement, Winnie Winston, Herb Ellis Guitar Seminar, Nashville, Charts, Guitar Kits & Parts, etc.
Good Condition, NO Mailing label.
Price $14.50
November 1982 - RANDY RHOADS REMEMBERED
Guitar Player November 1982....Volume 16 No.11
Randy Rhoads, Careers: Method Books, Guitar Player Giveaway #2, David Hood, Top Of The Line, II, George Sakellariou, New Gear '82, Mike Stern,etc.... Rare Bird- Gibson One Of A Kind Double Neck....
VG condition, mailing label bottom left front
in stock....
December 1982 - ALLAN HOLDSWORTH
Guitar Player December 1982....Volume 16 No.12
Allan Holdsworth, Inner-City Guitar, Bridges & Tailpieces, Eric Johnson, Readers Poll Winners, Verve Jazz Classics, Van Halen on Diver Down, Larry DiMarzio,etc.... Rare Bird- C.F Martin Electric....
good condition, small tear front cover (pickguard area of guitar Allan holds)
Price $14.50
October 1985 - STANLEY JORDAN
Guitar Player October 1985....Volume 19 No. 10
Articles on Stanley Jordan, Robbie Blunt, Equipment Extravaganza, Nathan East, Photos Of Jim Marshall, Instrumental Rock's Unsung Heroes, Donald Kinsey Returns to the Blues, etc.... Rare Bird- Gibson's Stereo ES-345
good condition, soundsheet included (D)
Price $10.50
November 1985 - JEFF BECK
Guitar Player November 1985....Volume 19 No. 11
Articles on Jeff Beck On Rock, Jeff Beck Odyssey, Steve Khan Looks Beyond Fusion, Survivor's Frankie Sullivan, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Custom Colors, etc.... Rare Bird- Fender's Former Flagships...Jazzmaster & Jaguar
good condition with soundsheet (D)
Price $10.50
December 1985 - PERSONAL STUDIOS
Guitar Player December 1985....Volume 19 No. 12
Articles on Personal Studios, Studios of the Pros, Nils Lofgren, India's Slide Guitar Maestro Brij Bhushan Kabra, Jorma Kaukonen new album & new band, etc.... Rare Bird- Gigantic Larsen Brothers Acoustic
good condition, soundsheet intact (Free Record: John Scofield Burns It Up) (E)
Price $10.50
January 1986 - Robert Fripp
Guitar Player January 1986....Volume 20 No. 1
Features include: Robert Fripp, The Art Of Freelance Guitaring, Bluesman Ronnie Earl, New York's Robert Quine, The Uncompromising Anthony Jackson, Reggie Young Inside Nashville, Creative EQ, Leo Brouwer Cuban Classicist, Steve Carnelli's Cartoon Guitar, Half Notes (Requiem for Merle Watson). Retrospec....Kustom's Roll-and-Tuck Amps.
Good Condition all 154 pages and Robert Fripp soundsheet intact.("Easter Sunday")
Price $11.50
January 1986 - Robert Fripp
Guitar Player January 1986....Volume 20 No. 1
Features include: Robert Fripp, The Art Of Freelance Guitaring, Bluesman Ronnie Earl, New York's Robert Quine, The Uncompromising Anthony Jackson, Reggie Young Inside Nashville, Creative EQ, Leo Brouwer Cuban Classicist, Steve Carnelli's Cartoon Guitar, Half Notes (Requiem for Merle Watson). Retrospec....Kustom's Roll-and-Tuck Amps.
Good Condition all 154 pages intact, soundsheet missing
Price $9.50
February 1986 - AL DiMEOLA
Guitar Player February 1986....Volume 20 No. 2
Articles on Al DiMeola's Radical Shift, Elliot Easton Stretches Out, Robert Cray's Blues, Mario Maccaferri: Luthier/Visionary, Electrifying G.E. Smith, Bassist Jerry Peek, Chris Proctor's Acoustic Elegance. Rare Bird....Guild's hip little Bluesbirds.
Good Condition , Soundsheet intact "DiMeola's Private Lesson" (D)
Price $10.50
March 1986 - Billy Gibbons ZZ TOP!
Guitar Player March 1986....Volume 20 No. 3
Features include: Billy Gibbons, Billy Gibbons' Ten Unsung Greats, Billy Sheehan Soundpage (missing) & Lesson, Tony MacAlpine's Dazzlilng Debut (soundpage missing), Bireli Lagrene Gypsy Jazz Phenom, Strat Supercharge Plus, Will Lee & Sid McGinnis, Learn To Read Tab, Del Vecchio's Resonator guitar, Distortion/Good, Bad & Ugly, Half Notes (Ricky Nelson & Eric Yuncker remembered). Rare Bird....Rickenbacker's style 381
Good Condition, all 138 pages intact. Back cover has small tear..
Price $14.50
April 1986 - GEDDY LEE
Guitar Player April 1986....Volume 20 No. 4
Features include: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Kazumi Watanabe, Equipment Explosion, Arlen Roth, Flamenco's Paco Pena, Expanded Jazz Bass, Lloyd Ellis' Jazz Heritage, Beautiful Licks, Al Casey, Unsung Session Star. Rare Bird....RAY WHITLEY Recording King made by Gibson.
Good Condition all 162 pages intact, no flex-disc
Price $10.50
August 1986 - JOE PASS
Guitar Player August 1986....Volume 20 No. 8
Privat Lesson with Joe Pass, Tom Petty & Mike Campbell, New York Underground, Pete Cornish: Custom Pedalboards, Inside Peavey, The Tail Gators, Bassist Bunny Brunel, The Legend Of Big Bill Broonzy, Martin's Fanciest Acoustic. includes free soundpage...
Price $15.00
September 1986 - GTR Steve Howe/Steve Hackett
Guitar Player September 1986....Volume 20 No. 9
Features include: GTR: Steve howe & Steve Hackett, Larry Carlton/Center Stage, Darryl Jones On Bass, Equipment Spectacular, Miss Off The Wall 1986, Guitar History/Forrest White, 1986 Readers Poll Ballot, Soundpage (missing) David Tanenbaum, New York Underground/The Bands, Half Notes (Joe Maphis & C.F.Martin III remembered). Rare Bird....A Gibson Les Paul 12 String
very good dondition, all 154 pages and SOUNDSHEET (David Tanenbaum "Sonata K. 336") plus FREE "Off The Wall Guitars" POSTER intact. (C)
Price $10.50
October 1986 - STEVE VAI
Guitar Player October 1986....Volume 20 No. 10
Articles on Steve Vai, Pro's Reply: Barney Kessel, NAMM Equipment Extravaganza, The Kinetic Scott Henderson, Country Classics instruments made for Merle Travis, Jimmie Rodgers, Gene Autry,etc. Paul Samwell-Smith Bassist/Visionary, Alex Malheiros of Azymuth, Fingernails/Care & Feeding...Rare Bird....two Vox 12 strings
very good condition, includes soundsheet (Michael Hedges and Steve Vai)... (E)
Price $10.50
November 1986 - John Abercrombie
Guitar Player November 1986....Volume 20 No. 11
Features include: John Abercrombie Improviser, Pro's Reply/Mike Marshall, Johnny Winter Plays The Blues, Brad Gillis' Red Hot Tips & Tricks, Southern Pacific, Bassist Tommy Shannon, The Eclectic Frederic Hand, Hot-Wire Your Guitar's Controls. Half Notes (Swinging bluesman Steve Samuels; Cymbiosis magazine/cassette for progressive rock).
Good Condition, All 154 pages intact.soundpage included
Price $9.00
December 1986 - Billy Sheehan/ Best Rock Bass
Guitar Player December 1986....Volume 20 No. 12
Features include: Billy sheehan, 17th Annual Readers Poll, Pro's reply/Steve Morse, Build The No-Zap, Jamie West-Oram Of The Fixx, Guadalcanal Diary, Segovia Master Class '86, Big Guitars From Austin, Christmas Soundpage (missing), Robert Lee's Elegant Marquetry, Nashville's Marty Stuart. Half Notes (Antonio Lauro remembered), includes soundpage. Rare Bird..Fender's Original Precision Bass.
Good Condition , All 170 pages intact.
Price $9.00
January 1987 - 20th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
Guitar Player January 1987....Volume 21 No. 1
Articles on Frank Zappa & Dweezil Zappa, Memorabilia: Our First Year, magazine milestones, Jon Sievert Photo Gallery, 20 Most Beautiful Guitars Ever Made, Column Classics, Essential Guitar Albums, Equipment Landmarks...
good condition. Soundsheet included (Frank Zappa/Dweezil Zappa "Sharleena")..
Price $17.50
February 1987 - Los Lobos
Guitar Player February 1987....Volume 21 No. 2
Features Include: Los Lobos, Steve Miller, Fernando Saunders, Carlos Rios, Producer Primer, Gibson's Amazing "Florentine", Telecaster Master Jerry Donahue, 10-way Strat Project, Dan Crary's Straight Talk...
Good Condition . All 162 pages and soundsheet intact. (blues great Hubert Sumlin "Down In The Bottom")(F)
Price $9.00
March 1987 - MIKE STERN
Guitar Player March 1987....Volume 21 No. 3
Articles on Mike Stern, The Smithereens, Bruce Thomas of the Attractions, Tax Tips for Guitarists, Precision Bass Modification, Wowling Green John Cephas, Roy Lanham's Hillbilly Jazz...Vintage Amps- Magnatone MP-3
good condition, soundpage included (Adrian Belew) (D)
Price $10.50
April 1987 - Warren De Martini
Guitar Player April 1987....Volume 21 No. 4
Features Include: Ratt's Warren De Martini, Jimmy Bryant's "Stratosphere Boogie" Soundpage, Pro's Reply/Herb Ellis, Warner Hodges, Scorcher, Equipment Explosion, Buddy Guy's Red-Hot Blues, Living With Feedback, Robbin Crosby, Scott Johnson, Rock Classicist, Johnny Gayden, Bass Man,etc...
Good Condition, all 155 pages intact. with soundpage
Price $9.00
May 1987 - Robert Cray
Guitar Player May 1987....Volume 21 No. 5
Features Include: Robert Cray, Pro's Reply/Tony Rice, Georgia Satellites, Equipment Explosion, Playing The Pits, David & David, Bassist Avery Sharpe, In Session: Brent Rowan, Tim Donahue/ Fretless Guitarist, William Kanengiser, Build A Headphone Amp,etc...
Good Condition, All 162 pages intact. Soundsheet included..
Price $10.50
June 1987 - JOHN SCOFIELD
Guitar Player June 1987....Volume 21 No. 6
Articles on John Scofield/Jazzman, Alex de Grassi, Guitars of Graceland, Monterey Pop Revisited, Pedal Steeler Steve Fishell, Southwest Guitar Show, Neil Jason On Bass, Earl King Resurfaces. Rare Bird...Rickenbacker's Model 4000 Bass....
Good Condition with Jorge Morel soundsheet ("Danza Para Emiko") (D)
Price $10.50
July 1987 - ALEX LIFESON, RIK EMMETT, LIONA BOYD, ED BICKERT Together!
Guitar Player July 1987....Volume 21 No. 7
Articles on Canadian Guitar Summit, Andy West Pro Reply, Masters Series: Creativity, Rickenbacker Exports, Bassist Brian Bromberg, Eduardo Fernandez, The Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood, Tips for Staying in Tune. Rare Bird...The 1957 Fender Sunburst Telecaster....
Good Condition , Sound page (Beyond Borders) intact (F)
Price $10.50
July 1987 - ALEX LIFESON, RIK EMMETT, LIONA BOYD, ED BICKERT Together!
Guitar Player July 1987....Volume 21 No. 7
Articles on Canadian Guitar Summit, Andy West Pro Reply, Masters Series: Creativity, Rickenbacker Exports, Bassist Brian Bromberg, Eduardo Fernandez, The Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood, Tips for Staying in Tune. Sound page intact, Rare Bird...The 1957 Fender Sunburst Telecaster....
Good Condition , sound page missing
Price $8.50
August 1987 - Strat Mania !
Guitar Player August 1987....Volume 21 No. 8
Features Include: Strat Mania, Pro's Reply/Heeere's Bob Bain, Freddie Green Remembered, Richard Cousins/Blues Bassist, Merle Haggard/Clint Strong, Legendary Jimmy Rogers, Masters Series/Redirecting Reactions, Carlos Alomar's Synth Excursion,etc...
Good Condition . All 162 pages intact. Soundsheet - David Starobin "Chase" included..
Price $10.50
September - 1987 SPEED!
Guitar Player September 1987....Volume 21 No. 9
Articles on SPEED, New Orleans' Brian Stoltz, Bassist Billy Cox, Pro's Reply: Randy Hebert, David Rhodes, Henry Kaiser, Inside St. Louis Music, Rare Bird...Bigsby Super Thin Electric...
Good Condition with soundpage ..(C)
Price $10.50
October 1987 - VAN HALEN & HAGAR!
Guitar Player October 1987....Volume 21 No. 10
Articles on Eddie Van Halen & Sammy Hagar, Pro's Reply: Richie Havens, Mason Ruffner, Guitarists' Legal Primer, Suzanne Vega's Acoustic Artistry, Doug Wimbish: Bass In Your Face, Otis Rush Plays The Blues, Martin's Depression-Era Classics, Ichiro Suzuki's Zen Visions, Maximize Your Piezo Pickups. Rare Bird...Dobro's Model 27 Resophonic guitar..
Good Condition . soundpage- Albert Lee's "Fun Ranch Frolics" included
Price $14.50
November 1987 - George Harrison
Guitar Player November 1987....Volume 21 No. 11
Features Include: George Harrison, Pro's Reply/Leo Kotkke, Masters Series/Modal Management, Segovia Remembered, Steve Swallow's New Directions, Make Money Playing Classical Guitar, The Beatles' Fab Gear, Master Volume & Tone Project,etc...
Good Condition . soundpage- David Torn "A Sigh On Barriers" included
Price $14.50
December 1987 - Sneak Previews! Guitar Gear '88
Guitar Player December 1987....Volume 21 No. 12
Features Include: Trends And Innovations, Tools Of The Trade (88 models), Close Ups, Pro's Reply/wolf Marshall, Herb Ellis, With Bryan Adams/Keith Scott, Sergio & Odair Assad, Webb Wilder & The Beatnecks, Readers Poll Winners, Jazz Bassist Steve Rodby, etc...
Good Condition . All 170 pages intact. Soundsheet - Herb Ellis Quartet "Jingle Bells" included..
Price $12.50
December 1987 - Sneak Previews! Guitar Gear '88
Guitar Player December 1987....Volume 21 No. 12
Features Include: Trends And Innovations, Tools Of The Trade (88 models), Close Ups, Pro's Reply/wolf Marshall, Herb Ellis, With Bryan Adams/Keith Scott, Sergio & Odair Assad, Webb Wilder & The Beatnecks, Readers Poll Winners, Jazz Bassist Steve Rodby, etc...
Good Condition . All 170 pages intact. Soundsheet missing..
Price $10.50
January 1988 - LYNYRD SKYNYRD
Guitar Player January 1988....Volume 22 No. 1
Articles on Lynryd Skynyrd, Carlos Santana (soundpage), Pro's Reply: Steve Katz, Richard Lloyd's 6-string Alchemy, Carmine Rojas: Bowie's Bass, Guitars Of The Hard Rock Cafe, Omar Dykes, Masters Series: Liona Boyd, Privat Lesson: Jack Wilkins, Insurance for Guitarists, Snooks Eaglin. Rare Bird...Leo Fender's G&L 200..
good condition, Carlos Santana & Chester Thompson "Blues For Salvador" soundsheet intact. (D)
Price $12.50
February 1988 - JOE SATRIANI
Guitar Player February 1988....Volume 22 No. 2
Articles on Joe Satriani (soundpage missing), Pro's Reply: Chet Thompson, Guitar Poster Art, True Blues, Jimmy Haslip: Buzzing On Bass, masters Series: Deciphering Rhythms, Hi-Tech Guitar: What's In It For You?, Eugene Chadbourne Runs Amok, Christopher Parkening Returns, Kevin Dukes, Sidemaster. Rare Bird...Fender's Primordial four-neck steel..
good condition with soundsheet intact (Joe Satriani "Power Cosmic", "The Crush Of Love") (D)
Price $10.50
March 1988 - GO CHUCK GO! CHUCK BERRY
Guitar Player March 1988....Volume 22 No. 3
Articles on Chuck Berry, Ry Cooder: In Search Of The Big Note, Soundpage Recording Cooder & Vai: The "Crossroads" Duel, Pro's Reply: Al Hendrickson, High-Tech Guitar: A Digital Audio Primer, Bassist Emory Gordy, Jr., Rory Stuart/Improvisor, Masters Series: Right-Hand Technique, Eldon Shamblin/Texas Playboy. Rare Bird...Prehistoric Electric Guitars..
good condition, Soundpage - Ry Cooder & Steve Vai "Crossroads Guitar Duet" included
Price $10.50
March 1988 - GO CHUCK GO! CHUCK BERRY
Guitar Player March 1988....Volume 22 No. 3
Articles on Chuck Berry, Ry Cooder: In Search Of The Big Note, Soundpage Recording Cooder & Vai: The "Crossroads" Duel, Pro's Reply: Al Hendrickson, High-Tech Guitar: A Digital Audio Primer, Bassist Emory Gordy, Jr., Rory Stuart/Improvisor, Masters Series: Right-Hand Technique, Eldon Shamblin/Texas Playboy. Rare Bird...Prehistoric Electric Guitars..
Back cover & last page torn & partly missing, Soundpage missing , AS IS
Price $7.50
April 1988 - JOE WALSH
Guitar Player April 1988....Volume 22 No. 4
Articles on Joe Walsh, "The 12 Greatest All-Time-Forever Guitar Solos", Tuck Andress' Debut , Pro's Reply: Norman Blake, Slide Wiz Sonny Landreth, Inside Jackson Guitars, On Call: Fretless Bassist Mick Karn, A Lood Of New Guitars, High-Tech Guitar: Putting Digital Tools To Work, Avan-Gardist Derik Bailey, Right Hand Technique.. Rare Bird...Prehistoric Electric Guitars..Part II.
good condition , soundpage - Tuck Andress "Everything's Gonna Be All Right" & "Yogurt Blues" included
Price $10.50
May 1988 - ALBERT COLLINS !
Guitar Player May 1988....Volume 22 No. 5
Articles on Albert Collins, Jerry Donahue (soundpage missing), Pro's Reply: Miles Copeland, Kenny Aaronson: Rock Bottom, Steve Vai's "Skyscraper" Secrets, Technology Showcase, High-Tech Guitar: Acoustics, Instant Composition, The EBow: Singing Strings, Rockin' With Roland Janes... Rare Bird...Classic Fender "Tweed" Amps and How To Date Them.
good condition , Soundsheet - Jerry Donahue's "The Beak", "The Claw" "Examples & Commentary" intact. (C)
Price $10.50
June 1988 - FRANK GAMBALE
Guitar Player June 1988....Volume 22 No. 6
Frank Gambale, Pro's Reply/Tony Melendez, Ted Nugent Licks 'Em, High-Tech Guitar: MIDI for Real Guitarist, Arch-Top Of The Line, Andy Brauer, Equipment Specialist, Masters Series: Bach's "Prelude In D Major", Pedal Steeler Jay Dee Maness... Rare Bird...Martin's 000-28.
good condition , soundsheet - John Patitucci on 6 string bass "Our Family" intact
Price $15.00
July 1988 - JERRY GARCIA
Guitar Player July 1988....Volume 22 No. 7
Articles on Jerry Garcia, Soundpage Competition Winner (soundpage included), Pro's Reply: Mila, Eric Clapton's "Crossroads", Vinnie Moore's "Time Odyssey", Bassist Gary Grainger, On The Avant-Garde, All About Chord Progressions, Players' Choice: Roger Sadowsky, In Search Of Infinite Sustain.. Rare Bird...Rickenbacker's Electric 12 string.
Very Good Condition. soundpage included - Competition Winners - Brad Jones "Back Porch Boogie", "Salty Dog Blues" & James Blackthorne: "Spak" (F)
In Stock
August 1988 - CLAPTON
Guitar Player August 1988....Volume 22 No. 8
Clapton Celebration Cover & Free Record, Pro's Reply: Jerry Holmes, Classical Masterpieces, Stuart Hamm: Two Hands On Bass, Lydia Mendoza- The Lark Of The Border, High-ech Guitar: Sampling Applications, Big Fun On The Bayou, Masters Series: All About Chord Progressions, Fred Newell of "Nashville Now", Copyright For Guitarists. Rare Bird...1951 Broadcasters, Nocasters and Telecasters.
Good Condition.... soundpage intact (unreleased Derek & The Dominos playing Hendrix "Little Wing")...NOTE: also have one with no soundpage for $12.00(C)
Price $15.00
September 1988 - Robben Ford
Guitar Player September 1987....Volume 22 No. 9
Features Include: Robben Ford, Pro's Reply/Sal Salvador, Bill Carter/A Blue Messiah Screams, Fine-Tune Your Floyd, Hiram Bullock, Readers Poll Ballot, Bassist Jeff Andrews, High-Tech Guitar/Psychoacoustics, Playing With Pain, Chord Progressions, Nashville Acoustic (Mark Casstevens, Billy Joe Walker, Jr. Pat Flynn),etc...
Good Condition...small tear in cover, All 154 pages intact. Soundsheet included..
Price $8.50
October 1988 - BURNIN' VERNON REID
Guitar Player October 1988....Volume 22 No. 10
Articles on Vernon Reid (soundpage missing), Ronnie Montrose's "The Speed Of Sound", Hot Time/Hot Gear in Atlanta, Verdine White, Garry Tallent/E Street Bass, Soukous Chimurenga Mbaqanga & More, Flamenco Basics, High-Tech Guitar: MIDI Control.. Rare Bird...The '57 Gold Top and the "doll factor".
good condition with soundsheet (Living Colour: "Cult Of Personality") (E)
Price $10.50
November 1988 - AMPS ! Special Edition
Guitar Player November 1987....Volume 22 No. 11
Features Include: Special Amps Edition, The New Generation, The Mystique Of Tubes, Vintage Classics, How To Buy An Amp, Pro's REply/Santana, Care & Feeding, Performance Bargains, Hotrodders, Articles Index Marshall Factory Tour, Dating Early Fenders, Body & Hand Position, Guitar Speak,etc...
Good Condition. All 162 pages intact. Soundsheet - Nikita Koshkin "Guitar" solo included..
Price $14.50
December 1988 - GUITAR IN THE USSR
Guitar Player December 1987....Volume 22 No. 12
USSR Guitar, Jeff Golub's Unspoken Words, Standing In The Shadows: Motown Guitars, Inside Steinberger, Masters Series: Beyond Scales & Arpeggios, Avat-Funk With A Metal Edge, Outfit Your Band Giveaway, Tendinitis Blues,Free Record: FOLEY,etc...
Good condition, All 162 pages intact. Soundsheet included..(Foley on Lead Bass)(C)
Price $10.50
January 1989 - WHO ARE THE WORLD'S BEST?
Guitar Player January 1989....Volume 23 No. 1
Articles on Readers Poll Winners, Joe Satriani, Pro's Reply: David Kershenbaum, A Celebration Of Les Paul, Hans Reichel (soundsheet intact), The 1830s Stauffer Martin, Mark Egan & His Singing Bass, Masters Series: Harmonics, High-Tech Guitar: Inside MIDI messages, Ultimate Strat Switch. Rare Bird...Mosrite's Ventures Model.
Good condition, soundsheet - Hans Reichel "solo dachsophone and guitar" and "Old Bones" excerpt included
Price $10.50
February 1989 - THE ART OF IMPROVISATION
Guitar Player February 1989....Volume 23 No. 2
Articles on Improvisation,Frank Gambale's Modal Magic (soundsheet included), Pro's Reply: Alan Douglas, Sonic Youth, Buck Owens Is Back, 100 Pro's Picks Poster intact, Steve Vai's Martian Love Secrets, Daryl Stuermer Steps Out, Portraits In Blues, Stanley Clarke Rare Bird...Fender's Unusual Bass V and Bass VI.
Good Condition , soundsheet - Frank Gambale "Modal Magic" included (D)
Price $10.50
March 1989 - UNKNOWN GREATS !
Guitar Player March 1989....Volume 23 No. 3
. Articles on Unknown Greats, Danny Gatton Unmasked (soundsheet included but not attached), Pro's Reply: Fatdog, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Steve Vai's Martian Love Secrets, Masters Series: Sight-Reading Basics, Fender Bass Classics, David Lindley's "Very Greasy".. Rare Bird...Gretsch Country Gentleman
Good condition with soundsheet (incredible Danny Gatton "Nit Pickin") (D)
Price $12.50
April 1989 - METALLICA RULES!
Guitar Player April 1989....Volume 23 No. 4
Metallica, Pro's Reply: Ron Fucuals, Johnny Shines' Deep Blues, Benny Reitveld: Bass Man For Miles, Tax Tips, Calling All Teachers, Gibson's Electraharp, Mick Goodrick's Fingerstyle Brilliance, Sound Systems Primer, Steve Vai's Martian Love Secrets, Free Record Fisk Plays Real Paganini...
Good condition with soundsheet included (Eliot Fisk Plays Real Paganini solo guitar) (D)
Price $14.50
May 1989 - UNRELEASED JIMI !
Guitar Player May 1989....Volume 23 No. 5
Articles on Jimi Hendrix "Red House" (soundpage included/not attached), Noel Redding, Billy Cox, Joe Satriani, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pro's Reply: Warwick Stone, Jennifer Batten/ On Two Hand Tapping, Jimmy Johnson's Bass Magic Roy rogers Slides Again, Guitars Devour Southern California, Brazil's Turibio Santos, Steve Vai's Martian Love Secrets (part 4)... Rare Bird...Martin's Underrated D-18
Good condition with soundsheet intact (Jimi Hendrix: "Red House") (B)
Price $10.50
June 1989 - DIGITAL MAGIC
Guitar Player June 1989....Volume 23 No. 6
Articles on Programmable Multi-Processors, Free Record/ The Sounds Of Jimi Hendrix, Pro's REply/Marvelous Mel Miller, Larry Carlton's Triumph, A Private Lesson with Paul gilbert, Carl Perkins; Mr Blue Suede Shoes, Jerome Harris' Double Life, Steve Vai's Martian Love Secrets Part 5, Rare Bird...An Early Fender In Dallas
good condition with soundsheet included (Jimi Hendrix: excerpts from "Fuzz, Feedback & Wah Wah, Whammy Bar & Finger Grease")(E)
Price $10.50
good condition - Soundpage included...David Tronzo "Spin"
Price $7.50
May 1990 - STEVE VAI
Guitar Player May 1990....Volume 24 No. 5
Articles on Steve Vai (Passion And Warfare), Transcription: Jimi And Wes, Vai-Style, All Those Fabulous Picks!, Mountains Of Equipment, Ernie Isley Gets Hot, South American Rhythms, James Blood Ulmer, Bassist Willie Weeks
good complete condition...shows wear, couple of tears in covers
Price $9.50
June 1990 - MAESTRO JULIAN BREAM
Guitar Player June 1990....Volume 24 No. 6
Articles on Julian Bream, A View From The Road, The Hendrix Chronicles: Jimi's Discovery, Let's Get Small, Quick-Release Straps, J.J. Cale Naturally, Carl Verheyen, Jack Bruce Roars Back
Rare Bird- Strat Market Crash
good condition , Soundsheet missing (C)
Price $7.50
January 1991 - GUESS WHO?
Guitar Player January 1991....Volume 25 No. 1
Articles on Bass mutant Victor Wooten, historic electric Dobro, Howard Roberts on finding the pocket, and the debut of Notes From the Underground, Faith No More, Double Whammy/ Junior Brown, Russian Beauties, Electric LEO/ Leo Kottke, Mandelson & Mustafa, China Memoir, Speaker Basics
Rare Bird- PrePrototype Mosrite Ventures. VGC (D)
Price $6.50
February 1991 - HOT ROD YOUR AXE
Guitar Player February 1991....Volume 25 No. 2
Articles on Bass mutant Victor Wooten, historic electric Dobro, Howard Roberts on finding the pocket, and the debut of Notes From the Underground, Faith No More, Double Whammy/ Junior Brown, Russian Beauties, Electric LEO/ Leo Kottke, Mandelson & Mustafa, China Memoir, Speaker Basics
Rare Bird- PrePrototype Mosrite Ventures.
Price $7.50
March 1991 - STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN EXCLUSIVE TRIBUTE
Guitar Player March 1991....Volume 25 No. 3
Articles on Stevie Ray Vaughan Tribute (Pride & Joy, Brothers, The Final Interview, Soul to Soul, The Last Show, SRV Photo Gallery, Stevie's Greatest Solo?), Jason Becker Reanimates David Lee Roth, Jesse Gress, Andrew Farriss Of INXS, Jane's Addiction
Good Condition (some water marks upper right corner...nothing missing) with normal wear.
Rare Bird- Fender XII prototype.
Price $9.50
April 1991 - NUNO BETTENCOURT
Guitar Player April 1991....Volume 25 No. 4
Nuno, Andy Summers, Testament's Alex Skolnick, Roger McGuinn Takes Off, Mark Whitfield's Renaissance, The Pixies, etc
Rare Bird -Gretsch Rancher Cutaway good condition (D)
Price $6.50
August 1991 - NEW RAGE
Guitar Player August 1991....Volume 25 No. 8
New Rage, Sonic Youth, Fish Bone, Primus, Chris Cain, Paul Leary, Larry Collins, Curtis Mayfield, Eddie Van Halen, Leo Fender, Selling Your Record,etc
Price $9.50
September 1991 - METAL AGE CRISIS KIRK HAMMETT
Guitar Player September 1991....Volume 25 No. 9
Articles on Metallica, Alex De Grassi, Evan Johns, Diblo, Jerry Garcia, Richard Thompson, Scott Henderson, Jimmy wilsey, Leo Fender, Dinosaur Jr. gets loud, Eric Gales gets blue Erkan Ogur gets lonely and Robben Ford gets down..
Rare Bird- Hofner's Beatle Bass
Price $9.50
October 1991 - GODS OF SEX FUNK RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Guitar Player October 1991....Volume 25 No. 10
Articles on Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gand Of Four's Andy gill, EMF's Ian Dench, Jessie Mae Hemphill, King's X, Duke Robillard, Jim Hall, A Les Paul CD celebration, Phranc talk, Stu Hamm from the road, Phillip DeGruy's 17-string and essential country for tenderfoots.
Off the Wall- The Bajo Sexto
Price $9.50
November 1991 - RUSH
Guitar Player November 1991....Volume 25 No. 11
Rush Redefined, Robbie Nevil, Happy Mondays, Mimi Fox, Simple Minds, Guitarists Of P-Funk, Queensryche, Tube Talk, Harmony Unchained, etc
Rare Bird- Gibson ES-5 tenor
Price $9.50
March 1992 - NEIL YOUNG
Guitar Player March 1992....
Articles on Neil Young, Richie Sambora, Smashing Pumpkins, Blues Traveler & Widespread Panic, Tube Combo Shootout, The Cult's Billy Duffy, The Guitar Legacy of Miles Davis, Vince Gill, Crowded House, Voivod, Myles boisen, news and more
Off The Wall- Bukrns' Beauties....(D)
Price $6.50
April 1992 - UNPLUGGED! THE ACOUSTIC REVOLUTION
Guitar Player April 1992....
Acoustic Thunder, Acoustic Design, Portraits In Acoustic, MTV Unplugged, Steel-String Fire: Lessons From The Masters, Tried & True (Acoustic secrets of Beatles, Stones, Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman,etc), Teenage Fanclub, Ray Flacke, Hubert Kappel and more
Rare Bird - Wildwood Thin-line Telecaster?...(C)
Price $6.50
May 1993 - VAN HALEN
Guitar Player May 1993....Volume 27 No. 5
Includes: An Audience with Edward, Van Halen Lesson, Ed Notes, Mick Jagger's Jimmy Rip, Jesus Jones, Christopher Parkening, Steve Wariner, Muddy Waters Tribute Izzy Stradlin, The right hand of Adrian Legg...
good condition. Rare Bird: Fancy Dobros
Price $7.50
June 1993 - GREAT HOME RECORDINGS / LES CLAYPOOL & PRIMUS
Guitar Player June 1993....Volume 27 No. 6
In The Studio With Primus, Home Brew, Home Studio Do's & Don'ts, Digital Demystified, Studio Smarts, Daniel Lanois, Lenny Kravitz, Chris Leuzinger, Buddy Guy, Richie Kotzen,etc..
Encore: Gretsch Jumbo Synchromatic... Good condition....(D)
Price $5.50
July 1993 - GODS OF THE TELECASTER / ALBERT COLLINS
Guitar Player July 1993....Volume 27 No. 7
The Big Twang, Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, Danny Gatton, Tele Visions, Midnight Oil, Butthole Surfers, Anthrax,etc..
good condition. Encore: 1957 Guild Johnny Smith Award
Price $10.50
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Which country produces more than 50 % of all Europe's rice ? | Countries With Most Rice Producing Countries - World Top Ten
Disclaimer
Close
Disclaimer : All efforts have been made to make this image accurate. However Compare Infobase Limited,its directors and employees do not own any responsibility for the correctness or authenticity of the same.
China tops the list of top 10 rice producing nations with a production of 144,560 million tons. The latest data puts India in the second spot as the country produces 104,800 million tons. The list, which is dominated by the Asian countries, puts Brazil on the 9th position 8,465 million tons and Japan on the 10th position with 7,842 million tons. Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam have found place among the top five rice producing countries. India and China produce about 250,000 million tons of rice between them. While half of China's total grain output is dedicated to rice, India manages to keep its output high by virtue of large swatches of agricultural land and cheap labor.
Japan
7,842
Rice production is a key component of China's economy. The country accounts for 26% of all world rice production and the crop is prized by consumers as a food grain.
As world's largest producer of what rice, India accounts for 20% of the world's rice production. As one of the chief grains of India, rice is harvested using the traditional methods.
As the third-largest producer of rice in the world, Indonesia has rice as its staple food and a source of livelihood for about 20 million households.
As the dominant food crop of Bangladesh, rice accounts for about 75 percent of agricultural land use. Cultivation of rice in the country varies as per seasonal changes in water supply.
Rice production is vital for the food production and economy of Vietnam. The country is the seventh largest consumer of rice and has a land area of 33 million dedicated to cultivation of rice.
Thailand's economy and labor force is being represented by rice production. It has the fifth largest amount of land under rice cultivation in the world.
Once Asia's largest exporter of rice, Burma has this crop as the most crucial agricultural commodity. Additionally, livestock is also being raised as a source of food and labor.
Vital to the food supply and economy in Philippines, rice production had made the country world's largest rice importer in 2010. The country accounts for 28% of global rice production.
Agriculture is one of the principal bases of Brazil's economy. The nation is also called the 'breadbasket of the world' and has become the world's largest exporter of rice, coffee, soybeans, sugarcane and beef.
Rice is a staple part of Japanese diet. With intensively cultivated land, Japan has a rich history of rice and rice production. Rice imports are banned in Japan, excluding the processed forms.
Top 10 Rice Producing Countries video
Last Updated on: June 8, 2016
| World War II postal acronyms |
"Who wrote the opera ""Dido and Aeneas"" ?" | Countries With Most Rice Producing Countries - World Top Ten
Disclaimer
Close
Disclaimer : All efforts have been made to make this image accurate. However Compare Infobase Limited,its directors and employees do not own any responsibility for the correctness or authenticity of the same.
China tops the list of top 10 rice producing nations with a production of 144,560 million tons. The latest data puts India in the second spot as the country produces 104,800 million tons. The list, which is dominated by the Asian countries, puts Brazil on the 9th position 8,465 million tons and Japan on the 10th position with 7,842 million tons. Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam have found place among the top five rice producing countries. India and China produce about 250,000 million tons of rice between them. While half of China's total grain output is dedicated to rice, India manages to keep its output high by virtue of large swatches of agricultural land and cheap labor.
Japan
7,842
Rice production is a key component of China's economy. The country accounts for 26% of all world rice production and the crop is prized by consumers as a food grain.
As world's largest producer of what rice, India accounts for 20% of the world's rice production. As one of the chief grains of India, rice is harvested using the traditional methods.
As the third-largest producer of rice in the world, Indonesia has rice as its staple food and a source of livelihood for about 20 million households.
As the dominant food crop of Bangladesh, rice accounts for about 75 percent of agricultural land use. Cultivation of rice in the country varies as per seasonal changes in water supply.
Rice production is vital for the food production and economy of Vietnam. The country is the seventh largest consumer of rice and has a land area of 33 million dedicated to cultivation of rice.
Thailand's economy and labor force is being represented by rice production. It has the fifth largest amount of land under rice cultivation in the world.
Once Asia's largest exporter of rice, Burma has this crop as the most crucial agricultural commodity. Additionally, livestock is also being raised as a source of food and labor.
Vital to the food supply and economy in Philippines, rice production had made the country world's largest rice importer in 2010. The country accounts for 28% of global rice production.
Agriculture is one of the principal bases of Brazil's economy. The nation is also called the 'breadbasket of the world' and has become the world's largest exporter of rice, coffee, soybeans, sugarcane and beef.
Rice is a staple part of Japanese diet. With intensively cultivated land, Japan has a rich history of rice and rice production. Rice imports are banned in Japan, excluding the processed forms.
Top 10 Rice Producing Countries video
Last Updated on: June 8, 2016
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In the electromagnetic spectrum, which type of wavelength has shortest wavelength. Its main uses are in medical diagnosis. | Space Today Online - What is the Electromagnetic Spectrum?
Electromagnetic
Spectrum?
The electromagnetic spectrum is a vast band of energy frequencies extending from radio waves to gamma waves, from the very lowest frequencies to the highest possible frequencies.
The spectrum is arranged by the frequency of its waves, from the longest, lowest energy waves to the shortest, highest energy waves.
Our ability to tune in the more exotic electromagnetic waves has grown in recent decades. For instance, radio is part of the spectrum, and it was only in the 20th Century that humans began to be able to use any of the electromagnetic spectrum, starting with radio at the long-wave end of the spectrum.
Today, living and working in the 21st century, we make great use of the electromagnetic spectrum in all of our vocations and avocations. All of the frequencies we use for transmitting and receiving energy are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. For instance:
RADIO. We use the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum for many things, including television and radio broadcasting, telephones and other wireless communications, navigation and radar for a variety of measurements including police speed traps, and even microwave cooking ovens.
Our AM broadcast stations transmit signals in what is referred to as the medium-wave portion of the spectrum. FM music stations use very high frequency (VHF) transmitters. Television stations use the VHF and ultra high frequency (UHF) regions of the spectrum.
Where are AM and FM radio signals? » What is VHF and UHF? »
INFRARED LIGHT. Infrared light is on the spectrum at frequencies above radio and just below the range of human vision. Infrared light is heat. Three-quarters of the radiation emitted by a light-bulb is IR. We use infrared transmitters to remotely control our TV sets. We can record infrared light on photographic film and we have equipment that can see hot bodies in deep space in the infrared light they send out.
electromagnetic spectrum
VISIBLE LIGHT. Visible light, which we receive with our eyes, is along the spectrum between infrared and ultraviolet light, which we can't see. Of course, we can collect visible light with photographic film.
ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT. On the spectrum, ultraviolet light is above visible light. UV is dangerous to living organisms. So, it is used to sterilize medical instruments by killing bacteria and viruses. We have photographic film that can capture ultraviolet light. Ten percent of the energy radiated by our star, the Sun, is ultraviolet light.
X-RAYS. Farther along the spectrum are X-rays. Their invisible energy is produced when gas is heated to millions of degrees. X-ray energy is absorbed by matter it penetrates depending upon the atomic weight of that matter. Because X-rays can change a photographic emulsion just as visible light does, we use them to take pictures of the insides of people and things.
GAMMA RAYS. Gamma rays are beyond X-rays on the electromagnetic spectrum. Gamma rays that we find arriving at Earth from deep space are the result of violent cosmic events such as supernovas, other nuclear explosions, and radioactive decay. Earth's atmosphere shields life on the surface from gamma rays.
What are frequencies, wavelengths and the energy spectrum?
sine wave
It's all about waves. A wave is a disturbance traveling through space, transferring energy from one point to the next without permanently changing space itself. Physicists have depicted a wave graphically as the passage of such a disturbance over time. sine wave graphic »
Frequency. The rate of change in the wave is its frequency. Notice in the graphic at right how the wave undulates up and down from peaks to valleys to peaks. The time from one peak to the next peak is one cycle. A single unit of frequency is equal to one cycle per second.
Hertz. Scientists refer to a single cycle as one Hertz, which commemorates 19th century German physicist Heinrich Hertz whose discovery of electromagnetic waves led to the development of radio.
Sine waves have frequency. A sine wave is a deviating waveform expressed graphically as a sine curve. The succession of green curves undulating in the blue graphic above right depict a sine wave. The frequency of a sine wave is the number of times it oscillates up and down per second.
Spectrum. Physicists see energy undulating at various rates. They describe the complete range of possible cycle times as a spectrum of energy.
Electromagnetic. Magnetism is produced by an electric charge in motion. Electromagnetism is the physics of electricity and magnetism. Charges of electrical energy in motion are said to be electromagnetic.
Electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, the complete range of potential energy cycles is the electromagnetic spectrum.
Deep Space Sensors
NASA developed its set of four Great Observatories In Space to extend mankind's knowledge of astronomy and life itself. Each observatory has had its own specialized instruments to gather data from its assigned part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
More About Radio
We use a small segment of the electromagnetic spectrum to transmit the programmed energy that we refer to as
RADIO
.
Suppose you are driving and listening to a talk show coming from a station at 870 on the car radio's AM dial. The radio is tuned to a specific sine wave with a frequency of 870,000 Hertz (cycles per second).
You tire of talk and decide to switch to music on a station at 103.9 on the radio's FM dial. You tune to a sine wave being transmitted at 103,900,000 Hertz (cycles per second).
In the United States, popular radio signals are AM transmitted in the frequency range of 530-1700 kHz and FM in the frequency range of 88-108 MHz.
Some Specific Frequencies
| Gamma wave |
"Which Irish actor, born in Dublin, starred in the movies ""in Bruges"" ""Fright Night"" and ""Total Recall"" ?" | Space Today Online - What is the Electromagnetic Spectrum?
Electromagnetic
Spectrum?
The electromagnetic spectrum is a vast band of energy frequencies extending from radio waves to gamma waves, from the very lowest frequencies to the highest possible frequencies.
The spectrum is arranged by the frequency of its waves, from the longest, lowest energy waves to the shortest, highest energy waves.
Our ability to tune in the more exotic electromagnetic waves has grown in recent decades. For instance, radio is part of the spectrum, and it was only in the 20th Century that humans began to be able to use any of the electromagnetic spectrum, starting with radio at the long-wave end of the spectrum.
Today, living and working in the 21st century, we make great use of the electromagnetic spectrum in all of our vocations and avocations. All of the frequencies we use for transmitting and receiving energy are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. For instance:
RADIO. We use the radio portion of the electromagnetic spectrum for many things, including television and radio broadcasting, telephones and other wireless communications, navigation and radar for a variety of measurements including police speed traps, and even microwave cooking ovens.
Our AM broadcast stations transmit signals in what is referred to as the medium-wave portion of the spectrum. FM music stations use very high frequency (VHF) transmitters. Television stations use the VHF and ultra high frequency (UHF) regions of the spectrum.
Where are AM and FM radio signals? » What is VHF and UHF? »
INFRARED LIGHT. Infrared light is on the spectrum at frequencies above radio and just below the range of human vision. Infrared light is heat. Three-quarters of the radiation emitted by a light-bulb is IR. We use infrared transmitters to remotely control our TV sets. We can record infrared light on photographic film and we have equipment that can see hot bodies in deep space in the infrared light they send out.
electromagnetic spectrum
VISIBLE LIGHT. Visible light, which we receive with our eyes, is along the spectrum between infrared and ultraviolet light, which we can't see. Of course, we can collect visible light with photographic film.
ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT. On the spectrum, ultraviolet light is above visible light. UV is dangerous to living organisms. So, it is used to sterilize medical instruments by killing bacteria and viruses. We have photographic film that can capture ultraviolet light. Ten percent of the energy radiated by our star, the Sun, is ultraviolet light.
X-RAYS. Farther along the spectrum are X-rays. Their invisible energy is produced when gas is heated to millions of degrees. X-ray energy is absorbed by matter it penetrates depending upon the atomic weight of that matter. Because X-rays can change a photographic emulsion just as visible light does, we use them to take pictures of the insides of people and things.
GAMMA RAYS. Gamma rays are beyond X-rays on the electromagnetic spectrum. Gamma rays that we find arriving at Earth from deep space are the result of violent cosmic events such as supernovas, other nuclear explosions, and radioactive decay. Earth's atmosphere shields life on the surface from gamma rays.
What are frequencies, wavelengths and the energy spectrum?
sine wave
It's all about waves. A wave is a disturbance traveling through space, transferring energy from one point to the next without permanently changing space itself. Physicists have depicted a wave graphically as the passage of such a disturbance over time. sine wave graphic »
Frequency. The rate of change in the wave is its frequency. Notice in the graphic at right how the wave undulates up and down from peaks to valleys to peaks. The time from one peak to the next peak is one cycle. A single unit of frequency is equal to one cycle per second.
Hertz. Scientists refer to a single cycle as one Hertz, which commemorates 19th century German physicist Heinrich Hertz whose discovery of electromagnetic waves led to the development of radio.
Sine waves have frequency. A sine wave is a deviating waveform expressed graphically as a sine curve. The succession of green curves undulating in the blue graphic above right depict a sine wave. The frequency of a sine wave is the number of times it oscillates up and down per second.
Spectrum. Physicists see energy undulating at various rates. They describe the complete range of possible cycle times as a spectrum of energy.
Electromagnetic. Magnetism is produced by an electric charge in motion. Electromagnetism is the physics of electricity and magnetism. Charges of electrical energy in motion are said to be electromagnetic.
Electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, the complete range of potential energy cycles is the electromagnetic spectrum.
Deep Space Sensors
NASA developed its set of four Great Observatories In Space to extend mankind's knowledge of astronomy and life itself. Each observatory has had its own specialized instruments to gather data from its assigned part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
More About Radio
We use a small segment of the electromagnetic spectrum to transmit the programmed energy that we refer to as
RADIO
.
Suppose you are driving and listening to a talk show coming from a station at 870 on the car radio's AM dial. The radio is tuned to a specific sine wave with a frequency of 870,000 Hertz (cycles per second).
You tire of talk and decide to switch to music on a station at 103.9 on the radio's FM dial. You tune to a sine wave being transmitted at 103,900,000 Hertz (cycles per second).
In the United States, popular radio signals are AM transmitted in the frequency range of 530-1700 kHz and FM in the frequency range of 88-108 MHz.
Some Specific Frequencies
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Who is the President of Argentina ? | Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner | president of Argentina | Britannica.com
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
Emilio Fermin Mignone
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, née Cristina Fernández (born February 19, 1953, La Plata , Argentina ), Argentine lawyer and politician who in 2007 became the first female elected president of Argentina. She succeeded her husband, Néstor Kirchner , who had served as president from 2003 to 2007.
Argentine Pres. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Markus Schreiber/AP
Fernández attended the National University of La Plata, where she met Kirchner, a fellow law student. In 1975 she and Kirchner married. One year later, after the military junta seized control of Argentina, the couple fled La Plata for Néstor’s hometown of Río Gallegos in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz . There they opened a law practice and, with the return of democracy in 1983, became active in electoral politics. Fernández de Kirchner was a provincial delegate to the Justicialist ( Peronist ) Party (PJ) convention in 1985 and was later elected to the provincial legislature. Her husband won election as mayor of Río Gallegos in 1987, and in 1991 she became the first lady of Santa Cruz when her husband was elected to the first of three consecutive four-year terms as provincial governor.
Fernández de Kirchner twice represented Santa Cruz in the Argentine Senate (1995–97, 2001–05). She also served (1997–2001) in the Chamber of Deputies. During her tenure in Congress, she was one of the PJ’s most vocal critics of the Peronist administration of Pres. Carlos Menem , voting frequently against his legislative initiatives . Her husband assumed the presidency on May 25, 2003, after Menem—facing a certain loss to Kirchner in a second-round runoff—withdrew from that year’s presidential race.
In 2005 Kirchner was in a struggle with former president Eduardo Duhalde for control of the PJ in the crucial province of Buenos Aires , where 38 percent of the Argentine population resided. The struggle peaked in October when Fernández de Kirchner squared off against Duhalde’s spouse, Hilda González de Duhalde, in the Buenos Aires province senatorial election. In that contest Fernández de Kirchner won 46 percent of the vote, easily defeating González de Duhalde, who claimed just 20 percent. While the high-profile victory helped her husband win acknowledgment as the undisputed leader of Peronism, it also reaffirmed Fernández de Kirchner’s growing political influence and helped insulate her against charges of inexperience during her own run for the presidency in 2007.
In 2007 Kirchner decided not to run for reelection, and Fernández de Kirchner began campaigning for the presidency. She held a commanding lead in the polls, and in the election on October 28 she captured 45 percent of the final presidential vote tally, nearly double that of her closest competitor, Elisa Carrió, who garnered 23 percent. Fernández de Kirchner formally assumed office on December 10, 2007, to begin a four-year term. Almost immediately she encountered criticism from the United States , which claimed it had intercepted campaign funds sent from the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez .
Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent
The following spring Fernández de Kirchner imposed a new tax system to significantly increase export taxes on grains in an attempt to control Argentine food prices. Her actions were met with large-scale strikes and protests by farmers’ unions throughout the country, who complained that the increase would reduce their profits. Roadways were blocked so grain trucks could not pass, resulting in food shortages. The strikes continued for four months and split the country into sides: those who supported the government and those who advocated for the farmers. In June Fernández de Kirchner agreed to submit the measure to Congress. The increase in taxes was approved by the Chamber of Deputies but was rejected by the Argentine Senate by one vote. In the midterm legislative elections held in June 2009, the president’s ruling coalition lost power in both houses of Congress. The results reflected her declining popularity as well as that of her husband, who lost his race for a congressional seat.
Structures of Government: Fact or Fiction?
The Kirchners rebounded from that setback, however, thanks to a fragmented opposition and a booming economy. Fernández de Kirchner pursued popular social programs, and in July 2010 she signed legislation that made Argentina the first country in Latin America to allow same-sex marriage . Also in 2010 Fernández de Kirchner’s administration engineered a successful debt swap with two-thirds of the “holdout” creditors who had rejected Argentina’s 2005 restructuring of debt upon which the country had defaulted in 2001. That swap, combined with that of 2005, ensured that more than 90 percent of the original bondholders participated in a restructuring agreement.
Fernández de Kirchner’s husband was regarded as a likely candidate in the 2011 presidential election, and his sudden death in October 2010 triggered widespread sympathy for Fernández de Kirchner, who campaigned for reelection in his stead. On October 23, 2011, almost a year to the day after her husband’s death, Fernández de Kirchner won a landslide victory to secure a second term as Argentina’s president, and her ruling party reclaimed its majority in Congress. In January 2012 she took a 20-day medical leave from office in order to be treated for thyroid cancer. However, her spokesperson subsequently announced that Fernández de Kirchner had been misdiagnosed, as medical tests revealed no cancer cells in her thyroid, which had been removed.
Britannica Lists & Quizzes
Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies
Climbing inflation began to undermine the Argentine economy, as price and export controls imposed by Fernández de Kirchner’s government proved largely ineffective. The economy was also threatened by creditors who had refused to accept any of the earlier debt restructuring and who undertook ongoing legal efforts to recover all the money they had lent to the Argentine government. In June 2014 Fernández de Kirchner was unable to prevent Argentina from going into technical default after the U.S. Supreme Court chose not to hear Argentina’s appeal of a lower court decision that had ordered the country to pay the first tranche of a total of about $15 billion to the U.S. hedge funds that had refused to restructure the debt. That decision prohibited Argentina from making interest payments to those creditors who had agreed to restructuring.
In January 2015 the still-struggling economy became a secondary concern for Fernández de Kirchner, as she found herself at the centre of a scandal involving the death of a special prosecutor who had been investigating the 1994 vehicle bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires in which 85 individuals were killed. On January 18—the day before he was scheduled to testify before Congress and several days after releasing a report in which he accused Fernández de Kirchner of trying to undermine his investigation—the prosecutor, Alberto Nisman , was found dead of a gunshot wound to his head in his apartment. Nisman, who had begun investigating the bombing in 2004 and who had concluded early on that the government of Iran was behind the attack, accused Fernández de Kirchner, her foreign minister, and others of engaging in negotiations with Iran to cover up the responsibility of Iranian government officials for the bombing in return for Iran entering into a trade deal with Argentina. Shortly after the discovery of Nisman’s death, the president announced her belief that he had killed himself. As public outrage mounted and conspiracy theories swirled, however, Fernández de Kirchner used social media as a forum to reverse her stance. She indicated that she now believed that Nisman had been the victim of foul play and that rogue intelligence agents had misled him regarding her involvement in the bombing investigation in an attempt to besmirch her reputation.Building on that statement, Fernández de Kirchner went on television on January 27 to announce her plans to disband the country’s domestic intelligence agency, the Secretariat of Intelligence (SI), and to send Congress legislation to create a new, more transparent security organization.
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Fernández de Kirchner was prohibited by the constitution from running for another term in the 2015 presidential election. Her handpicked successor, Daniel Scioli , the former governor of Buenos Aires province, was thought to be something of a shoo-in, but he only narrowly won the first round of voting in October and failed to gain the 45 percent of the vote necessary to prevent a runoff election. That runoff, held on November 22, was won by the conservative candidate, Mauricio Macri , who took about 51 percent of the vote to about 48 percent for Scioli.
| Cristina Fernández de Kirchner |
What type of animal is a GAVIAL ? | Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Biography (President of Argentina)
Birthplace: La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Best known as:
The second First Lady to became president of Argentina
Name at birth: Cristina Fernández
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was elected president of Argentina in 2007. Her candidacy was boosted by the fact that her husband, Néstor Kirchner, was at the time Argentina's sitting president. Cristina Fernández was born in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina, and met her husband at law school in La Plata in 1975. She embraced the political life and became a force in the center-left Justicialist (or Peronist) party. Her husband did the same; by 1995 Cristina Kirchner was a senator and her husband was governor of Santa Cruz province. After his election as president in 2003, they were often compared with Bill and Hillary Clinton . Christina was also called "The New Evita" after Eva Peron , the glamorous Argentine First Lady of the 1950s. Néstor Kirchner chose not to run for reelection in 2007, and his wife replaced him as the candidate of the Justicialist party. She won with 45% of the vote in general elections of October 2007, and took office in December of that year. Néstor Kirchner's decision to step down in favor of his wife in 2007 was widely seen as a way to stretch family control of the presidency, since Argentine law would allow him to run again after being out of office for four years. However, Néstor Kirchner died of a heart attack on 28 October 2010, and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was reelected in 2011 for another four-year term.
Extra credit:
The Justicialist Party is called in Spanish the Partido Justicialista, or PJ. It is commonly called the Peronist party after its founder, President Juan Peron... Kirchner is not the first First Lady of Argentina to become president. Isabel Peron, the third wife of Juan Peron, served as president from 1974-76 after her husband's death. He was the founder of the Peronist party that Kirchner represents; Eva Peron was his second wife.
Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.
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What type of animal is a GALAGO ? | Bush Baby | African Wildlife Foundation
Eagles, owls, genets, and large snakes
Habitat
Where do bush babies live?
Bush babies are found throughout East Africa as well as in woodlands and bushlands in sub-Saharan Africa. They generally do not inhabit areas above altitudes of 6,500 feet. Most often, they live in tree hollows that provide shelter. Sometimes, they construct nests in the forks of branches, but these are not as commonly used as are natural holes. Bush babies prefer trees with little grass around them, probably as a precaution against wildfires. They will also seek shelter in man-made beehives.
Physical Characteristics
What is a bush baby?
The lesser galago, also called a bush baby, is one of the smallest primates, about the size of a squirrel. Its plaintive cries and cute appearance may account for the name "bush baby." Bush babies have large, round eyes for good night vision and bat-like, delicate ears that enable them to track insect prey in the dark. As they jump through thorn bush or thick growth, they fold the ears flat against their heads to protect them. They fold them during rest, too.
Behavior & Diet
The bush baby enjoys a varied, seasonal diet.
The majority of its diet is made up of what is most abundant at that time of the year, including insects, leaves, and fruit.
They cry like human infants.
Despite its small size, the bush baby produces loud, shrill cries surprisingly like those of a human baby. Aside from these baby-like cries, they make croaking, chattering, and clucking sounds or shrill whistles in case of danger.
Bush babies travel in leaps and bounds.
In a series of leaps, a bush baby can easily cover 10 yards in seconds. The tail (longer than the length of the head and body) powers the leaps made to catch prey, escape from enemies, or get around obstacles. The bush baby's other methods of locomotion are kangaroo-like hops or simply walking or running on four legs. They frequently mark their routes with urine. By following their own scent, they can jump onto exactly the same branches each time when they go to or from their nest. Males also urine-mark the boundaries of their territories and will sometimes become aggressive toward intruders.
The tiny newborn weighs less than half an ounce.
Females may have singles, twins, or triplets, with each newborn weighing less than half an ounce. The first three days or so the mother keeps the infants in constant contact with her. She picks them up with her hands or mouth, and they cling to her. The young are suckled for six weeks and can feed themselves at two months. They grow rapidly, causing the mother to walk slowly and awkwardly as she transports them. Sometimes, the mother will take just one young with her, leaving the others in the nest.
| Galago |
"The trilogy of comedy plays known as ""The Norman Conquests"" were written by which playwright ?" | Thick-tailed Bush Baby | Duke Lemur Center
Thick-tailed Bush Baby
Otolemur crassicaudatus
Bush babies, or galagos, are small, nocturnal primates which range in size from cat-sized to mouse-sized. They are found in the forests and woodlands of Africa south of the Sahara. In some of these areas (i.e. the range of the lesser bush baby (Galago moholi)) nighttime winter temperatures can drop to as low as 22 Fahrenheit! In Africa, up to four species of bush baby may occupy the same area of forest, feeding on a combination of insects, fruit and tree gum. Each species, however, utilizes a different layer of the forest or specializes on a particular food, so that they don’t compete with each other or with the monkeys which make up the “day shift.”
The animal’s loud vocalizations, from which the term bush baby is derived, have proven to be the means by which the many different species have been identified. Only a decade ago, less than half a dozen species of bush baby were known, but currently over 20 species are recognized, and some experts feel that there may be as many as 40.
Weighing around seven ounces, the lesser bush baby’s coat is gray with yellow-tinged underparts. Their fur is dense, wooly, longish, and slightly wavy. Their large ears are crossed by four transverse ridges and can be independently and simultaneously bent back and forth and wrinkled downward from the tips at will. This furling and unfurling of the ears is occurring constantly when the animals are investigating something, and produce a very lovable, quizzical expression in the animals.
Some bush babies, including the lesser bush baby, are vertical clingers and leapers, springing up to 15 feet in a single bound as they travel through the forest from vertical support to vertical support. Ground travel in this species is accomplished like the sifaka, by a series of kangaroo-like bipedal hops. Other species of bush babies, such as the much larger thick-tailed bush baby, although certainly capable of leaping, seem to prefer to run on all fours along the tops of branches.
Feeding
The thick-tailed bush baby is a nocturnal forager feeding on gum and animal prey, including butterflies, moths, and beetles. Up to half of this specie’s diet will consist of thick gums from trees and the remainder made up of fruits, leaves, and insects.
Reproduction
When bush baby females come into estrus, males will approach with a low clucking vocalization, and as they start to mount, they will emit a loud call which ends in a whistle. Most scent marking in the wild is done by males marking their territory by means of “urine washing” in which males will urinate into their cupped hand which is then vigorously rubbed on a branch to deposit the scent. In the wild, bush babies mate every four to eight months, with gestation lasting about 124 days. Females ‘park’ their infants in constructed nests while they search for food, moving them away from danger by carrying them in their mouths. Infants are weaned at around 61 days of age, and become sexually mature at 9-12 months of age. Young males leave their mothers when they become mature, but females may stick around their mothers for longer periods.
Social Behavior
The bush baby lives in small family groups of two to seven individuals. These groups may consist of an adult pair with or without young, two adult females plus infants or an adult female with young. Such groups spend the day sleeping together at the same site, but split up at night to forage. Males may fight aggressively to defend a home range which overlaps the range of one to five females. Males will emit a territorial advertisement call, which might be answered by neighboring animals, resulting in back and forth calling for up to an hour. Other vocalizations consist of a clicking sound by which the young call their mothers, and a louder version of the same call which adults use in assembling at their sleeping site as well as a high pitched alarm call. Bush babies will spend most of the night foraging alone and usually reassemble in small groups at dawn before sleeping in a nest or similar retreat, such as a vine tangle or a hollowed-out tree. It appears as if males migrate from their natal group when they are about one year old, while females have a tendency to stay around longer. Dominant males are noticeably larger than submissive males and are much more active scent markers.
Habitat/Conservation
Populations of thick-tailed bush babies are fairly large and ubiquitous. They are found throughout much of eastern Africa and are known to survive well in suburban areas. Its habitat is semi-arid Acacia woodland, savanna, and forest edge and extends across the belt of equatorial Africa. The DLC only houses a single thick-tailed bush baby female.
Fact Sheet
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In 1314, Robert the Bruce and a small Scottish army inflicted a massive defeat on a huge English army at Bannockburn. Who was the leader of the English forces ? | Scotland Fights Its Way to Freedom, 700 Years Ago - History in the Headlines
Scotland Fights Its Way to Freedom, 700 Years Ago
June 24, 2014 By Jesse Greenspan
Robert the Bruce, leader of Scottish forces at the Battle of Bannockburn
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During eight previous years of warfare with the English, Scottish King Robert the Bruce had never engaged his numerically superior foes in a major pitched battle. But on June 24, 1314, he finally stood his ground near the present-day town of Bannockburn, using tightly packed formations of pikemen to send the English into a wild retreat. From that point forward, Scotland was on the offensive, and in 1328 it officially won its independence.
In 1291, following a century of peace between the two kingdoms, English King Edward I pronounced himself the feudal overlord of Scotland, and he cemented his authority five years later with a successful invasion. Although a Scottish rebellion then broke out led by William Wallace, Edward I once again emerged victorious. He let most of the Scottish leaders opposed to him off the hook with little punishment, except for Wallace, who was captured and tortured to death.
Robert the Bruce, a noble who believed himself the heir to the Scottish throne, sat out much of this fighting. But in 1306 he stabbed a political rival inside a church and left him bleeding at the high altar for two of his men to finish off. Subsequently declared an outlaw by Edward I and excommunicated by the pope, Robert crowned himself king of the Scots in a desperate bid to take power. Immediate defeats at the hands of his English and Scottish enemies forced him to take refuge on a small island near Ireland. His wife was placed under house arrest, three of his brothers were captured and brutally executed, his sister was displayed in a cage like an animal at the zoo and his daughter was sent off to a nunnery.
Nonetheless, Robert gained a toehold on the mainland through the use of guerilla warfare and then gradually extended his dominion, making new allies, holding a series of parliaments and even raiding northern England. By 1314 every province in Scotland had accepted him as king, and English forces essentially all had disappeared with the exception of a garrison at Stirling Castle. Early that year, England’s Edward II, who had succeeded his father, began mobilizing a massive army to put down the uprising. Historians roughly estimate that he had about 15,000 infantrymen and archers and at least 2,000 heavily armed cavalry at his disposal when he crossed into Scotland on June 17, 1314. By comparison, Robert’s army consisted of approximately 6,000 poorly equipped troops, including perhaps 500 on horseback.
After a couple of days of hard marching, Edward II’s troops reached the city of Edinburgh, from where they followed an ancient Roman road northwest toward Stirling Castle. They soon found themselves blocked by Robert’s men, who had positioned themselves along a section of the road surrounded by nearly impenetrable bogs, thickly wooded hills and tidal streams. To make the terrain even more difficult to navigate, the Scots dug small hidden pits and built barricades out of felled trees. Meeting with Edward II, the English governor of Stirling Castle warned that a direct attack would be difficult. Yet the king decided to press ahead anyway.
On June 23, front-line English knights came across a group of Scots withdrawing into the woods. Recognizing one of the Scots as Robert the Bruce himself, Sir Henry de Bohun charged with his lance extended. Rather than flee, Robert turned his horse to meet the challenge, swerved to avoid Bohun’s lance, raised himself up on his stirrups and then cleaved Bohun’s head in two with a powerful swing of his axe. Having witnessed this duel, the rest of the Scots rushed out and forced the English to retreat. Later that day, on a different section of the battlefield, other English knights were similarly unsuccessful. Unable to penetrate the tightly packed formation of pikemen known as a schiltron, some ended up fleeing toward Stirling Castle, whereas others galloped in the opposite direction toward the main body of English soldiers.
That evening, Robert is believed to have considered withdrawing until a defector appeared in his camp. In addition to relaying tactical information about the English, he told Robert that Edward II’s men had lost heart. “Sir, if you ever intend to reconquer Scotland now is the time,” the defector purportedly said before pledging his life that Robert would win the battle easily. Meanwhile, many English troops spent a largely sleepless night moving across the Bannock Burn, a stream that shares a name with the town and battle, so that their horses could be watered.
As the opposing armies assembled on the morning of June 24, Robert told his men that they had right on their side. “Our enemies are moved only by desire for dominion, but we are fighting for our lives, our children, our wives and the freedom of our country,” he said, according to a 14th century Scottish poet who chronicled the battle. After archers briefly exchanged fire, the English cavalry charged, only to be repulsed. The Scottish schiltrons then went on the attack, penning the English cavalry into a cramped space surrounded by water on three sides. English archers, so devastating in the defeat of William Wallace’s schiltrons at the 1298 Battle of Falkirk, this time had trouble getting into position. And when they finally did start shooting arrows into the Scottish flanks, Robert’s 500 or so cavalrymen drove them off. Trapped in the rear, the large English infantry played almost no role in the fighting at all.
At first, the English fell back slowly. But when Edward II was coaxed into leaving along with his 500 bodyguards, the orderly retreat turned into a panicked rout. “On them! On them! They fail!” the Scots yelled as lightly armed camp followers jumped into the fray, possibly prompting the English to believe a second Scottish army had arrived. Hundreds of English soldiers either drowned or were trampled to death in the Bannock Burn and the River Forth, and others fled to Stirling Castle, which would surrender hours later. In addition to capturing numerous English nobles, who were ransomed back for a price, the Scots seized a huge cache of supplies, weapons and food. They even chased Edward II for about 60 miles, killing one of his horses and capturing his royal shield.
Though Scotland was now entirely outside of his control, Edward II refused to make peace, even after Robert launched invasions into both northern England and Ireland (controlled by the English at the time.) Finally, after Edward II’s deposal and the renewal of a Scottish-French alliance, England agreed to the 1328 Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton, which recognized Scotland’s independence and Robert’s claim to the throne. Despite periodic fighting between the two sides, Scotland would retain its independence until 1707, when it combined with England to form Great Britain. This September, Scottish residents will vote in a referendum on whether the country should once again be independent.
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"Who was the German painter and sculptor who was a founder of the surrealist movement ? Among his works are ""The Elephant Celebes"" and "" Le Grand Amoreux""." | The Road
See Jack Boyd's Memoirs for more history, and Boyd's "adventures" in Scotland.
The Road:
Chapter 5: Rob Roy MacGregor
Introduction
A small boy pedals his tricycle along the sidewalk of a quiet subdivision, a teenager passes him on inline skates. A young couple walk along a country lane and only have eyes for each other. None of them know or care that just beneath their feet is a road that once was the Northern border of the Roman Empire, the very edge of civilization. It is so ancient that it has witnessed many of the major events that led Scotland to become a nation.
Some people hold the view that fighting is in the very nature of man, and that peace is only a pipedream. It is easy to see how they arrived at this conclusion. Scottish history abounds with stories of battles and civil wars. There used to be much fighting between families, then clans.
Catholic and Protestant wars have been fought. Religious wars. Now there is an oxymoron. Usually those are about power or rituals, and never about spiritual values.
The emergence of a common enemy helped Wallace and Bruce to unite Highlander, Islander, and Lowlander, Pict, Gael, Scot and Borderer. They would as soon have fought each other, but it was by setting aside their many differences and uniting that they were to achieve greatness. Around the world there has been a similar experience, with neighbour fighting neighbour or neighbouring country fighting neighbouring country. Unite to achieve greatness. Unity in diversity.
However reluctantly, it has been the human experience that banding together in ever larger groups, and solving the problems associated with verbal and written language, currency, economics and law, has been necessary for the establishment of peace, economic stability, economy of scale, and effective functioning. The people of the Province of Ontario can go to bed at night comforted by the thought that the Province of Manitoba will not invade in the night. In fact, they do not give it a thought. The same is true of the Scottish counties of Lothian and Lanark. It was not always this way. If we do not value this achievement, we may lose it one day in political rhetoric. There is always a good reason to fight. If there is one lesson to be learned from history it is that there is a better reason to unite.
Man is the supreme talisman. -- Bahá'u'lláh
Down through the ages mankind has been advancing in a series of progressions. There have been backward steps in the journey, inevitably, but we have moved from families of hunter gatherers to septs of farmers and herders, to clans, to tribes, to countries, to nations. What remains is for us to learn how to live in harmony in one world.
Some say that a global society is not possible. Not possible? The Romans had a global society two thousand years ago. It is inevitable. The only thing in doubt is the form it will take.
Saint Patrick, William Wallace, Robert the Bruce, and Rob Roy MacGregor. What do they have in common? All were heroes, all are dead. They would have been dead anyway. Why we remember them is the way they lived and the way they died. That makes them memorable.
All faced huge odds without yielding. All succeeded in gaining major victories that left their part of the world a better place. Succeeding generations were given a standard to strive to live up to.
There are many cynical people in the world today who are very intelligent. Not much has ever been achieved by cynical people. The heroes of this story were all believers. All had a vision which they would not yield, and for which they were willing to pay the ultimate price.
The Birth of Scotland
Celts; Romans; Britons; Picts
This is the story of a road. For centuries people travelled it on their journey to fame or obscurity. Some of these people were of great importance in the history of Scotland and it is of them that I write. I can only provide a glimpse of them and the significant events on which they expended their lives. They will pass through the story fleetingly as they once passed the site of my home, offering a glimpse of history to those who had the eyes to see.
I grew up surrounded by history. I lived in the village of Duntocher, ten miles to the Northwest of Glasgow, Scotland. In the days when few people had automobiles, ten miles seemed a considerable distance.
The ancient beech trees are gone now. When I was a boy looking out of my bedroom window, they stood tall and green in the foreground. The trees were about three hundred years old, judging by the rings on their trunks, although it was hard to count them. During World War II, when a winter storm brought down one of these giants, the neighbours raced to it with handsaw and axe since coal was in short supply and the winters, cold and damp.
Immediately beyond these guardian barrier trees was a narrow road, more of a trail, running East and West, constructed of earth and stones. It appeared from beneath more modern paved roads then disappeared a few miles later, providing a base for more modern roads. I was to discover that it had been, in ancient times, the Old Drovers Road, along which the black cattle from the Highlands of Scotland were driven to markets in Dumbarton on the West Coast and to Stirling, possibly on to Edinburgh on the East Coast.
Beyond the road was a farmers field, then the land rose into the Old Kilpatrick Hills, climbing to a height of eighteen hundred feet above sea level and forming the northern border of the once fertile but now industrial valley which surrounds the River Clyde.
As a boy I always felt a tingle of excitement when from my bedroom window I looked North towards the Old Kilpatrick Hills. I could sense adventures in the making. Once over the rim of these hills I could be in a wilderness and have the world to myself. From the hills, a clear view was provided of the River Clyde and the ocean going ships that travelled on it to and from Glasgow. The largest and most famous of passenger ships in the magic era of sea travel were built and launched on this narrow river, the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth each weighing over 80,000 tons and each the size of a football field. During World War Two these ships made an enormous contribution, travelling from the USA to Scotland carrying 18,000 troops at a time, with no convoy escort, using speed alone to avoid German submarines. The ships were packed so full that the men had to sleep in shifts.
In the 1970's it was decided to use the farmers field for a housing development. Before it was readied for construction, archaeologists were allowed to excavate the area and many ancient artifacts were found in their trenches. Beneath the farmers field, sunk beneath the soil of ages, was the remains of a great wall running parallel to the road. It was a defensive wall built by the Romans during their occupation of the British Isles.
Romantic as the Old Drovers Road may seem, it had a more ancient origin. It has witnessed history unfold. In the 1930's it was decided to build a modern road on part of this route. When excavations began they discovered that an excellent road already existed, buried under the Drovers Road. It, too, was built by the Romans. Historians referred to it as the Military Way and it ran right across Scotland. The Romans had a supply depot in the Firth of Clyde at Dumbarton. The cattle drovers of a later period were to add a section to the road to connect the town of Stirling.
Since the entire story revolves around this road I decided to entitle it THE ROAD.
THE ICE AGE AND THE EARLIEST HUMANS
There was likely an early people, hunter gatherers, in Scotland before the ice age, going back possibly to 44,000 years ago, but not much is known of them. Animals living at this time included mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, and reindeer, none of which survived the ice age. A large number of reindeer antler segments were found in a cave in Scotland and since the reindeer or other animals were not likely to be responsible for placing them there, it is thought that they were there as a result of human activity, perhaps for making tools. At that time the land now known as the British Isles was not even an island. Almost the entire East Coast of England was not a coast at all, but was connected to Europe. The shallow area of the North Sea known as The Wash was a land bridge.
The last glaciation period started in Scotland about 25,000 years ago, reaching a climax about 18,000 years ago when the whole country was buried deeply with ice up to one kilometre thick. It was not possible for human life to exist at this time. With the coming of the ice and cold the earliest inhabitants had to leave, seeking a warmer climate and following the animals which provided them with food and clothing. Many human Mesolithic sites are now under the North Sea. After a false warming trend 12,000 years ago, the environment finally warmed up and became quite hospitable about 9,000 years ago. A great deal of sea water was taken up in making the ice. The Northwest of the British Isles was (and still is) rising, the Southeast sinking. The weight of ice on the land forced the sea bed up, above the lowered sea level. As the ice melted, the sea rose and the land bridge disappeared about 8,000 years ago. The sea was then about 33 feet higher than it is today. The coastline of Scotland would be vastly different than present.
The earliest human settlement site in Scotland that has yet been discovered is on the Island of Rum, off the West coast. About 9,000 years ago a group of hunter gatherers lived at the head of a sheltered loch here. About 8,000 years ago humans were living on Islands Arran, Islay, Jura, Alva, and in the Oban area.
ORIGINAL ROADSITE
Most defensive walls follow a natural, fairly flat route, avoiding major obstacles such as mountains and bodies of water, but taking advantage of high ground for forts, lookout points, and signal hills. Before Roman times, trails existed along parts of the route that the Romans were to use. For many centuries the area was heavily wooded; after the land recovered from the last ice age, it supported elk, wild cattle, beaver, lynx, wolves, bear and wild boar, all of which are now extinct in Scotland. At one time these trails were used by the early inhabitants to get the produce of field and forest to markets and to seaports.
PRE-ROMAN SCOTLAND: THE CELTS
The Celts were tall and fair people, hunter-gatherers; highly developed in metalworking, artistic, poetic, fierce and brave fighters with a strong storytelling tradition. Valiant deeds and heroes were extolled over centuries. The storyteller or bard had a most honoured and sometimes mystic role in the society. In fact "bard" is a Celtic word. Beginning about five centuries BC, various Celtic tribes occupied the British Isles, the Gaels and Scots in Ireland, Britons in England and the Picts in Scotland. All spoke somewhat different languages but all were Celtic people.
The Celts seem to have originated before 700 B.C. in middle Europe, between the River Danube and the Rhine. From the fifth century BC these fierce tribes extended their control throughout Europe and even into Asia Minor. Invading, they moved fast, fighting from horse driven chariots, not staying in any one place for long. Where they settled, they established themselves as the ruling class. As well as the British Isles, they occupied Spain, France, Northern Italy, Austria, Hungary and the Balkans. One tribe even sacked Rome in 385 BC. The Romans slowly recovered and, in time, took control of all the lands which the Celts had populated. The Celts remained independent only in outlying parts of the British Isles.
The Celts had a social structure based on the family. Several families made a sept, several septs, a clan, several clans a tribe. All members of the tribe claimed to be descended from one common ancestor. Before the Romans invaded the British Isles, and for some centuries afterwards, the Celtic people followed the Druid religion. When the Romans came their soldiers, at least nominally, followed the religion of Mithras. The Romans did not impose their religion. They allowed the people to follow their old ways, in fact absorbed many of those religious practices for their own. This was particularly true of the Greek religion, but also applied to others. Despite this, the Celtic religion tended to decline in Roman occupied territory.
Not a great deal is accurately known about the Druid religion. The many standing stones and stone circles, which occur all over Scotland, Ireland and England actually predate the Druids. A brilliant society existed with knowledge of the movements of the stars and planets and capable of moving and raising huge boulders weighing as much as a hundred tons. No one knows much about this early society or how they performed their feats of engineering.
Evidence shows that the Druids were well aware of the use of standing stones as a calendar and able to predict the equinox and eclipses. Also left from the earlier period were a number of cup and ring stones (exposed areas of bedrock about sixty feet in diameter, carved with hieroglyphics and cup and circle shapes). Some prime examples of cup and ring stones exist within two miles of my home and just North of THE ROAD.
Early Christians were fairly tolerant and incorporated some Druid events and practices into their religion. December 25 is not likely the time when Jesus was born. The actual date of Jesus' birth was unknown and a pope in the fourth century chose December 25 to coincide with existing religious festivals (a date given to the celebration of the birth of Helios, the Sun God. It was also close to the Festival of Light and the shortest day of the year). The Island of Iona, before becoming the centre of Celtic Christianity, was known as the Island of the Druids. Some practices we still have from Druid times are knocking on wood (appealing to the spirits that live in the wood), throwing coins in a fountain or well (an offering to the water spirits), the use of mistletoe and holly as special at Christmas time.
Later Christians were not tolerant and many wonderful statues were destroyed around Rome at the hands of the Christians, not of the Vandals, Goths or Huns. Statues of Roman deities were not popular with the Christians who even fought wars with each other over such issues as the dual nature of Christ and the trinity. When trying to retake Rome from the barbarians, they found that these magnificent works of art, when broken or melted down, made wonderful projectiles for their huge catapults or components for their siege engines. (Take that, you ignorant barbarians!)
THE ROMANS: FIRST CENTURY B.C. TO FIFTH CENTURY A.D.
When the Romans arrived in the British Isles, they built two defensive walls across the whole country, Hadrian's Wall, made of stone blocks, across the North of what is now England and later Antonine's Wall across the narrow midlands of Scotland to protect them from the wild raiding Picts who came screaming in at them when they least expected it.
Antonine's Wall was built in the year 142 AD under a directive from Caesar Antoninus Pius. Hadrian's Wall had been under attack so many times that they thought a solution was to build another wall further North. The new wall was built by the three Legions who were garrisoned in the British Isles at this time, the Second Augusta, the Sixth Victrix, and the Twentieth Valeria Victrix. It was constructed of blocks of turf, laid on a stone foundation. It was 4.2 meters (14 feet) wide, 3.5 meters (12 feet) high and likely topped by a palisade. At the foot of the Wall was a defensive ditch, 12.5 meters (41 feet) wide. The wall ran from the town of Old Kilpatrick on the River Clyde in the West of Scotland, to Bo'ness (originally "Boroughness") on the River Forth, in the East, a distance of 60 Kilometers (40 miles). This wall, with all its forts was built in a period of between six months and two years. Antonine's Wall and the Road and constituted the Northern boundary of the Roman Empire. The very edge of civilization.
Any tribesman who ventured South, coming in sight of the wall would see this huge barrier, sixteen feet high, stretching farther than his eye could see, right across the country, protected by a mound and a huge ditch for its entire length. It would be an enormous psychological, as well as a physical barrier, leaving him with a sense of the futility of trying to fight against Rome. That was the main purpose of the Wall.
The Romans built a fort and communications centre on the high ground known as The Roonie, near where my home stood, signalling with the use of fire, smoke and light to other high points along the length of the wall. Another communications site, Golden Hill was situated two miles to the East and it too had a small fort. In fact every two miles along the Wall there was a fort or fortlet. THE ROAD was in fact a service road for Antonine's Wall. The road varied in width from 4.5 meters (18 feet) to 7.3 meters (24 feet) and ran parallel to the Wall for its entire length. It allowed the Romans to transport food and military supplies to their forts, move soldiers and work crews to desired locations and to respond quickly to raids and attacks.
The Roman soldiers who manned these forts at this time were not from Rome, had never been to Rome and most probably never would see the State that they were sworn to defend with their lives. The Legionaries were recruited from among the more civilized people throughout the Roman Empire. The Auxiliaries who manned the forts associated with Antonine's Wall were recruited from among the less civilized peoples within the Roman Empire. Each fort had several hundred Auxiliary soldiers. The soldiers drilled continually and were well equipped and highly disciplined. All were professionals, enlisted for a twenty five year period. Josephus is quoted as saying "Their manoeuvres are like bloodless battles: their battles like bloody manoeuvres."
With its full quota of soldiers, Antonine's wall would have a complement of about 20,000 men including footsoldiers and cavalry. These men were mostly raised from the forces manning Hadrian's Wall and other fortified positions throughout Britain.
Despite the training, equipment, and competence of the Roman Legions, and their huge wall and forts, they were unable to control the Picts, who usually avoided the pitched battles at which the Romans excelled. The Picts preferred to raid suddenly and unexpectedly, and then disappear into the mountains, marshes or woods, leaving a frustrated Roman army looking for them, not knowing where or when they would strike again.
Julius Caesar, looking across the English Channel from Gaul, is supposed to have said "Veni, Vidi, Vici" ("I came, I saw, I conquered"). The Romans arrived in the British Isles in 55 BC and moved into Scotland in 82 AD. After a number of difficult battles succeeded in occupying most of the main island by virtue of their superior technology and organizing skills. The Celtic people were used to fighting in clans or tribes and were often at war with each other. They had never succeeded in uniting large parts of their population in common cause.
RACISM AND SLAVERY
The Romans were to expend a lot of energy and manpower to maintain an army in Great Britain and Gaul for a long period, even through times when they needed the army quite badly in other places. A likely reason for this is that they did it to feed Rome's voracious appetite for slaves. Slaves were used as a cheap source of labour and a highly expendable form of entertainment in the arenas. Just as happened in the 1700's in the Southern States of the USA, this demand led to people being viewed as a cash crop and they were captured into slavery or bred in stud farms. Slavery had always existed, but it was taken to new heights or depths. Around the Roman Empire tribes were stirred up and old animosities aroused that were driven by this market for people, where they could be traded for luxury goods. A citizen of Rome or of the Roman Empire could experience a fairly civilized life. A slave was viewed as sub human and often treated with great cruelty. If a surplus of babies was experienced at a stud farm, the unwanted babies were sometimes left in a large jar to starve to death. Life was cheap for slaves.
A common means of rationalizing slavery is to say "they are not people like us, they do not see things the way we do, they do not feel pain as we do. They like it this way." Author Nat Rutstein said that racism was institutionalized for two reasons and two reasons only:
1) To provide a cheap source of labour (slavery)
2) To grab land (as with the North American Indian. In fact, any aboriginal)
As slavery was abolished, its proponents, who usually viewed themselves as very civilized and cultured, cried that it was a great step backwards. It has proved a giant step forward for mankind. The longing for freedom has been irresistible force on the planet.
THE EFFECTS OF ROMAN OCCUPATION
The Roman historian Tacitus referred to the original peoples in the Northern part of the main Island as Picti because they went into battle naked, with pictures painted on their bodies. The name stuck. It was not their own name for themselves but the dominant society had writing skills and they wrote the history books of the period. When the Romans arrived there were three kingdoms in Scotland. They were referred to as the Kingdoms of the Picts, the Scots, and Strathclyde.
The Romans referred to people living within Roman occupied territory as Britons. These were usually the same Celtic people, the only difference being whether they lived within or outside of Roman occupied territory. The name given by the Romans to this, their Northernmost province, was Brittania.
It seems that the Romans thought that the Picts in Scotland were conquered or at least well under control, for with the building of Antonine's Wall they made many access road openings through Hadrian's Wall to the South. In the end Antonine's Wall had little effect in diminishing the number of attacks and when Antoninus died in 161 AD, after just nineteen years of manning the new wall, the Romans abandoned it. They destroyed their forts and retreated again behind Hadrian's Wall.
The Romans occupied large parts of the British Isles from 55 B.C. until over four centuries later. Under Roman rule every class flourished except for peasant farmers. Large estates expanded at the expense of small farms; the peasant was often bought out and became a tenant farmer or a labourer in the cities. There were times when many peasants supported the Anglo-Saxon invaders against the landed aristocracy. However, Roman Britain prospered, cities multiplied and expanded, wealth accumulated. Many homes had central heating and glass windows, many wealthy people had luxurious villas. British weavers exported high quality woollen goods as they do to this day. By the third century, a few Roman legions were sufficient to maintain internal security and external peace.
In the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. Britain was threatened on every side.(My Grandson Joshua, aged nine, insists that A.D. means After Dinosaurs) On the North by the Picts, on the South and East by the Norse and Saxons, on the West by the unsubdued Celts of Wales and the Gaels and "Scots" of Ireland (the word Scot originally meant a wanderer). In 364-7 AD coastal raids increased and British and Gallic soldiers repelled them. They still came back, ever pressing. In 381 AD, Maximus withdrew legions from Britain for personal reasons and for defense of Rome.
When the Romans pulled out, what had been Roman occupied Britain was threatened by invasion on all fronts. About the year 400 AD there was a desperate appeal from Britain to the Roman General Stilicho for help, but he was fully occupied in driving Huns and Goths from Italy and Gaul. When a further appeal was made, Emperor Honorius answered that the British must help themselves as best they could. Rome had ceased to rule Britain. Britain would not see such prosperity again, until after the Industrial Revolution.
Where they lived, they left a lasting legacy of engineering feats as well as systems of government and education. The Highlands were virtually untouched by such things. All during this period the Picts were to continue a guerrilla war. The Celts were often beaten in battle. Julius Caesar was to take one million of them into slavery over the period of his battles in Gaul alone, and an unknown but vast number from Great Britain. In the Highlands of Scotland the Picts never surrendered. They also had their successes. At one time the entire Ninth Roman Legion of five thousand men disappeared and history still does not know what happened to them.
"All roads lead to Rome" was a truism in the Ancient world. Their genius enabled them to build roads that carried them to all corners of the known world in conquest. The very same roads were to become the avenues by which their enemies came pouring in to attack and eventually defeat them.
A Heroic Saint and the Early Christian Church in Ireland and Britain
SAINT PATRICK: FIFTH CENTURY
After Roman times there was little recorded until a later period when Christian monks started to keep records and write history. A great deal of what they wrote was destroyed in Viking raids and various other raids, wars, and looting that took place over the years. When Constantine, the Emperor of Rome became a Christian and made Christianity the State Religion of Rome, only twenty percent of the population was Christian, but the Christian Church assumed a great deal of influence. The Roman legions were no longer occupying Britain, but all citizens of the Empire was affected by this major event. The Christian religion was growing and many heros, saints, and martyrs were engaged in teaching it throughout the known world.
Two miles West of the village of Duntocher, the Road runs through the ancient village of Old Kilpatrick, located on the North bank of the River Clyde, below the Old Kilpatrick Hills. Local tradition insists that Saint Patrick, one of the most loved Saints in the early Christian tradition (along with Saint Nicholas), was probably born here about 389 A.D. The old music hall song states that "Saint Patrick was a gentleman, and came from dacent people" This is true. He was the son of a middle class British-Roman citizen and he was given a Roman name just like his father and grandfather before him. He was called Patricius. Saint Patrick lived so long ago that not much of his life story can be stated with confidence. Where he was born and where he died are two facts that are often in dispute. He was so popular that the Irish, Welsh, Scottish and even the French lay claim to his birthplace and last resting place. One self professed expert confidently informed me that this confusion was because there were actually three Saint Patricks! Anyway this is one version of his life.
I went to the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, Scotland seeking for anything in writing to confirm the Scottish tradition. At first I wondered if everyone spoke with a lisp in those days, but it was just that modern spelling has changed from that of the 1700's when the letters "s" and "f" were interchangeable. I was thrilled to find a copy of an ancient book containing the following:
OLD KILPATRICK
By the reverend Mr John Davidson
Minifter of the Parifh
Origin of the name:
Kirk or Kil-patrick takes its name from St Patrick, the tutelar faint of Ireland, who, tradition fays, was a native of the parifh. There are many circuftances favouring this tradition; though Mr O'Halloran, an Irifh writer, fupposes that he was rather a native of Wales. In the burying place in the churchyard, there is a ftone of gtreat antiquity, with a figure faid to be that of St Patrick upon it; and fome go fo far af to affert, that he was buried under it. In the River Clyde, oppofite to the church, there is a large ftone or rock, vifible at low water, called Ft Patrick's Ftone; and Pennant (1) fays, "Ireland will fcarce forgive me if I am filent about the birth-place of its tutelar faint. He firft drew breath at Kirkpatrick, and derived his name from his father, a noble Roman, (a Patrician), who fled hither in the time of perfecution." (2)
In a later chapter in the same book I found some comment on the legendary King Arthur. When the Romans marched in to the area of the River Clyde they found it populated by the Damnii or Damnonii, a Cymric branch of the Celtic race. This district, afterwards called Strathclyde, had as its capital Acuith or Dumbarton. Under Roman influence these people became in manners and customs, more advanced than their wild Pict neighbours. That they were at least nominally Christians we learn from St Patrick's Confession. On the Roman withdrawal from Britain, Strathclyde became a battleground as Picts, Scots, Angles, Jutes and Saxons harried the Britons whose home it was. This is what this book had to say about Arthur.
It was during these struggles that the great Cymric hero, Arthur the Faultless, King of Poets, first saw light. Guildas in the 6th century and Nennius in the 7th relate Arthur's real history; while Merlin, the poet of Tweedsdale, and Llywarch Hen and Taliesin, both poets of the Lennox, sing his praises. It has been thought that one of the battles of Arthur was fought in the neighborhood of Duntocher, certainly in the neighbouring parish of Strathblane, where "Arthur's Stone" bears witness to one of his victories. (3)
After Constantine made Christianity the State Religion of the Roman Empire, citizens of the Empire could see the writing on the wall. If you wanted to get ahead in life, if you wanted to have a career in government employment, being Christian would be an asset. It was rather like being an Episcopalian in the USA. Many Christians were sincere but it was not viewed primarily as something which should change your behaviour or your lifestyle.
For example, when the Christian city of Corinth, Greece fell to the army of Attila the Hun, he was shocked to find that every street corner had a brothel. Attila, in his own way, believed in family values. He gave the prostitutes two choices; either marry one of his men, or leave Carthage.
In his Confession St Patrick says "I had for father, Deakon Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest of the settlement Bannavern Taburniae. He had a nearby small villa where I was taken captive".
Patrick showed no interest in the religion of his Father and Grandfather but at the age of 16, in that same turbulent period, just after Roman withdrawal and when Arthur emerged as a leader, that Patrick was taken into captivity in Ireland "with thousands of others" as a result of a raid. The Irish had become skilled pirates and as the power of the Roman army receded and finally vanished as a deterrent force, Irish raiders terrorized the coast of Britain, coming in fleets of coracles, little round hide boats, and making off with loot and many slaves.
Life was cheap in Ireland and none so cheap as the life of a slave boy. Falling from the status of a much loved son in a middle class family in a very civilized land, Patrick was to endure extreme privation, with cold and rain, half naked and near starvation in the windswept hills of Antrim in Ireland. He spent months at a time in solitude and, not speaking the language, probably feared any stranger that came in view. After about six years herding pigs and sheep, he escaped by ship, probably into northern France, eventually returning home. In his own words "And again, after a few years, I was in the Britains with my parents, who received me as a son and earnestly besought me that now at least, after the many hardships I had endured, I would never leave them again". (4)
The character of most great people is forged on the anvil of extreme hardship and duress. This was true of Patrick. During his captivity he prayed and fasted extensively and became a devout Christian, crediting God for his release, which seems to have been under rather mystical circumstances. In later years, although of limited education, he studied the Bible so intently that he could quote it from memory as required. He felt a calling (in fact heard voices) and longed to return to Ireland.
In preparation for going to Ireland, he studied for the priesthood in France where he must have had great difficulty because again the language was different and his Latin was shaky, but finally he was ordained. When he arrived in Ireland, Palladius, the newly appointed first bishop for Ireland died, and Pope Celestine appointed Patrick in his place. Patrick failed to convert the enlightened pagan King Laeghaire, but won support for his mission.
The Irish were certainly wild. Every society has its collectors. There were no postage stamps in those days, so the Irish collected the heads of their enemies. These were hung on chariots, on horses, placed in special little nooks built at the entrance to their houses, and the fresh ones were either carried in the hands for waving about or hung from the belt at their waist to free up the hands for fighting. In victory ceremonies a head would be used as a football and skulls as drinking cups. It was amazing that Patrick managed to hang on to his head to complete his work.
Among their customs, the Celts practiced various forms of human sacrifice. If a community fell on hard times with crops or hunting failing, it was assumed that the gods were angry with the people and had to be appeased, so someone would have to be sacrificed. If it was a minor crises then a slave would do. If a major crisis occurred, someone highborn, perhaps a son of the King or chief, would volunteer to be sacrificed for the good of the community. The various bodies found preserved in peat bogs proved that this happened. When Patrick taught about a God of love, and the story of Abraham, being spared by God from having to sacrifice his son, they were interested. When he taught them that Jesus had died for the sins of us all, and that making human sacrifices would make the God of the universe angry, many were relieved and open to consider the rest of the Christian teachings.
The Celts at this time recognized a pantheon of over four hundred gods, sixty-nine of whom were related to war. The Druids saw in Patrick a threat to their power. They opposed him, and at Tara, they "showed the people their magic". Patrick's response was to demonstrate the use of exorcism to cast out demons and eventually he won the day. There are many stories of the miracles he performed (cast out devils, gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, cleansed lepers, raised nine persons from the dead, and wrote 365 books) but it was probably his confident belief and passionate love of the people that converted the Irish. He was not a patient man and could "dispense maledictions and benedictions with equal readiness". (5)
When Pope Gregory the Great in Rome saw two Britons, a man and a woman, being sold in a slave auction, he was greatly taken by their blonde beauty. On being told that they were Angles he made three little puns about "Angles" and "Angels" and he resolved to try to evangelize the English. However he made no attempt to have these slaves freed. Patrick fought for the emancipation of slaves centuries before the rest of the civilized world thought about it.
Behind every myth there is a reality. Patrick may not have performed the above miracles, but what he accomplished was more miraculous. Because of his personal experience as a slave, he hated slavery with a passion. His extreme maledictions were against those who took the newly converted Christians, especially the young women, into slavery. He loved them dearly and knew only too well what their life in slavery would be like.
There are no swear words in the Gaelic language. Our four letter words come from the Saxon language. "Daughter of the Devil" or "Son of the Devil" was fighting talk. "Bad cess to him" my Irish Grandmother used to say, usually in reference to Adolf Hitler. I never found out what "cess" was but it was convincing when said with feeling. Patrick derides the slave raiders, King Coroticus and his men as "dogs and sorcerers and murderers and liars and false swearers....who distribute baptized girls for a price, and that for the sake of a miserable temporal kingdom which truly passes away in a moment like a cloud of smoke that is scattered by the wind."
Such was his courage, determination and persistence, his love of God and his love of the Irish people that over a thirty year period he converted thousands to Christianity and was able to persuade the Irish to stop slave raids. They would still keep slaves and some would buy slaves from Britain but the massive raids from Ireland ceased. Ireland was no longer a slave trading country. From the time of Jesus, in Rome, the eternal city, lived the greatest assembly of brilliant philosophers, orators, historians, scholars and poets. They were acutely aware of the disintegration of Roman life and gave their best efforts to improving it. The only passing mentions they made of Christianity was to scoff at it. They never conceived that it held any answer to their problem. By the time of Patrick's mission, Rome, whose might had guaranteed prosperity and security to its citizens for seven hundred years, was tumbling from order to anarchy; Ireland was moving under the influence of Patrick from anarchy to order. The life giving teachings of Jesus were empowering this strange people enabling them to not only resolve their own problems but to make a great gift to the world.
In Roman Britain at this time, when foreign or homegrown pirates raided, the more powerful people had fortified homes and small militia forces that could provide security. They offered shelter to neighbouring small farmers, but when the raids had passed the refugees would often find that the price for accepting asylum was that they and their families were now slaves of the wealthy household. The Britons who had been taken into slavery were often purchased back by wealthy Christian neighbours, not as ransom for their freedom but to be kept as slaves by these same neighbours.
In his Confession Patrick emphasizes that he never accepted any material gain for his services "not even the price of a shoe. If anyone believes that I have, let him say so to my face and I shall return it to him." He had baptized "so many thousand peoples and did not hope for even half a jot from them" He went on to say that he had even offended some who had placed gifts for him at the altar, by returning the gifts.
You may wonder why Patrick had to make such stout denials of personal gain. It may arouse your suspicions. He had good reasons. The people of Roman Britain were more prosperous and civilized than their neighbouring Celts and many became proud and arrogant. They viewed the Irish as sub-human and fumed that the legions could no longer protect them from raids. Roman British Christians would not consider trying to teach their religion to the Irish. Patrick wishing to leave the civilized world to live among the Irish was incomprehensible. It was viewed very cynically and many in the Church were sure that he had ulterior motives for personal gain.
In the four hundred years since Christianity started, the religion had grown within the boundaries of the Greek and Roman Empires. No-one had ventured into really uncivilized territory. Even Saint Augustine never tried it. One time he went outside of the city of Hippo where he was Bishop and was pursued by a mob of Donatists, who were Christians with a different viewpoint from the Roman Church. He never ventured forth again. So, strange as it may seem, Patrick was the first missionary.
The early Church in Britain produced its share of saints and scholars. It also produced its share of bigots and narrow minded Christians. Patrick, perhaps due to his earlier adventures in life, was unsophisticated. His fellow British ecclesiastics saw him as crude, rough and uneducated. His manners were not polished and his grasp of the Latin language was the source of much amusement. Patrick stories circulated freely. "Have you heard the latest..." They were positive that the only reason he had gone to live there was to trick the guileless savages out of their treasures.
Patrick was to write many letters to church officials in Britain pleading for assistance in freeing Irish Christians who had been taken into slavery in Britain. All to no avail. British Christians did not view Irish Christians as full fledged Christians, or as human beings either, because they were not Roman.
According to local tradition in Scotland, Patrick left Ireland and spent his last years working out of the village of Old Kilpatrick in Scotland. An old weather-beaten signpost from modern times indicates where St Patrick's or The Trees Well was located. For centuries pilgrims travelled to visit the well site and to partake of its healing waters. For many years it was the obligation of the lord on whose land it stood to provide for these pilgrims. This continued until the well was found to be unfit for use in the 1800's and sealed off. What is said to be Patrick's gravestone is the oldest visible in the ancient graveyard. It is propped against the church wall where it is offered some protection from the elements, but it has not been preserved as such a historic stone deserves to be. St Patrick's Rock in the River Clyde, near the new Erskine Bridge is said to be where he was fishing when he was carried off Ireland by the pirates.
When his ship arrived in Scotland from Ireland, he must have shouldered his belongings and walked home the seven dangerous miles from Dumbarton along this very same road. Thereafter he often would use THE ROAD in his travels, attempting to Christianize and baptize, bestowing blessings and curses as he went, on the free spirits whose salvation he viewed as his mission in life.
By the time of Patrick's death, about 465 AD, Christianity was well established in Ireland. Bishops had been appointed, and little groups of monks were in their cells pursuing knowledge and copying and translating not only the Bible but many works from Latin and Greek. When Viking ships were devastating the coast of Europe and Britain, burning and pillaging, Ireland was sheltered from these raids for over a hundred years as it was more out of the way and less prosperous. During all this time, scholarship flourished as did music and literacy. Europe, North America and Australia pride themselves on being built and modelled on Roman and Greek culture: the home of democracy itself.
Such were the depredations of the Barbarians and the Vikings that all of the libraries in Europe were burned, literacy and scholarship and music died. Can you imagine the effort and skill it took to copy by hand and illustrate an entire Bible? The most artistic of these would be bound in covers which would be decorated with semi precious stones. During a Viking raid the calligrapher slaughtered, the book seeming worthless, would be burned, the cover ripped off to be taken home as trinkets for the family.
We know of many classics which were lost forever. During this period there was only one place in all of Europe where the flame of civilization was nurtured - Ireland. There is not one classic book presently available from ancient Greece or Rome that was not carefully, lovingly, translated and preserved for the world, by these same Irish monks. Yet Greek and Roman classics were a bonus; they did not save Greece or Rome. The real gift of Ireland was the life giving teachings of Jesus which alone had the power to change the hearts of men, and transform their behaviour.
How did the Irish make the transition from a society of headhunters to saints and scholars? It happened in a relatively short span of time. It must also be acknowledged that the earliest Irish monks were very adept at the use of the sword when necessary to protect their flock and churches. In these turbulent times this proved a vital asset. Many anchorites and monks fled to Ireland seeking sanctuary from the barbarian hordes that overran the Empire, bringing with them various versions of Christianity as well as books and knowledge and learning. The brightest and most dedicated of the newly converted Irish Christians learned Latin to read the Bible and Greek to know more about the New Testament. The famous Book of Kells, a translation of the Gospels, has been described as "the work of Angels" by enemies of the Church. Having mastered Latin and Greek they copied the Bible to make it more widely available. This linguistic skill enabled them to translate the preserved wisdom of the ages from those languages. The Irish Church of this time was very broad minded and did not feel threatened in translating works with stories about Roman and Greek deities.
Saint Patrick it was who laid the foundation. Following his success and example in bringing Christianity to this country scholars, missionaries and saints surged forth, enabling society "to carry forward an ever advancing civilization." After the Roman Legions left Britain, Roman Britons had fought with invading Angles and Saxons for a hundred years. They had been pushed back north of Hadrian's Wall. The invaders had established themselves and settled all over England (Angleland) and imposed their language (English). Such was the animosity of British Christians towards these invaders that they would not dream of trying to teach the Christian Faith to them.
The Irish had not suffered at the hands of Angles and Saxons and had no hesitation in offering Christianity to them. Irish missionaries poured forth, establishing monasteries in Iona and Lindisfarne. From these bases, men and women went forth with their hand copied bibles. They successfully preached Christianity to Angles, Saxons, Britons, Picts, French and anyone else who would listen. They founded monasteries all over Europe. As Europe became more stable, Irish scholars with their love of learning became tutors to the children of influential families all over the continent. Ireland became the publishing house of Europe. Even as late as 870 AD Heiric of Auxerre was to say "Almost all of Ireland is migrating to our shores with a herd of philosophers" They arrived with books tied triumphantly to their waistbands, just as their ancestors had carried the heads of their enemies. Here was a turning point of history; it was Ireland's gift to civilization; it was Patrick's gift to all of us.
My mother used to tell me "You would try the patience of a saint". I suppose your mother told you the same thing. Patrick had little patience but his hot temper was used mostly to good purpose. Who would have dreamed that these wild Irish people could have become scholars and spiritual giants and carry the torch of civilization through its most endangered period in history. Patrick loved the Irish and believed in them. They became "his" people and he became one of them. He honoured them and they in turn honoured him.
What were Patrick's real achievements?
- He was the first Christian Missionary to live beyond the boundaries of civilization.
- He put an end to the misery of slave trading.
- He ended the Irish practice of human sacrifice, voluntary or involuntary.
- He laid the foundation for the Irish to become a "nation of scholars and saints". This semi-literate simple man, on fire with the teachings of Jesus, enabled his Irish followers and successors to preserve civilization and give it as a gift to a world which had lost it.
These achievements are surely greater and much more useful than the more spectacular ones usually attributed to him. Patrick is owed recognition and gratitude that is fifteen hundred years overdue. The next Saint Patrick's Day, when you are drinking green beer at your favourite pub, or having a tasty green milk shake at McDonalds Restaurant, hearing songs and jokes about the Irish, in the midst of the fun, give a thought to this heroic and saintly man. We owe him a lot. All of us.
THE CELTIC CHURCH AND THE ROMAN CHURCH
From the first century on, just as Jesus foretold, false prophets were at work, changing His teachings so that they became more acceptable but quite distorted. These enemies were within the Christian movement itself. Jesus told a parable of a man who sowed his fields with good quality wheat seeds. While he slept an enemy came by and sowed these fields with tare seeds. The two grew alongside each other, totally intermixed. A servant asked his master whether he should try to weed out the tares, his master said to leave them and not disturb the wheat. When the harvest time comes they would be separated, the tares tied in bundles and burned.
In 1839 Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote "People imagine that the place the Bible holds in the world, it owes to miracles. It owes it simply to the fact that it came out of a profounder depth of thought than any other book." People have always loved miracles. From very early times, growing right alongside His beautiful life giving teachings, were numerous man made distortions, the tares. The earliest Jesus People had no knowledge of a Virgin birth. The same word was used for virgin and for young woman. They said nothing about a physical resurrection. They did not think that Jesus was God, or a Lord, they had no idea of Holy Communion, with a wafer and wine turning into the body and blood of Christ, or of a priest transforming into Christ in the process. Most of these miraculous teachings existed already in Greek, Roman and other Mediterranean religions. Introducing them to Christianity would make it easier to win converts.
When the four narrative Gospels first appeared, one by one, between the year 80 to year 120, they were so much more interesting and readable than the earliest Gospels, which would be more accurate, that everyone adopted them and the earlier versions were first neglected, then lost. They were not written by Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, who in all likelihood would be dead by then. In earliest times Bishops were just leaders, elected by their community. The Trinity was unheard of. That Jesus died for your sins was a concept introduced by Paul. A righteous man was one who lived in harmony with Jewish laws, a sinner one who did not. Paul was trying to wean Christians away from their idea that to become a Christian one had first to become a Jew, a concept being taught by Peter and James. Since this included that men had to get circumcised it was a real barrier to winning new members!
Christians have long believed that Jesus was a unique incarnation of God that has never before appeared in history and will never again appear. There is nothing in all of Jesus' recorded teachings to support this belief. This tenet has prevented Christians from accepting or even considering any Prophet that God has sent or will ever send. Yet God promises in His Covenant with man, never to leave him alone. The belief has also separated Christianity from all of the other major World Religions. But then, they also have long since fabricated similar beliefs for themselves. This may be why all of God's Prophets have suffered.
No one in the Western world can now hope to read the Bible without having been preconditioned by it, and by the various misunderstandings and misinterpretations it has experienced. The wheat and the tares; in time these man made stories become traditions and loved by all. There have been many times in history that to question them would mean exclusion from the community, or even torture or death. Yet these were the Christian teachings that Patrick knew and loved. They still contained the beautiful teachings of Jesus. The wheat.
Now, the Irish had no intention of deviating from the Roman Church's tenets, it just happened and was quite understandable. Numerous Christian anchorites and monks arrived in Ireland from all parts of the Roman Empire, fleeing from the Barbarians. They brought many books with them and a strange mixture of eclectic beliefs. The Irish viewed the Pope in Rome rather like a High King. They recognized him, but he was far away and had little to do with everyday life. They saw him as one of the family, who now and then needed to be straightened out. Women assumed an important role in Ireland. They performed the duties of priests and abbots. Brigid was even appointed Bishop (some said later, by mistake). Confession was something you did with a soul-friend, someone you really trusted. The Druids had performed this service in earlier times. Sex was a natural part of life and the Irish focussed on eliminating fighting, head collecting and human sacrifice, not on sexual mores.
It was inevitable that the Roman and Celtic Churches would collide. The Celts coming from the North and West in England met the Romans coming from the South. Both groups met in 664 AD at a synod before a king near Whitby, England, to argue the merits of their versions of Christianity. The Roman group did not present great philosophical arguments, but insisted that their version of Christianity was the right one. Their most conclusive argument was that the Roman Church claimed to have the bones of Saint Peter while the Celtic Church could only claim the bones of the missionary Saint Columba (sixth century). Another item under discussion was tonsure. The Romans shaved a small circlet at the crown of their heads. The Irish shaved the front half of the head, from ear to ear and forward, letting the back half grow long. The Romans thought this was a sure sign of their barbaric roots. As one of the Celtic abbots said "What more perverse thing can be felt of our church than if we say 'Rome is wrong. Jerusalem is wrong. Antioch is wrong, the whole world is wrong: only the Irish and the Britons know what is right, these peoples who are almost at the ends of the earth, and you might say a pimple on the chin of the world'". The King remembering that "The keys of the Kingdom" had been given to Peter was afraid that Peter if displeased, might use them to lock him out, ruled in favour of the Romans. The Celtic Church yielded.
The only aspect of the Celtic Church that was incorporated in the practices of the Roman Church was the privacy of Confession. The Roman version at this time was that confession was a public affair and the penitent had to stand outside the church door in sackcloth and ashes for days, exposed to public censure. Sin was a crime against the church. Some sins were thought to be unforgivable and at best, forgiveness could only be given once. A second theft or adultery could cause the individual to be cast outside of the body of the church. The Irish on the other hand, were very tolerant and thought that sinning was part of the human condition, no great thing. All of us sin, all of the time. The feelings of the sinner must be spared and any embarrassment avoided. It was the Christian thing to do. Sinning was something between the penitent and God. The Roman Church could have benefited from adopting more of the tolerant Irish ideas.
Down through the ages the Christian Church has been more concerned about rites and doctrines rather than moral conduct. The Church has conducted persecution, burning at the stake, extermination of heretics, and suppression of truth by force. Jesus said "By this shall all men know ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another." One wonders how different the history of Europe might have been if the Church had rather focussed its considerable powers on this wonderful civilizing principle.
A PERSONAL CONNECTION
Along THE ROAD itself I enjoyed many childhood adventures, building hideouts in the blackthorn hedgerows, sailing make believe boats in the "wee burns" (streams), populating water filled bomb craters with minnows, climbing ancient trees and, in season, lying among the fragrant bluebells gazing at the passing clouds.
Near the village of Old Kilpatrick, there is another graveyard called Dalnotter. Most of my family are buried here, so you could say that I have deep roots in the area. My Father, Grandmother, Grandfather, and various Uncles and Aunts, all found their last resting place there, looking out over the wild Old Kilpatrick Hills. My Uncle Jack, whom I was named after, is a close neighbour of the Saint himself, being buried in the same ancient graveyard.
Perhaps this uncle, somewhat of a bard, has been introducing Patrick to the poems and songs of another famous son of Scotland, Robert Burns. A verse I think he would appreciate:
Its coming yet, as come it may,
And come it will for all that,
That man to man the World o'er,
Will brothers be for all that.
HOW ENGLAND WAS CREATED
Meanwhile, the area now known as England was faced with a large scale invasion of Picts. The British leader Vortigern invited some North German Tribes to come to his aid. Saxons from the Elbe, Angles from Schleswig, and Jutes from Jutland, all came in 449 AD and vigorously repelled the Picts and Scots. They were given tracts of land as their reward. However they saw how weak the British were militarily and sent word to their fellow tribesmen at home.
Uninvited, hordes of these tribesmen landed in Britain and after a century of warring, defeated the British at Deorham (577 AD) and became masters of what became Angle-land (England). Some Britons retreated to the mountains of Wales and fought on, some crossed the channel and gave their name to Brittany, but most accepted the conquest and their blood was mixed with that of their conquerors. From this time forward the people and culture of England were different from those of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
Over a hundred years of warfare had a disastrous effect on society. Cities were ruined, art became dormant, law and order vanished, and the infant Christianity was overpowered by the gods and customs of Germany. Britain and its language became Teutonic; Roman law and institutions disappeared, and Roman municipal organization was replaced by village communities. A Celtic element remained in English physical appearance, character, literature, and art, but very little in the English language which is now a cross between German and French.
It was in those black days that the legend of King Arthur emerged, to be further embellished in later centuries. It is rather like the creation of Superman in later times to right the wrongs and bind the wounds of a decadent and helpless society. It is not known for sure what basis in fact the legend had but it, like Superman, provided hope and entertainment for generations. King Arthur was called "the Once and Future King". (We shall have something to say about the real Arthur a little further on.)
THE NORMANS: ELEVENTH CENTURY
England was a fertile land and seen as a great prize by many seeking a better life. It was now made up of Celts, Britons, Angles, Saxons, Danes, and Norse. King Harold was the newly crowned King of England and already doing a fair job defending it. He had just succeeded in defeating a large force of Vikings in the North of England in the year 1066. Then there was a major invasion of Normans from Normandy, across the channel, under their leader the Duke of Normandy, later to be known as King William the Conqueror. After a battle lasting nine hours, King Harold was killed in the Battle of Hastings. He was struck in the eye by a Norman arrow. He fell, blinded with blood and the Norman knights cut his body to pieces as he lay on the battlefield. At the sight of their leader going down, the British side faltered, the Normans surged to victory. This outcome of the Battle of Hastings was to change the way of life for the nation in a major way, and for a long time.
The Norman Lords divided up the country between them, suppressed any opposition, and set themselves up as supreme rulers. The Britons were reduced to the role of servants and to this day the words pig, sheep, cow, are Saxon words, whereas pork, mutton, and beef, are Norman words. The Britons had the job of raising the animals for the Normans to eat. Another carry over in our language from this time is shown in the doublespeak used in legal agreements, where two words are used instead of one. It was agreed at the time that because a legal document was important it should be expressed in both languages (i.e Will and Testament, Devise and Bequeath, etc.). The Normans established in Britain, the Feudal System which was in effect in much of Europe at the time. The Feudal System was to provide a stable system of organization but leave the curse of the class system which still plagues and hinders Britain to this day.
After the Norman Conquest a number of Normans moved into Scotland where they settled, building many massive castles of stone, which replaced earlier hill forts. One of these castles was built on a hill overlooking the meandering Forth River in Stirling, the ancient capitol of Scotland. It was to be the home of Kings and, overlooking the first crossing on the River Forth, dominated this gateway to the Highlands. Another was the powerful Dumbarton Castle, built on a huge rocky outcrop, looking out over the Clyde River and guarding the West from attack by land or sea. Both of these castles are still in existence, both have played a significant role in the history of Scotland, and both are linked by THE ROAD.
The Normans used THE ROAD for communications and moving military personnel and supplies between the two places. It was about the year 1066 the Boyd family moved to Scotland, the father, Robert de Boyd, and his two sons settling in Ayrshire. Worth mentioning is the fact that the Normans, before they settled in Normandy in the South of France were Norsemen. Norman Lords now owned land in France, England and Scotland. Astute Kings encouraged this system as it extended their control by having the allegiance of Lords in all these countries.
Scotland's Greatest Hero
THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE
This is from the story of an ancient road and events that happened on it. This chapter is about the Scottish Wars of Independance the giant hero William Wallace, Braveheart. My family name is Boyd and my ancestors were involved in these Wars.
Edward I of England was of the Plantaganet family and was sometimes known behind his back as Longshanks (he was around six feet six inches tall). He was a good husband, a good friend to many a great warrior and was acknowledged as the First Knight of Christendom. He was also consumed with a need to have his own way and merciless with any who prevented this. In later years he may have gone a little mad. He was capable of great cruelty and vindictiveness and called himself the Hammer of the Scots
King Edward was ambitious and wanted to rule England, Wales, Ireland, France and Scotland. In this Chapter he moves on Scotland.
Thirteenth Century: WILLIAM WALLACE (Braveheart)
Scots Wha Hae
Let us do - or die!
-- Robert Burns
The life of William Wallace was portrayed in a recent motion picture called Braveheart, but Hollywood is more interested in profit than accuracy in making historical films. Wallace was the heroic defender of the liberty of Scotland from the usurper, King Edward I of England who liked to refer to himself as The Hammer of the Scots.
The real William Wallace was a giant of a man, said to be seven feet tall. Whether or not this is true is hard to say since the man was hanged, drawn and quartered, and no part of him remains intact. His head was dipped in pitch to preserve it and spiked on London Bridge, his right leg and foot went to Berwick, his right arm above the bridge in Newcastle, "over the common sewers", his left arm in Stirling. His left leg was sent to Aberdeen, where it is now buried in the wall of St. Machars Cathedral. All this in an attempt to strike fear into the hearts of the Scots and to subdue them once and for all. In the end it had the opposite effect.
WILLIAM WALLACE - THE EARLY DAYS
Wallace was born around the year 1276, the second son of Sir Malcolm Wallace of Elderslie. Since all of this happened so long ago it is impossible to tell his story with total accuracy. A poet by the name of Blind Harry is the main source of information, but he set down many of the traditions a hundred and fifty years after Wallace's death in 1305. Wallace was brought up by an uncle in Stirlingshire and was instilled with the ideas of independence and patriotism. His Uncle told him "I tell you a truth, liberty is the best of all things, my son, never live under any slavish bond".
We can be sure that Wallace was very large and powerful as his sword, ("which none but he could wield") is still on display in the Wallace Monument in Stirling. It is a double handed weapon and has a blade 52 inches long and weighs twelve pounds. It was carried in a scabbard on his back and drawn over the shoulder.
When Wallace was about nineteen years old and a student, he and a few of his friends were furious at the outrages committed by the English soldiers of occupation who were left to garrison the various castles and towns. They vowed to oppose any acts of aggression and to defend themselves if necessary. Wallace was publicly insulted by a crowd headed by a youth named Selby, the son of the governor of Dundee, who demanded Wallace hand over his dagger. Wallace gave him the dagger right through the heart, killing him instantly. He was able to escape, killing two of the others who tried to stop him. Being easily recognized because of his size, he was proclaimed a traitor, outlawed and forced to hide in the woods. From this point on he had nothing to lose. His sweetheart was executed for helping him to escape, his Uncle was murdered. This all combined to make him a very dangerous and ruthless adversary.
His phenomenal strength, agility, courage, iron constitution, and enterprising spirit combined with his undying hatred of the English oppressors made him ideally suited to lead a band of patriots. Outlawed rebels just like himself were soon attracted to his side. They became a small movement for national independence, surviving chiefly by plunder, attacking the convoys of supplies sent by the English, taking to the woods when pursued. He often would visit the garrisoned towns in disguise to assess the strength of the enemy, frequently getting into scrapes with enemy soldiers, escaping difficult situations when heavily outnumbered. He was several times captured but managed to escape. On one occasion he was thrown in jail and left to starve to death. Then he was pronounced dead and his body thrown on a dung heap. His childhood nurse, now an old woman, asked the jailers if she could claim the body and she was given permission. While cleaning the body she thought she noticed the barest signs of life. She quietly nursed him back to life and he was spirited away until he recovered his health.
The word of Wallace's "death" spread like wildfire and was even promoted by his friends, who enacted a wake and funeral. The common folk were distraught, for in him they saw a glimmer of hope in the dark days of English domination and oppression.
When True Thomas (sometimes known as Thomas the Rhymer) the legendary mystic poet of the time was informed that Wallace had died, he became alarmed and made inquiries. When told that he was really alive he predicted that Wallace would, before his death, slay thousands of the English oppressors and drive them from Scotland. This prophecy was to have great effect on the country. Word of it reached William and speeded his recovery. He believed that his escape from death was a sign from heaven that he was destined for great events. When the people heard that Wallace had "returned from the dead" and were told of True Thomas's prophecy, the effect on the common folk was immense. They knew he was destined to lead the Nation. The English were alarmed. They now knew that they were not just dealing with an outlaw hiding in the hills.
His heroic exploits now became legendary and after the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Dunbar, he became the main focus of hope for the common people. As hope grew he attracted support from more powerful people including Sir Andrew Murray, Sir William Douglas, and closest of all, Sir John the Graham, and Sir Robert Boyd (an ancestor).
There is a tradition in our family of naming the first born son Robert, as with my son, my elder brother, my father, my Grandfather, and so on. The Wallaces were attached by ties of blood to the Boyds of Kilmarnock. The Boyd seat was Dean Castle, which stands to this day. A witness to a charter in the year 1205 was one Dominus Robertus Boyd, miles (Lord Robert Boyd, knight). The name Boyd may have come from a Gaelic word buidhe meaning yellow haired, but it equally may have had a Norman origin. The son of this knight, another Sir Robert, played an outstanding role in the last great battle the Scots had with the Vikings, the Battle of Largs in 1263. Vikings had been terrorizing the Scottish coast since about the year 795 and had settled in the Western Islands. The Battle of Largs finally ended Viking hopes of totally conquering Scotland. After Norse King Haakon's defeat, Sir Robert Boyd led his companions in routing a Norse army at a place called Goldberry Hill. The words Gold Berry were incorporated as the motto in the Boyd coat of arms. The son of this victor at Gold Berry was one of Wallace's main lieutenants from the earliest campaigns of the Wars of Independence and later gave stalwart support to Robert the Bruce. (6)
King Edward I of England had annexed Wales and now turned his attention to the Scots, whom he despised. He had deposed and imprisoned the Scottish King John Balliol and now occupied the ancient Kingdom of Scotland, with English garrisons in every castle. The Scots were a freedom loving people who had lived at peace for two hundred years. They were not experienced in warfare. Edwards vassels were ruthless and callous in governing Scotland and the Kings plan was to grind down and terrorize the population. In 1296 with a huge army he sacked the town of Berwick and massacred its population of around 60,000 men, women, children, and babies. The Scottish people hated the English but were leaderless and bowed down with cruelties and taxation. Then as John of Fordun stated in his Annals "In (the year) 1297, William Wallace raised up his head."
In that year, the leading Scots of Ayrshire were summoned in King Edward's name to a tall barracks building known as the Barns of Ayr. They were admitted one at a time and once inside the door were seized and hanged from the huge roof beam. In this way some 369 barons, knights, and gentlemen were killed without trial the leading Ayrshire nobility were eliminated in one day. Their bodies were stripped and thrown into the yard. Among the dead were a number of Wallace's family including his uncle, also a number of Boyds.
When Wallace returned to Ayr and heard of this event he rallied Robert Boyd, cousin Adam Wallace and others and a few days later returned with his followers to town. He asked a girl to mark with chalk all the houses where the English lived and had the doors barred. Boyd and fifty men kept watch on the castle of Ayr, Wallace led his men to the Barns where the English judge and a large company were sleeping off a late night of drinking, celebrating a job well done. Wallace had brushwood and kindling piled around the building then set it ablaze. One hundred and forty English troops stationed at the Priory were killed by the monks. When the garrison at the castle saw the flames they sallied forth only to be attacked and cut down by Boyd and his men. The poet, Blind Harry estimated the English dead at 5,000 but this is probably an exaggeration. (7)
HIS INFLUENCE GROWS
As Wallace's forces grew stronger, they grew more ambitious, recaptured the city of Glasgow, expelling the cruel Bishop Bek. Wallace now quickly marched to the Ancient capitol, Scone in May 1297, surprising Ormsby, the English Judiciary, dispersing the English forces and capturing enemy treasury held there. Wallace now moved to the Western Highlands where he attracted support from various lords including Robert the Bruce who now embraced the cause of freedom and drew his sword with Wallace.
On hearing of Wallace's success, Edward was incensed and sent a force of 40,000 footsoldiers and 300 cavalry under Sir Henry Percy and Sir Robert Clifford, to resolve "the Scottish problem". Dissention started to break out in the Scottish camp when the two armies met near the town of Irvine. Wallace was immensely popular with the common folk, but failed to attract enough support from the leading lords of Scotland, partly because he was of Celtic origin, and they of Norman blood.
The Lords were also unhappy, being led by someone they felt was inferior to them in status, since Wallace was the very young second son of a minor landowner. They deserted to the enemy side, the exceptions being Moray, Graham and Boyd. The only avenue left to Wallace was to retreat to the North, avoiding a battle. Percy and Clifford thought that this had resolved the Scottish problem and returned South, only to be attacked and routed by Wallace. The English had now been forced South of THE ROAD, except for Dundee Castle. While laying siege to the castle, Wallace heard that a huge English army was advancing north under the Earl of Surrey. The siege was abandoned in order to face this army.
THE BATTLE OF STIRLING BRIDGE
Wallace could not have been much more than 21 years of age when the two armies came together seven hundred years ago, on September 11, 1297, at the City of Stirling, close by THE ROAD. The English army was the greatest fighting unit of its time. Many had fought in the crusades and in Europe. It was an army that had never known defeat. They were contemptuous of the Scots force and could not wait to come to grips. It was the custom in Medieval times when two armies came together to attempt to negotiate terms to avoid the battle. According to one source, at this time Wallace was offered a pardon, lands and castles and the crown of Scotland if he would enter into Edwards Peace and be subservient to the English King. Greatly outnumbered, and with a rag tag army, ill disciplined and poorly armed with home made weapons, Wallace refused to negotiate, stating that they were there to show the English that Scotland was free. "Tell your people to come up when they like. They will find us ready to meet them in their beards".
Since the English were supremely confident, they gave little thought to tactics, as they set out to crush the Scots once and for all. They could have crossed the huge army at the Ford of Frew, where they could move the army slowly but safely. Instead under Cressingham, they advanced across the narrow Stirling Bridge, where THE ROAD crosses the River Forth, foot soldiers first, then great numbers of armoured cavalry on huge warhorses. There was room only for two horses abreast. Wallace chose his position well. He had his men on the high ground of Abbey Craig overlooking the River Forth at the edge of marshland. He held back his men until as many of the English forces were across as he thought they could reasonably fight. Perfect judgement was critical. If they struck too soon, a significant army would be waiting, ready to fight on the other side of the river. If they allowed too many to cross, they may not manage to defeat them. When the moment seemed right the Scots hurled themselves upon the enemy. They were mostly afoot and emerging from the marshes beside the bridge.
A lightning strike was made by the Scots to cut off head of the bridge. The huge English warhorses that were across could not function in the mud and reared in panic when attacked, throwing the English force into confusion. Those on the bridge were pushed forward by those behind, while being crushed by those ahead trying to retreat. In vain they tried to turn around. Some threw themselves off the bridge only to drown in the river, as their armour pulled them under the waters. When those English who had not crossed the bridge saw the slaughter and Cressingham, among the dead, they fled in disarray. No prisoners were taken. The English dead was put at some four hundred knights and archers, and five thousand footsoldiers. Scots losses were negligible, although Moray died of his wounds. The English leader, the Earl of Surrey, abandoned his army and galloped all the way to the English borders. The retreating army was harried all the way to the English border and lost another five thousand men in retreat. This battle was followed by the surrender of Dundee Castle and the total expulsion of the English from Scotland.
Soon after this there was a meeting of Scottish nobles at which the very young William Wallace was elected Regent of Scotland, in the Name of King John Balliol, who was captive in England. Due to years of war and English plundering, Scotland was impoverished, so Wallace led a large force into England in search of booty. When Edward I returning from France, heard of the Scots raiding England he was furious. He raised a force of 100,000 footsoldiers and 8,000 cavalry and went to seek vengeance on the Scots.
Retreating ahead of this massive force, Wallace adopted a scorched earth policy, taking all cattle and crops as he went, trying to starve the English. The English had just about had enough, and were ready to retreat when the plans of Wallace were betrayed by two Scottish nobles. The traitors told the Bishop of Durham that Wallace intended to surprise the English with an attack in the night . On hearing this, Edward immediately ordered his army to advance, taking the Scottish forces, about one third their size, by surprise at Falkirk, a few miles from THE ROAD. A major shock to the Scots was when Comyn, the Lord of Badenoch, turned his banners and marched off the field with his men, including one thousand light cavalry. They constituted a critical part of the Scottish army. Wallace told his remaining troops "I have brought you to the ring - dance if you can". The Scots were defeated, leaving among the dead, Sir John the Graham. Wallace managed to retreat and, laying waste to the lands around Stirling, kept out of English hands and forced them to withdraw for want of food and supplies.
Finding the Scottish nobles against him, Wallace recognized that Scotland needed a leader who could unite the country, and it was not him. He resigned the Regency, and left for France and Rome, looking for support for Scotland. Popular in the French Court because his success against pirates which at the time infested European seas, yet he was unable to get help, and returned to Scotland in 1303, where he continued harassing the English forces, with the help of a few faithful friends and veteran campaigners.
Edward had now led five armies across the borders, and had succeeded, for the moment in subduing the Scots. Scottish nobles and bishops too had from time to time sworn oaths of allegience to King Edward and then rebelled again. Each time they were accepted back with some penance and pardoned. The Scottish nobles now submitted to him and were pardoned for their past "misdeeds". No such pardon was offered to Wallace who was still at large and a heroic figure to the common people. Wallace alone never swore allegiance to King Edward. He was always the King's enemy. Always.
BETRAYAL AND MARTYRDOM
A ransom of three hundred Merks was offered for the capture of Wallace. By treachery, one of his servants, Jack Short, betrayed him into the hands of the Scottish Baron, John Monteith. Wallace was Godfather to two of Menteith's children and mistakenly trusted him. For his services to the King, Monteith received a land grant with an annual value of one hundred pounds sterling.
In the year 1305 Wallace was captured near Glasgow, this time never to escape again. Bound to a horse, he was taken under heavy guard along THE ROAD to Dumbarton Castle for interrogation before being sent to a cruel death in London, England. With an armed escort of fifty soldiers Wallace passed not thirty meters from the site of my family's home. It makes no sense but I still feel guilty that I was not there hiding among the ancient beech trees to help him escape. His great sword remained in Dumbarton Castle until 1869 when it was transferred to the Wallace Monument erected in his memory by an ever grateful nation.
On reaching London he was taken to Westminster Hall and formally accused of treason. A crown of laurel was placed on his head, since they said that he had aspired to the Scottish throne. The King's Justice then impeached him as a traitor to Edward I, and Wallace answered:
"... I cannot be a traitor, for I owe him no allegiance. He is not my sovereign; he never received my homage; and while there is life in this persecuted body, he shall never receive it. To all other points whereof I am accused, I freely confess them all, As Governor of my country I have mortally opposed the English King; I have stormed and taken towns and castles which he unjustly claimed as his own. If I, or my soldiers have plundered or done injury to the houses or ministers of religion, I repent of my sin; but it is not of Edward of England I shall ask pardon."
It was prearranged that Wallace be found guilty. The sentence was carried out the same day. He was dragged on a hurdle through the streets of London, abused by the population, to Smithfield where a gallows was set up. He was hanged for a short time and cut down, still conscious. He was castrated and his intestines torn out and burned in front of him. At last his living heart was plucked out then his liver, lungs and other organs removed one by one, each held up to the roaring approval of the huge crowd. Finally his head was cut off and his body hacked into quarters by a large cleaver. The various parts of Wallace were displayed in various towns around the country. His left arm was hung in Stirling. A local tradition tells that when the flesh had fallen off the arm, the monks of Cambuskenneth Abbey on a dark stormy night retrieved these remains and buried it in the grounds of the Abbey, pointing to Abbey Craig, the site of his greatest victory. On that site today stands the magnificent Wallace Monument.
All his life he steadfastly refused all honours and awards except for his knighthood. When he was Regent of Scotland he took no lands or estates, no vassals or crowns. The one goal of his life was the freedom of Scotland. When he died, William Wallace was twenty nine years of age. He accepted his fate as he had lived, courageously, winning admiration even from enemies. His name will not be forgotten.
In those days when a leader was taken in battle he was usually ransomed off. Such was the hatred King Edward of England had for Wallace, that he insisted on this execution for him. His fate made him a martyr in the eyes of his people and through Wallace's death Robert the Bruce was to succeed in rallying and uniting the country in a bid for independence.
William Wallace; you gave took so little and gave so much. Even now after seven hundred years you make each countryman proud to be a Scot.
The life of Wallace passed through many stages. He was in turn an outlaw, a folk hero, a martyr and finally a legend. And legends live forever.
FOOTNOTE
There is an interesting aspect to the story of William Wallace. Some scholars believe that behind every myth, there is a real person. Consider this. Wallace had an extremely large brother John , referred to by his friends as Little John, who went into hiding with him and his band. Another member was a faithful fighting abbot John Blair. Wallace was famous for his great sword but was a master of the martial weapons of his day. His sweetheart was named Marian; she was harassed and finally murdered by Heselrig, the wicked Sheriff of Lanark. Wallace led a band of outlaws who made their home in the great Tor Forest. They survived by raiding supply trains destined for their enemies. They violently opposed injustice and tyranny, and fought against great odds. He was a champion of, and loved by, the common people. He was indomitable. There is an obvious parallel to the myth of Robin Hood, with Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Sherwood Forest. In some ways, such as robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, Rob Roy MacGregor would more accurately fit the picture. Perhaps Robin Hood was a composite. Perhaps not. You decide.
Scotland's Greatest King
THE WARS OF INDEPENDENCE
This is from the story of an ancient road and events that happened on it. This chapter is about the Scottish Wars of Independence and King Robert the Bruce. My family name is Boyd and my ancestors were involved in these Wars.
The ambitious King Edward II of England wants to rule England, Ireland, Wales, France and Scotland. In the end he, like all of us, gets seven feet of ground.
Fourteenth Century: ROBERT THE BRUCE -- KING OF SCOTS
William Wallace and Robert the Bruce lived at the same time, but their original goals were quite different. Wallace was motivated by fierce patriotism and bitter hatred of the English invaders. Bruce was at first motivated by personal ambition. The Bruce's were an Anglo-Norman family and Robert's Grandfather was one of three main contenders for the throne of Scotland on the death of King Alexander. Scotland turned to her good neighbour to the South, King Edward of England, as an honest broker to decide who should succeed Alexander as King of Scotland. Edward had been a good neighbour up to this time but had plans for Scotland and a hidden agenda. He listened carefully to all arguments and advice, then carefully chose John Balliol, the weakest of the three contenders, as the rightful King of Scotland. He was later to use the fact that Scotland had asked him to decide who should be her King, to claim that he therefor had sovereignty over both Scotland and her King, John Balliol. He insisted that Balliol pay homage to him, and when he refused, had him imprisoned.
Robert Bruce grew up in the court of Edward I and looked on him fondly as a kind of Uncle. The fact that Edward was a powerful warrior and was known as the first knight in all Christendom, made him all the more attractive to young Robert. It was in his court that Robert learned his skills with weapons and it was Edward who conferred knighthood on Bruce with his own hands. The Bruce, as Earl of Carrick had sworn allegiance to Edward, but when Wallace started to have military successes, Bruce drew his sword in support of the cause of independence. When Wallace's initial successes stopped, Bruce, along with many other Scottish nobles switched their allegiance back to King Edward who pardoned them.
After the death of Wallace, Bruce took the opportunity, when Edward was away fighting in France, to have himself crowned King of Scotland. He was supported by some but by no means all of the Scottish Lords and Bishops. He was crowned at Scone, by the Countess of Buchan, whose brother held the hereditary right to crown the Kings of Scotland. The brother would have nothing to do with it and was not present. The real crown of Scotland had been stolen by Edward, so it was replaced by a golden circlet. It was in this way that Robert the Bruce began his long journey to fight against the English and attempt to win the love of the Scottish people and gain independence for them.
Edward was enraged by these events and sent a powerful army across the border which totally defeated the Scottish army. Bruce and a few of his followers went into hiding in the mountains of Athol and Argyle. Accompanying Bruce was another young knight, Sir James Douglas, who as the Black Douglas, was to become one of Scotland's best known guerrilla fighters. Another welcome guerrilla fighter was Sir Robert Boyd, now a veteran,with all the experience gained in the Wallace campaigns.
BRUCE IS TESTED
Bruce's lands had been confiscated, his three brothers executed, and the heads of many who had come out in support of him now were mounted on spikes, as a warning to any who would oppose Edward's will. (included in these numbers was one Douglas Boyd, another ancestor, who was hanged in 1308). Bruce's wife and young daughter were imprisoned in English castles, the Countess of Buchan who had crowned him, was confined in an open wickerwork cage, suspended from the walls of the castle in Berwick.
His forces were down to a pitiful remnant of ten men, and he was despairing of all the dreadful things that had happened to those he loved. It was when things were blackest and he was hiding in a cave that the legend of the spider happened. In the semi darkness he saw a spider spinning a web. The spider was suspended from the roof of the cave by a silver thread and had to reach the far wall. It tried swinging but failed to reach it. The spider persisted and persisted, never for a moment deviating from its purpose, and finally managed to swing itself into position from which it completed its mission. This is the moment when Bruce coined the motto that was in time to become world famous: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again."
Bruce threw himself back into the fray and was able to gather enough support to start having success. The brutality of Edward had the effect, not of terrorizing, but of disgusting the Scots nobles, clergy, and commoners. They longed to get rid of the English yoke once and for all. They needed a leader and Bruce, having been forged in the fires of a personal hell, was now the man to be that leader. Since he was of Norman blood on his fathers side and Celtic on his mothers side, he was acceptable to both ethnic groups. Having a common enemy helped and the fact that he had a legal and just claim to the crown enabled him to gather a broad base of support. What he did with this support is the stuff of legends.
THE BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN
Various castles that had been taken by the English were now recaptured and in Scottish control. Perth, Roxborough, and Edinburgh castles were recovered. Then the stronghold of Dumbarton, at one end of THE ROAD was recaptured. Bruce and his army definitely used THE ROAD while besieging Dumbarton Castle. Now at the other end of THE ROAD, the important castle at Stirling was still in the hands of the English and Bruce assigned the job of besieging it to his brother Edward Bruce. This brother was a wonderful fighter, but not too smart and very impatient. The slow job of putting a well provisioned castle under siege was not to his liking. When the English governor of the castle, a brave man named Oliphant, gave him a chivalrous challenge, he accepted. Oliphant proposed that if they lifted the siege, and if the castle was not relieved by English forces within a one year period, he would surrender the castle. The date was set for the twenty fourth day of June, in the year 1314.
Robert Bruce was very angry with his brother Edward for making this arrangement, but agreement had been made and he stood behind it. This gave the English a full year to gather support from all over Europe and come with overwhelming odds to crush the Scots. Before this year was out and only eight years after Wallace's grisly death, Edward I, the Hammer of the Scots, died, still having failed in his ambition to annex Scotland. If Christian belief is true both Wallace and King Edward have to answer to their Creator for their lives. Both had killed many, but which would you rather be?
So much hatred did he have for the Scots that he demanded of his son that on his death, his bones be rendered (the meat boiled off them) and that they be wrapped in a bulls hide and carried into the next battle with the Scots. The son, Edward II, was of a different nature from his Father. While he controlled the might of England, and had all the same Lords and Barons fighting for him, and was relatively brave, he was not nearly as aggressive or tough as his father. He had a wife and a male lover and this was to cause him future problems with his nobles and with his wife. In any case, he ignored his father's wishes and had the King's remains buried in the normal way.
In preparation for the battle Edward I and II both wrote to many European knights, some of whom were indebted to the English monarchy, offering them a chance for glory and looting in subduing the Scots. He raised the largest army ever to enter Scotland , and they were supremely confident. Some treated it as a great outing and brought their families to watch the spectacle. Many brought the best family silverware for the celebrations anticipated after the battle. This huge force with all its long supply train travelled slowly Northward.
The site that Bruce chose for his battle with the English was at Bannockburn, close to Stirling Castle and a few miles South of THE ROAD. He drilled his smaller Scottish army, most of whom were to fight in four large Schiltrons (a diamond shape formation of men) with twelve foot long spears. Each soldier dug the heel of his spear into the ground and formed a sort of hedgehog to face the charging heavy cavalry. A military innovation was to train these schiltrons to be moveable. They could pull up here and regroup where they were most needed. The site was bordered by the Bannock Burn (the English were not aware that this was a tidal river) and two huge swamps. The Scottish side had dug many pits and traps with hidden wooden stakes.
The day before battle was joined Bruce, lightly armored, was inspecting the battlefield on a small horse. An English knight, Sir Henry de Bohun, in full armour and mounted on a huge warhorse spotted the small gold circlet on Bruce's head and recognized him. Here was his chance for glory! He lowered his lance and charged at once. Seeing the attack, Bruce turned his nimble little horse around and rising in his stirrups, with one blow of his battle axe, clove de Bohun's head in two. Returning to his troops, Bruce was upbraided for taking such risks and asked if he did not see the hazard in what he had done. Bruce coolly replied "It certainly is a problem, I have broken my favourite battle axe."
The English army spent the eve of the battle of revelry, eagerly anticipating victory the next day. The Scots spent it in "silence and devotion". The English attack started with a hail of arrows, from the now famous Welsh longbows, but Bruce had a small band of light cavalry and used them to disperse the archers. When hand to hand fighting was engaged defenders had more room to manoeuvre as the English were caught in a tight wedge. The horses and knights were injured in pits, stakes and schiltrons, had insufficient room, and were bogged down in the mud. Knights fell and could not rise, hampered by heavy armour. The battle raged for hours, but the final rout came for the English (as every Scottish schoolboy knows) when the Scottish gillies, servants, and women camp followers watching from a safe distance, thinking the Scots had won, came racing out shouting Bruce's battle cry. The English thought that this was reinforcements and fled for their lives. The Bannock Burn was now at high water and many drowned trying to cross it, others were caught in the bogs. King Edward II fought bravely, but when all seemed lost left the field in full flight with a rear guard party of nobles. He sought admission at Stirling Castle, but was refused, as the keeper pointed out he had agreed to surrender the castle. The English party fled for home, crossing THE ROAD, pursued by a party led by the Black Douglas. Edward II narrowly escaped, but returned home to future problems, including the murder of his male lover by other nobles, an uprising by his wife and her lover who raised an army and attacked Edward.
Bannockburn was the greatest defeat that the English suffered at the hands of the Scots. The victory provide the Scots with a great deal of ransom money as English noble families sought to retrieve their loved ones. Bruce was always generous with his supporters, and the silverware left in the battlefield graced many Scottish homes for centuries afterwards. The main victory however, was that of independence from the English.
For many years Robert the Bruce stood excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church and not recognized as Scotland's rightful King by the Church in Rome, although the brilliant leaders of Scotlands Church stood behind him at great risk to themselves. It took some years of border raiding and harassing the North of England but eventually Bruce won recognition from Edward, the other Kings of Europe, and the Pope, for the independence of Scotland and for himself as King of the Scots.
A HERO'S END
Bruce saw the fulfillment of his own and William Wallace's vision of an independent Scotland, a nation of free people. He died at age fifty four. He had a peaceful old age in Cardross, just north of THE ROAD, where he loved to sail on the River Clyde.
One of the most famous stories of medieval chivalry tells how, as a last wish, Bruce asked that his heart be taken on the crusade against the Saracens. He had always wanted to join the crusades but had sacrificed this wish in order to defend his country. His closest friend, Sir James Douglas, better known as The Black Douglas, a legendary knight and Bruce's sword arm for twenty years, undertook the task. He carried the heart in a silver casket around his neck. He was enroute to the Holy Land with a small band of Scottish knights, but in Northern Spain when they responded to a sudden call of chivalry, joining the hard pressed Christians who were fighting the Moors. Crying "Forward, brave heart, as thou always did ... Douglas will follow thee or die", he threw the casket far into the heart of the battle, following it as he had so often done. Douglas was killed in the moment of victory, and lies buried there. Bruce's heart was returned to where it belonged, his native Scotland.
In recent years there has been a resurgence of national feeling in Scotland, accompanied by an increase in music and arts. Around the World things Celtic are becoming more universally popular. In Scotland for centuries it was customary to open or close all public events with the playing or singing of the British National Anthem, God Save the Queen. By popular acclaim, a new song has replaced this official anthem in Scotland, and is given strong voice in all international sporting events, especially when Scotland fields a team against England:
FLOWER OF SCOTLAND
-- Roy Williamson (the Corries)
THE DECLARATION OF ARBROATH
In the year 1320, the Abbot of Arbroath wrote an appeal to the Pope asking for recognition of Scotland as an independent Nation and Robert the Bruce as its rightful King. It carried the seals of eight earls and 31 barons and was written in the name of the community of the realm. It is a memorable document and says, in part:
But, after all, if this prince shall leave these principles he has so nobly pursued and consent that we of our Kingdom be subjected to the King or people of England, we will immediately endeavor to expel him as our enemy and as the subverter both of his own and our rights and will make another King who will defend our liberties: for so long as there shall be but one hundred of us remain alive we will never give consent to subject ourselves to the dominion of the English. For it is not glory, it is not riches, neither is it honour, but it is freedom alone that we fight and contend for, which no honest man will lose but with his life.
THE MOVIE BRAVEHEART
While Hollywood takes many liberties with history, the ending of the movie Braveheart was true and moving. In a voice over narration, Mel Gibson said: "In the year of our Lord, 1314, patriots of Scotland, starving and outnumbered, charged the fields of Bannockburn. They fought like warrior-poets. They fought like Scotsmen and won their freedom."
Scotland's Best Loved Outlaw
THE MACGREGOR CLAN AND ROB ROY
The 1996 popular movie starring Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange has caused the name of Rob Roy MacGregor to be known throughout the world. For centuries, it has been a household name in Scotland.
Robert Roy MacGregor (Roy means red, Mac or Mc means the son of) was born into the MacGregor Clan which, as young people would say today, had an attitude. He was a very real person but around his many adventures, romantic legends have grown making it difficult to separate reality from fiction. He was a fearless fighter and adventurer who became a leader of the Clan Gregor, a proud clan which claims an ancient and Royal origin in Celtic history. We shall talk about him a little later but first, the MacGregor saga.
The song MacGregors Gathering tells their story well:
MACGREGORS GATHERING
While there's leaves in the forest, and foam on the river,
MacGregor, despite them, shall flourish forever.
-- Sir Walter Scott
I heard this song from an early age, not with mother's milk, but with Father's beer. Twenty years before the advent of television, on a Friday evening, Father would bring home a few "screwtops", gather the family around a coal fire in the living room, and we would have a sing song. For dramatic effect, this MacGregors Gathering had to be sung waving a threatening poker (fire iron) as a substitute claymore.
click on any picture for larger image
Allan Sharp, a distant relative of Rob Roy (see note ) who still lives in Scotland, provided the above images and the following description. See also a brief mention of this cave at Wikipedia .
The photo on the right shows the location of the cave at Inversnaid, the top left what it looks like from the outside, and the bottom left photo is that of a mold that was taken from an inscription on the cave wall away at the very back that seems to show "R Mc". It was a friend of mine from Seattle, now deceased, who made a silicone mold then cast a resin positive. I have been in the cave with the aforementioned friend prior to his discovery of the lettering on the cave wall. I am certain that it was done by Roy MacGregor himself. Note the date 1716. I don't know what happened to the "G," however "R Mc" is enough to convince me, not to mention the fact that I know of no other who has ever found or knows of the inscription. [-A.S.]
The MacGregors claim descent from Gregor, third son of Alpin King of Scots, who ruled about 787 AD. They are one of the most ancient clans in the Highlands and once held vast tracts land in Perthshire and Argyleshire. They persisted in holding on to their land despite Royal grants over the years giving much of it to other, more powerful, more "civilized", and more favoured clans. The Earls of Argyle and Breadalbane led two groups of the Clan Campbell, were especially favoured by the Kings and the law. But the Campbells were not alone in this. MacGregors were surrounded by powerful enemies, Colquhouns, Murrays, Drummonds, Grahams, and Stewarts. The power seeking princes of these Clans included two dukes, two marquises, three earls, and a baronet, all of whom at one time or another held high office in government. With little regard to justice, they usurped MacGregor lands. The MacGregors, on the other hand, imprudently claimed that "the right of the sword" superseded the right of law. The MacGregors were often to experience the severity of the law, but never its protection.
Their Chief had an impossible situation to manage. The Clan Gregor lands were spread in parcels from the rolling hills of Perthshire to the mountains and glens of Argyle. With the expansion of other, more powerful Clans like the Campbells
, (who arrived from Ireland centuries later than the MacGregors
, fought the Saxons and the Vikings, then settled in Argyle), members of the MacGregor Clan were often reduced to the role of tenant farmers, owing allegiance to a landlord as well as to their Chief, MacGregor of Glenstrae. Not only were they expected to pay rent to the landlord, they were expected to fight on his behalf in the inter clan squabbles which were common all over the Highlands.
The house where Rob Roy was born,
or another house later built on the same spot.
(photo by A. Sharp)
The original MacGregor burial site. The page Trossachs Burial Grounds explains:
The enclosure seen here was erected by Victorian engineers who raised the level
of the loch. The rising waters threatened the ancient burial ground, so the
whole enclosure was re-built on an artificial island and the entrance linteled.
(photo by Allan Sharp)
click on any picture for larger image
The Chief of the Clan Gregor was responsible by law for the actions of all his widely scattered clansmen in other lands, where he had little knowledge of these actions, much less control over them. It is not surprising then that MacGregors were associated with much of the raiding and fighting which was part of the way of life in the Highlands four centuries ago. Regardless of the feud, it was difficult to have a fight without MacGregors showing up for it.
The 16th Century was disastrous for the MacGregors. Neighbouring Clans tried to hunt them down in 1562, and then again in 1564. When James VI assumed the throne of Scotland he had plans for the MacGregors, whom he called the "wicked and unhappie race of the Clan Gregour". An Act of the Privy Council outlawed the clan, in which "letters of fire and sword" were pronounced against them in favour of Clan Campbell, for a period of three years. These grants were to be renewed at intervals for a total period of one hundred and thirty years. It was a policy of genocide. Though they were gradually deprived of all ordinary means of subsistence, the McGregors did not starve, because they could take from strangers what they rightfully considered their own. They became well versed in predatory expeditions and accustomed to bloodshed.
Even their very name was abolished. No-one could use the name MacGregor, because the King said that the use of it caused its members "to presume of their power, force, and strengthe" thereby encouraging them in law breaking.
Not much happened immediately, but within one year the Chief and eleven Clansmen were hanged in Edinburgh. It happened this way. The Earl of Argyle, head of the Clan Campbell, and Chief Justiciar for Scotland, managed to become a trusted mentor and neighbour to the then Chief, Alister MacGregor. MacGregor was greatly distressed by the hardships being imposed on his people. On Argyle's advice he volunteered to accept all blame for his fellow Clansmen, surrender himself along with his principal followers to his friend Argyle, on condition that they be sent in exile out of Scotland. Argyle pledged on his honour to do this. As they travelled from Argyle's country, passing along THE ROAD, they did had no idea that they were to be betrayed, and were thinking that their unselfish act would alleviate the suffering of their Clan.
At the time Birrell expressed it, he kept a Highlandman's promise, fulfilling it to the ear, and breaking it to the sense. The MacGregors were sent under strong guard from Edinburgh to the North of England, thus literally out of the country, then brought back to Edinburgh where on 20 January, 1604. They were tried and hanged on the same day. In recognition of his station, the chief was hanged higher, by his own height, than his Clansmen. Argyle considered he had kept his vow. For his services to the crown in this matter, the Earl of Argyle was rewarded by Parliament with a grant of twenty chalders of victual out of the lands of Kintyre.
A price of one thousand merks was put on the heads of other leaders of the Clan, 100 merks for lessor members, and pardons were offered for every Clansman to bring in the head of another member of equal rank. MacGregors took names of other Clans, perhaps from their wives, other relatives, or neighbouring Clans. They tried to survive as best they could.
Hunting of MacGregors continued over the years. There were efforts made to force MacGregor Clan women and children to settle in the Lowlands. Some MacGregor women were even branded on their faces. The carrying of weapons was prohibited, and Clansmen were not allowed to gather in groups of more than four. Some other Clans were angry at this treatment and were willing to dare the King's disapproval by providing shelter and protection. Persecution of the Clan lasted throughout the sixteenth century and into the next, yet such was the tenacity of the people that the Clan survived and retained its identity.
The Clan did not accept persecution peacefully. They fought back and, striking in the night, they made their tormentors pay dearly. Because of their cruel treatment, they were quick to take offense and capable of great fury and violence.
By outlawing an entire Clan, the King produced many broken men who had nothing to lose, with no honest means of making a living. The countryside was to experience a great increase in brigandage, cattle stealing, murders and many other expressions of social breakdown, not dissimilar to that experienced among the poor in the major cities of highly developed countries today.
Over the centuries the MacGregors used THE ROAD to drive the black Highland cattle to market. Their own, and other people's too.
ROB ROY MACGREGOR: HIS EARLY DAYS
Rob Roy MacGregor was born in February 1671, third son of Donald Glas (or pale, from the colour of his skin), a chief of Clan MacGregor and his wife Mary Campbell. He was descended from Chieftains of both Clan Gregor of Glengyle and Clan Campbell of Glenlyon. The eldest son, Iain, would have completed university, since this was the normal course for a chief's eldest son.
Donald's house would be the largest in Glengyle, measuring about fifteen feet by seventy feet on the inside. The floor was of packed earth. An end quarter of the house would be to shelter the farm animals in winter. This end was partitioned off from the rest of the house by thick boards. Furniture was sparse with a table, shelves, some benches and stools, chests, and some box beds with mattresses of straw. All gentlemen of the Clan would have books and Donald would have twenty or so volumes in French, Latin and English. A large bible in English would be among them, for the first Gaelic Bible was then being edited in nearby Balquhidder by the local clergyman. Donald would read to his family from the Bible every day.
The Christening ceremony for Rob would provide food for everyone along with whisky and ale and there would be a ceilidh (music and dance) at night. Several hundred guests would attend from many miles around. They would bring a gift of food and ask for a blessing on the house when they arrived, and those for afar would be provided with floor space to sleep at night. The menfolk arriving would wear leather brogues, resembling the dress wear of today except that the holes were not for decoration but to let water out, for there were few roads apart from footpaths and almost no bridges in the Highlands. In fact Scotland had no roads that would take a coach and travelers had to go by boat, on horseback or on foot. Mail between towns went by runners. On these rough paths and drove roads, horses could go no faster than foot runners.
The Chief's large house was built by the community and it was a kind of combination home and town hall. Often it would be packed but any night it would have people discussing their problems with their chief. Rob would go to sleep at night to the drone of voices coming over the top of the room partitions. His family was encompassed by loving friends and their attitude sank deep in his heart and bound him for life to the people of his Clan. Not all was business and there was always time for poetry, song, and the music of chanter, fiddle, and bagpipes. The bards sang in praise of heroism, but also praised courage, wisdom, honour, and kindness to the needy and weak. Rob's joyful nature and values which helped him throughout his difficult life, were formed here. He also learned to distrust the corrupt Scottish Parliament and the ploys of powerful Clans who continually tried to usurp MacGregor lands.
Rob was blessed with eighteen years of peace in which to grow up, since Clan wars had ended, the Civil War had stopped, and the religious Covenanters were dormant for now.
In 1688 after the Stuart King (the Kings were now rulers of Scotland, England, and Ireland, as the Union of the Crowns had taken place) was deposed, the throne was offered to William of Orange, a Dutchman, and his wife Mary. He accepted with alacrity and was manipulated into signing the order for the massacre of Glencoe, demanding that all MacDonalds under the age of 70, be put to the sword in the highland glens of Glencoe. He was also the King Billy responsible for finally defeating the Roman Catholic forces of King James at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. The first is still being grieved, the second is refought every time the Rangers soccer team plays the Celtic, and when the pubs close in Glasgow. Catholic-Protestant bigotry is still very much alive in the lowlands of Scotland.
Shortly after William acceding to the throne, there was a Rising of the Highland Clans who felt bound to King James Stuart. A proud moment for young Rob was in 1689, when he fought alongside his father in the famous Battle of Killiekrankie. Actually it was not much more than a moment, because after much marching and maneuvers and positioning troops, one Highland charge so terrified the Southern Army that it fled in disarray. The Highlanders were wonderful fighters, skilled in hand to hand combat, but their leadership was poor. This victory was quickly followed by a series of reversals for the Jacobites and the Rising was soon over. After the Battle of the Boyne, the Stuart Cause was lost.
King William offered pardon for any gentlemen willing to swear allegiance to him. Rob's Father refused to do this, feeling still honour bound to the deposed King James in exile in France. Later when the Rising was over, this stand for the Jacobite cause was to lead to imprisonment for treason for Rob's Father and for Rob to have Jacobite sympathies for life. Rob's Father was victimized in being imprisoned since so many other, more influential, people were by passed for taking the same stand.
As an adult, Rob Roy was quite literate and fluent in Gaelic, English, and Latin. He was physically a powerful man, of medium height, with unusually long arms, considerable strength, and athletic ability. His long arms gave him advantage in quickly retrieving the dagger from his stocking or wielding his broadsword in open fight. He lived in an age when his clan held what land it could by the law of the sword, and stealing cattle or "reiving" was an accepted custom.
The cattle in the highlands were small black animals who were wild and lived very much like the deer, often running free. Lifting or reiving was not seen as stealing in the Highlands. It was a means of surviving and there was an unwritten code of honour in place whereby cattle were lifted mostly from those who could afford it, and never was anyone left destitute without means of survival. Almost always some cattle were left. The people of the Highlands did not need much cash money to exist. The life of the Highlander was simple and the land and animals provided almost all of their needs. Nothing was wasted. The sale of cattle provided for the few things that were needed beyond what was to be had locally and for the occasional luxury item. Cattle were a cash crop. Reiving was also a dangerous adventure whereby young men could prove themselves without going to battle and unnecessary loss of life.
A sharing system was in place within the clans, and Rob Roy as a leader always saw to it that those in need were taken care of. The poor, the needy and the sick were taken care of anonymously, with a leg of mutton dropped off in the night here and a sack of grain or a hind of beef there. He became so loved by the people that when he was later outlawed, they were actively on his side and none would betray him despite threats and offers of reward from the authorities. Fear of retribution may also have played a part.
Since the MacGregor clan was smaller than many of its more powerful neighbours, they had to be tenacious to survive, and none were more tenacious than Rob Roy.
THE BLACK WATCH
Rob Roy was an insurance salesman. From his Highland stronghold he visited Southern, more affluent neighbours, who owned large herds of cattle, to make an offer which they could not, in self interest, refuse. His rates were reasonable and he was scrupulously fair, his word was his bond. For the annual payment of a premium of a few shillings per head of cattle, he said that their stock would not be stolen. If it was stolen he guaranteed to get it back, or replace it with another herd of equal or greater value. Since Highland cattle were black, the term "blackmail" was devised to describe such transactions. This whole system was approved by the government since they were powerless to provide any protection to cattle owners. It was needed badly, and when at times it was withdrawn, anarchy reigned in the cattle business, and it had to be reinstated. Later, a regiment of soldiers was instituted, that was to become very famous, called the Black Watch. Its original purpose was to prevent cattle reiving and blackmail, and it was comprised entirely of Highlanders. The operating principle was "it takes a Highlander to catch a Highlander".
Rob was made an acting leader of the Watch. His honest dealing was matched by outstanding tracking skills. The MacRaes of Kintail had lifted fifteen head of cattle belonging to Breadalbane. It was not much, but it was an embarrassment to the great man. He hired Rob to recover the animals. Rob arrived on the scene with a dozen men and the disadvantage of being two days behind the culprits. He followed their trail through the Mamlorn Forest, over the Rannoch Hills, and deep into mountains held by his enemies, the MacPhersons. The trail had become so faint that by nightfall on the second day it looked like a lost cause. His band camped for the night, then a flicker of firelight was seen far above them. They scouted the source and found a band of gypsies who informed them that higher up still was a band of Highlanders. Upon investigation this proved to be the reiving MacRaes. There was a brief fight, with honour satisfied as blood was drawn on both sides. The MacRaes withdrew and the cattle were returned to their owner. In all he had tracked them for over a hundred miles over extremely difficult terrain.
The story of this accomplishment spread far and wide throughout the South and established Rob's reputation. The lairds and owners of many large herds were anxious to place themselves under Rob's protection and he was able to increase the size of his following without causing his neighbours to be nervous. This feat was to stand him in well in future years when many landowners were to trust him with large sums of money, and even on occasion give him land.
When another grant was issued and the letters of fire and sword renewed against the MacGregors, Rob Roy was forced to take another surname. He used the name Robert Campbell. At first it sounds strange that Rob would chose the Campbell name, although his mother was a Campbell. It was more likely a devious method of requiring the Duke of Argyll to provide him with protection.
THE HARRYING OF KIPPEN
When Rob Roy was about twenty years old his much loved father was being held in jail where he had been for two years. He was quite ill, for confinement was no life for a Highland gentleman. A large fine was outstanding against him and money was in short supply. Throughout Scotland there was only 180,000 pounds sterling in circulation. Sir Alexander Livingstone, whose family included Earls of Linlithgow and Callander, had refused to pay the Blackmail (insurance) and Rob, as a leader in the Watch, legally set up by the Government thought that he had to be made an example of. If Livingstone was able to stop paying his insurance and nothing happened to him, pretty soon everyone would stop paying. Rob devised a plan.
With twenty well armed MacGregors, Rob was lurking on the outskirts of the town of Kippen. The townsmen were alarmed at the presence of the Highlanders, but did not realize these were the fierce MacGregors. About a hundred townsmen armed themselves with pitchforks and clubs and at dusk marched against the waiting clansmen. They shouted insults and Rob had all he could do to hold his men in check while trying to fend off the townsmen to avoid their massacre. Before disaster could happen, they heard the sound they were awaiting. The unmistakable noise of the herd of 200 of Livingstone's prime cattle being driven from the market in Stirling. The MacGregors attacked the herdsmen and guards and made off with the cattle, with nobody injured beyond a few lumps and bruises. The herd vanished, leaving no trace. (The MacGregor's ability to disappear into the terrain with or without a herd of cattle was so highly developed that they were known as the Children of the Mist) This incident was referred to as the Hership (harrying) of Kippen. It was to make a name for the young Rob, the powerful Livingstone was outfoxed and made an example of, nobody killed, the reputation of the Watch maintained, and the proceeds of the adventure later secured his fathers release from prison.
HOW ROB FIRST BECAME AN OUTLAW
The most powerful Lords in this area of Scotland at this time were The Duke of Athol, the Marquis of Queensbury, the Duke of Argyle, The Earl of Breadalbane, and the Duke of Montrose. These powerful lords had the power of pit and gallows and were continually manipulating people and events to gain land and power. They were often plotting against each other and exploiting others as pawns in their schemes.
Rob Roy was an outstanding drover and hired out as Chief Drover for The Duke of Montrose. In this capacity, he often drove his cattle along THE ROAD to Dumbarton or Stirling. He was performing a good, honest job for a number of years. Then he borrowed a huge sum of 1,000 pounds sterling from Montrose to buy cattle himself to fatten and sell in the market. He was grievously effected by a trusted employee who sold the cattle, and disappeared with the money, never to be heard of again. This was a terrible loss for which Rob Roy was held responsible, with no hopes of ever repaying. There is more than a possibility that Montrose had a hand in the disappearance of the man and the money. It suited his ends nicely.
At one time Montrose offered to forgive the money owed to him by Rob Roy in exchange for Rob swearing that the Duke of Argyle was a Jacobite (i.e. supporter of the Stuart cause, and opposed to King William). Rob stood on principle and would not lie even although he had no liking for the Duke of Argyle. This outraged Montrose and made of him an enormously powerful lifetime enemy. Rob Roy was to prove a valiant and ingenious adversary. Argyle was later to become a supporter of Rob and he and Breadalbane were to claim that they were helpless to stop Rob Roy's cattle reiving against Montrose, although he was living on their land at the time. It is more than possible their hatred for Montrose was stronger than any love for Rob, and they did this to suit their own ends at the time.
Rob's personal outlaw career started officially about this time, when in 1713, Montrose sent out a troop of soldiers during Rob Roy's absence, who burned the MacGregor house to the ground and drove off or killed all livestock. They took all goods that were moveable and threw the rest into the fire. Rob's family were distraught and he felt ashamed that he had been unable to protect them. There were rumours that Rob Roy's wife was raped during this villainous act, the family were certainly roughed up.
With MacGregor's history of legal persecution and injustice, Rob Roy had no great respect for the law of the land. Up to this point he had attempted to be a more or less law abiding citizen, from now onward he was wholehearted about being an outlaw. Rob took to the hills and continued his adventures.
MONTROSE HAS TO PAY, AND PAY
Rob found a safe pace for his family on a farm in a remote glen in Balquhidder. The next thing Rob decided was that Montrose had to pay. His station as a Duke mattered not one whit to Rob. In those days rents were paid annually, not in money but in goods, cattle being the most common currency. Rob carefully calculated what he figured the Duke owed him for lost buildings, household goods, livestock and crops, then proceeded to collect. He found out when Montrose's factors were going to collect rents from tenants on his vast land holdings and personally visited those tenants about one week before rent day. He collected the rent due, and issued an elaborate receipt from himself and the Duke of Montrose. The factors could rant and rage as much as they liked, but the tenants could not afford to pay twice.
Some tenants did not hold with Rob's system of early rent collection and gathered the rent animals for several of them ahead of time and kept them in a secure place. Rob Roy took the animals from under their noses and they were left without the protection of a receipt of any kind.
Montrose was a nasty, gouging, type of landlord, only too fond of raising rents and evicting tenants who could not pay. Rob discussed the rents with Montrose's tenants and asked them if they thought them to be too high. Almost all said that they did. Rob then asked what they considered a fair rent would be, and they settled on a figure. From then on Rob collected the fair rent, but gave a receipt, from Montrose and himself, for the higher figure. These receipts gave the tenants some protection from the furious Montrose. The government was not able to provide any protection to cattle owners like Montrose and all he got from them was a message of condolence for his losses.
One day Rob Roy came upon a poor widow who was about to be evicted for being unable to pay taxes owed to the "Factor" of the Duke of Montrose. She requested Rob Roy's help, "for auld lang syne". Out of his own purse, Rob Roy generously gave the woman money with which to pay her taxes. He told her to make sure that she got a written receipt for the money. Then he waited for the Factor on the road to Stirling and robbed him of all his tax money. There was nothing that Montrose could do about it. The widow had her receipt. He was a real life Robin Hood. This incident probably took place at a secluded place along THE ROAD. Perhaps even close by an ancient grove of beech trees.
THE SWORDSMAN
Rob had a short temper, was quick to take offense and capable of holding a grudge, but generally had a cheerful and forgiving nature. In an age of dueling he was to fight on no less than twenty two occasions. Such was his reputation as a swordsman that he was even sought out by MacNeil of Barra, thought by some to be the greatest swordsman in Scotland. He travelled all the way from the Western Isles and demanded to test Rob's skills. Having nothing against the man, Rob Reluctantly allowed MacNeil to insult him into fighting then defeated MacNeil by a wound. Honour satisfied, both spent the rest of the night drinking and parted on good terms. It is indicative of his character that he never killed any of his opponents and most of these bouts ended similarly to the one with MacNeil.
ROB, THE JACOBITE
Rob Roy lived through the times of the first major Jacobite uprising, in 1715. The MacGregors always felt a loyalty to the crown of Scotland which their ancestors once wore, sympathizing with the Stuart cause, although the Stuarts did nothing for the MacGregors. Despite their problems, they fielded armies in both the 1715 and 1745 uprisings, choosing the losing side both times. Perhaps the opportunity to raid the low country held a strong appeal. When discussing which side of the civil war Rob Roy had been on, Sir Walter Scott ventured that Rob had been on his own side. He further compared him to the legendary Henry Wynd.
Henry Wynd rose to public attention in earlier times. Two of Scotland's great Clans had a dispute. They agreed to settle it and avoid major bloodshed by each fielding forty men to represent them in battle. Many people gathered to watch this spectacle, including the King. On the prearranged day, one Clan was short of their required numbers by one man. They conscripted a short, bandy legged local Blacksmith named Henry Wynd. The story goes that Henry was never sure which of the combatants was on his side, but fought so fiercely that he made a major difference to the outcome of the battle. Eventually there was Henry and one other man left standing. The other man ran away.
ROB ROY, ESCAPE ARTIST
Escape from the Duke of Montrose
Rob Roy was sometimes captured but always managed to escape. On one occasion he was under heavy guard being escorted on horseback with his arms bound to his sides by a heavy leather belt. The Ford of Frew on the River Forth was swollen with icy water. Approaching it by a narrow track he had lulled his guards by his apparent fatigue. Rob's arms were freed for his safety but he was mounted behind James Stewart, the largest, most physically powerful man in the party. He was secured to Stewart by a leather thong. Suddenly in midstream Rob threw himself into the fast flowing river. He managed to cut his bindings with an armpit knife, discarded his plaid in the current, causing his pursuers to shoot at the clothing while he swam underwater further downstream to escape.
Some say that Stewart owed Rob for some benefit he had received in the past and helped him to escape. The Duke of Montrose certainly thought this, because as Stewart came out of the water, Montrose struck him such a violent blow with the butt of his steel pistol, that it caused permanent brain damage. Rob Roy was often helped by the fact that about one third of his guards were really on his side by Clan ties or affection, and one third of them were thoroughly afraid of having to deal with him if they actually confronted him. This only left one foolish third of his pursuers who could easily be diverted by shouts of "he is over here" or "he went that way".
Escape from the Duke of Athol
On another occasion Rob was held prisoner by the Duke of Athol's men, the Murrays. This time he had apparently grown weary of life on the hills and being unable to see his wife and family who were always watched. Athol proposed to Rob that he should make a token surrender to him, after which he would receive a pardon. In his weariness Rob took the man at his word, and this idea was not without precedent. Athol however saw the capture of Rob as a great prize, which he hoped would win him position and favour with the government. He also hoped it would also bring 3,464 pounds sterling which the Government owed him for supplying and victualing soldiers. A vast sum. Rob was held at the castle of Logierait, Perthshire's strongest prison, with a powerful guard who were all warned to be alert for attempts to free the prisoner.
The Duke of Athol was elated. He came to view his prisoner and to crow like a dunghill rooster. It quickly was made obvious to Rob that a trial and a noose was planned for him, not a pardon. Then Athol went home and wrote to all the influential people he knew, boasting of his accomplishment. These letters were sent off immediately by horse and by a fast mail-boat to London.
The day after his imprisonment Rob began to cultivate the friendship of the guards. He was allowed to receive a considerable amount of whisky from friends outside, a normal custom for such a celebrated prisoner, awaiting sentencing. The guards were flattered by the attentions of such a famous man. He was such excellent company, passing their weary hours with good conversation, stories, song, and music on the chanter. They thoroughly enjoyed having Rob in their midst. Finally Rob heard that troops had left Perth and were on their way to collect him and take him to Edinburgh. They had a journey of only 22 miles to make. Rob circulated his whisky very freely. Presently a gillie (servant) of Rob's appeared, leading a horse, pleading with the guards that Rob be allowed to write to his wife and family to assure them of his well being.
The captain and the guards were sober enough to outward seeming, but a little less observant than they needed to be. For instance they did not notice that it was a light cavalry horse, not the chunky highland garron that the gillie should have had. Rob was allowed to go to the door with a jailer to have a few confidential words with the gillie. He paced up and down, as though in thought, pausing to write the note to his kin, all the while moving a little further from his jailer. He stepped outside to pass the note, when the gillie threw him the reins and Rob leaped into the saddle and was gone in a flash down the road to Aberfeldy and home. He had 35 miles to cover, but no pursuit was made because the men of Logierait Castle found to their surprise they were totally devoid of horses.
Escape from Edinburgh Castle
In 1708 there was an abortive Jacobite uprising in the Highlands. King James Stuart (the family name used to be Stewart, but was changed by the French educated Mary, Queen of Scots, because there is no letter w in the French language) sailed from France with a French fleet of 30 ships, 6,000 soldiers and guns and ammunition enough to supply and support the uprising. The French leader of the party was not keen on the whole idea and when followed by an smaller English fleet, refused to enter the port of Leith and kept on sailing, despite James' desperate appeals to let him land, alone if necessary, in a small boat. This request was refused as James was viewed as too valuable a person to risk on such a dangerous mission. The entire fleet sailed all the way back to France, and there was great jubilation at their safe return with no loss of life. There was not even one shot fired in this whole voyage. Meanwhile the Clans had "risen" and now had to disband and face Government wrath. The well connected aristocracy were to be pardoned but in Rob Roy's case things were a bit different. During the uprising two French undercover agents had been landed in Scotland. Instead of landing in the Isle of Skye, they had come ashore in Argyle, Campbell country, supporters of the English Government. Rob Roy had been given the job of finding them and escorting them to safety. This he did and turned them over to his friend and neighbour MacIan, Chief of the Glencoe MacDonalds.
After the uprising was over Rob received a polite request from The Earl of Leven, commander of the government forces in Scotland, that if Rob found it convenient, he would be glad to see him in Edinburgh the following week. This left Rob undecided. It could be a trap to get him away from the safety of his home country. Leven was usually direct and honest. What to do? In the end he decided to go rather than to seem afraid. Taking one gillie he made the journey to Edinburgh and with some anxiety, entered the vast Edinburgh castle where he was required to surrender his weapons, and heard the massive doors clang shut behind him. This was the place where his father had spent two years as a prisoner, and left a broken man.
The Earl wasted no time when he had Rob in his hands. He accused Rob of giving comfort and assistance to enemies of the sovereign. Could he deny it?. He was accused of aiding two French officers, unlawfully landed in the country for the purpose of subverting loyal subjects. Rob had thought that he had managed to complete his mission unnoticed. What was going on? How much did they know and how much were they guessing? As usual Rob took a bold approach. "What two French officers, my lord? Where and when? Can anyone name them?" Leven did not know the names, but had a nasty surprise for Rob. He expressed the opinion that, if given time, Rob himself would recollect the names of the officers. He would be confined for the night and in the morning would meet an acquaintance, MacDonald of Dalness, who would no doubt refresh Rob's memories of the event. Rob was staggered. That a MacDonald, who, no doubt had seen him with the Frenchmen, would betray his chief and his kind in this way.
In his prison cell Rob did some quick planning. He asked the jailer that his gillie be brought to attend him as was a gentleman's right. To the gillie Rob gave lengthy and detailed instruction in Gaelic, handed him some money and a letter, also in Gaelic. The letter was to a Highland officer of the Town Guard, known to Rob. He requested the officer to send a sergeant and twelve men to a certain address just before the town gates were to be shut for the night. Nothing unpleasant need be done, just go there, wait for a half hour, and leave again. This would be greatly appreciated by Rob Roy MacGregor, and some silver coins were provided to buy a drink for all concerned.
Rob's gillie had found the address MacDonald of Dalness. Rob calculated that someone capable of betraying his friends must be guilty of other things too. Not an honest man. The gillie waited at MacDonald's lodgings until he left for the tavern, then approached his landlady saying he was a friend of MacDonald's from the Highlands, and that he had heard that the Town Guard was coming for MacDonald and that he should get out of town quickly. Returning home to this message, MacDonald was suspicious. He hid behind the house to watch. Sure enough at nine o'clock precisely, a picket of the Town Guard appeared with lanterns, pikes, and muskets. MacDonald was no longer in doubt. He bolted through the narrow closes and streets of Edinburgh, and by morning was well on his way to Dalness. The Guard and the Sergeant meantime enjoyed their refreshment at Rob Roy's expense.
There was no demand for Rob to report to the Governor the next day. Rob waited until evening then boldly sent a message demanding that Lord Leven produce the evidence or release him with an apology for wrongful arrest. He was never given an audience with the Governor, but was taken to the castle gates where he was given back his sword and his weapons and released, a free man, into the Edinburgh night.
The stories of Rob Roy's escapades caught the imagination of the population who shared his feelings towards the law, and the powerful men who presumed to make decisions on their behalf. He was a popular hero of the people of Scotland. He had many narrow escapes from the Redcoats with numerous places known as Rob Roy's Leap, testifying to his athletic ability. A classic painting in Scotland is entitled When did you last see your Father?It portrays two of Rob's very young sons being interrogated by a redcoat officer.
HIS LATER YEARS
Rob's outlaw life was to continue until at the age of 54, in the year 1725, he was given a pardon by General Wade, and he could at last return home to a normal life. His life in the heather had taken considerable toll of his health.
One day in later life, while attending the Kirk (church) service, the clergyman was severely lecturing about unchristian like behaviour. Afterwards Rob pointed out to him that he seemed to be looking at him during his lecture. The clergyman said that indeed he had been. He said that Rob had bought a cow from a poor woman at a low price. Rob replied that she had seemed well pleased with the price at the time. "It was her only cow" replied the Clergyman. Before the next church service Rob had returned the cow to the woman, refusing to accept any money back for it, and thereafter looked out for her welfare.
At the end of his life Rob converted to Roman Catholicism and a priest was to administer the last rites. The priest insisted that Rob had to forgive his enemies. Rob mumbled a few irrelevant names and events from his past, but the priest knew of a violent dispute Rob had recently with one John MacLaren, and insisted that he be forgiven. Reluctantly the dying man called his family to him and said "I forgive all my enemies, especially John MacLaren." Then fixing a beady eye on his son Robin, he added "But see you to him."
Rob Roy became one of only a few bold outlaws to die of old age. On his last day on earth, he received a visitor, John MacLaren. Rob would not face an adversary unarmed and helpless. Before admitting the man Rob had Mary assist him into his highland dress and prop him up in bed with his sword, dirk, and pistols to hand. MacLaren saw the fierce looking Rob Roy and hurriedly departed, mumbling something about "I heard that you were ill. I am sorry to have troubled you". When the visitor left, Rob said to his wife Mary, "It is all over. Put me to bed. Call the piper". The piper played a traditional pibroch, "I Return No More". He died peacefully in the year 1737, two months short of his 64th birthday, and lies buried in Balquidder.
In 1975 a statue was erected of Rob Roy just off the Road, near Stirling castle. The sculpture is no great likeness of the man but the words on the plaque, chosen by a MacGregor who is a direct descendent, are very appropriate:
My foot is on my native heath,
and my name is Rob Roy MacGregor
When he died Rob's total worth in animals, weapons, tools, clothing and furniture was evaluated at 284 pounds sterling. His funeral cost 400 pounds. Mary continued to live in their home, cared for by her two sons Coll and Robert, and the people of Clan Gregor. She was honoured and loved and when she died was buried at Rob's right hand side. On the left side are Coll and Robert. Coll was honoured and respected in life. Robin was hanged. He earned it.
A month after Rob Roy's death, John MacLaren was shot dead while ploughing a field. Robin had none of the finesse of his father. Robin was not charged in the death of John MacLaren, but was found guilty later of abducting and forcibly marrying a young woman from Edinburgh.
Many people have been inspired by the life of Rob Roy, not the least of these was an English poet who wrote an epic ballad about it. The last verse is:
ROB ROY'S GRAVE
A famous man is Robin Hood,
The English ballad writer's joy
And Scotland has a thief as good,
An outlaw of as daring mood,
She has her brave Rob Roy.
-- William Wordsworth
On a cloudy, cool, May afternoon in 1997, I passed through MacGregor country, a most beautiful area known as the Trossachs, which was also my mother's country. Glengyle House where Rob Roy was born is at the North end of Loch Katrine, some three miles from Achray House where my mother was born. (Katrine is a corruption of the Gaelic cateran which means Highland robber). The area was full of emotion for me. I saw the steam ship Sir Walter Scott, built in 1899, when my mother was five years old and which still plies the Loch. I wondered what excitement the arrival of this ship brought to her young life.
Driving on some twenty miles of twisting roads I came to the tiny remote community of Balquhidder, the last resting place of Rob Roy. His grave is well cared for and has many visitors each year. People still wonder if he was a hero or a rascal. He was a man of his times. Much loved by many, detested by some.
Some people dismiss many stories about Rob Roy as exaggerations. Even today it would be a bold man who would make such a statement in MacGregor country.
His grave marker is simple but eloquent. For years the MacGregors were not allowed to use the clan name. Inscribed on his tombstone are the words: "MACGREGOR, DESPITE THEM."
John Hume standing Rob Roy's grave
in the churchyard of Balquhidder [Wikipedia].
(photo by Allan Sharp)
| i don't know |
"The highly acclaimed stage comedy ""Noises Off"" was written by which playwright ?" | Noises Off Study Guide
*Member Actors Equity Association
Michael Frayn
Michael Frayn is an English playwright, novelist, and translator, currently living outside of London with his wife Claire Tomalin, an English biographer and journalist. He is best known as the playwright for the farce comedy Noises Off (1982), and the dramas Copenhagen (1998) and Democracy (2003). His novels, Towards the End of the Morning (1967), Headlong (1999), and Spies (2002), have also received critical acclaim, making Mr. Frayn one of a handful of English language writers to succeed in both drama and prose fiction.
Michael was born in Ewell (a suburb of London) on September 8, 1933. His father, Thomas Allen Frayn, was a sales representative for an asbestos company, and his mother, Violet Alice Lawson Frayn, was a shop assistant. Frayn was educated at the prestigious Kingston Grammar School until age twelve when the death of his mother left the family with some financial hardships. He was transferred to a public school where we was very successful academically, particularly in the areas of writing and music. During his two years of National Service, Frayn learned Russian at the Joint Services School for Linguists. He went on to study Philosophy and graduated in 1957 from Emmanuel College in Cambridge. After graduation, Michael worked as a reporter and columnist for The Guardian and The Observer. He established a reputation as a satirist and comic writer and began publishing novels.
By 1970, Michael had published three popular novels, The Tin Men, The Russian Interpreter, and A Very Private Life. His journey as a playwright was not as easy. He wrote a number of rejected scripts and even produced an evening of his own short plays that was not received well by the audience or critics. However, Frayn kept on writing. In 1982, with the publication of Noises Off, Michael Fryan earned his third Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy of the Year. The first two were Alphabetical Order (1972) and Make or Break (1980), both are typical English office comedies. Copenhagen (1998) won Michael his fourth Evening Standard Award for Best Play of the Year in 1998, as well as the 2000 Tony Award for Best Play.
In addition to his extensive playwrighting and fiction career, Michael Frayn is noted to be one of Britain’s foremost translators of Chekov, adapting The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard. Frayn has also written screenplays for the films Clockwise, starring John Cleese, First and Last, starring Tom Wilkinson, and the TV series Making Faces starring Eleanor Bron.
About Noises Off
Critic Frank Rich has claimed that "Noises Off is, was, and probably always will be the funniest play written in my lifetime.” And we certainly agree with that! The idea for the piece came when Michael Frayn was standing in the wings watching a performance of Chinamen, a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. Frayn said that the show was funnier from backstage than in the audience and he wanted to write a farce from behind the scenes. It began as a one-act play called Exits in 1977 and was expanded and rewritten a number of times.
Michael Frayn wrote Noises Off in 1982 and it became an instant commercial hit with continuing international fame. It premiered at the Lyric Theatre in London to ecstatic reviews and quickly moved to the West End at the Savoy Theatre, where it ran until 1987, passing the 1000th performance mark. It won the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy in 1982.
The Broadway premiere was on December 11, 1983 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. It ran for 553 performances and earned a Tony Award for Best Play and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble.
Noises Off has become a staple of professional theatre companies, university theatre programs, and community theatres all over the world. Frayn has rewritten the play over the years, with the latest revision in 2000. One of the newest sequences is the introduction to act three, where Tim and Poppy make simultaneous apologies that delay the performance. Certain sequences have been altered or cut from the script entirely. And references that date the play, like Mrs. Clackett’s to the Brents having a color television, have been eliminated or rewritten as well.
The National Theatre in London mounted a revival in 2000 that ran for two years. It returned to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in November of 2001, where it was nominated for both a Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Revival of a Play. The most recent London revivals ran at the Old Vic Theatre from December 3, 2011 to March 10, 2012 and then the Novello Theatre from March 24 to June 30, 2012. Following was a successful tour through Britain and Ireland.
In 1992, the play was adapted for the screen by Marty Kaplan. It was directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starred Mark Linn-Baker, Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty, Marilu Henner, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, and Nicollette Sheridan. While it had stellar cast and was a funny film, many critics did not think the theatrical nature of the piece translated well to the screen.
Michael Jenkinson* as Frederick, George Walker as Garry, Andrea Hilbrant as Poppy
Synopsis of
Character Biographies
Dotty Otley - Actor, Mrs. Clackett
Dotty makes a welcome return to the stage to create the role of Mrs. Clackett after playing Mrs. Hackett, Britain's most famous lollipop lady ('Ooh, I can't 'ardley 'old me lolly up!') in over 320 episodes of TV's On the Zebras. She was born in Malta, the only daughter of Lt. Cdr. Clive Otley, R.N., D.S.M., and trained at the Estelle Birkwood School of Drama and Allied Arts, winning the Bronze Medal, and going on to the Embassy Theatre, Swiss Cottage, where she gained invaluable experience as ASM in successful productions of As You Desire and Starched Aprons. Understudying Bee Duffell in Haddock's Eyes at the New Lindsey Theatre, Notting Hill Gate, and Margaret Lockwood in Peter Pan at the Scala, was followed by The King's Theatre, Peebles for a season, and then the Duke's Players at Lyme Regis for the better part of two seasons, and this in turn led to a prolonged stay in Australia, where she enjoyed some of the biggest successes of her career. When she gets the time she intends writing her memoirs, she says.
Belinda Blair - Actor, Flavia Brent
Belinda has been on the stage since the age of four, when she made her debut in Sinbad the Sailor at the old Croydon Hippodrome as one of Miss Toni Tanner's Ten Tapping Tots. She subsequently dancer he way round this country. Southern Africa, and the Far East in shows like Zippedy-Doo-Da! and Here Come Les Girls! A damaged tendon led to her first straight parts in Good Time Girl, Ladies of the Night, and Ring Twice for Rita. More recently she has been seen in such comedy hits as Don't Mr. Duddle!, Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?, and Twice Two is Sex. She is married to scriptwriter Terry Wough, who has contributed lead-in material to most of TV's chat shows. They have two sons and three retrievers.
Garry Lejeune - Actor, Roger Tramplemain
Garry was twice winner of the Rose Bruford Medal for Effort. His many successful tours have brought him to Weston-Super-Mare only once before, when he was starring in The Adventures of a Window Dresser. He has made innumerable television appearances, but is perhaps best known as Cornetto, the ice-cream salesman who stirs the hearts of all the lollipop ladies in On the Zebras. Recently made his big screen debut in Up the Virgin Soldiers, for which he was nominated as Best Male Newcomer under Forty in any British Low Budget Comedy Film by readers of the Sun newspaper
Selsdon Mowbray - Actor, Burglar
Selsdon first trod the boards in A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Ben Greet Players, with whom he toured for three years, playing, among other roles, Moth, Mustardseed, and Nerissa (!) After war service in the Artists' Rifles, outstanding seasons with various repertory companies across the length and breadth of Great Britain led to his first West End play, Kelly's Eye. Then alfresco in Regent's Park for several seasons, playing leads. To Stratford thence for Mercutio, King John, and the Porter in Macbeth. To Hollywood for several good supporting roles, including Stand in to Robert Newton. Back home he played King Lear in Portsmouth, and joined the BBC Rep for two months in 1938. Great War No. Two saw him back in Khaki. Invalided out in 1940 he continued to serve by joining Ensa, and performing all over the world in many different Theatres of War. To Dublin in 1946, where he set up his own touring company playing the classics, and rivaling the great Agnew Macmaster. Returned to England in 1952 and set up his own tour - a revival of Mr. Cinders. Since then, apart from an occasional exucsion to tread the green, he has been busy writing his autobiography, which he is thing of titling Hanging on the Wall.
Brooke Ashton - Actor, Vicki
Brooke is probably best known as the girl wearing nothing but 'good, honest, natural froth' in the Hauptbahnhofbrau lager commercial. But she has enjoyed a flourishing stage career, extending from a widely acclaimed Dandini in Hull to six months in the Lebanon with Pixie Pearls. Her television appearances range from the Girl at Infants' School in On The Zebras to Girl in Strip Joint in On Probation. Cinemagoers saw her in The Girl in Room 14 where she played the Girl in Room 312.
Frederick Fellows - Actor, Philip Brent
Frederick comes from a theatrical family, his parents were a popular specialty dance act of the thirties and forties, The Funny Fellowes. He taught at prep school near Hayward's Health before bowing to family tradition and joining the Osmosis Players. There followed successful seasons in Nairobi, Ventnor, and Southwold, and he was most recently seen in the controversial all male version of The Trojan Women. He is happily married, and lives near Crawley, where his wife breeds pedigree dogs. 'If she ever leaves me,' he says, 'it will probably be for an Irish wolfhound!'
Robin Housemonger - Author, Nothing On
Robin was born in Worcester Park, Surrey, into a family unremarkable in every way except for an aunt with red hair who used to sing all the high twiddly bits from The Merry Widow over the tea table. He claims to have been the world's most unsuccessful gents hosiery wholesaler, and began writing to fill the long hours between one hosiery order and the next. He turned this experience into his very first play, Socks Before Marriage, which ran in the West End for nine years. Several subsequent plays have been produced, and at least one of them broke box office records in Perth, Western Australia. Nothing On is his seventeenth play.
Lloyd Dallas - Director, Nothing On
Lloyd read English at Cambridge, and stagecraft at the Salisbury, a commonwealth scholarship took him to Princeton where he spent his time commuting to New York to see Miller and musicals on Broadway and Lee Strasberg and Tallulah Bankhead at a party on East 10th St. Since then Lloyd has directed plays in most parts of Britain, wining the South of Scotland Critics' Circle Special Award in 1968. In 1972 he directed a highly successful season for the National Theatre of Sri Lanka. In recent years Lloyd has probably become best known for his brilliant series of Shakespeare in Summer productions in the parks of the inner London boroughs.
Tim Allgood - Company Stage Manger, Nothing On
Tim trained for a career in Market Research and became interested in the theatre only through a chance holiday visit to a local production of There's a Girl in My Soup. He had got himself taken on by the company as Assistant Stage Manager before he realised that the girl in question not only was in the soup, but also married, with two growing children! During a production of Hamlet at the Lyceum, Portsmouth, he took over the part of Polonius at short notice, but subsequently found himself more in demand on the technical side. His most recent job was the Betrothed, a thriller by Sam Brennicle, both on the tour prior to its West End opening in December 1980 and again on the tour which followed the conclusion of its successful West End run in January 1981.
Poppy Norton-Taylor - Assistant Stage Manager, Nothing On
Poppy is from a family found more often on the boards of leading companies than on the boards with touring companies. Her father is chairman of the European Breweries, but has been terribly sweet about it all - so far! After schools in Cheltenham and Montreux she found life far too full to leave time for work. So this is her first job and she is enjoying the challenge enormously. Her hobbies include riding, skiing, tennis, reading good books, and loving anything small and furry.
Synopsis of
Nothing On
The play begins on a Wednesday afternoon in a converted 16th century mill, 25 miles outside of London, with lots of doors. A phone rings and Mrs. Clackett, the house keeper, enters to answer it. We learn that the owner of the house, Philip Brent, a playwright, and his wife Flavia, are now living in Spain and the house is up for rent. We also learn that today is Mrs. Clackett’s afternoon off, but she is going to stay for awhile longer to eat a plate of sardines and watch television. As Mrs. Clackett exits, Roger Tramplemain, an estate agent, enters, pretending to his companion, Vicki, a tax clerk, that this is his house. It is clear that Roger and Vicki are both desperate to sleep with each other, however they are interrupted by Mrs. Clackett’s misplacing of her sardines. Mrs. Clackett returns to her servant quarters and Roger and Vicki disappear into the master bedroom. When the bedroom door closes, the front door opens and Philip and Flavia arrive home, thinking the house is to be empty. They have come home to celebrate their wedding anniversary and need to make sure that the Inland Revenue don’t know that they are in the country, so that they don’t lose their claim to be residents abroad. When they are interrupted by Mrs. Clackett, they tell her to pretend that she hasn’t seen them.
As Roger and Vicki grow increasingly concerned that there is “something weird going on” due to the noises they can hear and objects that keep being moved around the house and Philip manages to glue himself to a tax demand that he realizes he shouldn’t have opened, an elderly burglar breaks in through a downstairs window and begins to work his way around the house.
The various characters’ stress levels rise and they continue to move around the ;house at great speed unaware of each other’s presence. Chaos ensues: Vicki is locked in the linen cupboard wearing only her underwear, Philip’s trousers fall down, Philip mistakes Roger for a tax inspector, Roger mistakes Philip for “sex maniac” and calls the police, Flavia falsely accuses Philip of having an affair with Vicki and Vicki is revealed to be the burglar’s daughter. As if things couldn’t get any worse, Sheikh arrives, interested in renting the ;house. As the Sheikh, who is the spitting image of Philip, is promptly attacked by Flavia, Vicki, and Roger, the burglar reflects that “when all around is strife and uncertainty, there’s nothing like a good old fashioned plate of sardines!” This line ends Act I of the play.
We never find out what happens in Acts II and III of Nothing On.
George Walker as Garry, Kitty Balay* as Dotty
A Brief History of Farce
By Sheila Jennings
Noises Off is the prime example of farce cited in many modern day discussions of the genre. Frayn’s play perfectly matches the following definition: “a comic genre that depends on an elaborately contrived, usually improbable plot, broadly drawn stock characters, and physical humor. Most farces are amoral and exist to entertain.” The early Greeks and Romans were the first in recorded history to use farcical techniques, and the subject matter and techniques they developed have remained constant to the present day. Early examples of farce in Aristophanes, Plautus, and Terence still amuse us in modern updates like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. The term “farce” was first used in the Middle Ages to designate interpolations made in the church litany by the clergy. Later it came to mean comic scenes inserted into church plays.
Farce emerged full-blown in 15th- century France with such plays as the anonymous Pierre Patelin (c.1470). In England two of the earliest and best-known farces are Ralph Roister Doister (1566) and Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors (c.1593). Farcical elements like broad, ribald humor, physical buffoonery, and absurd situations can also be found in plays that are not called farces. Molière’s comedies often include farcical scenes, but are defined as comedy because of the veracity of their characters. During the 19th and early 20th century farces were often termed "bedroom farces," thanks to the French.
French playwright Feydeau exemplifies this genre. His plays use suggestive dialogue, erring husbands and wives, silly servants, and mistaken identity. Americans joined the parade with the films of Charlie Chaplin, the Keystone Kops, and the Marx Brothers and plays like You Can’t Take It with You by Kaufman and Hart. Farce probably developed before comedy. It is simple and direct without literary pretensions. Plots are often complicated and result in the confusion of the characters for our amusement. It is said that the expression "there is nothing new under the sun" applies particularly well to farce. The term "stock" in the theatre refers to successful things that are kept and reused--a kind of recycling. Stock plots involve misunderstandings, confusing twins, disguises, hiding, and chases. Stock characters are cartoonish exaggerations of real people. Sitcom characters personify these techniques. There is an abundance of physical humor which runs the gamut from such sight gags as spilling a drink, to slips and falls, and finally to physical assault. In farce the audience is asked to accept the convention that no real harm results from such mock violence. In classical farces a double-slatted paddle that made an exaggeratedly loud noise was often used to punish miscreants. The term slapstick humor is still with us, but actual slapsticks appear only in period farces.
A comparison of farce and comedy often helps clarify both types of humor. In comedy truth is central; in farce it is incidental. Comedy is rooted in reality; farce throws logic and probability out the window. Comedy draws characters from life; farce cartoons its characters. Farce relies on physical rather than intellectual humor, and all elements (especially plot and character) are grossly exaggerated for comic effect. In comedy humor is used in the service of truth, in farce humor is used for its own sake. The purpose of farce is to create big laughs as often as possible without any claim to logic or any progression towards meaning or message. Farce provides a wonderful outlet for the stress of modern life. We spend our lives being repressed by our culture - restricted in what we may do, especially in expressing our own anger, frustration, and contempt for which there are stiff penalties. Farce permits us to act out those expressions vicariously, without suffering consequences. Subjects for farce include: any form of pretentiousness, sex, morals, religion, sanctity of death, race or ethnic background, anything that is taken seriously by those who pretend to order the world. The well-kept secret of farce is that an audience can laugh at people suffering in ludicrous situations while they avoid the consequences suffered by the characters.
Theatrical Terms and Jobs
Noises Off is a play-within-a-play that invites the audience to see what is usually unseen to those not involved in the creation process. There are a number of terms and jobs that are mentioned in the production that non-theatre people may be unfamiliar with. Below are some of these terms to help you better understand the play and the world of the theatre.
The People
| Michael Frayn |
"When asked about the role of Prime Minister, which 20th century prime minister replied ""The main essentials required for this job are sleep and a sense of history"" ?" | Review: 'Noises Off!' at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre & Children's Theatre - DCMetroTheaterArts
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Review: ‘Noises Off!’ at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre & Children’s Theatre
By Renee Rabben on March 21, 2016
The ferociously funny play Noises Off!, written by Michael Frayn , is being performed at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre in Frederick, MD. The show premiered at the Lyric Theatre in London in 1982, and was directed by Michael Blakemore. It then transferred to the Savoy Theatre in the West End, and ran until 1987 with five successive casts, and went on to win the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy. A production directed a second time by Blakemore opened on Broadway in 1983 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, where it ran for a total of 553 performances. A r ecent critically acclaimed revival by Roundabout Theatre ended its successful run on March 13, 2016.
The cast of ‘Noises Off!’: Jordan B. Stocksdale, Matt Bannister, Sarah Melinda, Tamarin K. Ythier, Brian Kaider, Dino P. Coppa, SR., Jessica Billon, Matt Province, and Nancy Jones. Photo by Justin Kiska.
According to the Way Off Broadway program: “This play-within-a-play captures a touring theatre troupe’s production of “Nothing On” in three stages: dress rehearsal, the opening performance, and a performance towards the end of a debilitating run. Michael Frayn gives us a window into the inner workings of theatre behind the scenes, progressing from flubbed lines and missed cues in the dress rehearsal to mounting friction between cast members in the final performance. Brimming with slapstick comedy, Noises Off! is a delightful backstage farce complete with slamming doors, falling trousers, and, of course, flying sardines!”
Noises Off! is a true ensemble piece that the entire talented cast tackles with gusto. Each actor gives that little something special in his/her performance that elicits many laughs. An example is the running gag of ‘sardines,’ which starts off the lunacy in the first five minutes by Mrs. Clackett, played hysterically by Nancy Jones. (She also plays Dotty Otley). Jones did not play Mrs. Clackett over-the-top, and subtleness in her performance and her facial expressions alone said it all. It’s a funny and brilliant performance.
Nancy Jones (Mrs. Clackett). Photo by Justin Kiska.
Matt Bannister has some serious acting chops as he plays Lloyd Dallas, who is the director of the play. His best moments come when he becomes horrified as he realizes just how unprepared his actors truly are for Opening Night. He has a running joke with flowers in the second act that Bannister plays to the hilt. His character Lloyd is also in an unfortunate love triangle with Brooke and Poppy, which produces a lot of anger, confusion, and laughs.
Brooke Ashton/Vicki is played with side-splitting humor by Sarah Melinda. Brooke is a not-so-good actress who lacks experience and has probably managed to get her acting roles due to her good looks. Her ongoing saga involves her contact lenses. There was one point in the show where she rolled her eyes and it had me cracking up. Sarah was superb in both of her roles, and her shrieks and cries were so convincing. Brooke is in love with Lloyd which presents some issues – to say the least.
Poppy Norton-Taylor, who is the Assistant Stage Manager, is played by Tamarin K. Ythier. Yhtier had me howling with her over-the-top acting. Poppy is lovesick over Lloyd (who isn’t?) and loses her cool many times throughout the play because of it. Her running joke involves notifying the audience when the play will begin after the intermission.
Garry Lejeune/Roger Tramplemain is played by Jordan B. Stocksdale. His moments to shine involved falling down stairs time and time again. His interactions with Brooke in Act One are highly amusing, and he loses his temper when he misunderstand’s Freddy’s relationship with Dotty in Act Two.
Brian Kaider plays Frederick Fellows and Phillip Brent. The poor guy suffers from nose bleeds, has to play a Sheik, and gets caught in a ‘brief’ moment of hilarity. Kaider has great comic timing.
Belinda Blair/Flavia Brent, the most sane one of the crazy bunch, is played by Jessica Billones. Billones plays Belinda with a smooth sophistication at first in Act One but it all goes downhill in Act Two. She gets frazzled and unravels over some liquor bottles being left around the set and watching her have a nervous breakdown
Selsdon Mowbray/The Burglar is played by Dino P. Coppa, and he had me hook, line, and sinker from the get-go as the whiskey bottle-chasing Selsdon. This is a very energetic and physical role that Coppa played effortlessly, with his great comic timing.
Tim Allgood, the Stage Manager who understudies Selsdon and Freddy, is played by Matt Provance. He gets walked all over by Lloyd the director, and really wants to go on for the roles he understudies. Provance plays him rather timid, which works well in Act One. In Act Two, he becomes frantic and disoriented when asked to perform specific tasks for Lloyd, where you get to see his comedic talents and his frustration.
There is not a lot of space on the stage but Scenic Designer Justin M. Kiska utilizes every inch of it. This massive set gets turned around three times during the show. It starts with the dress rehearsal set that consists of seven doors, a Victorian couch, and a glass looking window that had a nice touch of greenery outside (I enjoyed all the set dressing as well). When the set gets turned around for act two, it’s a very authentic looking backstage.
The costumes, lighting, and sound designs were all created by Bill Kiska and were really effective. Kudos to the cast that had to use and move the props all through the performance. Everyone dealt with them swimmingly.
The first act of the show took a while to introduce the characters, and the pacing suffered, but the second and third acts flew by, due to the fine direction by Justin M. Kiska. Kiska had a great cast to work with and they all delivered fine performances.
Tamarin K. Ythiera (Poppy). “Ladies and gentlemen, will you please take your seats. The curtain will rise in two minutes.” Photo by Justin Kiska.
Noises Off! is not an easy show to pull off. It’s repetitive, demands comic timing, and places so many physical demands on the cast. In Way Off Broadway’s production, this cast comes through with flying colors – I mean- flying sardines.
Running Time: Two and a half hours, including one 15-minute intermission after the first act and one brief intermission between the second and third acts.
Noises Off! plays through April 23, 2016 at Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre & Children’s Theatre – 5 Willowdale Drive, in The Willowtree Plaza, in Frederick, MD. For tickets and reservations, call the box office at (301) 662-6600.
RATING:
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The chrysanthemum is the national symbol for which country ? | Japanese flag, country name and anthem
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National Symbols
The Japanese flag is called Hinomaru (circle of the sun). The red circle on the white background symbolizes the sun.
Japan's Imperial Crest is a sixteen petaled chrysanthemum.
The Japanese anthem is called Kimigayo:
May the reign of the Emperor continue for a thousand, nay, eigth thousand generations and for the eternity that it takes for small pebbles to grow into a great rock and become covered with moss.
In Japanese, the country is called Nihon or Nippon. The two Chinese characters may be translate as "origin of the sun" or "land of the rising sun". The name Japan is believed to have come from European pronunciation attempts of Chinese words for "Japan".
National Flower:
Japan has no official national flower. Most people, however, consider the cherry blossom the unofficial national flower of Japan. Furthermore, the chrysanthemum is the symbol for Japan's Emperor.
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"Who played Wanda in the film ""A fish called Wanda"" ?" | Chrysanthemum - The meaning of flowers - Flower Angels
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Chrysanhemum - The meaning of flowers
The chrysanthemum is a popular perennial first cultivated by the Chinese more than 2500 years ago. Used initially as a herb, the chrysanthemum was first exhibited in England in 1795.
Chrysanthemum is a Chinese word, derived from "Chu hua" meaning "October flower". It is also the emblem of the Old Chinese Army and, in China, the chrysanthemum has long been considered a very noble plant along with the orchid, bamboo and the plum. It was so well thought of that only the noble were allowed to grow the chrysanthemum in their gardens - lower classes were strictly forbidden from doing so.
It is said that Buddhist monks first brought the Chrysanthemum to Japan around 400AD. The Japanese Emperors were so impressed and thought so highly of the little flower that they often sat on thrones of chrysanthemums - there is even a book named the "Chrysanthemum Throne". To this day, the Japanese believe that the chrysanthemum is a symbol of the sun, and that the way in which the flower opens its petals denotes perfection. Japan also holds a "chrysanthemum festival" known as the Festival of Happiness.
As with many flowers, the Greek language comes into play with the naming of the Chrysanthemum. The name is believed to derive from "chrysos" meaning gold, and "anthos" meaning flower.
Now so widely cultivated, there are a huge array of chrysanthemum colours and shapes. Colours range from vibrant lime green to rich red, brown and yellow, not forgetting of course pinks, whites and other pale pastel colours. Decorative varieties include chrysanthemums shaped like huge pom-poms, much smaller round-headed "kermit" blooms, spider-shaped chrysanthemums and various others, not forgetting the traditional daisy-like chrysanthemums and chrysanthemum blooms.
In some European countries, the chrysanthemum symbolises bereavement - most notably in Italy, France, Belgium and Austria. Chrysanthemums are only ever sent in these countries at a time of sadness, death specifically. In the UK however, the chrysanthemum holds a much more positive sentiment, used widely in all lines of floristry. Florists, customers and recipients alike often cannot fail to love the vibrant colours and wild shapes of this most versatile flower.
Did you know?
# In some parts of Asia the flowers are boiled up to make a sweet tea like beverage. This is a medicinal drink and allegedly aids the recovery of influenza. There are also similar recipes which involve boiling the roots.
# In some species of Chrysanthemum the leaves of the plant are grown as a leaf vegetable known as "tung ho". Fried with garlic and chili, the dark green leaves are said to be well textured and the aromatic.
# In Feng Shui, chrysanthemums are believed to bring laughter and happiness to the home.
# In America, the chrysanthemum is now the largest commercially grown plant in the country.
# The chrysanthemum is related closely to chamomile, marguerite and matricaria.
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What is the S.I. Unit of radioactivity ? | Units of Radioactivity and Dose
Appendix
Units of Radioactivity and Dose
The original unit for measuring the amount of radioactivity was the curie (Ci)first defined to correspond to one gram of radium-226 and more recently defined as:
1 curie = 3.7x1010 radioactive decays per second [exactly].
In the International System of Units (SI) the curie has been replaced by the becquerel (Bq), where
1 becquerel = 1 radioactive decay per second = 2.703x10-11 Ci.
The magnitude of radiation exposures is specified in terms of the radiation dose . There are two important categories of dose:
The absorbed dose, sometimes also known as the physical dose, defined by the amount of energy deposited in a unit mass in human tissue or other media. The original unit is the rad [100 erg/g]; it is now being widely replaced by the SI unit, the gray (Gy) [1 J/kg], where 1 gray = 100 rad.
The biological dose, sometimes also known as the dose equivalent, expressed in units of rem or, in the SI system, sievert (Sv). This dose reflects the fact that the biological damage caused by a particle depends not only on the total energy deposited but also on the rate of energy loss per unit distance traversed by the particle (or "linear energy transfer"). For example, alpha particles do much more damage per unit energy deposited than do electrons. This effect can be represented, in rough overall terms, by a quality factor, Q. Over a wide range of incident energies, Q is taken to be 1.0 for electrons (and for x-rays and gamma rays, both of which produce electrons) and 20 for alpha particles. For neutrons, the adopted quality factor varies from 5 to 20, depending on neutron energy.
The biological impact is specified by the dose equivalent H, which is the product of the absorbed dose D and the quality factor Q: H = Q D.
The unit for the dose equivalent is the rem if the absorbed dose is in rads and the sievert (Sv) if the absorbed dose is in grays. Thus, 1 Sv = 100 rem. As discussed below, 1 rem is roughly the average dose received in 3 years of exposure to natural radiation. 1 Sv is at the bottom of the range of doses that, if received over a short period of time, are likely to cause noticeable symptoms of radiation sickness.
The dose equivalent is still not the whole story. If only part of the body is irradiated, the dose must be discounted with an appropriate weighting factor if it is to reflect overall risk. The discounted dose is termed the effective dose equivalent or just the effective dose, expressed in rems or sieverts.
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Horse racing - Welsh trainer Evan Williams trained which horse to come second in the 2013 Grand National ? | NRC: Measuring Radiation
Measuring Radiation
Home > About NRC > Radiation Protection > Radiation and Its Health Effects > Measuring Radiation
Measuring Radiation
There are four different but interrelated units for measuring radioactivity, exposure, absorbed dose, and dose equivalent. These can be remembered by the mnemonic R-E-A-D, as follows, with both common (British, e.g., Ci) and international (metric, e.g., Bq) units in use:
Radioactivity refers to the amount of ionizing radiation released by a material. Whether it emits alpha or beta particles, gamma rays, x-rays, or neutrons, a quantity of radioactive material is expressed in terms of its radioactivity (or simply its activity), which represents how many atoms in the material decay in a given time period. The units of measure for radioactivity are the curie ( Ci ) and becquerel ( Bq ).
Exposure describes the amount of radiation traveling through the air. Many radiation monitors measure exposure. The units for exposure are the roentgen ( R ) and coulomb/kilogram (C/kg).
Absorbed dose describes the amount of radiation absorbed by an object or person (that is, the amount of energy that radioactive sources deposit in materials through which they pass). The units for absorbed dose are the radiation absorbed dose ( rad ) and gray ( Gy ).
Dose equivalent (or effective dose) combines the amount of radiation absorbed and the medical effects of that type of radiation. For beta and gamma radiation, the dose equivalent is the same as the absorbed dose. By contrast, the dose equivalent is larger than the absorbed dose for alpha and neutron radiation, because these types of radiation are more damaging to the human body. Units for dose equivalent are the roentgen equivalent man ( rem ) and sievert ( Sv ), and biological dose equivalents are commonly measured in 1/1000th of a rem (known as a millirem or mrem ).
For practical purposes, 1 R (exposure) = 1 rad (absorbed dose) = 1 rem or 1000 mrem (dose equivalent).
Note that a measure given in Ci tells the radioactivity of a substance, while a measure in rem (or mrem) tells the amount of energy that a radioactive source deposits in living tissue. For example, a person would receive a dose equivalent of 1 mrem from any one of the following activities:
3 days of living in Atlanta
2 days of living in Denver
1 year of watching television (on average)
1 year of wearing a watch with a luminous dial
1 coast-to-coast airline flight
1 year living next door to a normally operating nuclear power plant
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Friday, October 17, 2014
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Horse racing - Welsh trainer Rebecca Curtis trained which horse to come third in the 2013 Grand National ? | Grand National: Pinstickers' guide to Aintree runners & riders - BBC Sport
BBC Sport
Grand National: Pinstickers' guide to Aintree runners & riders
By Frank Keogh
From the section Horse Racing
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Grand National 2015, Aintree
Date: Saturday, 11 April. Race time: 16:15 BST
Coverage: Live commentaries of all the big races on BBC Radio 5 live and live text commentary online
BBC Sport's Frank Keogh's verdict: "My hunch is the winner will come from the lowest-weighted horses as per the last two runnings. I'm a Soll man, but feel there are plenty with chances down the bottom including Royale Knight. Rocky Creek and Balthazar King are class horses, while I wouldn't want to jinx the fairytale farewell by plumping for Shutthefrontdoor."
1 Soll, 2 Royale Knight, 3 Balthazar King, 4 Rocky Creek, 5 Spring Heeled
1 LORD WINDERMERE (IRE)
Trainer: Jim Culloty Jockey: Brian O'Connell (replaced injured Robbie McNamara)
Weight: 9 11-10 Form: 1-373P
Landed the 2014 Cheltenham Gold Cup, but pulled up in this year's race. No top weight has won the National since Red Rum in the 1970s, and the bottom weight will carry nearly two stone less. Trainer won the Gold Cup three times as a jockey with Best Mate. Controversially ditched jockey Davy Russell, who was subsequently injured in a fall, after reportedly being unhappy with his Cheltenham ride. But his replacement Robbie McNamara was then hospitalised in a fall at Wexford on Friday and Brian O'Connell will now ride Lord Windermere.
Odds: 50-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: Oliver Sherwood Jockey: Leighton Aspell
Weight: 8-11-09 Form: 4-1116
Brilliant Hennessy winner was a well beaten sixth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Is this an afterthought? Jockey won the race last year on Pineau De Re. Trainer, the older brother of Desert Orchid's jockey Simon, enjoying a revival. Owned by Trevor Hemmings, the man behind Pontins holidays, who has enjoyed days in the sun before with Ballabriggs (2011) and Hedgehunter (2005).
Odds: 40-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: Paul Nicholls Jockey: Noel Fehily
Weight: 7 11-06 Form: 38-613
Same owner and trainer as 2012 winner Neptune Collonges, a fellow grey. Followed January win at Sandown with decent third to subsequent Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Coneygree at Newbury in February. Solid jumper. Last seven-year-old to triumph was Bogskar in 1940, although Unioniste started early and has claimed six steeplechase victories.
Odds: 33-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Paul Nicholls Jockey: Sam Twiston-Davies
Weight: 9 11-03 Form: 25-2P1
Ran well last year for eight-time champion trainer and was impressive winner at Kempton last time. Rocky Creek finished fifth at Aintree after an interrupted season which included a bout of piles. Jockey, fifth on Hello Bud in 2010 and tipped as future champion, is 21 and wasn't born when current top rider AP McCoy won his first race in 1992.
Odds: 10-1 Rating: 8/10
Trainer: Mouse Morris IRE Jockey: Nina Carberry
Weight: 10 11-03 Form: 24863
Talented and a little quirky, like his canny trainer Mouse, who was christened Michael. Classy on his day, but uncharacteristically poor this season and must prove stamina under a big weight. Owned by Gigginstown House Stud, headed by Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary. Jockey bids to become first female rider to triumph. Her brother Paul won on Bobbyjo for their trainer father Tommy in 1999.
Odds: 20-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Philip Hobbs Jockey: Richard Johnson
Weight: 11 11-02 Form: 12-F11
Thrives on expected good ground and skipped Cheltenham to be kept fresh for this. Big chance if overcomes a touch of seconditis in the camp. Horse was second in 2014 National. Somerset trainer also had the 2002 second What's Up Boys, both ridden by jockey who has been second 15 times to AP McCoy in title race.
Odds: 12-1 Rating: 8/10
Trainer: Jonjo O'Neill Jockey: AP McCoy
Weight: 8 11-02 Form: 2461-1
Horse nicknamed Rupert (after the bear) by stable staff as he's "a little bit cheeky". The 2014 Irish National victor is set to go off hot favourite in 19-time champion jockey's final National. Back For Good by Take That was number one single when McCoy first rode in the race 20 years ago, but he'll be gone for good if he wins this.
Odds: 8-1 Rating: 7/10
8 PINEAU DE RE (FR)
Trainer: Dr Richard Newland Jockey: Daryl Jacob
Weight: 12 11-00 Form: 1-0P80
In the Worcestershire village where the horse lives there is a proud sign - Claines: Home of the 2014 Grand National winner Pineau De Re. Named after a wine, he seeks to become the first back-to-back winner since Red Rum 40 years ago. Trained by a former GP, the jockey knows the prescription for National glory - he scored on Neptune Collonges three years ago.
Odds: 33-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Willie Mullins Jockey: Ruby Walsh
Weight: 8 10-13 Form: 2173P
Only runner for in-form trainer, who had a record eight winners at last month's Cheltenham Festival. Jockey is all-time leading rider at that meeting and has won this race twice - with Papillon (2000) and Hedgehunter (Mullins, 2005). While their challenger may not be the most obvious candidate, the team commands maximum respect.
Odds: 40-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Jim Culloty Jockey: Nick Scholfield
Weight: 8 10-12 Form: 015-44
Represents the same stable as top weight Lord Windermere, who won Gold Cup last year when yard was similarly out of form. Winner at last year's Cheltenham Festival. Jockey nicknamed 'Smiley' in the weighing room. Should appreciate the ground and capable of showing most rivals a clean pair of heels. Trainer won the race as a rider himself on Bindaree in 2002.
Odds: 28-1 Rating: 8/10
Trainer: Paul Nicholls Jockey: Ryan Mahon
Weight: 10 10-12 Form: 454121
Another in a strong hand for the eight-time champion trainer. Looked set for a different race at the meeting before excellent win at Newbury on his last run. Won the Grand Sefton Handicap Chase over the National fences in December 2013. That was over 18 fences, and this is 30. The question is whether he will see out this exacting trip.
Odds: 50-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: Warren Greatrex Jockey: Dougie Costello
Weight: 8 10-11 Form: 028180
Made mistakes when ran over the National fences in December, but bounced back three weeks later to win the Rowland Meyrick Chase at Wetherby. Bidding to become the first eight-year-old to triumph since Bindaree 13 years ago. Trainer, who upset better-known rivals to claim the World Hurdle at Cheltenham with Cole Harden, has been quietly bullish about chances.
Odds: 100-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: Paul Nicholls Jockey: Sean Bowen
Weight: 9 10-11 Form: 1-P015
Youngest jockey in the race, at 17, has only three years on the oldest horse. Rider in fine form goes up against father, who trains Al Co. Mon Parrain jumped well when second in the Topham Chase over these fences four years ago. Back in 11th behind Oscar Time at Aintree in December, but won at Cheltenham on New Year's Day. Trainer has four runners, and this one not considered main hope.
Odds: 66-1 Rating: 6/10
14 CARLITO BRIGANTE (IRE) - Non-runner (lame)
Trainer: Karen McLintock Jockey: Brian Harding
15 NIGHT IN MILAN (IRE)
Trainer: Keith Reveley Jockey: James Reveley
Weight: 9 10-09 Form: 40233
Drying ground should help, and interesting if sees out the trip. Finished third in two good Doncaster steeplechases. Tipped to go close by some decent judges. Jockey rides for trainer father. Owned by former jockey Richard Collins, who is boss of a frozen seafood empire. One wag said he was "living the bream".
Odds: 25-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Robert Hennessy Jockey: Andrew Lynch
Weight: 10 10-09 Form: 545211
Carries the claret and blue silks of owner Bill Hennessy, an admirer of the West Ham team of the 1960s-70s that included Bobby Moore. Hennessy had 2007 Champion Hurdle winner Sublimity and his son trains. Good cruising speed, though suspicion fortunes are hiding elsewhere with stamina questions to answer.
Odds: 100-1 Rating: 7/10
17 THE DRUIDS NEPHEW (IRE)
Trainer: Neil Mulholland Jockey: Aidan Coleman
Weight: 8 10-09 Form: 12751
Fine winner at last month's Cheltenham Festival, and potentially well in at the weights following that success. Should not be inconvenienced by the ground and other riders have talked of the horse as a potential danger to their chances of winning. Aidan Coleman deputises for the injured Barry Geraghty. Owners call themselves The Stonhenge Druids.
Odds: 14-1 Rating: 8/10
18 CAUSE OF CAUSES (USA)
Trainer: Gordon Elliott Jockey: Paul Carberry
Weight: 7 10-09 Form: 20-751
Good Cheltenham win last month. Shrewd trainer, whose nan used to play bingo with my aunt, scored with Silver Birch in 2007 and seeks to hit the jackpot again. The fancy of leading female jockey Katie Walsh when the weights came out in February, and well supported in weeks leading up to the race. Owned by JP McManus, whose retained rider AP McCoy sides with Shutthefrontdoor.
Odds: 20-1 Rating: 8/10
Trainer: Alan King Jockey: Wayne Hutchinson
Weight: 9 10-08 Form: 23-P50
Significant claims based on performances in last two runnings of the Scottish National. Won the Ayr contest two years ago and was runner-up in 2014. Punters will have to forgive some ordinary runs this season, but trainer likely to be concentrating on this big day after only two of his 10 previous runners completed the course.
Odds: 22-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Peter Bowen Jockey: Denis O'Regan
Weight: 10 10-08 Form: 1-0P33
Landed the Scottish National for Welsh trainer last year at odds of 40-1. Jamie Moore was on board that day but is out with a broken leg. Trainer's son is required to ride Mon Parrain so in steps Denis O'Regan, who finished second on Black Apalachi five years ago when AP McCoy won the race on Don't Push It.
Odds: 28-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Michael Scudamore Jockey: Liam Treadwell
Weight: 10 10-07 Form: 24430
Seventh - beaten 22 lengths by Pineau De Re - in the 2014 Grand National. Won the Welsh National in January 2013 for owners including rugby union players Mike Tindall, James Simpson-Daniel and Nicky Robinson. Jockey benefited from dental work after Clare Balding cracked a gag about his teeth in the aftermath of his 2009 National win on 100-1 shot Mon Mome.
Odds: 50-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: Donald McCain Jockey: David Casey
Weight: 8 10-07 Form: 10-33P
Was pulled up in the Grand National trial at Haydock on most recent run, so needs to bounce back from that. Trainer, who won in 2011 with Ballabriggs, is son of the late Ginger who triumphed four times, including three with Red Rum. He has been quietly confident this year. Jockey has ridden in the race 14 times, with a best finish of third on Snow Morning in 2008.
Odds: 100-1 Rating: 6/10
23 THE RAINBOW HUNTER (GB)
Trainer: Kim Bailey Jockey: David Bass
Weight: 11 10-07 Form: 261U-P
One of only two horses in the race bred in the UK, along with Royale Knight - others hail from Ireland, France and even America. Should run well on paper, but has failed to make it round twice. Trainer won the National 25 years ago with Mister Frisk, whose record time on fast ground still stands. Owners include fresh-faced racing TV presenter Oli Bell.
Odds: 80-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Tom George Jockey: Paddy Brennan
Weight: 9 10-06 Form: F-331
Ninth in the 2013 race and third in the Becher Chase this season, so knows how to jump the fences. And jockey knows how to upset the big guns - saw off the much-feted Kauto Star and Denman to win 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Imperial Commander. Trained in the beautiful Cotswold countryside, stable has a habit of popping up with big festival winners.
Odds: 33-1 Rating: 8/10
25 ACROSS THE BAY (IRE)
Trainer: Donald McCain Jockey: Henry Brooke
Weight: 11 10-06 Form: 0-800B
Very unlucky last year, when leading but carried out by a loose horse. Went on to finish 14th for the second consecutive year. Due a change of luck. Going may not be ideal - has won six times on heavy ground. Trainer's family, and their link with Red Rum, make them a part of Aintree folklore and you can be sure horse will be primed to peak on the day.
Odds: 50-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Warren Greatrex Jockey: Gavin Sheehan
Weight: 13 10-05 Form: 31P0-5
Boasts excellent form from earlier in career, albeit over much shorter distances, and while might not win is probably overpriced for a contender of his ability. Stablemate appears to be better fancied. History not on his side either - you have to go back to 1923 when the last equine teenager, Sergeant Murphy, won the Grand National.
Odds: 150-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: Robert Waley-Cohen Jockey: Sam Waley-Cohen
Weight: 14 10-05 Form: 11U14
Amateur jockey with terrific record over National fences partners veteran, who has finished second and fourth in the race previously, for trainer father. Horse proved his well-being with splendid win in Becher Chase over these obstacles in December. Age might prevent victory, but should give a really good account.
Odds: 40-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Rebecca Curtis Jockey: Paul Townend
Weight: 8 10-04 Form: 120P1P
Welsh trainer, third with Teaforthree two years ago, seeking to become the fourth woman to saddle the winner. Took the Welsh National at Ffos Las in January although overall record is a mixture of hits and misses. Interesting jockey booking - highly-rated rider who is second to stable jockey Ruby Walsh at the powerful Willie Mullins yard.
Odds: 125-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: Ian Williams Jockey: Will Kennedy
Weight: 9 10-04 Form: P2-67
Hopefully doesn't overdo the birthday cake - was born on 10 April. One win from nine runs over fences, but has been second five times. Last victory came back in December 2012 and it would be a big surprise if his next came in this contest. Debuts in the Grand National for both the trainer and jockey.
Odds: 125-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: David Bridgwater Jockey: Tom Cannon
Weight: 11 10-04 Form: P16-2F
Ground out victory in the Eider Chase at Newcastle in February 2014, but feeling is that rain is needed to soften the ground and very little is forecast. Trainer guided The Giant Bolster to second, fourth, and third place in consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups. Wyck Hill is owned by JP McManus, who has leading contenders elsewhere in Shutthefrontdoor and Cause Of Causes.
Odds: 80-1 Rating: 5/10
31 GAS LINE BOY (IRE)
Trainer: Philip Hobbs Jockey: James Best
Weight: 9 10-04 Form: P11P4
Won at Exeter and Haydock in November, but pulled up in the Welsh National before finishing fourth in the Grand National Trial at Haydock. Trainer is one of the best in the business from his Somerset stables where you can see the Minehead coastline in the distance, but Balthazar King very much their main hope for this year.
Odds: 125-1 Rating: 5/10
32 CHANCE DU ROY (FR)
Trainer: Philip Hobbs Jockey: Tom O'Brien
Weight: 11 10-04 Form: P46-55
Jockeys love horses who give them "a great spin" over these fences and this one has completed in five of his six efforts over the fences, including a sixth-placed spot in last year's race. Has finished a fair distance behind winners Oscar Time and Soll in his most recent outings. Jockey was second in the 2007 National on McKelvey.
Odds: 50-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: Maurice Phelan IRE Jockey: Davy Condon
Weight: 10 10-03 Form: 8P1292
No question about staying power and would not be the worst choice among some of the bigger-priced runners. The grey won the testing Eider Chase back in 2012 and is normally a sound jumper. Fifth ride in the race for Irish jockey, who was eighth in last year's edition on Raz De Maree.
Odds: 80-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: Peter Fahey IRE Jockey: Robbie Power
Weight: 8 10-03 Form: 3-8256
Rarely mentioned by pundits, and under the radar. Good second in Troytown Chase at Navan in November, which often features decent Grand National contenders. Jockey comes from a showjumping family and won the big race in 2007 with Silver Birch. Whether he will be following up here is another matter.
Odds: 66-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: Richard Chotard FR Jockey: David Cottin
Weight: 12 10-03 Form: U58P14
Only French-trained runner in the 2015 National. Has clocked up plenty of prize money in his homeland but seeking to win over nearly four-and-a-half miles having never scored beyond two and three-quarter miles. If you pick this one in the sweepstake, feel free to have another go, although you never know.
Odds: 250-1 Rating: 4/10
36 COURT BY SURPRISE (IRE)
Trainer: Emma Lavelle Jockey: Richie McLernon
Weight: 10 10-03 Form: 265-11
Won at Exeter and was then awarded Wincanton race when 'winner' found to be ineligible to take part. Could feature off low weight if keeps jumping in order. Jockey is the rider who has come closest to winning, without actually managing it - beaten the shortest distance possible, a nose, on Sunnyhillboy three years ago.
Odds: 40-1 Rating: 6/10
Trainer: Fergal O'Brien Jockey: Paul Moloney
Weight: 10 10-03 Form: 51P4-5
Finished fourth in the 2014 race to continue a remarkable run for jockey, who has been placed in last six renewals on horses owned by William and Angela Rucker. Alvarado's only run since Aintree saw him finish fifth in a veterans' handicap chase at Doncaster in February. Known as Alvin to his pals. Place possibilities.
Odds: 25-1 Rating: 7/10
Trainer: David Pipe Jockey: Tom Scudamore
Weight: 10 10-02 Form: 50-P11
Sneaking in on a low weight for the shrewd trainer who triumphed in 2008 with Comply Or Die. His father Martin trained Miinnehoma, owned by comic Freddie Starr, to land the race 21 years ago. Soll was seventh in the 2013 race, and horses have gone on to win after being beaten but completing the course. Minor ground concern, but big box ticker otherwise.
Odds: 20-1 Rating: 9/10
Trainer: Charlie Longsdon Jockey: Jonathan Burke
Weight: 10 10-02 Form: 0115-P
It has paid to respect horses with the lowest weights in the last two runnings of the race since changes to the fences have made them easier to negotiate. But experience of steeplechasing remains important and this one has just four outings over fences. Came back from injury over hurdles at Wetherby in January, but was pulled up.
Odds: 125-1 Rating: 5/10
Trainer: Dr Richard Newland Jockey: Brendan Powell
Weight: 9 10-02 Form: 113635
Second runner in this year's race for trainer, who also saddles the 2014 winner Pineau De Re and has just 12 horses in his yard at any one time. Carries nearly a stone less than his stablemate and assistant trainer believes may have the better chance. Jockey is son of trainer by same name, who triumphed as a rider on Rhyme 'N' Reason in 1988.
Odds: 25-1 Rating: 8/10
Odds shown are the best available with the major bookmakers as of 1030 BST on Saturday.
Listen to BBC Radio 5 live horse racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght and lead commentator John Hunt's pinstickers' guide to the Grand National.
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From which of Shakespeare's plays does this quotation come :- We happy few, we band of brothers ? | Welsh National Preview & Betting Tips | Chepstow | Horse Racing
Welsh National Preview: 14/1 Point taken
Posted on December 27, 2013 by Fiora.
The Welsh National has attracted a top class field of staying chasers looking to stake their claims for the £100,000 prizemoney on offer (2.35pm, Saturday, Chepstow).
We haven’t seen Rebecca Curtis’ (pictured) Teaforthree (20/1) since he won a similar amount in the Grand National at Aintree in April. He was third by nine lengths to Sue Smith’s Auroras Encore. He came a close second to Michael Scudamore’s Monbeg Dude in this race last year under AP McCoy when carrying over a stone more than him. It was his third run of the season and he is likely to encounter heavy ground again this year.
Whilst locally trained and with obvious credentials, this is a massive ask first time out. Rather than the champion jockey, Patrick Corbett will be on board, taking a valuable 5lbs off his back. It is difficult to see him winning but we can expect a solid effort.
Gary Moore’s nine-year-old Well Refreshed has been laid out for this race and is the 8/1 joint favourite. In February he won the Betfred Grand National Trial at Haydock over three and a half miles. He beat Venetia Williams’ Rigadin De Beauchene by 10 lengths. It was his third consecutive win in handicap chases but he pulled up two months later when starting off an 11lb higher mark.
He began this season by coming second last in an inadequately short three mile handicap chase at Cheltenham in October. He followed up earlier this month in the London National at Sandown over three miles five furlongs. He finished two lengths behind Paul Nicholls’ There’s No Panic in third on good ground that was probably on the fast side for him. Joshua Moore takes the ride and has a good chance of emulating his brother Jamie’s recent successes with Sire De Grugy.
Equally fancied is Tom Dreaper’s Goonyella (9/1). This Irish-bred six-year-old son of Presenting has proved that he can plough through mud for three miles six furlongs. He did exactly that to win a chase on heavy ground at Punchestown in April, beating Willie Mullins’ Vesper Bell by the shortest of margins. That was off a mark of 127.
He came a creditable second over two miles six furlongs in a handicap chase at the end of October at Galway. Most recently he finished fifth by seven lengths to John Berry’s Cootamundra in the three mile Troytown Handicap Chase in November. Now rated 138, he will need to be progressive to feature off this mark. This will be his first trip across the Irish Sea.
Only two six-year-olds have won this race since 1980, Paul Nicholls’ L’Aventure in 2005 and Alan King’s Halcon Genelardais in 2006. It is no coincidence that they are both French-breds and that the ground was no more testing that soft.
Emma Lavelle’s seven-year-old Highland Lodge (10/1) has also attracted strong support. He put in an impressive performance on heavy ground at Cheltenham in December last year, winning a three mile one furlong novices’ chase. He beat David Pipe’s Our Father by 22 lengths. He ran well but didn’t quite get the trip when tried over four miles at the Festival, finishing a distant sixth more than 40 lengths behind Willie Mullins’ Back In Focus.
He has put in two good runs this season, most recently finishing fourth by 13 lengths to Nicky Henderson’s Triolo D’Alene in the Hennessy, having weakening after the last fence. The stable are in good form and he looks to have a serious chance of taking the top honours having proved he can perform off his current mark of 143.
A horse fancied for similar reasons is Jonjo O’Neill’s Merry King (11/1). He finished four and a half lengths behind Highland Lodge in the Hennessy but was staying on rather than weakening in the closing stages. Previously he came second in the United House Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Ascot in early November, six lengths behind Venetia Williams’ Houblon Des Obeaux. The Hennessy winner was three lengths behind him.
He looks likely to relish this test of stamina and has form on heavy ground. A six-year-old son of Old Vic, he may not be French-bred but he looks likely to feature here.
A heavy ground specialist worth looking at closely is Paul Nicholls’ Hawkes Point (14/1). This eight-year-old son of Kayf Tara might well have needed the run in his opening effort this season. He finished fourth by six lengths to Philip Hobbs’ De La Bech at this course on December 7 when giving weight to all who preceded him in a three mile handicap chase on heavy. He runs off the same mark here.
Last season he won and came second at Exeter on heavy ground in three mile chases but found the four mile National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival a bridge too far and pulled up. Ryan Mahon takes the ride. He has to be one for the shortlist.
Nicholls’ stable jockey Daryl Jacob takes the mount on board the veteran and topweight Tidal Bay (10/1). Jacob could not do the 10 stone that stablemate Hawkes Point carries so the riding arrangements were dictated by the weights. No horse over 10 years old has succeeded in this race since 1976 but 12-year-old Tidal Bay is a class act, capable of producing extraordinary performances when the mood takes him.
He did not enjoy the scorching pace of the Betfair Chase won by Cue Card at Haydock. He finished 30 lengths behind him in fifth. But he proved that he retains his ability on his seasonal debut, winning the Grade 2 Bet365 Hurdle over three miles one furlong at Wetherby earlier in the month. He beat Alan King’s Medinas by a length. Jacob has only ridden him once before. They romped to victory by 15 lengths in the three mile five furlong Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown in April despite carrying top weight. You cannot rule out his chances of doing the same again, especially on his favoured testing going.
The Grand National winning trainer, Sue Smith, sends out another interesting son of Presenting, the seven-year-old Vintage Star (14/1). He scored on his seasonal debut at Carlisle at the beginning of November, confirming his ability to perform on very testing ground over three miles one furlong. He beat David Pipe’s Buddy Bolero by a neck.
He followed up by coming second at Newcastle, losing out to Colin Tizzard’s Hey Big Spender by a neck on good ground. He looks to be well handicapped as his mark of 137 is unchanged and he ought to put in a good performance.
Welsh National Betting Tips Advice
Favourites do not have a great record in the Welsh National. Only one has succeeded in the past ten years but the betting market is usually not far wrong. Horses close to the top of it generally come in.
Gary Moore’s Well Refreshed looks to have the strongest claims of the three market leaders but does not provide much value in this type of contest. Teaforthree represents Wales and local trainer Rebecca Curtis has expressed a personal ambition to win this race.
Both in-form Nicholls’ horses make stronger appeal and it is hard to put anyone off the veteran Tidal Bay. But our pick has to be his stablemate HAWKES POINT, the heavy ground specialist, each-way at a current best price of 14/1 with Bet365 , BetVictor or race sponsors Coral Bookmaker .
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Which gland, secreting various hormones essential for growth and other bodily functions, is situated in the brain ? | You & Your Hormones | Glands | Pituitary gland
You & Your Hormones
Email article to a friend | Last updated: January 21, 2015
The pituitary gland is a small pea-sized gland that plays a major role in regulating vital body functions and general wellbeing. It is referred to as the body’s ‘master gland’ because it controls the activity of most other hormone-secreting glands.
Computer artwork of a person's head showing the left hemisphere of the brain inside. The highlighted area (centre) shows the pituitary gland attached to the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain.
Alternative names
Hypophysis.
Where is my pituitary gland?
The pituitary gland is a pea-sized gland. It sits in the sella turcica (‘Turkish saddle’), a bony hollow in the base of the skull, underneath the brain and behind the bridge of the nose. Although the pituitary gland looks like one gland, it actually has two distinct parts, the anterior pituitary gland and the posterior pituitary gland. The gland is attached to the hypothalamus , the part of the brain that controls its activity. The anterior part of the pituitary gland consists of gland cells, which are connected to the brain by very short blood vessels. The posterior pituitary gland is actually part of the brain and it secretes hormones directly into the bloodstream under the command of the brain.
What does my pituitary gland do?
The pituitary gland is called the ‘master gland’ as the hormones it produces control so many different processes in the body. It senses the body’s needs and sends signals to different organs and glands throughout the body to regulate their function and maintain an appropriate environment. It secretes a variety of hormones into the bloodstream which act as messengers to transmit information from the pituitary gland to distant cells, regulating their activity. For example, the pituitary gland produces prolactin , which acts on the breasts to induce milk production. The pituitary gland also secretes hormones that act on the adrenal glands , thyroid gland , ovaries and testes , which in turn produce other hormones. Through production of its hormones, the pituitary gland controls metabolism , growth, sexual maturation, reproduction, blood pressure and many other vital physical functions and processes.
What hormones does my pituitary gland produce?
The anterior pituitary gland produces the following hormones and releases them into the bloodstream:
Adrenocorticotropic hormone , which stimulates the adrenal glands to secrete steroid hormones, principally cortisol
Thyroid stimulating hormone , which stimulates the thyroid gland to secrete thyroid hormones.
There are also some hormones that are produced by the hypothalamus and then stored in the posterior pituitary gland prior to being released into the bloodstream. These are:
Anti-diuretic hormone , which controls water balance and blood pressure. It is made by the hypothalamus but is stored in the posterior pituitary gland prior to being released into the bloodstream.
Oxytocin , which stimulates uterine contractions during labour and milk secretion during breastfeeding. It is made by the hypothalamus but is stored in the posterior pituitary gland prior to being released into the bloodstream.
Each of these hormones is made by a separate type of cell within the pituitary gland, except for follicle stimulating hormone and luteinising hormone, which are made together by the same cell.
What could go wrong with my pituitary gland?
The pituitary gland is an important gland in the body and the hormones it produces carry out varied tasks and regulate the function of many other organs. This means that the symptoms experienced when the pituitary gland stops working correctly can be varied depending on which hormone is affected.
Conditions that affect the pituitary gland directly can be divided into three main categories:
Conditions that cause the pituitary gland to produce too much of one or more hormone(s). Examples include acromegaly , Cushing's disease and prolactinoma .
Conditions that cause the pituitary gland to produce too little of one or more hormone(s). Examples include adult growth hormone deficiency , diabetes insipidus or hypopituitarism .
Conditions that alter the size and/or shape of the pituitary gland. Examples include empty sella syndrome .
A cell type may divide and then form a small benign lump known as a tumour, and the patient may then suffer from the effects of too much of the hormone the cell produces. If the tumour grows very large, even though still benign, it may squash the surrounding cells and stop them working (hypopituitarism), or push upwards and interfere with vision – a visual field defect. Very occasionally, the tumour may expand sideways and cause double vision as it affects the nerves which control eye movements. It should be emphasised that even when these tumours are large, they usually remain quite benign and very rarely spread to other parts of the body.
| Pituitary gland |
"Which female singer had a number 1 hit record with ""I Feel Love"" which topped the charts in July 1977 ?" | The Glandular System
(by Mr. Steven Horne)
The glandular and nervous systems work intimately together to maintain balance among all of the body systems. Together, these systems regulate both voluntary and involuntary actions within the body such as growth, metabolism, digestion, elimination, menstruation and sleep. These systems also serve as the body's means of communication between cells. The glandular system communicates using chemical messengers called hormones, which stimulate reactions that may last from a few hours to several days. Glandular system concerns include hormone imbalances, weak adrenal glands, thyroid imbalance, diabetes, hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia.
EXAMINING THE GLANDULAR SYSTEM
While the glandular system communicates using hormones, the nervous system uses electrical impulses and chemicals called neurotransmitters to relay fast, short-lived messages. Some neurotransmitters, e.g., noradrenaline, also act as hormones and may be secreted in more than one place throughout the body. Both neurotransmitters and hormones bind to receptor cells to initiate responses.
The nervous and glandular systems are linked by the hypothalamus -the control center for the body's emotional and physical responses. The hypothalamus, part of the brain stem, has been found to control hunger, thirst, blood pressure, pain, pleasure, water balance, temperature, sexual desire, hostility and many other emotions and responses. However, it is not the only area of the brain associated with emotions. Many structures, including the hypothalamus, make up the limbic system, an area of the brain that processes feelings and emotions. The relationship between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland provides the link between the nervous and glandular systems.
The pituitary is a small gland located at the base of the brain. Many refer to it as the master gland because it regulates the release of hormones from most other glands, much like the maestro of a symphony directs all the musicians to play together to produce harmonious music. Divided into two lobes, the anterior and posterior, the pituitary is a double gland. Some hormones are produced in the hypothalamus and stored in the posterior lobe of the pituitary. The hypothalamus also manufactures hormones that stimulate the release of other hormones from the anterior pituitary. These are called releasing, or tropic hormones.
Many glands have a "feedback loop" that prevents the over-secretion of certain hormones. For instance, if the anterior pituitary secretes thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), the thyroid subsequently releases thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine, two hormones that trigger an increase in metabolism. These hormones inhibit the release of TSH, so the anterior pituitary will not stimulate the thyroid.
The pituitary also produces hormones that it secretes directly into the bloodstream. One of these, growth hormone, is responsible for growth, development, protein synthesis, the breakdown of fats, and increases in blood-sugar levels. Other hormones produced by the pituitary and secreted directly into the bloodstream include prolactin, which stimulates milk secretion in females; follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which stimulates the growth of ovarian follicles in females and seminiferous tubules in males; and luteinizing hormone (LH), which initiates ovulation during the menstrual cycle.
The pineal gland is a small, pea-sized gland located in the center of the brain. It is associated with biological responses to light and regulation of the body's circadian rhythms such as sleep. Exposure to light inhibits the secretion of melatonin, a pineal hormone, and darkness stimulates it. Secretion of this natural antioxidant peaks around midnight and troughs in the morning. Melatonin production decreases with age.
The thymus gland is located behind the upper part of the breastbone and produces the hormone thymosin. Thyrnosin plays a role in immune response.
Just above the thymus, in the neck, is the thyroid gland. The thyroid secretes two different hormones: thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine (mentioned above). Together, these two hormones regulate metabolism, growth and development. Calcitonin, another thyroid hormone, regulates blood levels of calcium, preventing excessive amounts from being released into the blood.
The parathyroid gland lies adjacent to the thyroid. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) acts an antagonist to calcitonin to increase calcium levels in the blood by stimulating its release from the bones. At the same time, PTH causes the kidneys to excrete phosphate, which is also released from the breakdown of bone.
The kidneys, intestines and bones all play a role in maintaining proper blood levels of calcium and phosphate.
The adrenal glands are located on top of the kidneys. Each gland is divided into two parts, the cortex and the medulla. The adrenal cortex (outer layer) produces "cortical' steroid hormones from cholesterol. Among the many cortical steroid hormones produced by the adrenal cortex are the sex hormones, DHEA, cortisone and aldosterone. The sex hormones signal development of secondary characteristics such as facial hair and a deeper voice.
DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), an intermediate hormone, aids in the production of sex hormones. Cortisone and its derivatives (called the glucocorticoids) help maintain normal blood-sugar levels by stimulating formation of carbohydrates from protein and fat through secretion of enzymes from the liver. These glucocorticoids also decrease inflammation, help repair damaged tissue and act as the body's buffer for stress. Another cortical steroid hormone is aldosterone, which regulates mineral balance within the body by stimulating absorption of sodium, chloride and water, and decreasing absorption of potassium by the kidneys. A careful balance of these minerals is vital to the proper function of the sodium-potassium pump, which transports molecules into cells, and for conduction of nerve impulses. Many plants produce hormones similar to the cortical steroid hormones; these are often called phytosteroids, and in the body they act similarly to the way the cortical steroid hormones function.
The medulla (or inner layer) of the adrenal gland produces adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones stimulate the sympathetic nervous system in fight-or-flight responses. When the body senses stress, whether it be emotional, physical or environmental, elevated blood pressure, increased blood sugar, accelerated heart rate and constricted blood vessels can result as the body redistributes its energy in order to deal with the stress. Simultaneously, functions less crucial to survival (like digestion and elimination) temporarily stop.
The ovaries are the female sex organs that produce estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen maintains and helps develop other female sex organs, stimulates secondary sexual characteristics and stimulates growth of the uterine lining during the first two weeks of the menstrual cycle. Progesterone has been called the pregnancy hormone because it prepares the uterus for the fertilized egg during the last two weeks of menstruation and helps maintain a healthy fetus during pregnancy. The male hormone testosterone is produced in the testes, the main male reproductive organs. Testosterone stimulates development of sperm cells in men, maintains and develops male reproductive organs, and is responsible for male secondary sexual characteristics.
The pancreas is a digestive organ that also functions as a gland. It secretes glucagon, which converts glycogen into glucose, and insulin, which acts as an antagonist to glucagon to prevent excessive levels of blood glucose. Both of these conversions involve enzymes produced by the liver. The digestive tract also contains hormones. Gastrin secreted in the stomach, triggers secretion of gastric juices and enzymes in the pancreas. Stomach acidity causes the release of secretin in the small intestines, which in turn causes the pancreas to secrete its enzymes, and stops the secretion of acid. Cholecystokinin (CCK) stimulates the gall bladder to secrete bile.
Proper nutrition is crucial to the function of this complex system. Most glands need increased amounts of particular minerals to function as enzymes in their reactions. For example, the pancreas needs chromium, the prostate requires zinc, and the thyroid uses iodine. Many problems with the glandular system are associated with poor nutrition and low levels of these minerals in the diet.
Overall indications for nutritional aid to the pancreas and adrenals:
Blood sugar problems
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"Which female singer had a number 1 hit record with ""I'll never fall in love again""which topped the charts in August 1969 ?" | Reba McEntire | New Music And Songs |
Reba McEntire
About Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire was the most successful female recording artist in country music in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she scored 22 number one hits and released five gold albums, six platinum albums, two double-platinum albums, four triple-platinum albums, a quadruple-platinum album, and a quintuple-platinum album, for certified album sales of 33.5 million over the 20-year period. While she continued to sell records in healthy numbers into the 21st century, she expanded her activities as an actress in film and on the legitimate stage, and particularly on television, where she starred in a long-running situation comedy. Such diversification made her the greatest crossover star to emerge from country music since Dolly Parton.
Reba Nell McEntire was born March 28, 1955, in McAlester, Oklahoma, the second daughter and third of four children of Clark Vincent McEntire, a professional steer roper, and Jacqueline (Smith) McEntire, a former school teacher. Her older brother Del Stanley ("Pake") McEntire also became a country singer, while her younger sister Martha Susan ("Susie") McEntire Luchsinger became a gospel singer. McEntire was raised on the 7,000-acre family ranch in Chockie, Oklahoma, traveling with her parents and siblings to the rodeos at which her father competed. Clark McEntire was named World Champion Steer Roper three times, in 1957, 1958, and 1961. (McEntire's grandfather, John McEntire, had won the same title in 1934.) McEntire's mother had aspired to a career in music but never pursued it. She encouraged her children to sing and taught them songs and harmony during the long car trips between rodeos. Alice McEntire, the oldest child, did not actively seek a musical career, but the other three were members of a country group, the Kiowa High School Cowboy Band, as early as 1969, when McEntire began attending Kiowa High School in Kiowa, Oklahoma. She also entered local talent contests on her own. In 1971, the Kiowa High School Cowboy Band recorded a single, "The Ballad of John McEntire," for the tiny Boss Records label, which pressed 1,000 copies. As the early '70s went on, the band gave way to a trio, the Singing McEntires, consisting of the three siblings, which performed at rodeos. McEntire also followed in the family tradition of competing, becoming a barrel racer, the only rodeo event open to women.
McEntire graduated from high school in June 1973 and enrolled at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. While attending the National Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma City on December 10, 1974, she sang the national anthem on network television. Also present at the rodeo was country star Red Steagall, who was impressed by her voice and asked her to go to Nashville to record some demos for his song publishing company. After she did so in March 1975 during her spring break from college, he took the tapes around town trying to get her a record deal and succeeded with Mercury Records, which signed her to a contract on November 11, 1975, that called for her to record two singles for the label. On January 22, 1976, she entered a Nashville recording studio and cut the first of those singles, "I Don't Want to Be a One Night Stand," which, upon its release, climbed to number 88 in the Billboard country singles chart in May. On June 21, 1976, she married Charlie Battles, a champion steer wrestler she had met at a rodeo. Battles later became her business manager.
On September 16, 1976, McEntire did her second Mercury recording session, which produced her second single, "(There's Nothing Like the Love) Between a Woman and a Man." It peaked at number 86 in March 1977. In the meantime, on December 16, 1976, she graduated from college on an accelerated three-and-a-half-year program with a major in elementary education and a minor in music, freeing her to pursue her career full-time. Her record label, however, seemed in no particular hurry, although it picked up her option for further recordings. Her third single, "Glad I Waited Just for You," recorded on April 13, 1977, peaked at number 88 in August, the same month Mercury released her debut album, Reba McEntire, which did not chart. On September 17, 1977, she made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry.
Two and a half years into her recording career, with very little to show for it, McEntire was paired with labelmate Jacky Ward for the two-sided single "Three Sheets in the Wind"/"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" (the B-side a cover of the pop hit by England Dan & John Ford Coley), which reached number 20 in July 1978. That and her touring as an opening act for Steagall, Ward, and others increased her exposure, and her next solo single, "Last Night, Ev'ry Night," reached number 28 in October, beginning a string of singles that made it at least into the country Top 40. She first got into the Top 20 with her cover of the Patsy Cline hit "Sweet Dreams," which peaked at number 19 in November 1979. She still wasn't selling any albums, however; her second LP, Out of a Dream, released in September 1979, did not chart.
McEntire continued to make strides on the singles chart, reaching the Top Ten for the first time with "(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven," which peaked at number eight in August 1980. Feel the Fire, her third album, released in October 1980, was another failure, but after a couple more Top 20 singles she reached the Top Five with "Today All Over Again" in October 1981. The song was featured on her fourth album, Heart to Heart, released in September, which helped it become her first to chart, reaching number 42 in the country LP list. She achieved a new high on the singles chart in August 1982 when "I'm Not That Lonely Yet" reached number three. It was included on her fifth album, Unlimited, released in June 1982, which hit number 22. But that was only the beginning. The LP also spawned "Can't Even Get the Blues" and "You're the First Time I've Thought About Leaving," which became back-to-back number one hits in January and April 1983. By then, she had moved up from playing nightclubs and honky tonks to being the regular opening act for the Statler Brothers. She went on to work in the same capacity with Conway Twitty, Ronnie Milsap, Mickey Gilley, and others.
It might be argued that Mercury Records had taken a 20-year-old neophyte singing the national anthem at a rodeo and, over a period of more than seven years, groomed her until she became a chart-topping country star. McEntire appears not to have viewed things that way, however. On the contrary, she seems to have been unhappy with the songs the label gave her to sing and the musical approach taken on her records, feeling that she was being pushed too much in a country-pop direction. She also has criticized Mercury's promotional efforts on her behalf. And, despite her recent success, the long years of development meant she was nowhere near repaying the investment Mercury had made in her, which, of course, was charged against her potential royalties on the company books. (Although she received yearly advances from the label, she later said that she did not see her first royalties from Mercury until 1988.) So, she sought a release from her contract and, after cutting one more album for Mercury, her sixth LP, Behind the Scene, released in September 1983, she signed to MCA Records, her new contract taking effect on October 1, 1983. The first fruits of the switchover suggested that not much had changed. Her debut MCA single, "Just a Little Love," was a Top Five hit in June 1984, shortly after the release of an album of the same name, but that LP was actually less successful than Unlimited.
McEntire took strong action. Set to have Harold Shedd (Alabama's producer, and thus a hot commercial property) produce her next album, she rejected his suggestions for songs and the sweetened arrangements he imposed on them and appealed to Jimmy Bowen, the newly installed president of MCA's country division. Bowen allowed her to pick her own material and to eliminate the strings and other pop touches used on Just a Little Love and her Mercury releases. The result was the pointedly titled My Kind of Country, released in November 1984, which was dominated by covers of old country songs previously performed by Ray Price, Carl Smith, Connie Smith, and Faron Young. Even before the album's release, however, and before its advance single, "How Blue," hit number one, McEntire was named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association on October 8, 1984. It was a surprising win; Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, and Charly McClain had all arguably been more successful during the previous 12 months. But it was a forward-looking recognition for a performer who was wisely aligning herself with such artists as Ricky Skaggs and George Strait as a "new traditionalist," moving country music back to its roots after the decline of the pop-country Urban Cowboy phenomenon of the early '80s.
"How Blue" hit number one in January 1985, followed by the second single from My Kind of Country, "Somebody Should Leave," which topped the chart in May as the album reached number 13. (Eventually, it was certified gold.) With such success, McEntire was able to start headlining her own concerts. For her next album, Have I Got a Deal for You, released in July 1985, she worked directly with Bowen, the two billed as co-producers. Another new traditionalist collection, it included her own composition "Only in My Mind," a Top Five hit, as well as a Top Ten hit in the title song; though the LP was not as successful as its predecessor, it too went gold over time, and it helped McEntire earn her second consecutive CMA award as Female Vocalist of the Year. Another important accolade came on January 14, 1986, when she became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Perhaps even more important than McEntire's decision to perform music in a more traditional country style was her search for material that she felt women would respond to. Just as Loretta Lynn had spoken for pre-feminist women in the 1960s, McEntire had begun to address the emotional and empowering concerns of women in the 1980s. "Whoever's in New England," her next single, released in January 1986 just ahead of an album of the same name, was a case in point. Kendal Franceschi and Quentin Powers' song was written in the voice of a Southern woman who believes her husband is having an affair during his business trips up north, but pledges that she will remain available to him when "whoever's in New England's through with you." It was a career-making song for McEntire, not least because it was promoted by her first music video. Reaching number one in May 1986, it marked a major breakthrough for her, beginning a string of chart-topping hits that didn't begin to slow down for the next three years. "Little Rock," the follow-up single, also hit number one, as did the Whoever's in New England album, her first LP to be certified gold. (It later went platinum.)
Her career in high gear, McEntire released her next album, What Am I Gonna Do About You, in September 1986, prefaced by a single of the same name that hit number one, as did the gold-selling LP, which also featured the chart-topping single "One Promise Too Late." On October 13, 1986, McEntire not only won her third consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year Award from the CMA, but also was named Entertainer of the Year. On February 24, 1987, she won her first Grammy Award for Country Female Vocal for "Whoever's in New England." She released Reba McEntire's Greatest Hits in April; it became her first platinum album and eventually sold over three million copies. (It also became her first album ever to cross over to the pop charts.) On June 25, 1987, she filed for divorce from Charlie Battles, her husband of 11 years. After her divorce was settled and Battles was awarded the couple's ranch in Oklahoma, she moved to Nashville.
McEntire's string of hits continued with the release of The Last One to Know in September 1987, prefaced by a single of the same name that reached number one in December. The album, also featuring the number one hit "Love Will Find Its Way to You," reached number three and eventually went platinum. McEntire won an unprecedented fourth straight CMA award as Female Vocalist of the Year in October. In November, she released a holiday album, Merry Christmas to You, which, over the years, sold more than two million copies. She engendered controversy with her next album release, Reba, which appeared in May 1988. Here, an artist who had jumped on the new traditionalist bandwagon in 1984 abruptly jumped off, returning to more of a pop-oriented style, without a fiddle or a steel guitar anywhere. The album's leadoff single was "Sunday Kind of Love," a cover of the 1947 Jo Stafford pop hit. It peaked at number five in July, actually the worst showing for a McEntire single in nearly three years. But the album had already begun a run of eight weeks at number one by then, and it was supported by the subsequent chart-topping singles "I Know How He Feels" and "New Fool at an Old Game." It eventually went platinum. Also in 1988, McEntire founded Starstruck Entertainment, a company that handled management, booking, publishing, and other aspects of her career and, eventually, represented other artists as well.
Sweet Sixteen, released in May 1989, was actually McEntire's 14th regular studio album, but her 16th counting her authorized MCA hits compilation and Christmas album. The leadoff single was a cover of the Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown" that hit number one in July, and it was followed by three Top Ten hits, "'Til Love Comes Again," "Little Girl," and "Walk On," as the LP spent 13 weeks at the top of the charts, with sales eventually crossing the million mark. It also reached the pop Top 100. McEntire had already recorded her next album, Live, the previous April for release in September and, though it took more than a decade, another platinum certification. That gave her some breathing space. On June 3, 1989, she married Narvel Blackstock, her manager, who had been part of her organization since joining her band as its steel guitar player in 1980. On February 23, 1990, she bore him a son, Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock. A month earlier, she had made her feature film acting debut in the comic horror film Tremors, which had been shot the previous spring.
McEntire was back on tour by May 1990, and she returned to record making in September with her 15th regular studio album, Rumor Has It, which was prefaced by the single "You Lie," a number one hit. Three other songs from the LP placed in the country Top Ten: the title song, a revival of Bobbie Gentry's 1969 hit "Fancy," and "Fallin' Out of Love." The album eventually sold three million copies. McEntire was on tour promoting it when, on March 16, 1991, seven members of her band and her road manager were killed in a plane crash after a show in San Diego. She dedicated her next album, For My Broken Heart, to them when it was released in October. The disc was another massive hit, going gold and platinum simultaneously shortly after its release and eventually selling four million copies, its singles including the chart-topping title song and another number one, "Is There Life Out There." Also in 1991, McEntire co-starred in the TV mini-series The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw. Her 17th album, It's Your Call, was released in December 1992, and, like Rumor Has It, it was an immediate million seller, eventually going triple platinum. (It was also her first Top Ten pop album.) Its biggest single was "The Heart Won't Lie," a duet with Vince Gill that hit number one in April 1993. McEntire's next chart-topper was also a duet, "Does He Love You," sung with Linda Davis; it hit number one in November 1993 and was included on her September release Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, an album that sold two million copies practically out of the box and another three million over the next five years. "Does He Love You" won McEntire her second Grammy, for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, and a CMA award for Vocal Event. She also appeared in the TV movie The Man from Left Field in 1993.
By 1994, while continuing to reign as country's most successful female singer, McEntire was increasingly turning her attention to other concerns. Her 18th regular studio album, Read My Mind, appeared in April. Another instant million-seller that went on to go triple platinum, it threw off five country chart singles, among them the chart-topping "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" and, controversially, "She Thinks His Name Was John," a song about a woman who contracts AIDS from a one-night stand. Even McEntire's star power could propel such an atypical country subject only as high as number 15 in the charts. Meanwhile, she had parts in two feature films released during the summer, a speaking role in the drama North and a cameo in the children's comedy The Little Rascals. (She also made an uncredited appearance in the Western film Maverick and was heard on the soundtrack album.) She executive produced and starred in the TV movie Is There Life Out There? (based on her song), and she published her autobiography, Reba: My Story, which became a best-seller.
McEntire's 19th album was called Starting Over, released in October 1995. Intended to mark the 20th anniversary of her recording career, it was a collection of covers of well-known songs. It not only topped the country charts but hit number five in the pop charts, selling a million copies out of the box. But, boasting only one Top Ten hit, a revival of Lee Greenwood's "Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands," among three chart singles, and not achieving a multi-platinum certification, it suggested that McEntire finally had peaked commercially as far as country music was concerned. (In a considerable departure for a country singer, MCA released a dance remix of McEntire's revival of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" from the album that reached number two on Billboard's dance chart.) That didn't keep her from starring in another TV mini-series, Buffalo Gals, playing famed Western sharpshooter Annie Oakley, a part her rodeo background suited her to perfectly. She bounced back on the country charts somewhat with her 20th album, What If It's You, released in November 1996. The album spawned four Top 20 hits, with "How Was I to Know" reaching number one and "The Fear of Being Alone" and "I'd Rather Ride Around with You" each getting to number two. Simultaneously certified gold and platinum, the album eventually topped two million copies.
The singles drawn from What If It's You kept McEntire's name in the country charts throughout 1997, as did the holiday benefit record "What If," the proceeds from which were donated to the Salvation Army. But for the first time since 1978, she did not release a new album, even a compilation, during the calendar year. Aiming for a splash, she teamed up with the popular country duo Brooks & Dunn in the spring of 1998 for a single called "If You See Him/If You See Her." It hit number one in June, helping to set up the release of her 21st album, If You See Him, which also brought her three additional Top Ten hits on its way to selling a million copies. She appeared in the TV movie Forever Love (the title of one of those Top Ten hits) during the year and made several guest-star appearances on TV series.
After publishing her second book of memoirs, Comfort from a Country Quilt, in May 1999, McEntire had two new albums ready for the fall. Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection, a September release, was her second holiday CD, which she accompanied with a TV movie, Secret of Giving. The disc eventually went gold. So Good Together, issued in November, was her 22nd regular studio album, prefaced by the Top Five single "What Do You Say." Although none of the songs from the album topped the country charts, it did feature a second Top Five hit, "I'll Be," and a Top 20 hit in "We're So Good Together," and it went platinum before the end of 2000.
As in 1997, McEntire went without an album release in 2000, and in this case, it turned out that she definitely was positioning herself for a career beyond country music, as events in 2001 showed. In February of that year, she stepped in as a replacement star in the Broadway revival of Irving Berlin's musical Annie Get Your Gun that had begun performances in 1999 with Bernadette Peters in the title role of Annie Oakley. Barry and Fran Weissler, the producers of the revival, were known on Broadway for making money by keeping production costs down and by the extensive use of what was derisively called "stunt casting": bringing in a well-known personality, often one without much of a theater background, as a replacement to extend the run of a show, as a means of exciting the tourist crowd who would recognize the name of a prominent TV star, for example. McEntire had been preceded as a replacement in Annie Get Your Gun by soap opera star Susan Lucci and TV actress Cheryl Ladd, both of whom kept the show going while being largely ignored or derided by theater insiders.
McEntire turned out to be an entirely different proposition. First, although she lacked legitimate theater experience, she had by now done plenty of acting on television and even a little in film. Second, she had long since brought unusually high production values to her concerts that included choreography and costume changes, good preparation for similar demands in the theater. Third, she could, of course, sing. And fourth, with her rodeo background and Oklahoma accent, she was an ideal Annie Oakley, just as she had been in her previous TV portrayal. (Never mind that the real Annie Oakley was from Ohio; in everybody's mind, this female sharpshooter and star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, the precursor to the modern rodeo, was a Westerner.) The result was a triumph for McEntire. Reviews were ecstatic, and tickets sold out. The Tony Awards did not have a category for replacements (one has since been added), but she was given special awards for her performance by the Drama Desk, the Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World. She stayed in the show until June 22, 2001. Unfortunately, there was no new cast album recorded to immortalize her appearance.
During the run of Annie Get Your Gun, McEntire was seen in a small part in the film One Night a McCool's, released in April 2001. Her most extensive filmed acting role began on October 5, 2001, however, when the half-hour situation comedy Reba premiered on the WB TV network (later renamed the CW network). The show became the primary focus of McEntire's activities, and she moved to Los Angeles to accommodate it. She had not, however, given up country music entirely. In the summer of 2001, she released a single, "I'm a Survivor," that peaked in the country Top Five and prefaced a new compilation, Greatest Hits, Vol. 3: I'm a Survivor, released in October. It topped the country charts and went gold.
McEntire was occupied primarily with her TV series during 2002 and 2003. After two years, she finally returned to record-making in the summer of 2003 with a new single, "I'm Gonna Take That Mountain," which peaked in the country Top 20. Room to Breathe, her 23rd regular studio album and first in three years, followed in November and went platinum over the next nine months. The disc's second single, "Somebody," hit number one, and it was followed by another Top Ten hit, "He Gets That from Me," and the Top 20 "My Sister." Reba continued on into 2004 and 2005. McEntire found time in the spring of 2005 to return to the musical theater, if only for one night. In another piece of inspired casting, she portrayed the "cock-eyed optimist" from Arkansas, Ensign Nellie Forbush, in a special concert version of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific performed at Carnegie Hall. The all-star production, also featuring Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell and actor Alec Baldwin, was filmed for a PBS special on the network's Great Performances series and recorded for an album, both of which appeared in 2006.
By 2005, the catalogs of Mercury and MCA had been combined in the major label Universal, and in November MCA released McEntire's first combined hits collection, the double-CD set Reba: #1's, with two newly recorded tracks. It went gold and platinum simultaneously. In 2006, as she began the sixth season of Reba, McEntire also voiced a character in the holiday film release Charlotte's Web. The sixth season of Reba proved to be the last, as the show signed off the air on February 18, 2007. Not one to sit idle, McEntire toured the U.S. from May 25 through August. On September 18, 2007, she released a new album, Reba Duets, featuring such guests as Justin Timberlake, Don Henley, Kelly Clarkson, Kenny Chesney, Carole King, Faith Hill, Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes, and Trisha Yearwood. It was prefaced by the single "Because of You," a duet with Clarkson. For the week ending October 6, 2007, Reba Duets became McEntire's first album ever to enter the pop charts at number one.
The October 28, 2008 release of the three-disc set 50 Greatest Hits marked the conclusion of her contract with MCA Nashville, and McEntire signed to Valory Music. Through the singer’s Starstruck imprint, Valory released her next album, Keep on Loving You, on August 18, 2009. For the week ending September 5, 2009, it became her second album to enter the Billboard pop chart at number one. Not content to rest on her laurels, McEntire issued the single "Turn on the Radio" in the late summer of 2010, which made the Top 30 on Billboard's country chart. The Dann Huff-produced album All the Women I Am was released in the late fall.
McEntire returned to television when she starred in the 2012 ABC sitcom Malibu Country; the show was cancelled after one season. In 2015, she returned with Love Somebody, her first album in five years. A year later, McEntire released a holiday-themed album, My Kind of Christmas, which was released in cooperation with the popular restaurant chain Cracker Barrel. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi
| Bobbie Gentry |
Which gland, secreting a hormone affecting circulation and muscular action, is situated above the kidneys ? | Reba McEntire on Apple Music
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Biography
Reba McEntire was the most successful female recording artist in country music in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time she scored 22 number one hits and released five gold albums, six platinum albums, two double-platinum albums, four triple-platinum albums, a quadruple-platinum album, and a quintuple-platinum album, for certified album sales of 33.5 million over the 20-year period. While she continued to sell records in healthy numbers into the 21st century, she expanded her activities as an actress in film and on the legitimate stage, and particularly on television, where she starred in a long-running situation comedy. Such diversification made her the greatest crossover star to emerge from country music since Dolly Parton. Reba Nell McEntire was born March 28, 1955, in McAlester, Oklahoma, the second daughter and third of four children of Clark Vincent McEntire, a professional steer roper, and Jacqueline (Smith) McEntire, a former school teacher. Her older brother Del Stanley ("Pake") McEntire also became a country singer, while her younger sister Martha Susan ("Susie") McEntire Luchsinger became a gospel singer. McEntire was raised on the 7,000-acre family ranch in Chockie, Oklahoma, traveling with her parents and siblings to the rodeos at which her father competed. Clark McEntire was named World Champion Steer Roper three times, in 1957, 1958, and 1961. (McEntire's grandfather, John McEntire, had won the same title in 1934.) McEntire's mother had aspired to a career in music but never pursued it. She encouraged her children to sing and taught them songs and harmony during the long car trips between rodeos. Alice McEntire, the oldest child, did not actively seek a musical career, but the other three were members of a country group, the Kiowa High School Cowboy Band, as early as 1969, when McEntire began attending Kiowa High School in Kiowa, Oklahoma. She also entered local talent contests on her own. In 1971, the Kiowa High School Cowboy Band recorded a single, "The Ballad of John McEntire," for the tiny Boss Records label, which pressed 1,000 copies. As the early '70s went on, the band gave way to a trio, the Singing McEntires, consisting of the three siblings, which performed at rodeos. McEntire also followed in the family tradition of competing, becoming a barrel racer, the only rodeo event open to women. McEntire graduated from high school in June 1973 and enrolled at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. While attending the National Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma City on December 10, 1974, she sang the national anthem on network television. Also present at the rodeo was country star Red Steagall, who was impressed by her voice and asked her to go to Nashville to record some demos for his song publishing company. After she did so in March 1975 during her spring break from college, he took the tapes around town trying to get her a record deal and succeeded with Mercury Records, which signed her to a contract on November 11, 1975, that called for her to record two singles for the label. On January 22, 1976, she entered a Nashville recording studio and cut the first of those singles, "I Don't Want to Be a One Night Stand," which, upon its release, climbed to number 88 in the Billboard country singles chart in May. On June 21, 1976, she married Charlie Battles, a champion steer wrestler she had met at a rodeo. Battles later became her business manager. On September 16, 1976, McEntire did her second Mercury recording session, which produced her second single, "(There's Nothing Like the Love) Between a Woman and a Man." It peaked at number 86 in March 1977. In the meantime, on December 16, 1976, she graduated from college on an accelerated three-and-a-half-year program with a major in elementary education and a minor in music, freeing her to pursue her career full-time. Her record label, however, seemed in no particular hurry, although it picked up her option for further recordings. Her third single, "Glad I Waited Just for You," recorded on April 13, 1977, peaked at number 88 in August, the same month Mercury released her debut album, Reba McEntire, which did not chart. On September 17, 1977, she made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. Two and a half years into her recording career, with very little to show for it, McEntire was paired with labelmate Jacky Ward for the two-sided single "Three Sheets in the Wind"/"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" (the B-side a cover of the pop hit by England Dan & John Ford Coley), which reached number 20 in July 1978. That and her touring as an opening act for Steagall, Ward, and others increased her exposure, and her next solo single, "Last Night, Ev'ry Night," reached number 28 in October, beginning a string of singles that made it at least into the country Top 40. She first got into the Top 20 with her cover of the Patsy Cline hit "Sweet Dreams," which peaked at number 19 in November 1979. She still wasn't selling any albums, however; her second LP, Out of a Dream, released in September 1979, did not chart. McEntire continued to make strides on the singles chart, reaching the Top Ten for the first time with "(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven," which peaked at number eight in August 1980. Feel the Fire, her third album, released in October 1980, was another failure, but after a couple more Top 20 singles she reached the Top Five with "Today All Over Again" in October 1981. The song was featured on her fourth album, Heart to Heart, released in September, which helped it become her first to chart, reaching number 42 in the country LP list. She achieved a new high on the singles chart in August 1982 when "I'm Not That Lonely Yet" reached number three. It was included on her fifth album, Unlimited, released in June 1982, which hit number 22. But that was only the beginning. The LP also spawned "Can't Even Get the Blues" and "You're the First Time I've Thought About Leaving," which became back-to-back number one hits in January and April 1983. By then, she had moved up from playing nightclubs and honky tonks to being the regular opening act for the Statler Brothers. She went on to work in the same capacity with Conway Twitty, Ronnie Milsap, Mickey Gilley, and others. It might be argued that Mercury Records had taken a 20-year-old neophyte singing the national anthem at a rodeo and, over a period of more than seven years, groomed her until she became a chart-topping country star. McEntire appears not to have viewed things that way, however. On the contrary, she seems to have been unhappy with the songs the label gave her to sing and the musical approach taken on her records, feeling that she was being pushed too much in a country-pop direction. She also has criticized Mercury's promotional efforts on her behalf. And, despite her recent success, the long years of development meant she was nowhere near repaying the investment Mercury had made in her, which, of course, was charged against her potential royalties on the company books. (Although she received yearly advances from the label, she later said that she did not see her first royalties from Mercury until 1988.) So, she sought a release from her contract and, after cutting one more album for Mercury, her sixth LP, Behind the Scene, released in September 1983, she signed to MCA Records, her new contract taking effect on October 1, 1983. The first fruits of the switchover suggested that not much had changed. Her debut MCA single, "Just a Little Love," was a Top Five hit in June 1984, shortly after the release of an album of the same name, but that LP was actually less successful than Unlimited. McEntire took strong action. Set to have Harold Shedd (Alabama's producer, and thus a hot commercial property) produce her next album, she rejected his suggestions for songs and the sweetened arrangements he imposed on them and appealed to Jimmy Bowen, the newly installed president of MCA's country division. Bowen allowed her to pick her own material and to eliminate the strings and other pop touches used on Just a Little Love and her Mercury releases. The result was the pointedly titled My Kind of Country, released in November 1984, which was dominated by covers of old country songs previously performed by Ray Price, Carl Smith, Connie Smith, and Faron Young. Even before the album's release, however, and before its advance single, "How Blue," hit number one, McEntire was named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association on October 8, 1984. It was a surprising win; Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, and Charly McClain had all arguably been more successful during the previous 12 months. But it was a forward-looking recognition for a performer who was wisely aligning herself with such artists as Ricky Skaggs and George Strait as a "new traditionalist," moving country music back to its roots after the decline of the pop-country Urban Cowboy phenomenon of the early '80s. "How Blue" hit number one in January 1985, followed by the second single from My Kind of Country, "Somebody Should Leave," which topped the chart in May as the album reached number 13. (Eventually, it was certified gold.) With such success, McEntire was able to start headlining her own concerts. For her next album, Have I Got a Deal for You, released in July 1985, she worked directly with Bowen, the two billed as co-producers. Another new traditionalist collection, it included her own composition "Only in My Mind," a Top Five hit, as well as a Top Ten hit in the title song; though the LP was not as successful as its predecessor, it too went gold over time, and it helped McEntire earn her second consecutive CMA award as Female Vocalist of the Year. Another important accolade came on January 14, 1986, when she became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Perhaps even more important than McEntire's decision to perform music in a more traditional country style was her search for material that she felt women would respond to. Just as Loretta Lynn had spoken for pre-feminist women in the 1960s, McEntire had begun to address the emotional and empowering concerns of women in the 1980s. "Whoever's in New England," her next single, released in January 1986 just ahead of an album of the same name, was a case in point. Kendal Franceschi and Quentin Powers' song was written in the voice of a Southern woman who believes her husband is having an affair during his business trips up north, but pledges that she will remain available to him when "whoever's in New England's through with you." It was a career-making song for McEntire, not least because it was promoted by her first music video. Reaching number one in May 1986, it marked a major breakthrough for her, beginning a string of chart-topping hits that didn't begin to slow down for the next three years. "Little Rock," the follow-up single, also hit number one, as did the Whoever's in New England album, her first LP to be certified gold. (It later went platinum.) Her career in high gear, McEntire released her next album, What Am I Gonna Do About You, in September 1986, prefaced by a single of the same name that hit number one, as did the gold-selling LP, which also featured the chart-topping single "One Promise Too Late." On October 13, 1986, McEntire not only won her third consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year Award from the CMA, but also was named Entertainer of the Year. On February 24, 1987, she won her first Grammy Award for Country Female Vocal for "Whoever's in New England." She released Reba McEntire's Greatest Hits in April; it became her first platinum album and eventually sold over three million copies. (It also became her first album ever to cross over to the pop charts.) On June 25, 1987, she filed for divorce from Charlie Battles, her husband of 11 years. After her divorce was settled and Battles was awarded the couple's ranch in Oklahoma, she moved to Nashville. McEntire's string of hits continued with the release of The Last One to Know in September 1987, prefaced by a single of the same name that reached number one in December. The album, also featuring the number one hit "Love Will Find Its Way to You," reached number three and eventually went platinum. McEntire won an unprecedented fourth straight CMA award as Female Vocalist of the Year in October. In November, she released a holiday album, Merry Christmas to You, which, over the years, sold more than two million copies. She engendered controversy with her next album release, Reba, which appeared in May 1988. Here, an artist who had jumped on the new traditionalist bandwagon in 1984 abruptly jumped off, returning to more of a pop-oriented style, without a fiddle or a steel guitar anywhere. The album's leadoff single was "Sunday Kind of Love," a cover of the 1947 Jo Stafford pop hit. It peaked at number five in July, actually the worst showing for a McEntire single in nearly three years. But the album had already begun a run of eight weeks at number one by then, and it was supported by the subsequent chart-topping singles "I Know How He Feels" and "New Fool at an Old Game." It eventually went platinum. Also in 1988, McEntire founded Starstruck Entertainment, a company that handled management, booking, publishing, and other aspects of her career and, eventually, represented other artists as well. Sweet Sixteen, released in May 1989, was actually McEntire's 14th regular studio album, but her 16th counting her authorized MCA hits compilation and Christmas album. The leadoff single was a cover of the Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown" that hit number one in July, and it was followed by three Top Ten hits, "'Til Love Comes Again," "Little Girl," and "Walk On," as the LP spent 13 weeks at the top of the charts, with sales eventually crossing the million mark. It also reached the pop Top 100. McEntire had already recorded her next album, Live, the previous April for release in September and, though it took more than a decade, another platinum certification. That gave her some breathing space. On June 3, 1989, she married Narvel Blackstock, her manager, who had been part of her organization since joining her band as its steel guitar player in 1980. On February 23, 1990, she bore him a son, Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock. A month earlier, she had made her feature film acting debut in the comic horror film Tremors, which had been shot the previous spring. McEntire was back on tour by May 1990, and she returned to record making in September with her 15th regular studio album, Rumor Has It, which was prefaced by the single "You Lie," a number one hit. Three other songs from the LP placed in the country Top Ten: the title song, a revival of Bobbie Gentry's 1969 hit "Fancy," and "Fallin' Out of Love." The album eventually sold three million copies. McEntire was on tour promoting it when, on March 16, 1991, seven members of her band and her road manager were killed in a plane crash after a show in San Diego. She dedicated her next album, For My Broken Heart, to them when it was released in October. The disc was another massive hit, going gold and platinum simultaneously shortly after its release and eventually selling four million copies, its singles including the chart-topping title song and another number one, "Is There Life Out There." Also in 1991, McEntire co-starred in the TV mini-series The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw. Her 17th album, It's Your Call, was released in December 1992, and, like Rumor Has It, it was an immediate million seller, eventually going triple platinum. (It was also her first Top Ten pop album.) Its biggest single was "The Heart Won't Lie," a duet with Vince Gill that hit number one in April 1993. McEntire's next chart-topper was also a duet, "Does He Love You," sung with Linda Davis; it hit number one in November 1993 and was included on her September release Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, an album that sold two million copies practically out of the box and another three million over the next five years. "Does He Love You" won McEntire her second Grammy, for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, and a CMA award for Vocal Event. She also appeared in the TV movie The Man from Left Field in 1993. By 1994, while continuing to reign as country's most successful female singer, McEntire was increasingly turning her attention to other concerns. Her 18th regular studio album, Read My Mind, appeared in April. Another instant million-seller that went on to go triple platinum, it threw off five country chart singles, among them the chart-topping "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" and, controversially, "She Thinks His Name Was John," a song about a woman who contracts AIDS from a one-night stand. Even McEntire's star power could propel such an atypical country subject only as high as number 15 in the charts. Meanwhile, she had parts in two feature films released during the summer, a speaking role in the drama North and a cameo in the children's comedy The Little Rascals. (She also made an uncredited appearance in the Western film Maverick and was heard on the soundtrack album.) She executive produced and starred in the TV movie Is There Life Out There? (based on her song), and she published her autobiography, Reba: My Story, which became a best-seller. McEntire's 19th album was called Starting Over, released in October 1995. Intended to mark the 20th anniversary of her recording career, it was a collection of covers of well-known songs. It not only topped the country charts but hit number five in the pop charts, selling a million copies out of the box. But, boasting only one Top Ten hit, a revival of Lee Greenwood's "Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands," among three chart singles, and not achieving a multi-platinum certification, it suggested that McEntire finally had peaked commercially as far as country music was concerned. (In a considerable departure for a country singer, MCA released a dance remix of McEntire's revival of the Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On" from the album that reached number two on Billboard's dance chart.) That didn't keep her from starring in another TV mini-series, Buffalo Gals, playing famed Western sharpshooter Annie Oakley, a part her rodeo background suited her to perfectly. She bounced back on the country charts somewhat with her 20th album, What If It's You, released in November 1996. The album spawned four Top 20 hits, with "How Was I to Know" reaching number one and "The Fear of Being Alone" and "I'd Rather Ride Around with You" each getting to number two. Simultaneously certified gold and platinum, the album eventually topped two million copies. The singles drawn from What If It's You kept McEntire's name in the country charts throughout 1997, as did the holiday benefit record "What If," the proceeds from which were donated to the Salvation Army. But for the first time since 1978, she did not release a new album, even a compilation, during the calendar year. Aiming for a splash, she teamed up with the popular country duo Brooks & Dunn in the spring of 1998 for a single called "If You See Him/If You See Her." It hit number one in June, helping to set up the release of her 21st album, If You See Him, which also brought her three additional Top Ten hits on its way to selling a million copies. She appeared in the TV movie Forever Love (the title of one of those Top Ten hits) during the year and made several guest-star appearances on TV series. After publishing her second book of memoirs, Comfort from a Country Quilt, in May 1999, McEntire had two new albums ready for the fall. Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection, a September release, was her second holiday CD, which she accompanied with a TV movie, Secret of Giving. The disc eventually went gold. So Good Together, issued in November, was her 22nd regular studio album, prefaced by the Top Five single "What Do You Say." Although none of the songs from the album topped the country charts, it did feature a second Top Five hit, "I'll Be," and a Top 20 hit in "We're So Good Together," and it went platinum before the end of 2000. As in 1997, McEntire went without an album release in 2000, and in this case, it turned out that she definitely was positioning herself for a career beyond country music, as events in 2001 showed. In February of that year, she stepped in as a replacement star in the Broadway revival of Irving Berlin's musical Annie Get Your Gun that had begun performances in 1999 with Bernadette Peters in the title role of Annie Oakley. Barry and Fran Weissler, the producers of the revival, were known on Broadway for making money by keeping production costs down and by the extensive use of what was derisively called "stunt casting": bringing in a well-known personality, often one without much of a theater background, as a replacement to extend the run of a show, as a means of exciting the tourist crowd who would recognize the name of a prominent TV star, for example. McEntire had been preceded as a replacement in Annie Get Your Gun by soap opera star Susan Lucci and TV actress Cheryl Ladd, both of whom kept the show going while being largely ignored or derided by theater insiders. McEntire turned out to be an entirely different proposition. First, although she lacked legitimate theater experience, she had by now done plenty of acting on television and even a little in film. Second, she had long since brought unusually high production values to her concerts that included choreography and costume changes, good preparation for similar demands in the theater. Third, she could, of course, sing. And fourth, with her rodeo background and Oklahoma accent, she was an ideal Annie Oakley, just as she had been in her previous TV portrayal. (Never mind that the real Annie Oakley was from Ohio; in everybody's mind, this female sharpshooter and star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, the precursor to the modern rodeo, was a Westerner.) The result was a triumph for McEntire. Reviews were ecstatic, and tickets sold out. The Tony Awards did not have a category for replacements (one has since been added), but she was given special awards for her performance by the Drama Desk, the Outer Critics Circle, and Theatre World. She stayed in the show until June 22, 2001. Unfortunately, there was no new cast album recorded to immortalize her appearance. During the run of Annie Get Your Gun, McEntire was seen in a small part in the film One Night a McCool's, released in April 2001. Her most extensive filmed acting role began on October 5, 2001, however, when the half-hour situation comedy Reba premiered on the WB TV network (later renamed the CW network). The show became the primary focus of McEntire's activities, and she moved to Los Angeles to accommodate it. She had not, however, given up country music entirely. In the summer of 2001, she released a single, "I'm a Survivor," that peaked in the country Top Five and prefaced a new compilation, Greatest Hits, Vol. 3: I'm a Survivor, released in October. It topped the country charts and went gold. McEntire was occupied primarily with her TV series during 2002 and 2003. After two years, she finally returned to record-making in the summer of 2003 with a new single, "I'm Gonna Take That Mountain," which peaked in the country Top 20. Room to Breathe, her 23rd regular studio album and first in three years, followed in November and went platinum over the next nine months. The disc's second single, "Somebody," hit number one, and it was followed by another Top Ten hit, "He Gets That from Me," and the Top 20 "My Sister." Reba continued on into 2004 and 2005. McEntire found time in the spring of 2005 to return to the musical theater, if only for one night. In another piece of inspired casting, she portrayed the "cock-eyed optimist" from Arkansas, Ensign Nellie Forbush, in a special concert version of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific performed at Carnegie Hall. The all-star production, also featuring Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell and actor Alec Baldwin, was filmed for a PBS special on the network's Great Performances series and recorded for an album, both of which appeared in 2006. By 2005, the catalogs of Mercury and MCA had been combined in the major label Universal, and in November MCA released McEntire's first combined hits collection, the double-CD set Reba: #1's, with two newly recorded tracks. It went gold and platinum simultaneously. In 2006, as she began the sixth season of Reba, McEntire also voiced a character in the holiday film release Charlotte's Web. The sixth season of Reba proved to be the last, as the show signed off the air on February 18, 2007. Not one to sit idle, McEntire toured the U.S. from May 25 through August. On September 18, 2007, she released a new album, Reba Duets, featuring such guests as Justin Timberlake, Don Henley, Kelly Clarkson, Kenny Chesney, Carole King, Faith Hill, Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes, and Trisha Yearwood. It was prefaced by the single "Because of You," a duet with Clarkson. For the week ending October 6, 2007, Reba Duets became McEntire's first album ever to enter the pop charts at number one. The October 28, 2008 release of the three-disc set 50 Greatest Hits marked the conclusion of her contract with MCA Nashville, and McEntire signed to Valory Music. Through the singer’s Starstruck imprint, Valory released her next album, Keep on Loving You, on August 18, 2009. For the week ending September 5, 2009, it became her second album to enter the Billboard pop chart at number one. Not content to rest on her laurels, McEntire issued the single "Turn on the Radio" in the late summer of 2010, which made the Top 30 on Billboard's country chart. The Dann Huff-produced album All the Women I Am was released in the late fall. McEntire returned to television when she starred in the 2012 ABC sitcom Malibu Country; the show was cancelled after one season. In 2015, she returned with Love Somebody, her first album in five years. A year later, McEntire released a holiday-themed album, My Kind of Christmas, which was released in cooperation with the popular restaurant chain Cracker Barrel. ~ William Ruhlmann
Top Albums
| i don't know |
From which of Shakespeare's plays does this quotation come :- The course of true love never did run smooth ? | No Fear Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Act 1, Scene 1, Page 5
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
I must confess that I have heard so much
And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof,
But being overfull of self-affairs,
My mind did lose it.—But, Demetrius, come.
And come, Egeus. You shall go with me.
I have some private schooling for you both.—
For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself
To fit your fancies to your father’s will,
Or else the law of Athens yields you up
(Which by no means we may extenuate)
To death, or to a vow of single life.—
Come, my Hippolyta. What cheer, my love?—
Demetrius and Egeus, go along.
I must employ you in some business
Against our nuptial and confer with you
Of something nearly that concerns yourselves.
THESEUS
I have to admit I’ve heard something about that, and meant to ask Demetrius about it, but I was too busy with personal matters and it slipped my mind.—Anyway, Demetrius and Egeus, both of you, come with me. I want to say a few things to you in private.—As for you, beautiful Hermia, get ready to do what your father wants, because otherwise the law says that you must die or become a nun, and there’s nothing I can do about that.—Come with me, Hippolyta. How are you, my love?—Demetrius and Egeus, come with us. I want you to do some things for our wedding, and I also want to discuss something that concerns you both.
EGEUS
With duty and desire we follow you.
EGEUS
We’re following you not only because it is our duty, but also because we want to.
Exeunt. Manent LYSANDER and HERMIA
They all exit except LYSANDER and HERMIA.
LYSANDER
How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale?
How chance the roses there do fade so fast?
LYSANDER
What’s going on, my love? Why are you so pale? Why have your rosy cheeks faded so quickly?
130
Belike for want of rain, which I could well
Beteem them from the tempest of my eyes.
HERMIA
Probably because my cheeks' roses needed rain, which I could easily give them with all the tears in my eyes.
135
Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,
Could ever hear by tale or history,
The course of true love never did run smooth.
But either it was different in blood—
LYSANDER
Oh, honey! Listen, in books they say that true love always faces obstacles. Either the lovers have different social standings—
| A Midsummer Night's Dream |
In which classic T.V. crime series did Captain Frank Furillo appear ? | 87 Shakespeare Love Quotes | 💕 RomanceFromTheHeart.com
87 Shakespeare Love Quotes
Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs,
Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes,
Being vexed, a sea nourished with lovers' tears.
What is it else? A madness most discreet,
A choking gall and a preserving sweet.
-- William Shakespeare , "Romeo and Juliet | Act 1, Scene 1"
The very instant that I saw you did
My heart fly to your service, there resides
To make me slave to it, and for your sake
Am I this patient log-man.
-- William Shakespeare , "The Tempest | Act 3, Scene 1"
It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.
-- William Shakespeare
You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant;
But yet you draw not iron, for my heart
Is true as steel: leave you your power to draw,
And I shall have no power to follow you.
-- William Shakespeare , "A Midsummer Night's Dream | Act 2, Scene 1"
The course of true love never did run smooth.
-- William Shakespeare , "A Midsummer Night's Dream | Act 1, Scene 1"
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
-- William Shakespeare , "A Midsummer Night's Dream | Act 1, Scene 1"
I'll follow thee and make a heaven of hell,
To die upon the hand I love so well
-- William Shakespeare , "A Midsummer Night's Dream | Act 2, Scene 1"
Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.
-- William Shakespeare , "All's Well That Ends Well | Act 1, Scene 1"
| i don't know |
Rugby union - for which club team do England internationals Stevens, Farrell and Vunipola play ? | England internationals were 'excited' to get back to Saracens, says Owen Farrell | Rugby Union News | Sky Sports
England internationals were 'excited' to get back to Saracens, says Owen Farrell
Last Updated: 27/03/16 11:10pm
Owen Farrell was instrumental in Saracens' 36-18 victory against Exeter on Saturday
Saracens fly-half Owen Farrell says he has found it easy to return to club rugby, following England's Grand Slam Six Nations triumph.
Farrell, along with fellow England internationals Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola, Maro Itoje and George Kruis, returned to help Saracens record a vital 36-18 victory over title rivals Exeter on Saturday .
Sarries, who returned to the top of the Premiership following the victory at Allianz Park, next play Bath on Friday before facing Northampton in a crucial European Champions Cup quarter-final on April 9.
Farrell says he is relishing the upcoming fixtures and believes his side are well placed to challenge for both the English and European titles.
"They are big games," said Farrell.
Jamie George says confidence is high in the Saracens camp but is refusing to think about going all the way in the European Rugby Champions Cup
"You don't feel like you have to pull yourself out of bed to get up for a game against Exeter, and next week we've got Bath away and then Northampton in the quarter-final in Europe.
"It is easy for us to come back into this. Everyone was excited this week to get playing with the boys and to put a good performance in. It is good that we did that.
"We've just come back (from England duty) and cracked on with it.
"Everyone wants to get better here, and that is all everybody wants to do at England. It is just a case of getting on with what's in front of you.
Farrell was part of England's successful Six Nations side, alongside club teammates Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola, Maro Itoje and George Kruis
"To have nine lads away in a period where there is no break between Premiership games is tough for any team."
Meanwhile, Saracens chairman Nigel Wray believes that this year's Six Nations schedule has detracted from the Premiership season.
Eddie Jones is expecting a hard time from his Australian compatriots in June
Wray thinks that Test matches should be played around club fixtures, as in the norm in the southern hemisphere's Super Rugby competition.
"Our supporters don't get to see some of the best players in the land for probably one-third to one-half of the season," Wray said in his programme notes for the Exeter match.
Saracens chairman Nigel Wray has questioned the international rugby schedule's affect on domestic competition
"The southern hemisphere has worked it out so that their Super Rugby season does not compete with international series.
"It is absolutely essential that we organise our season so that the Premiership is not seen as some second-rate product to the Six Nations, but we play at different times and support, rather than compete with, each other.
"We need to work together, not against each other, but the drive has to come from the Premiership clubs, the ones being wounded, the ones seeing their product downgraded."
Farrell believes the issue has been exacerbated by the World Cup held in England last year.
Alex Goode celebrates scoring a try against Exeter
"It's not something I've thought about. It's different this year," he said.
"There have been eight weeks of Premiership games (with the Six Nations players away). Normally there's, what, four? This is a different year because of the World Cup.
"It will be a tough period for some clubs, yeah. They are the cards you are dealt. We just get on with what we've got to do."
| Saracen |
Which predatory insect, with two pairs of large transparent wings, that are spread while resting, can fly the fastest ? The Australian variety can reach a speed of 36 mph ? | Autumn Internationals 2014: England team to play Australia | The Rugby Blog
Autumn Internationals 2014: England team to play Australia
November 27, 2014
42
Stuart Lancaster has made three changes to the England side to take on Australia this weekend, from the one that defeated Samoa.
Billy Twelvetrees gets his first start of the autumn after impressing off the bench last weekend, taking the place of Owen Farrell, who drops to the bench, at inside centre.
In the pack, Dylan Hartley returns to the hooker berth in place of Rob Webber and his Northampton teammate Tom Wood comes back in for James Haskell, who is on the bench, on the blindside. Otherwise it’s as you were from the team that beat Samoa 28-9.
Lancaster said: “It’s good to be able to give Billy his first start of the series. He took on board the feedback we gave him when he first came into camp and he has worked hard both with us and at Gloucester and deserves his chance. Owen is a key part of our squad and will offer a huge amount from the bench.
Video credit: Rugby Media
“The Samoa game gave us the opportunity to give James and Rob a start and they made a good contribution. Tom and Dylan were disappointed not to be in the XV against Samoa.
“They are desperate to go out and perform on Saturday to help us finish the series on a high.”
England team to play Australia:
15. Mike Brown (Harlequins, 32 caps)
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
13. Brad Barritt (Saracens, 21 caps)
12. Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester Rugby, 15 caps)
11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 10 caps)
10. George Ford (Bath Rugby, 5 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 41 caps)
1. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 25 caps)
2. Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints, 60 caps)
3. David Wilson (Bath Rugby, 40 caps)
4. Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
5. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 35 caps)
6. Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 33 caps
7. Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, 31 caps, captain)
8. Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby, 26 caps)
Replacements
16. Rob Webber (Bath Rugby, 11 caps)
17. Matt Mullan (Wasps, 8 caps)
18. Kieran Brookes (Newcastle Falcons, 5 caps)
19. George Kruis (Saracens, 3 caps)
20. James Haskell (Wasps, 52 caps)
21. Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens, 15 caps
22. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 28 caps
23. Marland Yarde (Harlequins, 6 caps)
No surprises, really, given the 23. It’s a decent side (and a great pack), apart from the usual question marks over the centres.
Chris Lacharge says:
I think the Team will play better without Farrell. Twelvetrees is an underrated player and I hope he will perform well. This team should take down the Wallabies
Mike says:
November 27, 2014 at 10:13 am
Hmmm. Getting there. As with I think everyone else, I would prefer not to have Barritt at 13. But I would love for him to prove me wrong. Personnaly I thing both Burrell and JJ are better options, and are both up to the physical challenges.
The rest of the team is much as expected/wanted?.
The forwards look good in set peices and defence. IT is a concern that only our 8 seems to make any meters. possibly that will accelerate Youngs back in at hooker. But that may impact the lineout. Really we should have a front row, second row and one or 2 backs rows who are able to make meters in the tight. The front row need to step up their game in that respect. Attwood and Lawes are also big lumps, so they should be making meters, ot just hitting and going down.
The back row? Wood and Robshaw have never been the hardest carriers (though Robshaw is always willing). But there have been a number of occasions when that has not been a problem. In Lancaster terms it must come down to consistency. They (being 1 to 8) need to play in this way every time, with the front 5 taking more carrying duties, and effectively. Or he has to change the back row so that we can consistently make yards in the tight.
Against New Zealand, Attwood made the most metres of any England player but May – so he is capable.
Mike says:
Almost all of which were in his one gallop which ended in him butchering a gilt edged chance. Not the hardest yards.
Pablito says:
I’d have said any yards made by a lock against NZ are by definition hard yards
brighty says:
November 27, 2014 at 4:46 pm
One reason I hate stats – yards made is so misleading. 1) The fullback nearly always tops the stat because he’s catching and running the ball back up to the first man. He could fail to beat that man every time and still have a great yards made stat. I’d like to see “yards made beyond the gainline” instead. 2) One phase of play, one screwy defence or missed tackle and all of a sudden a plodder is a hero as he has a chance to run the length of the field. Conversely a tackling machine with an eye for a great pass (or a scrumhalf) makes an anemic amount of yards in most matches. Stats schmats.
Jimi says:
Metres made beyond the gain line. That is an excellent idea!
Benjit says:
November 27, 2014 at 10:32 am
What’s done is done, my reservations aside, time to get behind the team.
It will be interesting to see how 12t performs outside a more attacking fly half. Hopefully that will free 12t up to play more as a secondary rather than primary playmaker.
Would also like to see improvements in the forwards too who have been far from perfect. Better breakdown work and fewer penalties please.
Still don’t feel very confident about a win though.
Pablito says:
All depends on how well we retain the ball. Need to hit the rucks hard and disrupt their possession, and absolutely not kick it to their backs in space (which is less likely without Farrell)
Mr Bronstein says:
Top hole that man…..more champagne and caviar from the back of the £80k Range Rover at the Twickers West Car park…Must remember to wear the blazer and the old public school tie.
Hurrah …Hurrah…… we going to smash the oiks……
Play up Tomkinson …… play up man ……or we’ll let lose Greybridge’s School’s Leopard
Wonder if any Aussie’s had relatives in WWI or WWII?
They’ll just love the new England shirt with its VC emblems that of course belongs only to the English Rugby Team and no-one else..
brighty says:
Hello Enid. Still fighting your misguided class war I see.
Jonny says:
November 27, 2014 at 11:27 am
Scrum and lineout should go England’s way. Aus tight 5 aren’t overly powerful ball in hand either, but I agree with others above who feel it is a concern for England going forward. Mako Vunipola and Tom Youngs when fit could bring a ball carrying impact, albeit most likely off the bench.
Back row simply have to step up, Hooper is very fast around the pitch, but isn’t actually that difficult to remove from rucks, the question will be whether the England pack can get there quick enough to remove him before conceding a penalty.
Loss of Kuridrani is a massive boost for England, he’s probably been their best player this season. AAC is a classy player, but I think Barritt will be able to shackle him.
I reckon England can get a lot of joy from turning the two wingers. England definitely have the advantage in terms of pace over them, and despite Folau’s AFL stint, his kicking game isn’t all that, but England need to put the ball into touch, not straight down his throat.
I still have nightmares about Toomua steamrollering 12T a year ago. He surely must be on his last chance now.
Blub says:
With reference to the heavy carriers, Brookes seems to be quite proficient in this area. Not sure about the “official stats” but he appeared very dynamic around the pitch on saturday.
Dazza says:
November 27, 2014 at 1:30 pm
So Webber and Haskell were just starters for the Samoa game. Personally I think both should feel hard done by. Haskell in particular bought more physicality to the 6 role than we’ve seen from Wood for some time. Aside from that I’m not disappointed or surprised by this selection. I hope 12T and Barritt can play well together and prove a lot of people wrong. I also hope that Wiggy gets a bit more time on the pitch this week. I still think he has something to offer in the 9 role, that we haven’t seen for some time. i.e. a 9 who makes a nuisance of himself around the fringes and kicks efficiently.
I assume they have the data to back it up (they do love their laptops). Probably it’s the ability to keep it up for the full 80, Haskell is more likely to replace Morgs than Wood.
Dazza says:
November 27, 2014 at 4:31 pm
Oh I’m sure they have all the statistics to prove they’re point. Just a shame they can’t watch what’s happening on the pitch to decide who should play.
You’re probably right about him replacing Morgan. If Wood and Robshaw play the way they have been when Bill V has been playing at 8, then Morgan will be knackered at the end of the first half.
I hope I’m wrong, and they all play their socks off, carry the ball, and destroy the gain line, but I just can’t see it happening. If Hooper breaks a tackle, or slips through a gap (as he often does around the rucks), would you trust Wood or Robshaw to have the pace to catch him and drag him down? Not sure I would. I guess that’s why Barritt is in, as the extra flanker!! ;-)
Blub says:
November 27, 2014 at 3:02 pm
Dazza, I agree with you on the Haskell view. It is interesting that they have chosen Haskell for the bench as ordinarily they go with the spare No8 on the bench. I feel that Wood is more destructive than Haskell and I can see that they may feel they can target the Aussie breakdown better with Wood disrupting any quick ball they may hope for, and then Haskell coming on later with better ball carrying and more finesse at the breakdown.
By “finesse” I don’t mean to say that he lacks physicality, but i feel he can target the ball more constructively than Wood.
Wigglesworth – again, completely agree.
November 27, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Blub, Haskell is the spare 6, 7 & 8 for this match. No Billy V, and no Waldrom (thank god) on the bench. I just think Haskell is a more dynamic player with ball in hand. Wood might be better at the breakdown, but isn’t that what Robshaw is for? I would like to see a more dynamic player at 6. This has been the problem when Billy V has played at 8. No-one else in the back row taking the ball up in attack. I suspect Morgan is going to get very tired this Saturday afternoon. Haskell could find himself on early!
Much as I want England to win and play well, I can’t help but feel we’re in for another dull trudging performance with no dynamics in the pack. Apart from Haskell last week, the only other forward whose carried the ball memorably is Attwood, and when he’s come on Kruis hasn’t done bad.
Which game were you watching? Haskell made precisely 0m from zero carries against Samoa.
Dazza says:
November 28, 2014 at 11:15 am
You got your laptop out again? I think in general Haskell is a better ball carrier than Wood, and Moran and Billy V need an extra ball carrier in the back row. Wood is a good player, probably better than Robshaw in a lot of respects. I just wonder if we had either one or the other instead of both, would it improve our go forward ball?
November 28, 2014 at 11:31 am
Yes, in general he is. As a Bath supporter I can tell you Webber, Attwood and Wilson also like a carry. So why aren’t they doing it? Is it because they can’t make the step up, or are they actively being told not to?
Dazza says:
I wonder the same thing. Is it something to do with the way Bomber wants the team to play? If so, it seems a little odd.
Blub says:
November 27, 2014 at 4:48 pm
Yes Dazza, that is what Robshaw is for, but I believe that against Australia, who will hope to recycle the ball quickly all over the park, they want Wood in the same role.
To be honest, Attwood carries a lot for Bath, and for England Marler, Lawes and Hartley also have to step up here. Brookes also when he comes on.
Bath, in contrast, have five back-rowers in the 23 (if we believe in Burgess being a back-rower), 4 of whom are big ball carriers, and the fifth is a second row
Don P says:
November 27, 2014 at 1:38 pm
Mike
I say, steady on, aren’t you beginning to sound like me (re Attwood)! You make sense tho.
Don P says:
November 27, 2014 at 2:02 pm
Orthodox. Agree hard on Webber, Haskell. Can’t tell from 1 game, but team selected by coaches who really need a win. Again gone ‘D’ 1st with Barritt. What if he gets crocked? Farrell? Burrell or Eastmond would have made more sense. England must run @ Oz. Ford to kick quite a bit. Likely tight. Maybe ref’s call/s? Common dictates a home advantage win, but…?
PS Who the hell’s Mr Bronstein? Not the Charles Bronswotsit cop character who used to rough justice shoot loadsa film baddies is he?
brighty says:
November 27, 2014 at 2:57 pm
I’m looking forward to this game as the inclusion of Ford means I can’t predict the phases from kick off. This is the type of game Ford can make his name in. Whatever happens I hope SL doesn’t ditch him and start the 6Ns with Farrel – that would be too Andy Robinsonesque. 12Ts – last chance saloon. I don’t watch the English Prem much so I’ve mostly seen him misfire in Euro tournaments or for England (I say mostly, I know he’s had the odd good moment, but “creative” he hasn’t been).
The bench looks soporific – Yarde, Farrel, Wigglesworth … England better hope they’re 15 points up before they need to sub any of the backline on.
Dazza says:
November 27, 2014 at 4:35 pm
Agree with you on 12T’s Brighty. A lot of people moaning about Barritt, but at least he’s consistent. 12T’s has blown hot and cold in all his England matches. Never sure what you’re going to get. And as far as as I know, he’s never played alongside Ford? It could be amazing, boring, or an absolute disaster defensively in the 10-12 channel. There’s just no predicting it?
brighty says:
For a neutral Dazza it’s the unpredictability of it that makes it exciting. As a fan though I can imagine it’s a bit too exciting sometimes.
Mike says:
Thanks Brighty, I appreciate the support…
Dazza says:
I’ve been growing my fingernails especially!!
Jimi says:
November 27, 2014 at 5:52 pm
Hi Dazza, both players started their careers at Leicester Tigers so have plenty of experience playing and training together. Cockers ridiculous selection policy forced them to move. And Brighty, I will be absolutely devastated if we have to use any of our bench except for Yard. I bet Cipriani is fuming at someone terribly out of form being picked ahead of him.
Dazza says:
I thought 12T had already left before Ford really came on the scene at Tigers. They may have played some A league games together, but I don’t think they ever played together at any level higher than that?
Jimi says:
November 27, 2014 at 5:46 pm
I’m so disenchanted by where the team is going recently. Every time we have a chance to look at creative players they are never given an opportunity. In almost can’t wait to see slamming Sam in the centre’s with manu now. But if we were going to have such massive ball carriers we would need Watson at full back and another lightning quick winger like yarde or wade taking his place. Brown doesn’t pass the ball enough. Those two passes from the last game must have been two of three he has made in his entire international career.
Our back row are pretty pathetic when it comes to ball carrying. Would love some sort of ashley johnson type to arrive that can smash some holes and cause some chaos.
And sorry, Lancaster did make Farrell look undropable and undermined his own professionalism by persevering with a player that’s so out of form and fitness. The whole point of having a squad is so we can breed strength in depth so we have options if someone isn’t firing on all cylinders.
Imagine what it must have been like for 12t, burrell and eastmond when an out of form and fitness fly half is chosen over three genuine inside centres for the 12 role. Pretty demoralising. And all the excuses about kicking and defense is a load of rubbish. Eastmond was just as tight in defence as Farrell was inside barritt. Farrell actually made a woeful attempted tackle where it resembled him slapping the guy on the chest.
simon scantlebury says:
November 28, 2014 at 8:39 am
I can’ see anything other than a boring mechanical laboured performabce by this team.Coaching is too full of stats and management speak.The Australian approach is so different and refreshing.Sadly we are likely to get a dull flat uninspired England that will depress us all
Blub says:
November 28, 2014 at 11:28 am
Well looking through my half full glass, I see a back three full of pace, with a clever passing 10 and 12, and a 9 who threatens the fringe defenders.
that is not intended to be a slight on Barritt, but I do think that his defence is very important to the team, and that if he is not the next Guscott/Horan/Sella (showing my age?) then thats OK if he has passers inside him and runners outside.
ps I would prefer Eastmond at 12, and love Burrells lines, but do worry about his defensive positions.
Why do I get the impression that all the contributors to this site all know each other?
Anyhoo,back to the rugby. I said that Hartley and Wood were shoe ins for this game.
Whenever Lancaster trots out the “he’s been showing a lot of promise and deserves his chance” line, the subtext is always “I don’t really trust you/think you are good enough,but I picked you so I’ll give you one run out just to look more flexible than I really am”.
Haskelll and Webber need games,particularly webber in order to ensure they are genuine deputies(if not actual starters) come the 6N.
Re the team? Pretty much what was expected. Lancaster has to settle on a midfield pairing though.
Tempus fugit Stuart!
November 28, 2014 at 5:31 pm
Jimi
Yr last sentence is something I’ve apparently ‘regurgitated’ since Adam, but I can’t resist it. Spot on! And I didn’t mention the ‘C’ word.
Don P says:
November 28, 2014 at 5:46 pm
Jimi
Yr 2nd blog is also spot on! The only criticism I have of yr comments is that you simply DON’T regurgitate them enough (joke). If I do, I get flack, black balled, sent to Coventry etc, but for me, have put yr finger on the REAL issues for England. Maybe it’s because I’m SH, &/or have a slack bedside manner, of repeat the ‘truth’ tooooo often… but it ain’t just me then. If I were English, I’d be as concerned as you are. My perception is that others don’t really take in these issues that England have, but maybe it’s just that, perception? But I agree with you. Glad you ‘said’ it tho.
| i don't know |
"Millionaire businessman Alan Sugar hosts the BBC's popular reality show ""The Apprentice"". This show was adapted from the original U.S. Show, where it was hosted by which millionaire businessman ?" | The Business Show December 2015 Show Guide by Prysm Group - issuu
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3 & 4 DECEMBER 2015 THURSDAY 10AM - 6PM
FRIDAY 10AM - 5PM
OLYMPIA, LONDON
MAKE 2016 YOUR MOST PROFITABLE YEAR EVER! EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO START, GROW AND IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS
TOP GUEST FUNDING LEADING OPPORTUNITIES SPEAKERS EUROPE’S BIGGEST BUSINESS SHOW
1 UNMISSABLE EVENT
INDUSTRY 25,000 VISITORS OVER 350
EXPERTS 250 FREE EXHIBITORS 170 MASTERCLASS
NETWORKING
SESSIONS SEMINARS FEATURES Speed Networking bussiness opportunies
HEADLINE SUPPORTER
SPONSORED BY
YINGDE GROUP
4N SPEED NETWORKING INTERACTIVE MASTERCLASSES MIDAS TOUCH SPEED NETWORKING BUSINESSES FOR SALE LIVE BUSINESS JUNCTION BUSINESS CONNECTIONS ANGELS DEN YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY SEMINAR SCHEDULE EXHIBITOR LISTINGS FLOOR PLAN
04 15 18 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 33 68 84
TWEET US
THE
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
EUROPE’S BIGGEST BUSINESS SHOW IS BACK Two days in December could define your business’ future; that’s why we have more than 350 exhibitors, 250 seminars, and 140 masterclasses to give you the information that will grow your business into a monster. We’ve gathered a globe’s worth of information and assembled a world class array of business minds all under one roof to ensure your business dream starts here. On December the 3rd and 4th, Olympia London will see a phenomenal level of insight, knowledge, and education passionately delivered to you by eminent leaders of the business world. Starting on the next page, you’ll find every single detail on our exclusive range of masterclasses, seminars, and features. Our line-up of speakers continues our proud tradition of attracting business’ most influential names. Through their business acumen and extensive experience, their seminars are essential to anyone with serious plans for their business. Over its two-day duration, we have serial entrepreneur, Touker Suleyman; David Gold, one of the UK’s most revered businessmen; Inspirational entrepreneur Alfie Best; MyBeautyMatches.com founder Nidhima Kohli; and Brad Burton, the UK’s no 1 motivational speaker. Also available will be key representatives of leading brands such as Facebook, Vodafone, KPMG, Bupa, and many more. There’s a full listing of every seminar taking place during the show’s duration, making planning of your trip easier and ensuring you don’t miss out on what you have to see! Every session is rich in education and will light your business spark. There are 140 masterclasses covering a plethora of key topics,
from digital marketing and selling online to looking at how social media can boost your business. Each session is delivered to you by an expert, and they’ll provide you with any answers – and more – to the questions you need to ask. Networking at our event is made easy through Speed Networking and Business Connections. Popular live features return, such as Angels Den and Midas Touch, where you have the chance to make the pitch of a lifetime to someone who can instantly change your business fortunes. Even if you’re not ready to persuade one of the affluent investors to part with their cash, you can watch those that are from the safety of the audience. Places for masterclasses and many of the features are limited and fill up fast, so make sure you don’t miss out – book your place now at www.thebusinessshow.co.uk. Every one of the exhibitors contributing to the show is listed at the rear of this guide as well as a floor plan so you know how to get to them. Build the blocks to your business empire and tower over the competition with The Business Show. We look forward to seeing you at the show.
The Business Show Team
ALSO AT THE SHOW
TECHPRENEUR 2015 Techpreneur 2015 is the UK’s number one exhibition and conference for early stage and start-up businesses operating in the most progressive and dynamic sector of British business. Receive expert advice from industry leaders on the critical issues facing your business, network with 10,000 other tech business owners and explore the magnitude of opportunity available to your business as it seeks to scale up its operation.
Going Global is the biggest and most comprehensive exhibition around solely dedicated to assisting businesses making the significant leap into international expansion, and provides a mixture of expert knowledge and guidance with honest insight that’s imperative when entering global markets and cultures.
15 | 4N SPEED NETWORKING
18 | MASTERCLASSES
24 | MIDAS TOUCH
Meet new contacts, prospects and clients at this hugely entertaining networking feature created by the people behind 4Networking.
Focussing on the areas crucial for every business to thrive, these sessions give your business the best chance of success.
Pitch to a panel of investors who’ve all built up multi-million pound businesses – and could help you do the same.
25 | SPEED NETWORKING
26 | BUSINESSES FOR SALE
28 | BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
Make the most contacts in the minimum amount of time with this intensive programme of one-minute mini-meetings.
Providing you with the expert advice, hints, tips and resources necessary when buying or selling a business.
Pin your business card to our wall and let your new prospects, partners and suppliers come to you!
29 | ANGELS DEN
33 | SEMINAR SCHEDULE
60 | TECHPRENEUR
Present your business concept to business angels and gain their financial backing with the pitch of a lifetime.
Benefit from an unparalleled schedule of seminars that provide everything you need presented by the very best speakers.
The very first event dedicated to the country’s most progressive and dynamic early-stage and start-up tech businesses.
04 | KEYNOTE SPEAKERS The Business Show will deliver the finest line-up of speakers the business world can offer. Our keynote schedule will provide you with an unsurpassable depth of knowledge and insight to help you start, grow and establish your business.
We have assembled a line-up of speakers to present our exclusive seminar schedule that simply cannot be matched by any other event; in front of you will be a prominent, experienced and inspirational expert, ready to pass on their insight, guidance and ambition to you. These are the people we’ve hand-picked to present this exclusive series of keynote seminars for you throughout both days of The Business Show. We’re proud to bring you an unrivalled selection of the very finest business leaders in Britain today, delivering an essential mix of advice, ideas,
and inspiration that will benefit any business, whether you’re just starting out or moving into the big leagues. The next few pages detail every keynote speaker and their seminars so that you can make sure you don’t miss the session that’s imperative to you. If your hot topic isn’t covered, don’t forget to check out the full seminar schedule later in this guide for more chances to hear first-hand from the experts that can change your business fortunes. Don’t miss out! Get there early.
TOUKER SULEYMAN
THE CLOTHING KING IN THE DRAGONS’ DEN
ALASTAIR COOK MBE
THE ENGLAND CRICKET CAPTAIN
HOW HE BOUGHT HAWES & CURTIS FOR £1 AND TURNED IT INTO A MULTI-MILLION POUND BUSINESS In 2000, Touker Suleyman bought the luxury menswear brand Hawes & Curtis for £1. Today, the brand is free of debt, boasts a £21m turnover, and has stores across Britain. Now a star of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, Touker’s story is one of determination to achieve his goals no matter what challenge stands in his way. After arriving in the UK, when Touker wasn’t in school he was spending his time working in the family restaurant where, through the inspiration he gained from his father’s work ethic, he learned many of the values he maintains to this day: hard work, determination and always making time for family. Touker’s interest in retail and manufacturing developed early in life when he purchased his grandmother’s clothes to sell onto her friends. This soon become a business and in 1976 Kingsland Models, a clothing manufacturer,
was born, eventually supplying the likes of C&A and Topshop. As a young businessman driven by a burning ambition to quickly grow, Touker’s rawness and naivety would see him descend to the depths of desperation. Following the liquidation of one of his companies, Touker was forced to sell off his home in order to repay debts. Touker’s extraordinary resolve saw him bounce back with the ladies wholesale business, Low Profile, and later he purchased the British menswear brand Hawes & Curtis, transforming the ailing business’ fortunes. In 2008, Touker added British womenswear label `Ghost’, and alongside his active portfolio of investments and media career, the Touker Suleyman story truly is one to inspire.
As England’s all-time record Test run scorer and a multiple record breaker, Alastair Cook has become one of English sport’s most celebrated figures, and as captain of the side since 2012, he has led teams in some of the most hostile environments the game can offer. Through a combination of outstanding ability and a talent to lead his team through the most pressure-filled situations across the globe, Alastair has earned a reputation as being one of the game’s most distinguished and resolute captains. But with the great honour of captaining your country comes unique pressure; Alastair’s role is rarely out of the public eye. His position is perpetually the subject of great interest and scrutiny from the media and public alike, whether it’s for his playing, captaining or selection of the side.
Alastair s ning item will be sig Gordon and at Slater ices egal Serv L s s e Busin , 3 mber 5 0 stand nu te o keyn after his seminar.
THURSDAY | 14:45 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
Leading A Winning Team FRIDAY | 14.00 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
Q & A With A Fashion Retail King Hear from one of the nation’s leading fashion entrepreneurs and influential manufacturers as he shares with you some of the stories, tips and techniques he’s experienced throughout his long and distinguished business career in this exclusive Q&A.
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At The Business Show with his sponsor Slater and Gordon Business Legal Services, Alastair will provide insights into his approach in leading the national team across the globe against some of the game’s best and most competitive teams in front of the world’s most partisan crowds. Alastair will also reveal his strategies in dealing with the pressure and demands that come with being both a professional athlete and captain of the England cricket team, drawing on moments from his illustrious career.
DAVID GOLD
ONE OF THE UK’S MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMEN OWNER OF GOLD GROUP INTERNATIONAL, ANN SUMMERS AND WEST HAM UNITED. David Gold is one of the country’s most prominent and well recognised businessmen. Best known as the owner of Gold Group International and its parent company Ann Summers, David’s success is made all the more remarkable through an upbringing which was beset with poverty and the austerity of the war years. An astute business mind and relentless desire to succeed aren’t the only driving forces in David’s story, with an overwhelming determination to never return to the poverty he and his family endured in the early part of his life also fuelling his steadfast motivation. David has enjoyed a remarkable business career that has kept him in the public eye for over 50 years. From an early age he showed signs of the entrepreneur he would become by running a card and sweet shop from the front room of the family home. He went onto run a
ALFIE BEST
bookstore in Charing Cross, before branching out into publishing, printing and distribution. It was with Ann Summers where David’s rise to become one of British retailing’s most distinguished entrepreneurs started. Currently with 140 stores in the UK and beyond, it has been an established high street brand for over forty years. Other ventures have seen David combine his interest in flying with Gold Air International and pour his enduring passion for football into
steering Birmingham City into the Premier League and, since 2010, seen him serve as co-chairman of West Ham United, the club that offered him an apprenticeship as a schoolboy.
THURSDAY | 14.00 KEYNOTE HALL 1
Q & A With David Gold David Gold will be interviewed on stage about his rags to riches story from an East London council estate to the owner of one of England’s most famous football clubs.
MY BIG FAT GYPSY FORTUNE THE SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR WHO WENT FROM RAGS TO RICHES Coming from an extremely poor Romany Gypsy background, Alfie’s desire and will to succeed has seen him become one of the UK’s most inspirational business figures. Nowadays he has successful businesses within the hospitality and leisure, events, trading and finance industries – as well as enjoying continued success with Wyldecrest Parks.
FRIDAY | 12.30 KEYNOTE HALL 1
Having left school at the age of 12, Alfie had already been working for two years as a labourer with his father before starting his first business at the age of 17 with a van hire centre and dealership in Forest Gate.
resolve and business prowess to launch his own mobile phone business just three months after begging for a job in a local mobile phone store; 18 months later he would have 13 of his own shops across London.
Alfie’s progression was interrupted when the recession struck in 1990. Having to start from scratch, Alfie relied upon his extraordinary
Following the sale of this business, and after a venture into the commercial property sector, Alfie embarked on a business in the motor home industry, buying his first in 2001 for £1.75m. Since then, the business has blossomed to become Wyldecrest Parks, soon to be the UK’s largest park home operator with over 40 (and counting) premier residential parks across the country.
From Rags To Riches – How Romany Gypsy Alfie Best Built A Business Worth £200m All you need for your business to succeed is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. This is Alfie Best’s philosophy. Surrounded by the right team, with his hands-on approach and his very unique business style, he built a successful business totally from scratch. And today he shares all his story and his secrets to succeed.
Alfie also successfully ventured into the restaurant industry with the Rare Cow chain, before selling it on. Alfie’s success continues to prove how a dynamic attitude and modern spirit can see you prosper no matter how humble your beginnings may have been.
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JAMIE BARBER
THE UK’S MOST ACCLAIMED RESTAURANTPRENEUR FOUNDER AND CEO OF HUSH RESTAURANT AND CABANA BRASILIAN BARBECUE GROUP A renowned and distinguished restauranteur and founder and CEO of Hush restaurant in Mayfair, London, and the Cabana Brasilian Barbecue group, Jamie Barber has forged a lauded reputation for choosing and launching a variety of restaurant concepts.
SHAA WASMUND MBE
BUILDING YOUR ONLINE EMPIRE FOUNDER OF SMARTA, BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND INFLUENTIAL DIGITAL ENTREPRENEUR As a business owner, digital consultant, and critically acclaimed author, Shaa Wasmund is one of Britain’s most influential digital entrepreneurs, and her guidance in online money making could see your ambitions become reality. Shaa is used to getting to number one. Not only is she the founder of Smarta.com, the UK’s number one online resource for entrepreneurs, but she’s also a number one bestselling author of ‘Stop Talking, Start Doing: A Kick in the Pants in Six Parts’. Her latest book, ‘Live Life Your Way’ came out in May. Having received an MBE in 2015 for services to business and entrepreneurship, Shaa’s ability | to create positive action with her no-nonsense, no-excuse advice remains as influential amongst her clients as ever before.
THURSDAY 14.00 KEYNOTE HALL 2
How To Make Money Online Using The Skills You Already Have
Shaa inspires positive action with her no-nonsense, no-excuse advice, and here she’ll share her formula for freedom: how to escape the busy trap, stop trading time for money and build an online business with multiple, recurring revenues around the skills, expertise and knowledge you already have. Discover how to stop doing everything at once in order to have the time do anything you want and build a business and life on your terms.
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Jamie trained as an entertainment lawyer at media law firm Harbottle & Lewis where he acted for clients including Sir Roger Moore. In 2000, he left the company to work with Sir Roger`s son, Geoffrey, to create a new venue, Hush, with founding shareholders including Evgeny Lebedev and Geoffrey and Sir Roger Moore. Since then, Jamie’s opened two smaller Hush Brasseries in Holborn and St Paul`s in May 2013. A year later, Hush Mayfair received the prestigious “Test of Time” award at the Tatler Restaurant Awards, an accolade that recognises restaurants over 10 years old which, in the words of host/Tatler Restaurant Awards editor Jeremy Wayne, “Are still as good as the day they opened.” In November 2011, Jamie and his business
NICK GOLD
MD OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING SPEAKER AGENCIES Nick Gold is managing director of Speakers Corner, a market-leading speaking bureau and one of the world’s leading speaker agencies. With a background in the first dotcom boom and then Centrica PLC in business development, bid tendering and project management, Nick was looking for an opportunity to create something new and grow his own company. Over 10 years ago, the chance came when his path crossed with a fledgling speaker bureau owner. Nowadays working with his brother and partner Tim, together they’ve grown the business tenfold and are proud that their speaker consultation & booking company work on over 1000 events a year across six continents. Nick has held a number of industry association positions and is currently chairman of the European Association of Speaker Bureaus.
FRIDAY | 14.00 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
Speakers Corner And Delivering Content Strategy For Company Events A look at the world of conferences, seminars and events from the perspective of external speakers, facilitators and hosts. Planning an event to ensure delivery of content and message to a wide audience is a very powerful tool in both engagement and adding value and delivering content. How to maximise the effectiveness of content in events is something that Speakers Corner has spent the last 14 years immersed in.
partner, Momo Restaurant founder David Ponte, opened Cabana Restaurants at Westfield Stratford and Covent Garden, and Westfield London nine months after that. Cabana’s fourth and fifth sites opened in Wembley’s London Design Outlet and Islington’s Upper Street, followed by Trinity Leeds Centre , and a flagship in Greenwich O2 in Autumn 2014. 2015 saw the opening of Cabana Brixton and Manchester, with a proposed five sites per year planned over the next 2 - 3 years.
THURSDAY | 11.45 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
So You Want To Start A Restaurant? Award-winning restaurant owner Jamie Barber runs through the thought processes behind restaurant start-ups and how to maximise your financial success.
DANIEL MURRAY
BRINGING FASHION TO THE FINGERTIPS As an online shopping enthusiast, Daniel Murray thought it would be great to have one big fashion wish list in one place. Since then, his idea has raised over £1.8 million for an app that has been named ‘Best New App’ by Apple in 34 countries. Grabble is the UK’s fastest growing mobile commerce app, co-founded by Daniel. Evolved from the web into a mobile focused product, he has created one of the UK’s most loved fashion apps, which has also been featured as the “Best Shopping App” by Apple alongside Zara and Topshop. Dan has previously worked in a film studio as a screenplay researcher, in publishing and creative advertising, and eventually in media. Over this time, Dan has worked with major technology brands like Amazon, Spotify, and Intel, helping them define their creative PR strategies for engaging the youth market in the UK at various agencies.
THURSDAY | 11.00 KEYNOTE HALL 1
How To Raise £1 Million For Your Start-Up With No Prior Experience Learn how to take the plunge from a normal job and dive straight into the unknown, with no relevant experience, and armed only with a sense of adventure and determination to do something different with your life.
JULIEN CALLÈDE
COO OF MADE.com, EUROPE’S SECOND FASTEST GROWING TECH COMPANY ONE OF THE DESIGN FURNITURE INDUSTRY’S MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURES Co-founder and COO of MADE.com, Julien Callède and his team are continuing to take the online high street by storm. By offering original furniture design at affordable prices, it’s no wonder this retailer is only getting bigger and bigger… Past experience in the sourcing business enabled Julien to realise the potential in the furniture design industry for innovative entrepreneurs, and with a wealth of knowledge in operations and management, Julien founded MADE.com together with his business partner Chloé Macintosh and school friend Ning Li. Originally from Nantes in Western France, but now based in London, Julien achieved a master’s degree from the hugely prestigious Ecole HEC PARIS university before moving onto his first job in retailing – door-to-door selling of educational books in the USA. At MADE.com, he oversees sourcing, IT and supply chain. Made.com has remained one of the UK’s fastest growing tech firms. High quality products with a cheaper price tag than their competitors has seen the company double their revenue each year since its 2010 birth, so it’s time to sit back, relax, and listen to this informed opinion leader.
THURSDAY | 14.45 KEYNOTE HALL 2
Thinking Outside The Box - Make Your Business Unique Julien will discuss the Made.com business model and give insights about growth, how to manage it, overcome challenges and alter your business model to increase profitability. This will be followed by a Q & A session.
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BRAD BURTON
THE UK’S NO 1 MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER @BradBurton
PREPARE FOR A MOTIVATIONAL TALK LIKE NO OTHER With his tattoos, t-shirt, and jeans, you’d be forgiven for thinking Brad Burton doesn’t look like your typical business leader; but doubt his business brain at your peril, as this self-made man has the power to transform your business.
THURSDAY | 15.30 | KEYNOTE HALL 1 FRIDAY | 14.45 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
Brad’s unique take on business speaks to everyone, regardless of your position or industry sector. Brad’s rise to become the UK’s no 1 motivational speaker is a hugely inspirational one and is described in his first book, ‘Get Off Your Arse’.
Can Someone Really Motivate You To Change Your Life In 25 Minutes? Can someone really motivate you to change your life in 25 minutes? Yup. Take the challenge and find out. Get there early. Once every seat is full, there is no stopping him. Highest rated & reviewed Amazon business author, founder of 4Networking and the UK’s #1 motivational business speaker brings his unique brand of wisdom, humour and high energy presentation to the always packed audience. Winning at life is more important than coming first in business. As you’ll find out.
SHWETA JHAJHARIA
Brad is now the highest rated & reviewed business author on Amazon. Brad left school with no qualifications and spent years on the dole before starting his own business in 2006. Soon £25,000 in debt, he ended up delivering pizzas to keep the business afloat. Unable to find a style of networking that worked for him, Brad started 4Networking, which obviously now works for many others too as it is the UK’s only joinedup business network with 5,000+ meetings each year. As a speaker, Brad packs halls with his energetic and participative sessions, a sure-fire hit at numerous business shows. Author of three books, his most recent one is ‘LIFE. BUSINESS. JUST GOT EASIER’. Brad will change the way you approach your life, business and direction forever.
COACHING YOU INTO ACTION
When you’ve been winning the London Business Coach of the Year award consistently since 2009, and in recent years overseen your clients achieve an average growth of 41%, demand for your services is going to be sky high.
THURSDAY | 11.00 | KEYNOTE HALL 2 THURSDAY | 13.15 | TECHPRENEUR HALL
Building The Ultimate Sales And Marketing Machine Too many businesses hit an income ceiling, and never make the kind of money (or the kind of impact) that they are capable of. They get stuck at one of the three plateaus: survival, stability or even success. And this is not because of inadequate information about what the really successful companies out there are doing! It is because of an inability to identify the simple actions and core strategies that need to be implemented to create an “ultimate sales and marketing machine” in the business
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With results like that, it’s little wonder that Shweta Jhajharia has been the recipient of such a consistent and high level of recognition on so many occasions; and now is your chance to benefit from her expertise. Included amongst her achievements are the prestigious awards for ‘Global Best Client Results’ in 2012, and ‘Fastest Growing Coaching Business’ in 2010, finishing above over 1,000 coaches globally. Before starting her ActionCOACH journey in 2008, Shweta worked internationally in sales and marketing and was global marketing manager with Unilever.
BILL MORROW
ALTERNATIVE FINANCE LEADER
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURE IN ALTERNATIVE FINANCE Always a huge draw at The Business Show, the unique Bill Morrow will captivate you with his energetic and thoroughly entertaining presentation on the hazardous process of securing funding. A serial entrepreneur, Bill has been creating, building and selling businesses for the last 25 years. He is CEO and co-founder of Angels Den, the angel-led crowdfunding platform, and he has recently been named the most influential person in alternative finance by City AM. Bill started his working life as an accountant with Virgin and quickly moved into investment banking in the City of London. He set up an
JONATHAN PFAHL
international financial recruitment company, which he sold to a Wall Street Bank in 2001. Since then he has been making his own investments. Bill is passionate that every credible business looking to grow, in any part of the world, should have the opportunity to access funding. Since founding Angels Den in 2007, he has changed the rules on angel investing and led the way in making investment truly accessible to great businesses.
THE ROCKSTAR OF MENTORING
Jonathan Pfahl is a perennial favourite at The Business Show, with his fascinating, inspirational, and hugely entertaining talks on how he became the leader of the largest mentoring and investment firm for entrepreneurs. Jonathan is the founder and managing director of the Rockstar Mentoring Group, and he and his team are a consistent attraction at the show, with their Rockstar Mentoring Village consisting of hourly mentoring run by the man himself, the always popular Midas Touch show feature run by some of his mentors, and a stand filled with clients and team members ready to answer all your questions. Passionate, dynamic, and hugely interesting, Jonathan and the Rockstar Group will keep you entertained all day long!
ROSS KINGSLAND
Ross Kingsland is passionate that the ability to inspire others to act is the difference between success and failure; this is why he has dedicated his life to inspiring others and applying his ideas to help organisations achieve the results they are seeking. Ross is the founder of InceptionGrowth.net and InceptionElite.com, two companies dedicated to supporting organisations committed to accelerated growth and outstanding results. Their clients include Uber, TransferWise, Protein World and Clarins. Ross is an international speaker and advisor to companies, individuals and politicians to support them in achieving the result they want.
What Do Angels Really Bring? And It’s NOT All About The Money… If you want to learn about the do’s and don’ts of looking for funding, how to pitch to investors, what investors are really looking for and how to impress them, learn from the expert, Bill Morrow, who’s been there, done it and seen it all.
THURSDAY | 12.30 KEYNOTE HALL 2 FRIDAY | 16:15 KEYNOTE HALL 1
How To Adapt Your Sales And Marketing Model For The 21st Century A big favourite at the Business Show and making his 16th Appearance in the last eight years, Rockstar founder Jonathan Pfahl will be sharing with you the real life lessons learnt and implemented in producing a product catered to today’s digital age. One not to be missed!
UNIQUE STRATEGIES, INSPIRED RESULTS
UNLOCKING THE SECRETS TO TAKE YOUR BUSINESS INTO AN ACCELERATED GROWTH CURVE
THURSDAY | 12.30 TECHPRENEUR HALL FRIDAY | 11.45 KEYNOTE HALL 2
THURSDAY | 13.15 KEYNOTE HALL 2
How To Grow Your Business (Lessons From A Growth Hacker) We believe in thinking differently. We challenge the status quo. We’re perceived as underdogs. We are, in fact, giant slayers. Discover the strategies that resulted in winning clients like Lamborghini, Virgin and KPMG without existing relationships, traditional marketing or brand name. Learn how your organisation can implement the same model to deliver a true step change in your business and revenue.
FRIDAY | 15.30 KEYNOTE HALL 2 9
BIANCA MILLER
PERSONAL BRANDING EXPERT & APPRENTICE 2014 RUNNER UP FOUNDER OF THE BE GROUP & WOMEN’S FASHION VISIONARY The award-winning director and founder of ‘The Be Group’, and diverse hosiery brand ‘Bianca Miller London’ has seen Bianca Miller go from accomplishment to accomplishment in her professional career. Bianca created ‘The Be Group’ on the premise that everyone should have access to services to enable them to market themselves for a better future. Bianca later rose to the nation’s attention on BBC show ‘The Apprentice’, finishing second in a hotly contested final. Bianca now works with an impressive range of clients including HSBC, Olswang LLP, Accenture, and Kings College to assist in employment skills, personal branding and increasing online visibility for entrepreneurs alike. She is also brand ambassador for the “.UK” domain name managed by UK domain name registry Nominet.
THURSDAY | 13.15 KEYNOTE HALL 1
Personal Branding Online: Be You, Only Better “Brands are built about what people are saying about you, not what you say about yourself.” Learn how to effectively use the Internet to showcase and develop your brand to niche audiences using platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, your brand website, etc. Understand how to network utilising your personal brand whilst leaving a lasting legacy and so much more.
WARREN CASS
SETTING THE BUSINESS SCENE Providing a community that supports SME business owners, offers essential advice and information, and brings together like-minded people must sound like a business Elysian Field for entrepreneurs and business owners.
But that is exactly what Warren Cass, founder and CEO of www.Business-Scene. com has done. Business Scene is an essential partner to businesses and has become the UK’s most dynamic membership with over 70,000 members, in excess of 100 networking events each year, and offers a value packed, amazing range of benefits.
ing, and assists in supporting SMEs thrive by helping them grow, drive profit, and providing peace of mind. In addition to this, he’s also the author of ‘Zero to Social Media’, a guide on how to get the very best out of your social media marketing strategy.
Warren consults with major brands as well as small businesses on strategic market-
FRIDAY | 12.30 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
WTF – What’s The Future? The best networkers seem totally magnetic, attracting people to them, oozing credibility and connected. But how did they get there? Where did they start and what were the key lessons?
LINZI BOYD
INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED BRAND EXPERT MAKING YOUR BRAND RISE ABOVE THE COMPETITION
An award-winning author and speaker, Linzi Boyd is now a global partner at Shirlaws Group, working in the SME space where she takes business owners on a journey to grow, fund and exit their business. By 24, Linzi had set up and sold two businesses – the second of which had seven global distribution channels and was sold to Caterpillar. Her third business, Surgery, became renowned for influencing an industry championing some of the country’s most well-respected high-street consumer brands known today. Linzi ‘s No1 bestseller, “Brand Famous - How To Get Everyone Talking About Your Business” was awarded ‘Book of the Month’ by the CIM in July 2014 and 2015 winner – “Marketing Category” by Small Business Trends in the US.
FRIDAY | 11.00 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
How To Get Everyone Talking About Your Business There are so many brands out there in all sectors, so how do you make yours standout in such a crowded market? Whether you want to build, renovate or just refresh your brand, this seminar will give you the understanding of where you are with your brand now and how to move forward. Learn Linzi’s five-step process required to achieve stand-out status.
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NIDHIMA KOHLI
RESHMA SOHONI
BUSINESS START-UP INVESTMENT EXPERT AND FOUNDER OF SEEDCAMP Since 2007, Seedcamp have supported almost 200 start-ups from ‘the pre-seed and seed stage’. For Reshma Sohoni, the company’s co-founder, starting the company was a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ – and now she’s helping start-ups achieve theirs. Reshma has always combined technology and business from university to today. Getting degrees in both engineering and business (UPenn M&T), meant that from an early age she was cultivating a path that would always bring business and technology together.
During the height of the dot com boom, Reshma worked in M&A and venture capital across B2B software and Internet services businesses in the US and India. She had a small helping hand in building MakeMyTrip (NASDAQ) in its formative days. Following on from this, Reshma went to INSEAD and earned her MBA, fell in love with Europe and stayed on to work in commercial and marketing strategy at Vodafone.
THURSDAY | 12.30 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
What Does A Standout Start-Up Look Like? Reshma and Chris Goodfellow (editor, BusinessZone.co.uk) talk about what investors such as Seedcamp look for in start-up businesses and founders to identify the exciting growth opportunities.
FOUNDER OF EUROPE`S LARGEST ONLINE MARKETPLACE FOR BEAUTY PRODUCTS BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF 100,000 PEOPLE WITH NO FUNDING
Providing a trustworthy platform in the £380bn beauty market, in a short period of time My Beauty Matches has become a multiple award-winner and counts the likes of House of Fraser and Boots amongst the UK’s top retailers to work with them. Voted Top Woman Business Leader by The Guardian, Nidhima Kohli is the brains behind My Beauty Matches – the world’s first price comparison site for personal beauty shopping.
WARREN KNIGHT
SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT
Warren Knight is here to talk technology and how its integration into sales and marketing can do big things for the creative entrepreneur’s business growth. Warren is the author of ‘Think #Digital First’, is an international keynote speaker and is one of the UK’s most inspirational, dynamic and sought-after technology, sales, and marketing experts. As an award-winning coach and entrepreneur, he delivers training masterclasses that help thousands of start-ups and SMEs build their digital footprint, double conversion rates. increase their sales by up to 500% and grow their business through social media, digital marketing, and e-commerce.
FRIDAY | 13.15 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
How To Design A Social Media Plan For Success This keynote presentation will take you through the four simple steps to help you define your business online, understand the four types of your digital audience, create shareable content that builds a community and drive sales and how to structure your social media into aseven day plan for success, with an actionable checklist to help you stay consistent with your brand message.
After years of advising CEOs at one of the world’s top investment banks, Nidhima changed direction and focused this expertise towards becoming a beauty entrepreneur. She was tired of biased, expensive product recommendations from beauty counters and abstract online suggestions that never worked. As a woman tech founder, Nidhima managed to build Europe’s largest online marketplace for beauty products with no funding and My Beauty Matches has now been appointed as the Digital Game-Changer for online shopping by WGSN.
FRIDAY | 15.30 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
Female Techpreneur: How To Build A Community Of 100K People With No Funding With no prior experience in tech, Nidhima will be sharing her tips on how to build a multi-award winning business recognised by some of the biggest publications, with a community size of 100,000 people, started without funding and hence why The Guardian appointed My Beauty Matches as start-up of the year 2014.
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RICHARD WALTERS Richard has built a career around a strong technical background, in-depth knowledge of IT Security and Cloud and has a uniquely thorough understanding of risk management, standards, regulations and legislation.
PENNY POWER OBE
SOCIAL MEDIA PIONEER Penny Power OBE broke new ground in building a global community for like-minded business owners years before LinkedIn and Facebook took the world by storm.
GM EMEA & VP IDENTITY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT AT INTERMEDIA A start-ups expert (CTO & Co-Founder SaaSID now part of Intermedia, and CTO & Director of Business Development at Integralis, Europe’s largest independent security integrator), Richard has also worked with blue-chip vendors including Digital, Dell, and Panasonic and
spent many years consulting with FTSE100 companies. Richard has spoken at countless events, written numerous articles and was one of the first to talk about ‘cyberliability’. Richard has been referenced in many IT industry publications, as well as on Radio and TV.
DANIEL WAGNER
FOUNDER OF EUROPE’S LARGEST AMAZON TRAINING BUSINESS From delivering pizzas to assisting hundreds of people achieve personal and financial success and freedom, Daniel Wagner now leads Europe’s largest Amazon Business training and mentoring company. Daniel’s businesses turn over millions a year at industry-leading profit margins and he has put his successful vision for business success into four books, including the Amazon bestseller: Wealth DNA.
Penny receieved her OBE for her contribution to Social Digital development. As the Founder of the worlds first Social network for Business in 1998 Penny had the foresight to see that the socially connected world would become a critical aspect for
all businesses. Penny now works closely with the Digital Economy, creating the UKs first Digital Marketing Apprenticeship and helping Board Directors digitally transform. In 2016 she is bringing to market a new business community on the High Street called The Business Cafe.
FRIDAY | 11.00 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
Digital Skills Starts With Mindset. Learn How To Grow Your Business As A Friend Penny will share her experience of building an online personal brand that supports her business and how her global network of business friends has helped her start and build her companies
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Daniel has helped deliver hundreds of events in the UK and abroad showing over 20,000 people how to start and build a successful Amazon Business in the last 18 months alone. His public speaking is entertaining, engaging and he even holds the current Guinness World for the longest team speech!
FRIDAY | 13.15 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
The Amazon Opportunity: Introduction To This Accessible Business Model Learn why running your own Amazon business is a certain, fast and scalable model with a very low start-up cost. Anyone can grab a share of this fast-growing $15 trillion dollar marketplace without the need to invent or develop your own products. Daniel will explain how converging business trends create a unique window of opportunity that you can take advantage of right now to change your life forever.
THURSDAY | 16.15 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
Born In The Cloud Building a business and realising your dreams can be extremely liberating. But how can you ensure you enjoy the freedom to focus on your business to help it grow? Part of the answer is Worry-Free IT. Richard will share his experiences and insights leveraging technology to build and grow world-class businesses. Through case studies he’ll show how Cloud technology can be a business growth enabler without costing the world.
DAVE MORRISSEY
CONNECTING FACEBOOK & BUSINESS’ BIGGEST NAMES
JULIANNE PONAN AWARD-WINNING YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR In just over three years, Julianne Ponan and her company Creative Nature have made huge waves in the organic food industry. Fuelled by ambition, the future looks very bright for this multiple award-winner and inspirational entrepreneur. Having already become a hit in the UK, Creative Nature’s rise shows no sign of halting; just in the last few months, the superfood brand has expanded its range into Germany, Dubai, Sweden and Slovakia. On a personal level, Julianne has received widespread recognition for her work; having already picked up an award from the Federation of Small Businesses for ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’, in November 2014 she became the youngest winner of the “National Natwest Everywoman Artemis Award for Women Entrepreneurs.”
Julianne is a strong believer that hard work gets results, and the proof is the amount she has achieved in such a short space of time. Now working as a start-up mentor for Virgin in her spare time, Julianne provides strategic advice for young entrepreneurs, aiming to share in the knowledge she has developed of business management.
THURSDAY | 15.30 KEYNOTE HALL 1
Launch YOUR Small Business Into The “Big 4” Drawing directly on her experience of launching and growing Creative Nature Superfoods into the world of supermarkets, Julianne’s seminar will hit the sweet spot of any aspiring entrepreneur. Don’t miss a chance to hear Julianne discuss her journey of finance, marketing, branding and the launch into major multiples to see what lessons you can learn for your own start-up. ‘Failure doesn’t come from falling down. Failure comes from not getting up!’
With more daily page views and more users than anything else on the web, Facebook provides arguably the most effective and affordable way to grow your business in the history of commerce. Dave Morrissey provides expert guidance on the power this social network brings to building your customer base. Dave works on the Retail & e-Commerce vertical team for Facebook in the UK. In his role, he collaborates with clients on how to best utilise the Facebook platform to drive business results from a branding & performance perspective. Clients that Dave works with include LEGO, Farfetch, Shop Direct and Made.com. Prior to working at Facebook, Dave worked in London`s Tech City for the award-winning e-commerce start-up Flubit.
THURSDAY | 15.30 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
Powerfully Talking To Customers Throughout The Marketing Funnel Today`s consumers demand relevance. We need to talk to the right person, at the right time, with the right message. With Facebook and Instragram, we now can.
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JONATHAN KINI
DELIVERING THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY TO BRITAIN’S BUSINESSES THURSDAY Jonathan Kini is head of small & SME business at Vodafone UK, working with SMEs and small businesses across the UK in supporting them to make best use of technology in order for them to realise their business ambitions. Jonathan is responsible for the strategy and management of the sales function, delivering Vodafone UK’s products and services that are tailored to small businesses and SMEs, including its hero product – One Net, which integrates a business’ fixed and mobile communications. Prior to his current role, Jonathan was enterprise commercial marketing director at Vodafone
PAUL SACKMANN
Building your community of brand advocates is a vitally important low-cost, high-return marketing strategy. Paul Sackman of Hootsuite knows exactly what steps to take in using the customer’s word-ofmouth to drive a business forward. Paul is part of the Community Team at Hootsuite and in charge of their social strategy for EMEA. With over 12 million users worldwide, Paul has experience in growing and nurturing communities, executing social strategies and delivering social media success across multiple languages.
THURSDAY | 11.45 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
UK, overseeing all marketing and commercial functions in the company’s successful and vibrant enterprise business. Jonathan joined Vodafone UK in April 2013 from Virgin Media; during his eight-year career there, he held a number of roles working within finance, commercial and marketing. Just before moving to Vodafone UK, Jonathan was the director of customer services.
16.15 KEYNOTE HALL 1 |
Get Future Ready And Become A Ready Business In the UK today, there are over five million SMEs. These businesses are hard-working, unique, at the heart of the British economy… And you’re one of them. This session will cover how embracing change and getting closer to the local communities and creating local networks can help you engage with customers better.
JONATHAN L DAVEY
SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTORS Jonathan L Davey calls himself an ‘ice breaker’, saying hello to strangers so you don’t have to. He started his sales career with Nestle Foodservice followed by a seven-year stint with Johnson & Johnson, launching Acuvue Contact Lenses in the north of England. Twenty years ago, Jonathan got into digital, starting with web design, and pioneering email marketing. In 2001, he created an online business community, getting five million page views in 2008. Jon was awarded Social Media Week’s ‘Social Media Personality
of the Year’ in 2012. Jonathan is a sales & marketing gun for hire and at this year’s Business Show he’ll be getting all sentimental, sharing an important message for all marketing managers and marketing directors keen to look after their brand value.
FRIDAY | 11.45 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
5 Steps To Building Your Advocate Community
Should Marketing Managers Be Getting Sentimental? Analyse THIS...
What is the secret to growing a great company? Getting your customers to build your business. This presentation will show the difference between brand fans and brand advocates, how you can identify your top advocates and how to develop community programmes that nurture these relationships and allow you to scale customer loyalty and advocacy to drive business success.
Sentiment analysis is critical in today’s marketing world; we’ll be looking at three case studies showing why you need to have your ear to the ground and listening to the social whirl in order to protect your brand value. No big deal for small businesses but immensely important for global brands and those companies with aspirations to join them. Come and listen to what I have to say, you never know, it might come in handy one day and save you a million or two!
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www.4networking.biz
SPEED NETWORKING…
WITH A 4N TWIST FOLLOW UP STRAIGHTAWAY USING OUR 1-2-1 AREA Love speed networking, but sometimes frustrated by the time constraint per person? 4Networking has the answer! 4N is offering speed networking with a twist – use our 1-2-1 Area to follow up STRAIGHTAWAY with selected people you’d like to talk to in more depth. It’s all FREE to Business Startup delegates.
This gives you the best of both worlds. Gather contacts and business cards using the speed networking format. And THEN have 10 minute 1-2-1s with selected people, using our 4Networking 1-2-1 Area, right next to speed networking. At every 4Networking breakfast, lunch and evening meeting (and 4N runs 5000+ networking events across the UK each year) the final half hour of each meeting is three
10 minute 1-2-1 appointments with people you choose. This is the most productive part of each meeting - so we’re giving you the facility to have 1-2-1s at the show to build relationships with other business owners, as well as the opportunity for quick introductions via speed networking.
To find out more about all aspects of 4Networking, visit 4Networking stand 1021 or www.4networking.biz
DON’T MISS 4N MD BRAD BURTON
The 4N team will be hands on to facilitate speed networking and 1-2-1s.
CALLING ALL BUSINESS STARTUP DELEGATES •
Speed networking sessions are running across the 2 days of the show.
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Sessions sell out, so book your place on the 4N stand, or just turn up to get lucky!
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Use our 1-2-1 Area at any time to have 10 min follow-up business appointments with people you’ve met.
LIFE. BUSINESS. JUST GOT EASIER. KEYNOTE HALL 1, THURS, 15.30 KEYNOTE HALL 2, FRI, 14.45
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TIMETABLE THURSDAY
THE WILEY STARTUP SCHOOL Be sure to visit The Wiley Startup School for your chance to hear directly from some of the UK’s bestselling business authors, covering everything from what business idea is best for you to understanding the finances and securing backing.
BRAD BURTON
Brad Burton, author of Life. Business. Just Got Easier, will change the way you approach your life, business & direction forever. Sometimes provocative. At times hilarious. ALWAYS Inspiring. Brought up on a council estate, he’s got no qualifications, spent years on the dole and started his first business in 2006 with £25K of personal debt! That business, 4Networking is now the largest joined up business network in the UK, running over 6,000 events each year.
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11:00 Dr. Rob Yeung 12:00 Brad Burton 13:00 Gail Thomas 14:00 Nigel Botterill 15:00 Stefan Thomas 16:00 Pete Wilkinson
VISIT
SEMI US IN N HALL AR 5
Each seminar will include an in-depth talk from an expert author, followed by a Q&A and the opportunity to get a copy of the book at up to 65% off - and have it signed by the author! Also on site is our very own Business Startup Bookshop, which can be found at stand No.156, offering up to a jaw dropping 65% off books - a must buy for any budding entrepreneur!
NIGEL BOTTERILL
Nigel Botterill is one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs having built nine million pound business, Entrepreneurs Circle, in the last 10 years. He is also the author of The Botty Rules, which reached number two in the Sunday Times Bestseller list. His engaging, high energy, straight talking style will be sure to make this a popular seminar at the show.
LINZI BOYD
Linzi Boyd is an International speaker, Author and Global Partner of Shirlaws Group. By age 24 she had set up and sold two businesses - her second company, was sold to Caterpillar. Her third business, Surgery, became renowned for influencing an industry championing some of the countries most well-respected high-street consumer brands. Today, a Global partner in Shirlaws Group she now works in the SME space taking business owners on a journey to Grow, Fund and Exit their business.
FRIDAY 11:00 Andy Harrington 12:00 Richard Tyler 13:00 Daniel Preistley 14:00 Lucy Whittington 15:00 Linzi Boyd 16:00 Vince Stanzione
STEFAN THOMAS
Stefan Thomas, author of Business Networking For Dummies, will give a fun and fast-paced presentation with real-life information that you can take away and use straightaway to make great things happen! Ever wondered how to really make networking work for you? From desperation, Stefan HAD to make networking work and, in this seminar, he’ll give you proven techniques and strategies so you can improve your own networking skills, both personally and professionally.
ANDY HARRINGTON
Andy Harrington is the founder of The Professional Speakers Academy (PSA) and the creator of the Public Speakers University. He has shared the stage and worked with Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, Steve Wozniak, Sir Bob Geldof, Brian Tracy, Bob Proctor, John DeMartini, Nick Vujicic, Paul Mckenna and former president of the United States Bill Clinton. His debut book is entitled Passion Into Profit - How to Make Big Money From Who You Are and What You Know.
LUCY WHITTINGTON
After many years of being ‘good’ at marketing - working for start-ups to international Plcs, getting overqualified with an MBA, and running her own business since 2005 - she realised her ‘thing’ was seeing other people’s ‘thing’ and showing them how to get paid for it. She sees clearly how business owners and entrepreneurs can move forward doing what they are brilliant at, even when they can’t see it themselves!
DANIEL PRIESTLEY
Daniel Priestley is a successful entrepreneur, international speaker and best-selling author. In his talk, he will explain how to find your ‘entrepreneurial sweet spot’. This is all about finding the best business idea for you. Daniel will explain exactly how to discover the perfect ‘thing’ for you that ticks all the boxes. With Daniel’s help you’ll discover your perfect entrepreneurial pursuit or be able to test the idea you already have and assess its potential.
PETE WILKINSON
Triathlete Pete Wilkinson knows that to be successful, in business or in life, you need to make an impact. In his seminar he will share with you his simple system for making sure you stay on track and fulfill your potential. In the 18 years Pete has spent motivating and inspiring people, he has learnt what it takes to become an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. Let him show you how to do the same.
GAIL THOMAS
Gail Thomas, delegation consultant and founder of the Virtual PA company, is going to take you on a journey through the delegation process, and help you towards freedom from your unbearable workload and space to breathe! She will get you thinking about why delegation is good for you, what to delegate, how to delegate and what might be holding you back. If you want to succeed in your career, or make more room in your life for the nonwork stuff, then you need to free up some time. Let Gail help you!
RICHARD TYLER
Richard has spent his lifetime kicking up a ruckus. He works with organisations and their leaders across the globe - challenging them to choose more, dare more and jolt more. Richard believes that those that are brave enough to stand up, stand out and be noticed will be the ones that disrupt and provoke change. In his session, he will share with you how you can start to make the shift from ordinary to extraordinary.
DR. ROB YEUNG
Dr Rob Yeung is a director at coaching and training firm Talentspace (www.talentspace.co.uk). He is an organisational psychologist who specialises in coaching and training managers, to become more effective and successful. With nearly 20 years of experience of advising and consulting, he has worked with the owners of many high-growth businesses in industries.
VINCE STANZIONE
Vince Stanzione, author of The Millionaire Dropout: Fire Your Boss, Do What You Love, Reclaim Your Life, will demonstrate how you could set up your own business from just £100. This will appeal to anyone that doesn’t have buckets of money to start their business dream, and will help them reclaim their life in the process! Come along to his inspirational talk and learn how you can do this.
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MASTERCLASSES YOUR BUSINESS WILL BENEFIT FROM THE VERY BEST ADVICE These interactive small group sessions are led by experts who will focus on a wide range of critical areas for the success of your business. The workshop schedule at The Business Show has been painstakingly assembled to provide your business with the advice and information it needs, whether you are just starting out or targeting rapid growth. This exclusive suite of workshop sessions give you the chance to explore indepth about every area of business. Subjects cover everything from business planning, finance, and setting up your own start-up to branding, franchising, successful selling online and stronger SEO. Each of our workshops is led by an expert in their field, so you can be confident that you will receive the
TRADING FROM HOME AS A BUSINESS
Learn How To Trade From Home Successfully SPONSORED BY
best advice with the very latest information about each topic – crucial for the success of your business. The interactive format and small group size means that you have the opportunity to drill down further into the specifics that are relevant to your business. The following pages detail every workshop at The Business Show this November, the huge range of topics on offer and how you will benefit from attending. The workshops start at 11.00 both days and run on the hour, but please check the online schedule for the latest information.
Trading Forex and the stock market can be your route to wealth, so learn the tricks that will work in today’s market. Learn how to find great trades, when to buy and sell, how to minimise risk and maximise profits. Ensure you attend this presentation as you’ll learn techniques that impact your life and help create new income. Darren Winters is the number one attended investment speaker in the UK having personally trained over 300,000 people. He founded Win Investing LLP and The Wealth Training Company LLP, which has successfully trained investors since 2000. Darren is a full time trader, international investment speaker, and investment writer. He has been investing for over 20 years, having traded in both the UK and the USA
HOW TO BOOK
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The workshops are free to attend, but due to their popularity you’ll need to book your place to avoid missing out. • • • • •
Visit www.gbbs.co.uk Select ‘masterclasses’ and pick the masterclass you’d like to attend. Select the time and day you’d like, fill out a few details and click ‘book my seat’. You’ll receive an email confirmation of your booking. As the show dates approach, you’ll receive a reminder for you to confirm you’re still attending and secure your seat.
- PUBLIC SPEAKING - BRANDING - BUSINESS GROWTH - DIGITAL AND GROWTH 18
- DIGITAL MARKETING - FREE PROFIT BUILDING - GROWING YOUR BUSINESS - INCREASE INFLUENCE & REACH
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- MENTORING - MOBILE MARKETING - ONLINE MARKETING - START, SCALE & SELL YOUR START-UP
A simple high profit, low risk strategy How even beginners can get great returns When to buy and when to sell How to find great Forex and stock trades fast How to minimize risk and maximize profit Create second income stream trading from home
BOOK ONLINE NOW
Learn How To Master Public Speaking
Your Idea, Your Business, Our Support
SPONSORED BY
SPONSORED BY
Learn how to master public speaking and maximise your business income potential. With over 15 years of experience, Andy and his team have coached Hollywood movie stars, corporate heavyweights and some of the world’s best public speakers through the Public Speakers University & Professional Speakers Academy. His engaging, entertaining and direct style of teaching has helped business owners and entrepreneurs from around the world to grow their revenues by positioning, packaging and promoting themselves as the go to experts for their industry or niche. Andy Harrington`s Public Speakers University course is the choice of professionals who wish to improve their ability to inform, impact, inspire and influence their target consumers. Andy is also founder of Professional Speakers Academy, an incubator for industry experts wishing to take their skills of influence and persuasion to the highest level. • • • • •
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Improve your state and stance when presenting Develop your presentations to WIN business Become the ‘go to’ expert for your industry Use storytelling to connect with the audience Inspire your customer base with proven motivation techniques Have your programmes tailored to suit your business
BOOK ONLINE NOW
Driving Growth In Your Business SPONSORED BY
Your brand is everything about your business. Make sure it has the right protection.
How management information and KPIs can be better used to drive growth.
Behind every successful business is a good brand. Something recognisable and trustworthy. Something which ensures customer loyalty, satisfaction and retention. It’s about innovation and separating your business from the rest. But it’s also about the protection of your ideas and hard work: your intellectual property. Without the right protection behind your brand, you leave it vulnerable to infringement, or even theft. Our experts from the Intellectual Property Office will explain the importance of branding and protection. By the time you leave this masterclass, you will know the difference between patents, trademarks and copyright, and which ones apply to different areas of your business.
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The importance of branding Forming ideas for your business How to innovate and distinguish your business Why intellectual property matters The difference between patents, copyright and trademarks How to find value in your business How to apply for protection
All of the masterclasses are incredibly popular and there are only so many seats! To make sure you don’t miss out, fire up your browser and type in www.gbbs.co.uk now!
This session, for ambitious CEOs and FDs, is designed to help simplify how best to grow your business. The My Financepartner team, qualified accountants from PwC, share their expertise and leading market insight. We will help attendees better understand where the opportunities for growth are – and what information they need to identify which parts of their business are making money and where costs are incurred. Our tools, tips and insight will also help businesses plan their growth effectively.
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OK BO LINE ON NOW
Planning for growth – what information do you really need? How do you best track the performance and growth of your business? What changes do you need to make to the content, quality and cost of performance reporting in your business?
BO ONLIONK NOW E
BOOK YOUR PLACE ONLINE AT
WWW.GBBS.CO.UK 19
Get Future Ready. Be A Ready Business
Make The Internet Work For You And Your Business
SPONSORED BY
Vodafone started as an SME and now have the pleasure of working with thousands of SMEs throughout the UK. We want to help you make the most out of your business and to grow by having the right digital expertise in place. In today’s fast paced environment, being digital will differentiate you and help you engage with your customers. We will be running a variety of sessions on digital, flexible ways of working, customer engagement and growth. These sessions will be run by experts from the industry, including those who have started their own business.
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Digital marketing, social media and content marketing How to attract and retain talent within a business Better ways of working and how to become more flexible Customer service Customer engagement “How to grow your business” Talk by a successful SME owner
BOOK ONLINE NOW
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SPONSORED BY
Is your website and online marketing bringing target enquiries to your business? Are you afraid of wasting time and money online? If YES then come and see us! Are you concerned about the effectiveness of your online presence? Are you afraid of wasting time and money online? The SMF Group can help. We provide companies and individuals with the tools & training they need to make the most of the Internet. Selling your products and services online should never be considered a waste, and by following the expert advice of Mili Ponce many businesses have already seen the many benefits of a strong online strategy. Mili has spent years travelling the globe to deliver the best, up-to-date tips & strategies for maximising your potential online. With their help, you too can: Make the Internet work for you!
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- PUBLIC SPEAKING - BRANDING - BUSINESS GROWTH - DIGITAL AND GROWTH
Double Your Sales Inside 24 Months!
SPONSORED BY
Become digitally agile and ready to embrace change and maximise your business potential.
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FREE PROFIT BUILDING MASTERCLASS
How to convert website visits into enquiries. How to generate large amounts of traffic to your site How to optimise your paid ads, achieve better results for less How to create a social media strategy How to create a marketing funnel How to monitor your results and ROI
- DIGITAL MARKETING - FREE PROFIT BUILDING - GROWING YOUR BUSINESS - INCREASE INFLUENCE & REACH
BO ONLIONK NOW E
Business growth specialists from the world’s number 1 business coaching team will be on hand to discuss your challenges and opportunitiesin confidence with you. There’s a 1 in 4 chance you’ll then get the added bonus of being offered a 1-2-1 coaching programme, backed by a no quibble 100% refund of your investment in coaching you do not double your net sales inside 24 months of coaching. ActionCOACH has coached 1,000+ clients in the UK and had two instances of needing to refund a client... so yes, it’s a possibility that your business will less than double in the two years you work with your ActionCOACH business growth specialist, and in that event you’ll end up not paying a penny for the input and growth you did achieve!
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How Business Mentoring Can Attract Investment
One-To-One Digital Increase Your Business Level Of Marketing & Brand Building Consultancy Performance SPONSORED BY
SPONSORED BY
SPONSORED BY
If you’re serious about maximising the potential in your business, it makes sense to seek guidance from an expert. A business mentor could be your new best friend.
Anicca’s team of five marketing experts will be on hand throughout the day to discuss ways of making the most of the digital marketing opportunities available now.
Two things matter most in this fast-changing world: 1. The ability to influence. 2. The ability to reach more people.
Each expert will cover one of five topics, allowing them to advise on the points that really matter to each individual business. Whether you’re looking to attract more website visits, increase conversions, improve your brand authority within your industry or learn how to harness social media to improve loyalty, we have a topic that suits you.
We help with both. Entrevo are global leaders in strategy and technology for entrepreneurial businesses. We have offices in the UK, USA, Singapore and Australia. We have worked directly with 1500+ businesses to help them become more visible, valuable and scalable. We’ve launched three best-selling books on business, won major awards and grown a global business in under five years.
Choose from free 30-minute consultations on: 1. How to set-up your business website 2. SEO and content marketing 3. Paid search and ecommerce marketing 4. Social media marketing 5. Public relations (PR) and brand building Book now to secure your free consultation with our specialists!
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How to set-up your business website SEO and content marketing Paid search and ecommerce marketing Social media marketing Public relations (PR) and brand building
K BOOINE L ON OW N
NOW
MENTORING MASTERCLASS
Our clients have won awards, grown internationally, been featured in the press, and increased their revenue and profit. We’ve focused 70% of our clients on creating a “lifestyle business” and 30% on “performance business”.
Across two masterclasses, Daniel Priestley and Steven Oddy will teach you: • Five skills that make you more visible, valuable and connected • Position yourself and your message in a way that is ready to scale to wider audience. • Generate new leads • Increase sales • Deliver remarkable value to clients
All of the masterclasses are incredibly popular and there are only so many seats! To make sure you don’t miss out, fire up your browser and type in www.gbbs.co.uk now!
BO ONLIONK NOW E
Business mentoring can help strengthen your business and your own entrepreneurial skills, and can be invaluable in getting your business off the ground, or taking it to the next level. You’ll learn from the experience and mistakes of more experienced business owners; be guided through achieving the objectives of your business, both short and long term; and you can leverage off their contacts to help open new doors for your business. A mentor will also make sure that the goals and objectives that have been set in your business are achieved. Mentoring is a very personal business and having the right mentor is vital, so come along to this free workshop and find out more about what’s involved.
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Learn how to drive sales to your business from day one Use cost-effective marketing that works! Leverage off a mentor’s contacts to fast-track growth Learn how to secure start-up capital for your business Q&A for your business by our expert team and mentors
BOOK ONLINE NOW
BOOK YOUR PLACE ONLINE AT
WWW.GBBS.CO.UK 21
Get A Mobile App For Your Business Today
START, SCALE & SELL YOUR START-UP MASTERCLASS
Get Online, Grow Online, Succeed Online
Start Your Business Journey Today
SPONSORED BY
SPONSORED BY
Learn about the benefits a mobile app can offer your business (and learn how to quickly and easily get one, too!)
You know getting online has the potential to help your business, but what skills do you REALLY need to succeed?
Consumers spend more time on their mobile phone than they do in front of a computer and 80% of their phone time is using apps, not web. If you want your customers to engage with you, you need an app for your business that your customers can use on their phone.
Taking your new business online can be a challenge. There’s a lot to consider – choosing your domain, designing and building your website, driving traffic, and turning visitors into loyal repeat customers.
A mobile app is the most efficient way to market to customers – apps drive customer engagement, encourage loyalty and increase sales. This workshop covers the specifics of how a mobile app can drive business, why it’s so important and how you can use Appsme as an easy, cost-effective way to get one in app stores!
SPONSORED BY
For this workshop series, we’ve brought together six experts from the fields of brand development, website design, search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), social media, and email marketing. In a series of 45-minute sessions, we’ll introduce you to each area and guide you through the essential steps you’ll need to be successful.
Bradley Keenan will talk you through many of the key learnings from his experience of starting, growing and selling his technology business. Bradley is a British born tech entrepreneur, founder of E-Tale (acquired by ChannelAdvisor in 2014), investor, vegetarian, dad, author & blogger. In 2009, without any financial backing, Bradley founded a company called E-Tale. Over a 5-year period he grew this company from his basement, to working with over 100 of the world’s leading brands in over 40 countries. These clients included Samsung, Unilever, LG, OKI, Xerox, and Hotpoint. In November 2014, Bradley and his team sold E-Tale to ChannelAdvisor, a US based public company. Bradley wants to share with you the key learnings from his experience, so you can expedite your own startup journey.
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The importance of making your business mobile-friendly Why a mobile app is the most efficient marketing spend for any business Which app features offer the most value to businesses and why Short demo of the Appsme self-service mobile app builder Q&A to answer any and all mobile app questions
BOOK ONLINE NOW
BOOK NOW 22
• • •
The Psychology of Branding From Browsers to Buyers: Designing Websites That Convert How to Grow Your Business With PPC Getting the Right Results From Social Media Email Marketing in Six (Fairly) Simple Steps Essential Steps in SEO How to Write a Blog That Brings 1,000s of Visitors
• • •
BOOK ONLINE NOW
Evaluating Your Idea From Start-Up To Scale-Up Booking Meetings With Major Brands Presentations nd Proposals The Competition Selling Your Company.
BOOK ONLINE NOW
All of the masterclasses are incredibly popular and there are only so many seats! To make sure you don’t miss out, fire up your browser and type in www.gbbs.co.uk now!
http://londonentrepreneursnetwork.com
LONDON ENTREPRENEURS NETWORK DRAGONS INVESTMENT SHOW
SPEED NETWORKING
Pitch your business idea to receive investment offers from our multi-millionaire Dragon Investors. Become a Dragon Investor, receive investment, present or promote in front of 1000s of people!
Networking is a fantastic business tool – but only if you’re talking to the right people!
The Dragons Investment Show is a brand new concept which allows audience members to vote on the pitchers and their presentation before and after Dragons’ in/out declaration! If you wish to receive investment offers from our multi-millionaire Dragon Investors, come and pitch in the Dragons Investment Show. Moreover, by attending or by joining London Entrepreneurs Network, you can receive business advice, mentoring, and marketing tips from our already successful multi-millionaire Dragon Investors. After all, who can provide better business tips and advice than those who already have created a successful and profitable business?!
Talking to every person who comes your way is inefficient because you never know if that person is the target you need to connect with. Moreover, you can talk to a maximum of 10 to 20 people then give up and leave, whether you’ve found the right connection or not! Therefore we have a solution: we offer a real speed networking opportunity, where you can get a microphone on the stage and in one minute say the most important things needed for efficient and productive networking! Simply say your name, what you are looking for and what you offer; this way only the right people approach you! Don’t forget about our wall-of-fame, where you can put your details if you are looking for investment OR put notes for finding projects to invest if you are an investor.
ANTI-PITCH If you like seeing start-up hopefuls pitching for investment from angel investors, you’re going to LOVE Anti-Pitch. Anti-Pitch is a brand new concept for the Business Show: two start-up companies are given the opportunity to have their business interrogated by a panel of experts, where their concept, marketing and financials are explored, and if any weaknesses are found, they will be brought to light. The winner, as decided by the crowd and panellists, will be interviewed and get a chance to be featured on the front page of Disrupts magazine and also entered into the running to appear on the new TV show, ‘Angels Investment Show’. Get your questions ready as audience participation is encouraged throughout!
The winner of both Anti-Pitch and the Dragons Investment Show, as decided by the crowd and panellists, will be interviewed and get a chance to be featured on the front page of Disrupts magazine and also entered into the running to appear on the new TV show, ‘Angels Investment Show’. Get your questions ready as audience participation is encouraged throughout!
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SCHEDULE
MIDAS TOUCH PITCH TO A PANEL OF MILLIONAIRE INVESTORS
Are you an entrepreneur looking to take your business to the next level? Don’t miss this chance to pitch to an expert panel of investors who have all built up their own £multi-million business – and could help you do the same. Could you convince one of these four millionaires to invest in your business idea or model in just five minutes? That’s how long you’ll have to impress the panel with your business acumen, vision and potential profitability as you do your best to persuade them to put their money where your mouth is in the most important pitch of your life.
in front of an active investor base from varying sectors of the same network. This promises to give you not only up to four honest and varied expert opinions on the viability of your business, but a genuine ‘next step’ for everyone who pitches that could see you banking a cheque or receiving the mentoring you need to get you investor-ready.
Midas Touch is an exciting live show featuring a Dragons’ Den-style panel of millionaire entrepreneurs. These Rockstar mentors have on average built up and sold one of their companies for a sale price of £18million, so they know a business with great potential when they see it – and how to make good on that promise. If you think you could be the next big thing, then this is an unmissable opportunity to get
Whether you have a cutting edge technology solution to today’s hottest problems, or you’ve identified a gap in the service market, you will have the panel’s undivided attention. The only limit is your imagination. Previous shows have brought us pitches that range from quirky to creative as the investors sort the flawed from the fabulous and find the gem that is too valuable not to invest in.
24 contestants will compete over the course of the two days to make the best pitch of the show and earn the title of ‘Innovator of the Show’, with the winner being announced in the last session on Thursday. It’s a great opportunity for entrepreneurs who are ready to make their pitch and looking to attract investment, but Midas Touch is also a fantastic spectator
THURSDAY & FRIDAY
11.30 - 12.30 13.30 - 14.30 15.30 - 16.30
Places are limited and competition is always fierce for the chance to participate in Midas Touch, so book now!
event. Every pitch is made in front of a live audience and with the stakes so high, it makes for an exciting spectacle. Not only is it an entertaining break from the bustle of the show floor, but Midas Touch is also a unique opportunity for the audience to pick up tips for when they’re ready to pitch for their own investment.
AT A GLANCE • • • • • • •
Pitch to a panel of millionaire entrepreneurs Expert feedback on your business The UK’s Number 1 mentoring and funding organisation for entrepreneurs Walk away with a cheque to take your business to the next level Advice to get you investor-ready Could you be the ‘Innovator of the Show’? Take part as a spectator, or have a go yourself!
ABOUT THE SPONSOR
Rockstar Mentoring Group is the UK’s Number 1 mentoring and funding organisation for entrepreneurs looking to grow or raise finance. They fast-track profit growth and investment by providing experienced and successful mentors on a one-to-one, face-to-face basis to help with your business plan, valuation and management team to give you the best chance of securing the investment you need. Regular panellist Jonathan Pfahl, a former Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Manager, founded Rockstar Mentoring Group in 2007, building a phenomenal team of over 70 mentors from more than 25 different industries. Each mentor is experienced in taking good ideas and turning them into real life £multi-million businesses, and they are on the hunt for new and exciting investment opportunities. www.rockstargroup.co.uk
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PITCH?
Email your business idea on one side of A4 to [email protected]
To take part, entrants will need to register for a free ticket to The Business Show at www.thebusinessshow.co.uk.
SPEED NETWORKING MEET 40 NEW CONTACTS IN 40 MINUTES
Take your seat, prepare your pitch, and get ready to take part in a networking session like no other! Speed Networking is the quickest and most effective way for you to add potential suppliers, partners, or clients to your contact list and give your business its best chance of growth. Whether you’re looking for the people that can take your new business off the ground, or you’re an experienced firm seeking the contacts to help you increase your size or explore a new area of operation, Speed Networking is the most thrilling business event you will attend! Speed Networking is exactly as the name suggests. It’s a networking session designed to give you the maximum amount
of new contacts in the minimum amount of time. All you do is sit down and use your allotted 30 second timeframe to try to impress a potential new client, supplier, or partner, before they then do the same to you. After one minute, you move on and do it again, and again, and again. The process is so straightforward and the benefits are huge. By the end of your session, you will have connected with 40 new contacts and started some new and long lasting professional relationships that will provide your business venture with a greater chance of success.
ABOUT THE SPONSOR
Thousands of SMEs are receiving tax reimbursements from the government for research and development. We’re 100% successful in helping our clients evaluate and claim money back, or gain tax relief on sector advances and innovations they have made - with no upfront fee and minimal disruption to their business. SMEs can see a return of up to 25% of relevant costs, and businesses are claiming back £46,000 on average – a great cash injection for any business or future tax relief. You’d be surprised what activities and costs qualify for this scheme. www.riftresearch.com
GAIN LONG LASTING PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT WILL PROVIDE YOUR BUSINESS VENTURE WITH A GREATER CHANCE OF SUCCESS 25
TIMETABLE 11.00
HOW TO BUY A BUSINESS How do you find the right business for you? And what happens once you’ve found it? You’ll learn about all the aspects of the sale process – from where to look for a business for sale to working out your exit strategy.
12.00
UNUSUAL WAYS TO RAISE FINANCE WHEN BUYING A BUSINESS Your bank is the first place you turn when you need money to buy a business, but it’s not your only option. From crowdfunding and angel investment to borrowing from your family, we’ll give you the advice you need to find the right finance for you.
BUSINESSES
FOR SALE LEARN EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUYING AND SELLING A BUSINESS If you’re thinking of starting a business or want to expand it fast, why not buy one?
Whether you are buying or looking to sell, our session on how to sell will help you prepare your exit strategy and maximise the value of your business.
Attend our programme of seminars and you’ll learn everything you need to know about the buying process – including where to find your dream business, how to raise finance to buy it, and what you can do to make sure your deal goes through.
We’ll have industry experts with more buying and selling experience than you can shake a stick at on hand to help you demystify the business transfer process.
13.00
GET AHEAD OF THE START-UPS: HOW TO BUY SUCCESS Thinking of starting a business? Why not buy one? Find out how buying an established business could help you leapfrog the start-ups to business success.
All in one place, all under one roof; Businesses For Sale Live has everything you need to know about getting started or getting out.
AT A GLANCE
www.gbbs.co.uk
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How do you find the right business for you? And what happens once you’ve found it?
14.00
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From crowdfunding and angel investment to borrowing from your family, get the advice you need to finance your purchase.
HOW TO SELL A BUSINESS
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Learn why buying a business is a great alternative to starting one.
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Get your head around the potentially complex and arduous process of selling a business.
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Understand the importance of due diligence, preparation, and why this will stop your deal falling apart.
From the headline on an advert to the fine print on a contract, selling a business can be a complex process. We look to simplify this process for you and clarify any concepts that maybe confusing. If you’re struggling to make heads or tails of your heads of terms, this is the seminar for you!
15.30
ABOUT THE SPONSOR
BUSINESS BUYING NIGHTMARES; HOW TO AVOID YOUR DEAL FALLING APART Doing your research on a prospective business is paramount to a successful sale. You need to understand exactly what it is you are buying. The only way to do this is by conducting thorough due diligence; but what is due diligence? And why is it so important in the business buying process? Both days will feature the same sessions.
BusinessesForSale.com connects business buyers and sellers. With over 65,000 businesses in 130 countries worldwide, the website is the world’s largest business for sale marketplace. For aspiring entrepreneurs, BusinessesForSale.com provides a route into ownership, and features thousands of business and franchise opportunities in every sector imaginable. If you are looking to exit, we can help you cost-effectively market your business and find the right buyer. www.businessesforsale.com
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BUSINESS JUNCTION Created and operated by business people for those who own, run, or work for businesses, Business Junction is London’s foremost independent business network with 500+ member businesses across 125 sectors and 70 annual pan-London networking events, with the primary aim of increasing trade opportunities for its members. Business Junction promotes and encourages the development of close relationships between the members of its business community, where any business can be introduced to another potential supplier or purchaser through our network in the most relaxed and comfortable environment possible.
A large, interesting and diverse business membership, we’ve established an enviable culture for our friendly, informal yet business-focussed events. Membership of Business Junction is for the company, not just an individual, so if you do decide to join, any of your business colleagues can also attend any of our events.
AS A BUSINESS JUNCTION MEMBER, YOU CAN ENJOY: •
A relaxed, highly effective, innovative and diverse network, where borders don’t exist and there’s no pressure to attend.
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Business Junction publishes the London Business Directory (www.businessjunction.co.uk/londonbusiness-directory), which contains the company information and contact details of over 500 dynamic businesses across every size, sector and expertise. This is included in your membership package and every Business Junction member and guest attendee will be given a free copy of the directory which is also distributed across key commercial sites in London.
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Members can enjoy a weekly networking lunch held at some of the best restaurants, hotels and venues available, a monthly Champagne Philippe Brugnon networking breakfast, and six evening free networking events. www.businessjunction.co.uk
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BUSINESS CONNECTIONS CONNECT WITH THOUSANDS OF NEW PROSPECTS, PARTNERSHIPS AND SUPPLIERS
Quite possibly the easiest way you’ll ever make contact with tens of thousands of serious business people… Business Startup is part of Britain’s biggest business exhibition and conference, with 25,000 visitors attending across the two days. Every one of those visitors is a potential business partner, supplier, or client. It’s an amazing hotbed of networking on a scale
that you just can’t find anywhere else. The problem is that even if you spent all day everyday doing nothing other than networking on the show floor you will still only have reached a tiny portion of your potential contacts. If only there was a way you could let everyone know what you’re looking for and that you take your business seriously enough to attend Europe’s fastest growing business event…that’s where Business Connections comes in!
Business Connections is always a huge draw at Business Startup because it is such an easy and efficient way to reach out to tens of thousands of visitors every bit as serious about their business as you are about yours. The Business Connections area has a wall, categorised by industry, where notices can be posted and replied to with the upmost ease. The idea is so simple: proudly pin your business card to the wall for all to see. If you’re looking to make a particular kind of connection, say
ANGELS DEN MAKE THE PITCH OF A LIFETIME
Could your business benefit from financial backing from a business angel who not only has the cash, but also the experience and insight to make the very most out of your business? That’s what’s on offer from Angels Den. How often do you get the chance to present your business in front of wealthy, successful individuals who have the knowledge and financial clout to change your business fortunes in an instant? Probably not that often, and just to heat things up a little more, did we mention that you will be making the pitch of your life in front of a live audience? If you’re not ready to make your own pitch just yet, come and support these exciting entrepreneurs by taking your place in the audience and see some entertaining presentations, as well as learning the do’s and
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don’ts for when you are ready to seek your own investment. If you’re thinking about pitching for investment, but are not sure if you’re as versed as you should be before taking the plunge, Angels Den can help with one-to-one funding clinics held throughout both days at the show. These free funding clinics are a great opportunity to chat to an expert about your business and ask any questions you may have about the funding process and Angels Den. To ensure your business stands the best chance of attracting the investment it needs, simply come
to the Angels Den theatre as soon as you can and if they can’t see you right away, they’ll book you in for a one-to-one session with an experienced adviser. Whether you want to walk away with investment from one of Angels Den’s affluent individuals, or just want to take in the spectacle as part of the audience, Angels Den is always a hit.
WANT TO PITCH? For your chance to pitch, fill in the application form here: www.greatbritishbusinessshow. co.uk/masterclasses/angels-den
so, and potential partners will pin their card to your request. Make sure you scan the wall for people looking for what you can offer and respond by pinning your card to their request and pick up some extra clients! It’s a fantastically straightforward, efficient and convenient way to build your business’s client base, which is why many visitors regularly put Business Connections to the top of their priority list when the doors open.
TIMETABLE
THURSDAY & FRIDAY As well as the live pitching and funding clinics, Angels Den will hold a series of talks and lectures throughout both days at the Angels Den theatre.
11.30 Talk: How do I value my business? 12.00 Live pitches to investors 13.30 Talk: What is really important in your pitch and it’s NOT your numbers 14.00 Live pitches to investors 15.30 Talk: Why are angel investors so important and what are they looking for?
HOW DOES IT WORK? 1.
Write down what your business is looking for (a web designer, a sales team, a logo, etc).
2.
Pin it to the Business Connections wall, along with your business card.
3.
Come back at the end of the day to collect all the relevant business cards pinned to yours.
That’s it! Don’t forget to pin your card to answer other requests during the day…
The Business Connections wall is up and running throughout both days of the show and you’re welcome to use it any time, for any industry. But if you want to raise your chances of meeting a contact from a specific industry in person, why not stop by at the scheduled times for that sector?
THURSDAY 10.30 11.30 12.30 13.30 14.30 15.30 16.30 17.30
Retail Ecommerce Manufacturing Leisure / Food and Drink Skilled Trade / Construction Education Medical / Healthcare Professional Business Services
FRIDAY 10.30 11.30 12.30 13.30 14.30 15.30
Retail Ecommerce Manufacturing Leisure / Food and Drink Skilled Trade / Construction Education
16.30 Medical / Healthcare
FUNDING CLINCS: 1-2-1 BUSINESS & FUNDING ADVICE
Join us in the Angels Den theatre, throughout both days for 1-2-1 advice on your business and the funding process.
Angels Den is an angel-led crowdfunding platform where angel investors and experienced business people invest in pre-vetted SMEs. Investors often play an active role in the business, providing the initial funding, expertise and contacts to drive growth. Once a lead investor is on board, Angels Den opens the funding to other angels and the crowd, who have the security of investing alongside an experienced lead investor who ensures a fair deal for all. Since Angels Den was founded in 2007, they have changed the rules on angel investing and led the way in making investment truly accessible to great
businesses with strong growth potential and provided a fast-track to business funding. Angels Den has now successfully raised finance for over 170 businesses through their pitching events and online equity platform. Angels Den understands that having an active angel investor on board increases the chance of success and, as a result, over 90% of their funded deals are still trading. They have an established network of over 12,000 angel investors, between them offering a wealth of experience and a proven track record of getting great businesses funded.
DON’T MISS
Tech Hall, Thu, 12.30 & Keynote Hall 2, Fri, 11.45 Hear from Angels Den’s CEO and Founder, Bill Morrow, recently named most influential person in alternative finance by City AM.
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can en You Warr te r a e o h also his keyn er deliv minar on se
.30 y, 14 Frida ynote Ke l 2 Hal
CHAMPIONS OF SMALL BUSINESS SEMINAR HALL For two days this hall will inspire growth in businesses of all shapes & sizes. Whether you are an entrepreneur at the helm of a start-up or an experienced business owner with several years already under your belt, all will leave with ideas for growth. Our speakers are are guaranteed to make you think and all highly experienced business educators with fun delivery styles. But it doesn’t end with just a
presentation. We will also show you how to take full advantage of Champions of Small Business as soon as you leave the event with free access to a whole load of
online resources, interviews with experts from across the country and much, much more. Everyone can become a Champion and be part of this positive movement.
ABOUT THE SEMINAR Essential Strategies for Growing your Business Over 50% of businesses fail within the first 3 years. Why is this? Are we finding new ways to fail or just making the same old mistakes? This seminar will focus on how YOU can avoid these all too common pitfalls and build a healthy, sustainable & successful business. Whether you’re thinking of starting a business or are looking to grow and take your existing business to the next level, this isn’t one to be missed.
TIMETABLE
INTRODUCING CHAMPIONS OF SMALL BUSINESS Exclusively launching at the Business Show is a new national initiative brought to you by leading business community Business Scene and an impressive list of partners from across the UK… And this is just the beginning! Champions of Small Business (CoSB) will be a free online resource for SMEs across the UK backed by major brands and SMEs alike. We already have strong support from several established brands all committed to adding value & supporting growth.
take advantage of amazing offers & giveaways, and what is more…. All of this is absolutely free to access.
FRIDAY
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National campaign encouraging SMB growth in the UK A mission to increase the turnover/profitability of all who get involved Online events (webinars, hangouts & live streaming) Offline events (networking & knowledge based) Online resources (video, blogs, podcasts, how to guides, useful downloads) Offers & savings Sign posting grants, access to investment & advice
Business Scene are proud to launch Champions of Small Business because we believe more should be done to support growth in UK small business. We exist to create the perfect environment for you to start, grow and maintain a business by providing a modern approach to business membership. Focusing around 4 key areas essential to any business; growth, savings, protection & support, Business Scene membership has been developed with today’s business owner in mind - and what really sets us apart is just how much we care about our members’ success.
YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY
We are the fastest growing business community in the UK. YBC membership provides unlimited free advice and documents, financial protection against potential areas of prosecution and occupational hazards, discounts on many business services, and regular networking opportunities.
AS A YBC MEMBER, YOU CAN ENJOY: •
Free legal and employment advice 24/7, and free VAT, tax, PAYE, and health and safety advice during office hours. Phone and ask that burning question, or simply get clarity or confirmation on any issue.
•
An online document library providing hundreds of documents, templates, fact sheets, and handbooks covering law, tax, health and safety, and HR.
•
Financial protection in the event of your business being subject to: -
HMRC tax investigation HMRC aspect enquiry Employment disputes and awards Health and safety prosecution Data protection prosecution Licence protection Landlord disputes Director, partner, and employee prosecution
Members can also save money by making use of our growing range of commercial benefits, bringing DISCOUNTS and ADVICE on essential products and services such as insurance, telecoms, card processing, banking, printing, energy, access to finance, debt collection, financial advice and auto enrolment. Our members know that the more people you know, the more chance you have of finding clients. That’s why our networking events are always very well attended. History of Your Business Community: YBC was formed as a 21st century alternative to the traditional support services that are now viewed by many as out of date. We seek to solve problems rather than just complain about them. Whatever business service you are looking for you will find it in YBC Street.
EXHIBITING IN YBC STREET: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
AVPT Caring and Sharing Dynamix Group Express Sourcing Fresh Consulting Jeremy Jacobs Journolink Kafoodle Pdf Pen Rocketspark Xcommnett YBC YBC Insurance Zenith Street Amanda C Watts Advantage Business Partnership AE In A Box Tip Top Media Lorraine Tapper Tony C Accountants The Problem Solver Business Growth Creator
By visiting YBC Street you will be able to meet a selection of our members and service providers and see for yourself why so many business owners are choosing to be members of Your Business Community.
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Take one day out to change the way you work forever. Speakers include Gill Fielding, a self-made millionaire with a no-nonsense, positive approach to finance and a personal mission to educate the nation in managing and improving their own financial position.
85% OFF! Promo Code: SIMPLE Exclusive offer: £29 £197 BOOK YOUR SPOT NOW! s h a a . co m / b o ot c a m p
LIVE FEED
SEMINAR SCHEDULE Presenting the very finest business advice, inspiration, and guidance, The Business Show’s seminar schedule features an unrivalled array of globally revered experts and proven entrepreneurs sharing their talent for business success. The best business guidance can be hard to come by, and even if you manage to find a guru you trust, their time isn’t cheap - unless you’re at The Business Show. Then it’s free. We give you direct access to many of the most respected business people in the UK as they deliver state-of-the-art seminars to support your business growth. Over two days, you’ll hear the latest insight on a huge range of topics that will immediately benefit any business, whether you’re just starting out or targeting growth for your established SME. Many of our speakers help shape the face of British business, so acting upon their forecasts and predictions could see your business streets ahead of your competition. The following pages will provide you with details on every seminar at this December’s show*.The seminar schedule has been carefully compiled to reflect the hottest topics in business
right now, but not only is it topical, it also encompasses every area of business that entrepreneurs and SMEs have told us they need to know about. Covering the entire range of business needs from writing a winning business plan to floating on the stock market, the schedule also picks up on everything in-between including the latest marketing trends, new technology shaping the business landscape, and business success stories that are sure to inspire. You don’t need to book for any of our seminars, but they fill up fast, so we recommend you get there early to be sure of a seat. We’re constantly adding to our seminar line-up right up until the show, so please check the online schedule for the latest information.
Demand for seats in our keynote seminar halls is always high, and unfortunately not everyone will be able to enjoy our experts from the comfort of a seat within the hall. So why not enjoy their unique take on business from the comfort of a seat just outside their hall? Our live feed of each keynote seminar means missing out on their superb and highly sought-after talks is a thing of the past. You can enjoy every minute of the guidance, advice, insight and entertainment provided by our keynote experts through the large screens situated right by Keynote Hall 1, which is in the Business Startup area of Olympia, and Keynote Hall 2, located in The Business Show area.
LIVE FEED SPONSOR
Get up to £400 for switching more than one gas or electricity contract to British Gas* To say thank you for doing more with us, British Gas are giving one-off credit rewards. The reward amount is based on consumption and payment will be made by the time of your second bill. Who is eligible? • •
New customers who switch more than one additional supply point to British Gas Existing customers who do more with British Gas
To find out more visit: britishgas.co.uk/business/gbb * Details correct at time of publication. Please check the website for the latest updates.
*Average reward credit is £100 britishgas.co.uk/business/gbb
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KEYNOTE HALL 1 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How to Raise £1 Million for Your Startup With o Prior Experience
Q & A with David Gold
Daniel Murray Grabble
Learn how to take the plunge from a normal job and dive straight into the unknown, with no relevant experience, and armed only with a sense of adventure and determination to do something different with your life.
David Gold West Ham United & Ann Summers
David Gold will be interviewed on stage about his rags to riches story from an East London Council Estate to the Owner of one of England’s most famous football clubs.
11.45 - 12.15
5 Steps to Building Your Advocate Community
Leading a Winning Team
Paul Sackman Hootsuite
Alastair Cook England Cricket Captain
What is the secret to growing a great company? Getting your customers to build your business. This presentation will show the difference between brand fans and brand advocates, how you can identify your top advocates and how to develop community programmes that nurture these relationships and allow you to scale customer loyalty and advocacy to drive business success.
At The Business Show with his sponsor Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Alastair will provide insights into his approach in leading the national team across the globe against some of the game’s best and most competitive teams in front of the world’s most partisan crowds. Alastair will also reveal his strategies in dealing with the pressure and demands that come with being both a professional athlete and captain of the England cricket team, drawing on moments from his illustrious career.
12.30 - 13.00
What Does a Stand Out Startup Look Like?
Can Someone Really Motivate You to Change Your Life in 25 Minutes?
Reshma Sohoni and Chris Goodfellow SeedCamp and BusinessZone
Brad Burton 4 Networking
Reshma and Chris Goodfellow (editor BusinessZone.co.uk) talk about what investors such as Seedcamp look for in startup businesses and founders to identify the exciting growth opportunities.
Can someone really motivate you to change your life in 25 minutes? Yup. Take the challenge and find out. Get there early. Once every seat is full, there is no stopping him. Highest rated & reviewed Amazon business author, founder of 4Networking and The UK’s #1 Motivational Business speaker brings his unique brand of wisdom, humour and high energy presentation to the always packed audience. Winning at life is more important than coming first in business. As you’ll find out.
13.15 - 13.45
Personal Branding Online: Be You, Only Better
Vodafone UK
Bianca Miller The Be Group
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
Brands are built about what people are saying about you, not what you say about yourself.” Learn how to effectively use the internet to showcase and develop your brand to niche audiences using platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, your brand website etc. Understand how to network utilising your personal brand whilst leaving a lasting legacy and so much more.
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Jonathan Kini Vodafone
In the UK today, there are over five million SMEs. These businesses are hard-working, unique, at the heart of the British economy… And you’re one of them. This session will cover how embracing change and getting closer to the local communities and creating local networks can help you engage with customers better.
KEYNOTE HALL 1 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Digital Skills Starts With Mind-set. Learn How to Grow Your Business as a Friend
Q & A With a Fashion Retail King.
Touker Suleyman Hawes and Curtis
Penny will share her experience of building an online personal brand that supports her business and how her global network of business friends has helped her start and build her companies
Hear from one of the nation’s leading fashion entrepreneurs and influential manufacturers as he shares with you some of the stories, tips and techniques he’s experienced throughout his long and distinguished business career in this exclusive Q&A.
11.45 - 12.15
Should Marketing Managers be getting Sentimental? Analyse THIS...
Launch YOUR Small Business Into the “Big 4”
Jonathan L Davey Social Media Directors
Julianne Ponan Creative Nature
Sentiment Analysis is critical in today’s marketing world... we’ll be looking at 3 case studies showing why you need to have your ear to the ground, listening to the social whirl, in order to protect your brand value. No big deal for small businesses but immensely important for global brands and those companies with aspirations to join them. Come and listen to what I have to say, you never know, it might come in handy one day and save you a million or two!
Drawing directly on her experience of launching and growing Creative Nature Superfoods into the world of supermarkets, Julianne’s seminar will hit the sweet spot of any aspiring entrepreneur. Don’t miss a chance to hear Julianne discuss her journey of finance, marketing, branding and the launch into major multiples to see what lessons you can learn for your own start up. ‘Failure doesn’t come from falling down. Failure comes from not getting up’!
12.30 - 13.00
From Rags to Riches – How Romany Gypsy Alfie Best Built a Business Worth £200m
Female Techpreneur: How to Build a Community of 85k People With No Funding
Alfie Best Wyldecrest Parks
Nidhima Kohli My Beauty Matches
All you need for your business to succeed is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. This is Alfie Best philosophy. Surrounded by the right team, with his hands-on approach and his very unique business style, he built a successful business totally from scratch. And today he shares all his story and his secrets to succeed.
With no prior experience in tech, Nidhima will be sharing her tips on how to build a multi award winning business recognised by some of the biggest publications with a community size of 100,000 people with no funding and hence why The Guardian appointed My Beauty Matches as startup of the year 2014.
13.15 - 13.45
How to Design a Social Media Plan for Success
How To Adapt Your Sales and Marketing Model For The 21st Century
Warren Knight Think #Digital First
In this thought provoking seminar, Warren will be sharing with you how every business, entrepreneur, sales and marketing manager can use technology to help their business grow. Warren will share how building brand awareness, marketing to your niche target audience, decreasing the length of time in the sales cycle and building customer retention by using the latest technology is crucial for moving your business forward.
Jonathan Pfahl The Rockstar Mentoring Group
A big favourite at the Business Show and making his 16th Appearance in the last 8 years, Rockstar Founder Jonathan Pfahl will be sharing with you the real life lessons learnt and implemented in producing a product catered to todays Digital Age. 80% of UK small business owners sell a service over a tangible product and many of their sales and marketing techniques are still very much in the ‘dark ages’.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Penny Power, OBE The Business Cafe
KEYNOTE HALL 1 FRIDAY
KEYNOTE HALL 2 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Building The Ultimate Sales and Marketing Machine
How to Make Money Online Using the Skills You Already Have
Shweta Jhajharia ActionCOACH
Shaa Wasmund SW MEdia Enterprises
Too many businesses hit an income ceiling, and never make the kind of money (or the kind of impact) that they are capable of. They get stuck at one of the 3 plateaus: Survival, Stability or even Success.And this is not because of inadequate information about what the really successful companies out there are doing! It is because of an inability to identify the simple actions and core strategies that need to be implemented to create an “Ultimate Sales and Marketing Machine” in the business.
UK #1 bestselling author and recipient of an MBE for services to business and entrepreneurship, Shaa Wasmund inspires positive action with her no-nonsense, no-excuse advice. Entrepreneur. Prolific Speaker. Founder of Smarta and champion of small businesses. Author of the bestselling ‘Stop Talking, Start Doing’ and ‘Do Less, Get More: How To Work Smart and Live Life Your Way’. With a galaxy of stellar connections from professional boxer Chris Eubank to Sir James Dyson and Sir Richard Branson, she radiates success.
11.45 - 12.15
So You Want to Start a Restaurant?
Thinking Outside the Box - Make your Business Unique
Jamie Barber Cabana Brasilian Barbeque
Award-winning restaurant owner Jamie Barber runs through the thought processes behind restaurant start-ups and how to maximise your financial success.
Julien Callede MADE
Julien will discuss the Made.com business model and give insights about growth, how to manage it, overcome challenges and alter your business model to increase profitability. This will be followed by a Q and A session.
12.30 - 13.00
How to Adapt Your Sales and Marketing Model for the 21st Century
Powerfully Talking to Customers Throughout The Marketing Funnel
Jonathan Pfahl The Rockstar Mentoring Group
Dave Morrisey Facebook
A big favourite at the Business Show and making his 16th Appearance in the last 8 years, Rockstar Founder Jonathan Pfahl will be sharing with you the real life lessons learnt and implemented in producing a product catered to todays Digital Age. 80% of UK small business owners sell a service over a tangible product and many of their sales and marketing techniques are still very much in the ‘dark ages’.
Today’s consumers demand relevance. We need to talk to the right person, at the right time, with the right message. With Facebook and Instragram, we now can.
13.15 - 13.45
How To Grow Your Business (Lessons From A Growth Hacker)
Born In The Cloud
Ross Kingsland Inception Growth
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
We believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. When the odds are stacked against us we challenge the status quo by winning. We are perceived as underdogs. We are, in fact, giant slayers. Discover the exact strategies that resulted in an unknown business owner winning clients like Lamborghini, Virgin and KPMG with no existing relationships, no traditional marketing and no brand name. Learn how your organisation can implement the same model to deliver a true step change in your business and revenue.
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Richard Walters Intermedia
Building a business and realising your dreams can be extremely liberating. But how can you ensure you enjoy the freedom to focus on your business to help it grow? Part of the answer is Worry-Free IT. Richard will share his experiences and insights leveraging technology to build and grow world-class businesses. Through case studies he’ll show how Cloud technology can be a business growth enabler - without costing the world.
KEYNOTE HALL 2 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How to get Everyone Talking About Your Business
Speakers Corner and Delivering Content Strategy for Company Events
Linzi Boyd Shirlaws Group
Nick Gold Speakers Corner
Make your business a household name. There are so many brands out there in all sectors, how do you make yours standout in such a crowded market? Whether you want to build, renovate or just refresh your brand, this seminar will give you the understanding of where you are with your brand now and how to move forward. Learn Linzi’s 5 step process required to achieve stand-out status
A look at the world of conferences, seminars and events from the perspective of external speakers, facilitators and hosts. Planning an event to ensure delivery of content and message to a wide audience is a very powerful tool in both engagement and adding value and deliver content. How to maximise the effectiveness of content in events is something that Speakers Corner has spent the last 14 years immersed in
11.45 - 12.15
What do Angels Really Bring? And it’s NOT All About the Money…
Can someone Really Motivate You to Change Your Life in 25 minutes?
Bill Morrow Angels Den
Brad Burton 4 Networking
If you want to learn about the do’s and do not’s of looking for funding, how to pitch to investors, what investors are really looking for and how to impress them, learn from expert, Bill Morrow, who’s been there, done it and seen it all.
Can someone really motivate you to change your life in 25 minutes? Yup. Take the challenge and find out. Get there early. Once every seat is full, there is no stopping him. Highest rated & reviewed Amazon business author, founder of 4Networking and The UK’s #1 Motivational Business speaker brings his unique brand of wisdom, humour and high energy presentation to the always packed audience. Winning at life is more important than coming first in business. As you’ll find out.
12.30 - 13.00
WTF – What’s the Future?
How To Grow Your Business (Lessons From a Growth Hacker)
Warren Cass Business Scene
The best networkers seem totally magnetic, attracting people to them, oozing credibility and connected. But how did they get there? Where did they start and what were the key lessons?
Ross Kingsland Inception Growth
We believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. When the odds are stacked against us we challenge the status quo by winning. We are perceived as underdogs. We are, in fact, giant slayers. Discover the exact strategies that resulted in an unknown business owner winning clients like Lamborghini, Virgin and KPMG with no existing relationships, no traditional marketing and no brand name. Learn how your organisation can implement the same model to deliver a true step change in your business and revenue.
KEYNOTE HALL 2 FRIDAY
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
13.15 - 13.45 Daniel Wagner Expert Success
Learn more about why running your own Amazon Business is a certain, fast and scalable model with a very low startup cost. Anyone can grab a share of this fast-growing $15 trillion dollar marketplace without the need to invent or develop your own products. Daniel will explain how converging business trends create a unique window of opportunity that you can take advantage of right now to change your life forever.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
The Amazon Opportunity: Introduction to this Accessible Business Model
SEMINAR HALL 3 THURSDAY
SEMINAR HALL 3 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Making Downtime a Thing of the Past
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Gilli Coston Wyless Europe Plc
63% of SME’s globally consider disaster recovery or business continuity to be a critical priority; Forrester Research. This presentation will ask and answer a number of questions that every business should be asking themselves. How to avoid system downtime resulting in revenue loss and equally important, reputation and lost customers? It will detail the steps that should be taken to implement a business continuity strategy supported by customer case studies.
Companies House Staff Companies House
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
11.45 - 12.15
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Workplace AE Pensions and Life Assurance Made Easy
Companies House Staff Companies House
Roger Sanders OBE Lighthouse Workplace Solutions [Lighthouse Group Plc.]
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
1.8M smaller employers have to stage by 2018. Businesses must be ready on time for their staging dates or else face daily fines of £50-£2,500. Help is at hand if your payroll cannot cope, your employee records are a mess and your finance/HR functions are struggling. This presentation shows how to get the problem off your desk, get your life back and give your employees’ security in retirement.
12.30 - 13.00
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Kevin Jackson ibd Business Advice Group Ltd
Are you at a crossroads of your career, like the idea of running your own business, having the flexibility and work/life balance but thinking I have all this experience, but what do I do with it? Kevin can explain how to establish if a portfolio of strategic part-time roles is right for you and importantly where the work would come from and how to fund this new career.
13.15 - 13.45 Speaker to Be Confirmed Keep an Eye on our Digital Show Guide for Speaker Updates
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
Companies House Staff Companies House
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
16.15 - 16.45
Neil Morrow Benefits Communication
Embracing Technology to Reduce SMEs’ costs Cloud-based products such as Dropbox and MailChimp have long helped businesses of all sizes by allowing them to outsource expensive technology and regulatory requirements. So why are such products not being used to engage with employees and communicate their employee benefits? With many companies seeing pension Auto-enrolment as an opportunity to create and review their benefits package, the need for tech products to replace expensive external benefits portals has never been stronger.
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SEMINAR HALL 3 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Companies House Staff Companies House
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
11.45 - 12.15
14.45 - 15.15
Becoming A Consultant
Content that converts: How to Use Content and the Skills you Already Have to Make More Money Online
Kevin Jackson ibd Business Advice Group Ltd
Are you at a crossroads of your career, like the idea of running your own business, having the flexibility and work/life balance but thinking I have all this experience, but what do I do with it? Kevin can explain how to establish if a portfolio of strategic part-time roles is right for you and importantly where the work would come from and how to fund this new career.
Matt Thomas Curators Of Awesome
Content isn’t just about marketing – it’s your ticket to creating a brand people want to buy from and your most powerful asset for driving not just leads but sales, repeat buyers and an audience of fans. Find out how to do this and to use content to stop trading time for money and grow a digital business multiple revenue streams and recurring sales.
12.30 - 13.00
Defining an Effective B2B Social Media Marketing Strategy
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Kristian Downer DowSocial
A staggering number of businesses waste time on social media due to a lack of strategic planning. This seminar is aimed at businesses selling to other businesses, looking to start using or improve how they use social media and blogging to achieve a marketing ROI. Kristian will analyse WHY your business should invest in digital marketing, which platforms to use and what content to publish and when.
Companies House Staff Companies House
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
13.15 - 13.45
Become A Key Person of Influence
Business Networking For Dummies
Daniel Priestley Entrevo
Daniel Priestley, Co Founder of Entrevo Limited explains how to position yourself as a Key Person of Influence in your industry. Attract more opportunities, make more money and have more fun
Stef Thomas The Networking Retreat
Ever wondered how to really make networking work for you? From desperation Stefan HAD to make networking work and, in this fast paced seminar, will give you the techniques and strategies proven to work. Stefan had to pay the mortgage and bills and will give you real life information which you can take away and use straight away.t
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Companies House Staff Companies House
SEMINAR HALL 3 FRIDAY
SEMINAR HALL 4 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How To Earn 10K A Month, Guaranteed
Shortcuts to Creating Your Dream Life in 2016
Ian Christelow ActionCOACH
AC UK co-founder, Ian Christelow, explains how helping others can be the fastest way to make a million & outlines the guaranteed high-return investment models operated by AC UK Franchise Partners to maximise profitability
Svietlana Lavrentidi Entrepreneurial Women’s Network
Most people think that starting a business is hard and takes years before you are profitable, but in this talk you will learn how successful people think and act to get what they want fast. If you are ready to step up to finally claim your dream-life you MUST learn these secrets. Stop the madness of trial and error and discover the proven shortcuts to success as an entrepreneur.
11.45 - 12.15
How to Start Your Business Empire With Little or NO Money
Getting it Right From the Start: Setting up Your Business Properly
Patrick Powers Entrepreneurs in London
Patrick Herrlinger Advanced Payment Solutions Ltd
Discover a Simple and Bulletproof Formula for starting a business empire EVEN if you are totally broke and can’t get any funding. Don’t put your dreams on hold because you think starting a business is risky or costly. Don’t wait for a perfect time in the future, when some investor MIGHT give you money. When you learn this formula it could be THIS week or even tomorrow.
Setting up a new company is exciting and all-involving, but what is it that entrepreneurs often miss in the early stages of setting up their business? We will be exploring the key building blocks that every small business should be putting in place to ensure that there is no rude awakening from the dream.
12.30 - 13.00
40 Years of Sales, 40 Years of Tales
How to Turn Your Website into a Profit Engine
Terry Cooper 4 Networking
They say that salesmen never really retire. Terry tried retirement but was bored and now he brings his experience of over 40 years’ direct selling to advise and guide audiences up and down the country. Terry was a salesman before mobile phones, email, social media and all the other modern excuses were invented. Terry had shoe leather, a winning smile and learnt exactly how to engage and persuade. You will learn sales techniques that really work from someone who has sold since the 1970s.
Lee Chadwick WOW Analytics
In a competitive market, generating more leads from your website traffic has become crucial to maximising ROI. But in this day and age, lead generation isn’t enough. In this seminar, Lee Chadwick, MD at WOW Analytics, shows you the tools that can enhance your lead generation and strengthen your sales pipeline. With best practice tips, you can expect to see firsthand how to turn your website into a profit engine.
13.15 - 13.45
16.15 - 16.45
Microsoft Productivity Tools for Business
Taking on Employees can be Scary... How to Avoid the Pitfalls and Get the Basics Right!
Mark Deakin Microsoft
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
Academia and Microsoft in partnership to showcase productivity tools for the modern workplace including an introduction to Office 365 with an overview of features and benefits. There will be a live demonstration and the announcement of the winner of our prize draw.
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Therese Stokes 4TEC Limited t/a ASAP Office Services
It’s a daunting prospect taking on employees. It’s also vital that you get it right both from an HMRC perspective and for the future of your new company. This seminar will cover tips on the legalities-getting it right, options for your payroll, interview techniques and ideas to build a team to represent your business.
SEMINAR HALL 4 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Getting It Right From The Start: Setting Up Your Business Properly
The Desk Phone is Dead - What’s Next for Business Communications?
Mark Trowbridge The Pink Telephone Company Ltd
Setting up a new company is exciting and allinvolving, but what is it that entrepreneurs often miss in the early stages of setting up their business? We will be exploring the key building blocks that every small business should be putting in place to ensure that there is no rude awakening from the dream.
We’ll review some the recent changes in business communications from the convergence of VoIP in fixed PBX systems to cloud-based solutions and how that is benefitting business and take a closer look at what’s coming next.
11.45 - 12.15
How to Start Your Business Empire With Little or NO Money
Shortcuts To Creating Your Dream Life In 2016
Patrick Powers Entrepreneurs in London
Svietlana Lavrentidi Entrepreneurial Women’s Network
Discover a Simple and Bulletproof Formula for starting a business empire EVEN if you are totally broke and can’t get any funding. Don’t put your dreams on hold because you think starting a business is risky or costly. Don’t wait for a perfect time in the future, when some investor MIGHT give you money. When you learn this formula it could be THIS week or even tomorrow.
Most people think that starting a business is hard and takes years before you are profitable, but in this talk you will learn how successful people think and act to get what they want fast. If you are ready to step up to finally claim your dreamlife you MUST learn these secrets. Stop the madness of trial and error and discover the proven shortcuts to success as an entrepreneur.
12.30 - 13.00
Business Success Through Online Marketing
Marketing Automation Made Easy to Startups & SMBs!
Mili Ponce The SMF Group
Tiago Oliveira E-Goi
Attract hundreds if not thousands of potential clients to your business and convert them not only in to clients but into brand advocates and recurring clients. Learn how to become a leader in your industry and beat your competition without investing thousands of pounds. Digital marketing can be a waste of time, we will show you how to achieve high ROI on your digital efforts.
E-GOI empowers you with the ability to launch integrated e-mail, SMS, MMS and voice messaging campaigns from a single on-line interface and monitor any campaign in real time for all broadcast channels, gauging and honing its progress over time. All of this made easy to Startups & SMBs!a
13.15 - 13.45
Ensuring Marketing Spend Delivers More Customers
Enabling SME Growth Through Cloud Base Technology
Robyn Sinclair Get Set For Growth
Thanks to e-commerce, price comparison sites, online reviews and social media, there has never been so much choice… or competition! Consumers have more options, more offers and are more discriminating than ever before. As a business, you are no longer just competing within your immediate geography, but with organisations you’ve never heard of in parts of the world you’ve never seen. The internet has created an even and much larger playing field and almost every business has suffered its effects in one way or another - but this also brings opportunities
Gildas Le Pallec Neopost
The advent of cloud technology and the democratisation of enterprise size applications that followed can help SME grow their business... here’s why
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Patrick Herrlinger Advanced Payment Solutions Ltd
SEMINAR HALL 4 FRIDAY
SEMINAR HALL 5 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Top Tips for Marketing small and Local Businesses Within Google
An Introduction to Auto Enrolment and Work Place Pensions
Ann Stanley Anicca Digital
Jeff Watson Broom Payroll and Pension Solutions
Ann Stanley shares her top tips on search marketing for growing businesses. The presentation includes an overview of the digital marketing landscape in 2015 and Ann imparts advice on maximising visibility in the local Google search results. She goes through the essential tools and techniques that will help a small business run its own sophisticated search marketing campaigns on a budget.
An overview of workplace pensions and auto enrolment. The complications, penalties and solutions for a business. An explanation on employee eligibility, are they eligible or non-eligible. And finally the 5 stages of the financial planning process.
11.45 - 12.15
Using PR To Transform and Grow Your Business
The Business Case for LGBT Inclusion
Kevin Briscoe Briscoe French PR
Venu Dhupa Stonewall
The reputation of your business defines whether it is a success or not and PR manages, enhances and protects your reputation. Find out why PR is essential to your business and get simple tips on how to enhance your reputation with carefully managed PR.
Research shows that LGBT colleagues who feel included in the workplace show higher levels of job satisfaction, performance and job security versus who are not out in the workplace. We will be looking at the business rationale for an inclusive work environment and offering practical guidance on how your organisation can get it right.
12.30 - 13.00
Mark Gouldstone & Wayne Spencer BSI
How Certification Can Benefit Your Business?
With more than 70,000 certified clients and more full-time assessors than any other certification body worldwide, BSI are one of the largest and most experienced certification bodies you could ever find. This seminar will highlight the benefits that businesses have seen after they have become certified.
13.15 - 13.45 Jon Marsh CFH Docmail Ltd
Cost and Time Saving Solutions for Client Communications
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
How do you communicate with your clients? 57% of clients say receiving a letter rather than an email makes them feel more valued. 63% say they are likely to take a letter more seriously than an email. 55% say it gives them a better impression of your company. Is there a more cost effective way of communicating with your clients? Stats - Royal Mail, The Private Life of Mail Study 2015.
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Richard Fenton The Zinc Group
Five Ways Businesses Can Save Money by Outsourcing The presentation will cover five ways companies can save money through business processes outsourcing in the UK; we will cover five points to consider as a business owner, each with its own cost benefit. Business Process Outsourcing is a great way for companies to expand their operations without investing huge sums of money, allowing owners to concentrate on their core strengths.
SEMINAR HALL 5 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Starting a Business Abroad: 7 Keys to Successful Foreign Entrepreneurship
Why Do Some Businesses Fly When Others Don’t Get Off The Ground?
Adrian Knight Aaron Parker Franchises
Ted Wigzell Your Business Community
Opening a business for the first time can be a daunting process for anyone. Add a move to a different country, a new home, a 70-to-80 hour work schedule with little or no pay and you have a recipe for disaster. International franchise broker Adrian Knight talks you through the 7 keys to successfully relocating and starting a business abroad.
Discover what differentiates successful businesses from those that never get off the ground. Designed to challenge your thinking if you are an established business owner and to help form good habits if you are a StartUp, this seminar will identify the key strategies to adopt to maximise your chances of success.
11.45 - 12.15
Selling Across Multiple Channels Made Easy
Find and Release the Cash That’s Hiding In Your Business
Alex Podopryhora M2E Limited
Jennifer Raines Your Right Hand Finance Team
The heydays of conventional “brick and mortar” as well as catalogue channels are over. The online multichannel transformation has made it more difficult for businesses to acquire and retain shoppers; it has added major challenges to a product online visibility and stock management. But all this can be addressed with new strategies while managing multichannel complexities. What are the main online marketplaces? What multi channel solution choices are available?
You will already have cash in your business that you think is tied up and not accessible. This seminar will give you the knowledge and an action plan that you can easily implement today to hunt it down and get it working for you. You may still need funding for your growth plans, but after this seminar you may realise that you don’t.
12.30 - 13.00
Who Cares About Intellectual Property (IP)
Digital Marketing Seminar - The Directors Cut
Ese Akpogheneta Nucleus IP
As you start a new business or an existing business evolves, your IP needs will also evolve. This seminar will give you a general overview of the various IP options available and how they interact and add value to your business if adequate protection is in place. This seminar aims to give a simplified overview of what some perceive to be a very confusing area of law.
Alasdair Inglis Grow
It can be hard to keep up with the constant change taking place in digital marketing. Choosing the right digital marketing strategies for a small business can be an overwhelming task. For digital savvy business owners, the opportunities in our fast moving digital landscape are incredible. Choosing the right digital marketing strategies for your business can dramatically increase your business enquiries, sales and profits. During this Digital Marketing seminar, Alasdair Inglis, Grow’s MD will teach proven digital marketing strategies that get amazing results.
SEMINAR HALL 5 FRIDAY
13.15 - 13.45
Julie Barry RIFT R&D Tax Credits
There is cash waiting for businesses who are developing new ideas – software, products, and processes. Any of these could qualify and you could be up for a much needed cash injection or vital research and development tax relief. Tax credits for R&D is a huge topic and it can take a lot to get your head around it so come and find out if you have fund to unlock in within your business
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Unlock the Hidden Funds You Didn’t Know You Had!
SEMINAR HALL 6 THURSDAY
SEMINAR HALL 6 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Perils, Pitfalls & Potential: Setting Up & Running Your Business
PR for Entrepreneurs: Be Heard, be Seen, be a Success!
John Walker MTA Business
Ali Shadrack Adia PR
John Walker, Partner at MTA Solicitors, will take you through the legal minefield of setting up and running a successful business. From current legislation and changes in consumer regulation to the need to regularly review your Terms & Conditions and contracts, there’s a lot to consider. Let MTA Business guide you through some of the common pitfalls and the not so obvious perils to avoid.
Every business small or large should be doing PR. PR activities that are carried out consistently and professionally will help you to: raise awareness of your business, build and improve your reputation, reach out to prospects and generate leads, and so much more! Join Ali Shadrack and learn some key tips and techniques on how to create thousands of pounds worth of free PR and propel your business to success.
11.45 - 12.15
14.45 - 15.15
John Davy Dojo Media Consulting Limited
How to Effectively Make LinkedIn Work for You & Your Business LinkedIn is the dominant business social media platform in our world today. With over 19 million UK users, LinkedIn is an important ally to have on your side. John Davy will reveal how this powerful platform can help you and explain why Linkedin is both good for your employees and good for your business. Discover the connection this creates and how you can blow your competitors out of the (social) water
Dwain Reid
Get The Most Out Of Networking At The Business Show And Beyond “Your network is your net worth” but how do you build a powerful network if you are too shy to network? Learn how to deal with networking at events including how to get over nerves you may feel beforehand. Learn 5 essential things to remember in networking situations including how to break the ice and get into conversations and how to follow up with key contacts.
12.30 - 13.00
IP Essentials For Start-Ups and SMEs
The Age of Start Ups-Virtual Professional Services in the Cloud
Richard Burton D Young & Co LLP
Whether a fledgling start up or established SME, intellectual property is one of your core assets. Are you using innovation to secure growth? Are you aware of the schemes available to support your growing business? Leading IP specialist Richard Burton from D Young & Co give a snapshot of what’s on offer and the IP rights essential for the best protection for your invention, technology and brand. Don’t miss out!
Stella Fehmi Businessworx
With so many businesses taking to the cloud for IT and Network infrastructure solutions, isn’t it time you used the cloud to its full potential for staffing solutions too? Now anyone with a great idea can start a business and get the solid backing of a professional workforce without any long-term commitment or concerns about salaries, pensions, offices or other traditional business methodologies.
13.15 - 13.45
How Technology Is Enabling Access To Finance For SMEs
Unlocking the Secrets to Getting Press Coverage
Graeme Marshall Funding Knight
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
On overview of how technology is breaking down the barriers within finance, and how new solutions are enabling UK’s SMEs to access capital for growth outside a traditional banking sector that has stopped lending. These new wave of companies also allow retail investors to receive the same rate of return as city insiders. In short, it is nothing less than the democratisation of finance.
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Stuart Hall Ten Alps Media
Do you want to know how to get published in B2B and Trade magazines and on relevant websites? How to become a regular contributor and get your business or product published? In this session we will look at the 3 types of editorial content most commonly used and will give you the top 5 points you need to know to unlock the power of PR coverage
SEMINAR HALL 6 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Sources of Finance for Your Business – Know all Your Options
Important Legal Considerations for Small Businesses
Amanda Williams (nee Friston) Business Law Online
This seminar will identify the numerous sources of finance available to start-up and young businesses, the key differences between them and how to best prepare an application for finance. It will also signpost businesses to further information on finance providers as well as how chartered accountants can help businesses get appropriate finance.
Starting up a new business can be both exciting and stressful and there are many things to cover all at a time when you have few staff and little disposal income, so what are the keys things you must take into account? We will guide you through the top ten legal considerations to help you avoid making costly mistakes.
11.45 - 12.15
From Bedroom to Boardroom: Taking Your Business to the Next Level
Richard Walters Intermedia
Building a business and realising your dreams can be extremely liberating. But how can you ensure you enjoy the freedom to focus on your business to help it grow? Part of the answer is Worry-Free IT. Richard will share his experiences and insights leveraging technology to build and grow world-class businesses. Through case studies he’ll show how Cloud technology can be a business growth enabler - without costing the world.
Iain Colbeck Experian
Where are you on your business journey? Whether you’re still refining your business idea, or have already started your business, Experian can help you at every step of the way. Join this seminar to see our credit expert share the latest views, best practices, hints and tips to help you protect your personal credit report and grow your business.
12.30 - 13.00
Why Social Media is the Make or Break of Any Small Business
Battle of Good and Bad Online Marketing, What Works Today?
Stacey Berold-Kutscher Sendible Ltd
Gary Strong Strong SEO
Serious about growing your market share? Still not sure about social media for your business? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this seminar is for you. Small businesses fight to thrive in competitive markets, with small budgets and limited resources. Social media is the great equaliser, allowing anyone to compete in the same space as the big-budget goliaths. See how it’s done on any budget.
Summary of what Strong SEO performs for our clients to help businesses triple profits from recent tips in the battle for online marketing
13.15 - 13.45
How Music Can Benefit Your Business
Cash Is King - The Importance of Cash Flow
Nick Chambers PPL UK
Nick will be sharing his key insights into the power of music and the role it plays in building your brand, growing your business and creating a unique experience for your company and customers.
Lisa Jones Klarity Vision
Cash, the lifeblood of business, making it critical you maintain a strong cash flow in your business. Throughout this seminar we will identify causes of poor cash flow, help you understand how to prevent/manage them. Showing you the importance of creating and maintaining a cash flow forecast so you can plan for and survive any shortfalls. One vital business lesson you should learn is creating a strong cash flow strategy.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Clive Lewis ICAEW
SEMINAR HALL 7 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
ET Phoned Home. He’d Be Over the Moon With SME Cloud Communications
What to Look out for When Buying and Selling a Business
Rafael Cortes Foehn
Sherine Silva Hodders Law Ltd
One of the most remarkable inventions of all time – the telephone – has become one of the most ubiquitous items of electronic communication, and yet only now in the 21st Century are businesses truly harnessing its full potential. Learn how to take control of your business phone system, get really smart with your business communications and do some really clever things that possibly you didn’t even know were possible!
Many of the pitfalls of buying and selling a business can be avoided by getting good advice upfront. This seminar explains what the common pitfalls are and how to avoid them.
11.45 - 12.15
Why You Don’t Need Consultants to Grow Your Business
What is Intellectual Property?
Stefano Maifreni Stem Advisory Ltd (eggcelerate)
The symptoms can creep up on you. There’s a sensation that you’re losing control. Perhaps you’re overcome by a feeling of weariness. And maybe your wallet seems mysteriously lighter… While growing your business, employing people with specialist skills may be too much of a commitment. Hiring consultants can prove expensive and fruitless. Perhaps you’ve had your fingers burned before? It’s horrible. Attend to discover what you can do instead.
Chris Smith Intellectual Property Office
Successful businesses understand the importance of protecting their Intellectual Property for brand names, new inventions, new designs and creative work. IP will account for a large part of the value of most businesses. This seminar will help you understand the four main areas (trade marks, patents, designs and copyright).
12.30 - 13.00
A Lawyer’s Guide to Structuring Your Business, Dealing with Investors and Tech
The New Voice of Telemarketing
Clive Halperin GSC Solititors
This Seminar will help start-ups and small to medium sized businesses understand how to structure their business, deal with shareholders and other investors and discuss how to exploit and protect your IP and technology. It is aimed at young and growing businesses including those who may be looking to bring in other shareholders and investors as part of their growth.
13.15 - 13.45
Robyn Sinclair Get Set For Growth
Ensuring Marketing Spend Delivers More Customers
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
Thanks to e-commerce, price comparison sites, online reviews and social media, there has never been so much choice… or competition! Consumers have more options, more offers and are more discriminating than ever before. As a business, you are no longer just competing within your immediate geography, but with organisations you’ve never heard of in parts of the world you’ve never seen. The internet has created an even and much larger playing field and almost every business has suffered its effects in one way or another - but this also brings opportunities
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Nicola Hartland Xcel Sales Limited
Online and social platforms can build strong awareness of your brand, but it is telemarketing with its direct and personal approach that will secure your business deals. Implemented well, social media activity enforced by engaging senior decision makers in conversations gives your business a competitive edge that leads to success. After all – people buy from people. So how do you turn online experiences into measurable results?
SEMINAR HALL 7 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
What Does the Increasing Chinese Investment Mean to British Companies?
Chris Smith Intellectual Property Office
Successful businesses understand the importance of protecting their Intellectual Property for brand names, new inventions, new designs and creative work. IP will account for a large part of the value of most businesses. This seminar will help you understand the four main areas (trade marks, patents, designs and copyright).
Andy Han YingDe Group Ltd
China is now at a stage of large-scale outward investment. It became the world’s third largest investor in 2014 with a total outward investment of more than USD 100 billion. Chinese investment in the UK has become diversified in the areas and patterns of investment amid drastic growth. Chinese investors does not only bring in investments, but also the cross-cultural perspective of your business and the opportunity to explore Eastern markets to broaden your business’ reach.
11.45 - 12.15
Navigating the Auto Enrolment Minefield
More Than A Jolly - Dispelling the Myth of Outdoor Team Development.
Will Wynne Smart Pension Limited
Two thirds of small businesses in the UK don’t know the exact date they need to comply with the new auto enrolment pension rules. This puts them at risk of some very considerable fines from The Pensions Regulator. Setting up a workplace pension scheme can be confusing, complicated, costly and time consuming. Will will talk you through how to navigate the auto enrolment minefield painlessly, simply and quickly.
Louise Edwards Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development
A seminar which looks at the potential value and outcomes a well planned and delivered outdoor development training programme can offer your team. It’s had a bad reputation as being a macho, uncomfortable, painful and slightly cheesy training experience. In actual fact, it can be a powerful, effective and engaging tool for bringing teams together to become more self-aware of their behaviours with the purpose of improving performance and changing attitudes.
12.30 - 13.00
Revolutionise your Business Efficiency with Mobile Working
Learn Multi Millionaire Trader’s Exact Strategies, Trading As A new income stream
Dan Farrell-Wright Webformed Ltd
Be more competitive, improve your quality of service and save money! Allow your mobile workforce to focus on the job at hand by eliminating tedious and time consuming paperwork. By providing all your field workforce with a smart phone or tablet and using the right mobile working applications, you can remove paperwork, improve the quality of service and become more competitive.
Darren Winters The Wealth Training Company LLP
Learn From A Multi-Millionaire Trader Proven Strategies, That Require Just A Few Hours A Week! Revealed: top secret strategies, investors use to make money: how to find great trades fast, when to buy and when to sell, how to minimize risk and maximize profits. Make sure you attend this presentation as you’ll be learning techniques that will impact your life and will help you create a new income stream.
SEMINAR HALL 7 FRIDAY
13.15 - 13.45
Josh Aarons & Peter Small SalesSeek Limited
Josh and Peter explain how aligning Sales and Marketing allows businesses to share insights, close business more effectively and provide the highest quality of client interaction. Sharing and comparing their separate experience from Marketing and Sales standpoints this seminar will shed light on that parts the are missing your revenue generation process. If you sell B2B then this is a presentation not to be missed.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Aligning Sales and Marketing for Explosive Businesses Growth
SEMINAR HALL 8 THURSDAY
SEMINAR HALL 8 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How the #!?% Can my Website Generate sales?
How to Rank Your Site On Google in 2016 and Beyond
Dave Harris One 2 Create
James Nicholson Tempo Web Design
Does your website win you business? Well it should! Part one of our two-part seminar covers everything you need to know to turn your website into a 24/7 sales tool for your business. We‘ll cover topics such as, understanding what makes a great website, using calls to action to improve conversions and different ways to be found in search engines.
In this seminar, James Nicholson will discuss the latest ways of ranking your website in 2015. Tactics from years gone by have changed a great deal, so you need to ensure you are up to date with the latest techniques. James will also advise how you can avoid Google penalties such as Google Panda and Google Penguin.
11.45 - 12.15
Voice Technology Has Advanced – Beyond Recognition
Simon Blackler Krystal Hosting
Simon set up his first company when he was 17. Turns out he didn’t know anything about running a business! Drop by for a relaxed and possibly humorous talk to find out what you should and shouldn’t be doing if you’re going into business for the first time. There’ll be a Q&A session at the end where you can ask all those burning questions you’ve got, like “Should I set up my own business?” (the answer is YES) and “Why are there so many forms to fill in?”
Terry Elwell LOASys
Computerised Speech Recognition has been available for nearly three decades and millions of people around the world have invested a good deal of their own time and money attempting to make this technology work for them. Unfortunately the majority of these people have failed to obtain the benefits that they desire and have abandoned the project. Let us see how Voice Technology is becoming more used and more useful.
12.30 - 13.00
Spend Less - Save Time: Sell More and Get Paid Online
Who Cares About Intellectual Property (IP)
FSB Energy and FSB Card Payments Federation of Small Businesses
Ese Akpogheneta Nucleus IP
This presentation will be hosted and delivered by the FSB with two of our major member benefit service providers: FSB Energy and FSB Card Payments. Packed full of essential tips and hints, this seminar will show you how to start and sustain your business by maximising time and outsourcing the things you don’t have time to do, from energy savings to finance and payroll. It will also provide you with the products and tools to help you sell more and grow your business with payment solutions for online and face to face transactions.
As you start a new business or an existing business evolves, your IP needs will also evolve. This seminar will give you a general overview of the various IP options available and how they interact and add value to your business if adequate protection is in place. This seminar aims to give a simplified overview of what some perceive to be a very confusing area of law.
13.15 - 13.45
Trade Marks – How to Protect and Preserve your Brand
Making 2016 Your Best Ever Year in Business
Michelle Bishton Vault IP Ltd
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
This presentation will initially explain what trade marks are and why it is important to conduct clearance searches and secure registered protection. It will also give guidance as how to secure registration of a trade mark in the UK and overseas, as well as how to preserve and strengthen your brand and things to be considered if you are planning to expand your business overseas.
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Ian Dickson Unlock Success Limited
There really is no better time to be in business. It’s your time and your turn to have the success you deserve. I will share with you some simple and proven ways to make sure 2016 is your best ever year in business. I’ll also share the three keys that you need to unlock the success in your business today guaranteed!
SEMINAR HALL 8 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Spend Less - Save Time: Sell More and Get Paid Online
Alternative Finance Solutions for SMEs
FSB Energy and FSB Card Payments Federation of Small Businesses
This presentation will be hosted and delivered by the FSB with two of our major member benefit service providers: FSB Energy and FSB Card Payments. Packed full of essential tips and hints, this seminar will show you how to start and sustain your business by maximising time and outsourcing the things you don’t have time to do, from energy savings to finance and payroll. It will also provide you with the products and tools to help you sell more and grow your business with payment solutions for online and face to face transactions.
Geoff Cooney Genie Lending Ltd
An overview for business owners and their advisers of the plethora of non-bank funding solutions currently available in the SME marketplace including Peer to Peer debt funders, unsecured loan providers, selective invoice discounters and trade finance solutions.
11.45 - 12.15
Using Advertising to Grow Your Business Beyong Word of Mouth
Getting Her Sold on YOU™ with 7 Keys to Selling to Women™
Phil Daniel Admedia
Carrie Eddins The Blondepreneur
Our seminar will describe how advertising can help you grow your business or service, beyond word of mouth.
Get her SOLD on YOU ™ with my 7 Keys to Selling to Women ™ 80% of all buying decisions are made by women… “ Forget China, India and the Internet, economic growth is driven by women.” Tom Peters. - Are you selling & marketing to women like men… BIG MISTAKE! * As women and men relate very differently! - Attend if you would like to learn how to increase your sales by fourfold!
12.30 - 13.00
Increase Sales, Improve Efficiency & Retain More Business Using SMS Communications
Brand or Bland? The Brand Challenge for SME’s.
Andrew Cook Text Global Limited
An in-depth look into engagement with customers via SMS text. How the simple SMS text can be used as a marketing tool to increase sales & integrated with third party applications to improve customer service. As the number of smart phone user’s increase & the amount of time consumers spend on a mobile device, SMS is a communication channel that can’t be ignored.
Geoff Hocking Breathe Creative
Branding often takes a back seat for SMEs who plead lack of resources or time and see it as something only for the Apples and Nikes of this world and not for them. Yet, branding is a vital element in propelling a company in to the consciousness of its potential customers. Learn how you can effectively use the power of branding in your business to give you the competitive edge.
SEMINAR HALL 8 FRIDAY
13.15 - 13.45
Richard Burton D Young & Co LLP
Whether a fledgling start up or established SME, intellectual property is one of your core assets. Are you using innovation to secure growth? Are you aware of the schemes available to support your growing business? Leading IP specialist Richard Burton from D Young & Co give a snapshot of what’s on offer and the IP rights essential for the best protection for your invention, technology and brand. Don’t miss out!
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
IP Essentials For Start-Ups and SMEs
SEMINAR HALL 9 THURSDAY
SEMINAR HALL 9 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How to Maximise Your Business Potential Through Online Marketing
Reward for Innovation - UK R&D Tax Relif and Patent Box
Kate Cox 123-Reg Limited
Gareth Edwards Ela8 Limited
You know digital has the potential to help your business, and you know you need skills to capitalise on that opportunity. But which skills do you REALLY need, and how can you avoid wasting time on skills that aren’t helpful?” 123-reg, as the UK’s largest domain registrar, registers a quarter of UK business websites and hosts over 500,000. As such, we have in depth knowledge of UK businesses digital presence
Experts from ela8 limited explain how businesses can maximise rewards through the R&D tax relief and patent box regimes. Using case studies, the presentation will explore how businesses become eligible and where the boundaries of eligibility might be drawn. It will also give examples of how ela8 has helped clients to increase claims, defend claims and construct methodologies to capture thinly spread R&D and present these to HMRC.
11.45 - 12.15
Data Breaches are not Just for Very Large Businesses
How To Have A Profitable Businesses Using The Thriving Entrepreneur Method:
Andrew Starr OpenIP Ltd
Amanda C. Watts The Start-Up Strategist
Companies, regardless of size, rely on critical business data in order to succeed. But if there is a loss of sensitive information, what would happen? Regardless of the size of the business and who is responsible for the loss of data: negligent employees, insiders or those with malicious intent—unless an organisation has the knowledge and skills to protect and recover lost data, data breaches will continue to cause problems.
With 80% of businesses closing within 3 years you need to create deep foundations and a strong brand that people recognise. Whether your business is just an idea, in start-up phase, or well established, this seminar clearly explains the step by step Thriving Entrepreneur Method that will guarantee your success. Learn Amanda’s 5-step method to attract ideal clients to your business like paparazzi round a celebrity.
12.30 - 13.00
Entrepreneurial Success Factors to Take Your Business to the Next Level
Say No to Accounting From the Jurassic Era
Sacha Sorrell Realise Partners Ltd
Bivek Sharma Head of KPMG Small Business Accounting
This interactive workshop will enable participants to evaluate their business based on Entrepreneurial Success factors (underpinned by our rigorous global research), and come up with actions to take their business to the next level.
Bivek Sharma will discuss how to demand more from your accountant…at no extra fee.
13.15 - 13.45
Improve Your Business Through Automation and Transparency
101 Reasons Why Your Business Fail or Falter & What To Do
Stephen Brown Polarisoft
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
In this talk we will explore how you can out-perform your competitors by automating key processes in your business and show how digital transparency is the key to scaling your profits while keeping your costs down. We will demonstrate how simple it can be to digitise your business and identify improvements to impact your financial outcomes.
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Janice B Gordon The Problem Solver - Business Growth Creator
No one goes into business expecting to fail or falter, yet a good number of established companies do. We do not focus on the problem we give you real practical solutions of what to do and how to avoid it. Too many businesses hit an income ceiling and do not know how to change their business strategy and push through. We want you to make the money and impact of your ambitions. This is not because of a lack of information but an inability to identify the practical actions and unique strength and bespoke strategies needed to create your ultimate sustainable business.
SEMINAR HALL 9 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How the #!?% Do I Market My Business?
Private Medical Insurance“Let your Employees feel the Love!”
Simon Bradley WPA Healthcare Practice.
Does your website win you business? Well it should! Part one of our two-part seminar covers everything you need to know to turn your website into a 24/7 sales tool for your business. We‘ll cover topics such as, understanding what makes a great website, using calls to action to improve conversions and different ways to be found in search engines.
In the extremely fast paced world of business it’s important to look after the Healthcare of all your employees. This seminar highlights what Private Medical insurance is, the benefits it provides and the impact it could have on your business if you lose key employees to long-term illness. And importantly if you want to attract and retain the best staff you really need to offer this key employee benefit!
11.45 - 12.15
Keep an Eye on our Digital Show Guide for Speaker Updates
Philip Bryan Sentori
Understand The Numbers And Get More From Email Marketing When you send out email marketing messages using an on-line service provider you get information about message performance. Philip will explain how to make your email marketing more effective by understanding this information, and using to help you sell more products and services. He’ll explain some of the tricks of the trade on how to use what you can learn about your contacts to make future campaigns more effective.
12.30 - 13.00
Diamondology. Turning Insights into Profits
Want To Win Business? Make Your Staff The Prize
Donna Still Ultimate Business
As the owner of a retail business your only aim is to ensure your customers happily stay longer and spend more. Whether you are selling products or services. Diamondology is a sixstep process that helps you uncover the insights required to transform your customers’ behaviour and preferences into actions that can revolutionise and reinvigorate your business leading to increased profits.
Claudia Jordan True Telecom
After a lengthy recession that created a battle field of economic failure, the end result has been a market place swamped with less skilled and less qualified people. The cost of a new hire makes people your hardest fought assets. So having gained your assets, how do you keep your prizes?
16.15 - 16.45
Darren Winters The Wealth Training Company LLP
Learn Multi Millionaire Trader’s Exact Strategies, Trading As A new income stream Learn From A Multi-Millionaire Trader Proven Strategies, That Require Just A Few Hours A Week! Revealed: top secret strategies, investors use to make money: how to find great trades fast, when to buy and when to sell, how to minimize risk and maximize profits. Make sure you attend this presentation as you’ll be learning techniques that will impact your life and will help you create a new income stream.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Dave Harris One 2 Create
SEMINAR HALL 9 FRIDAY
SEMINAR HALL 10 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Top Ten Tips When Considering Non-traditional Finance for Your Business
What Does the Increasing Chinese Investment Mean to British Companies?
Richard Morley Liquid Finance
Andy Han YingDe Group Ltd
As alternative finance options become more mainstream and traditional bank finance does not always meet the needs of growing small businesses, how do you ensure that you are getting the best finance option for your business. Come and hear how companies like yours have utilised business cash advances to grow their business and how to avoid the typical pitfalls. All attendees will receive a FREE Finance Jargon Buster!
China is now at a stage of large-scale outward investment. It became the world’s third largest investor in 2014 with a total outward investment of more than USD 100 billion. Chinese investment in the UK has become diversified in the areas and patterns of investment amid drastic growth. Chinese investors does not only bring in investments, but also the cross-cultural perspective of your business and the opportunity to explore Eastern markets to broaden your business’ reach.
11.45 - 12.15
Improving Your Direct Hire Masterclass
The 7 Figure Mindset
Mark Stephens Smart Recruit Online
Tony J. Selimi TJS Cognition Ltd
Mark will be sharing the results of many years of research, which has provided unique insights into the recruitment landscape and the behaviours of recruiters and candidates. These insights have helped the hundreds of companies Mark works with improve their recruitment efficiencies, reduce administration time, increase the number of quality direct applications they receive and dramatically reduce recruitment costs.
To do your best work, become a spectacular performer, and thrive it requires mental agility, emotional stability, love, and laser sharp focus. In this talk, Tony J. Selimi the author of the Amazon’s bestselling book “A Path to Wisdom” and the coach to top business leaders and CEO’s, he shares 12 key insights that his clients use to change the inner game, center their being, and create the seven figure mindset.
12.30 - 13.00
Grow Your Business In 90 Minutes
Insecure Passwords or Insecure People?
Andy Wilcox Entrepreneurs Circle
Richard Walters Intermedia
What’s the most important task in business? Getting the accounts done? Answering emails? Nope, it’s getting and keeping customers. That is the most important thing that any business has to do to survive. So, when do you put time aside to get and keep customers? Most business owners never do. They’re too busy working IN the business to spend any time working ON the business. Join Andy Willcox from the Entrepreneurs Circle, who will share with you how to make yourself more productive and get that most important thing done everyday.
For the majority of applications, passwords are the only option for secure authentication. Although there’s nothing wrong with them, barely a week goes by without a high profile data breach resulting from weak or stolen credentials. Essentially, users select passwords that are too simple and predictable. What if SMBs could improve the way passwords are implemented, selected and changed regularly without user involvement? Security would be improved significantly. Join us to find out how.
13.15 - 13.45
The Key to Building a High-Performance Sales Team
Everyone Loves a Freebie! The Surprising Power of Promotional Products
Oscar Maciá ForceManager
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
What does it take to motivate your sales team and be an effective sales leader? Sales managers often focus too much on expenses, overlooking the human aspect of a business. Oscar Maciá firmly believes that the importance of accelerating the growth of your business includes knowing your sales team. In this seminar, Oscar will be giving his insight into what it takes to elevate your team to the top of their game.
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Karim Saykali We Brand It
In this insightful seminar Karim will tell you why promotional products create a much higher return on investment than any other forms of advertising, as well as giving you some great tips on ensuring you choose the right products for your business.
SEMINAR HALL 10 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Improving Your Direct Hire Masterclass
Grow and Control Your Business - Avoid Buying Stand-Alone Software and the Aggravation af Trying to Integrate Them
Mark will be sharing the results of many years of research, which has provided unique insights into the recruitment landscape and the behaviours of recruiters and candidates. These insights have helped the hundreds of companies Mark works with improve their recruitment efficiencies, reduce administration time, increase the number of quality direct applications they receive and dramatically reduce recruitment costs.
Will McIntee April Six
Introducing OneBizz: a combination of the best business software from Microsoft – Office 365, Dynamics CRM and Dynamics ERP – in one easy to use solution, designed for the entrepreneur driven organisation. OneBizz is the only all-in-one solution for all your front and back office processes, in the cloud and on a pay-per-use model, so you are ready for the future and can focus on what you do best; running your business.
11.45 - 12.15
Keeping Contractors and Freelancers on the Right Side of HMRC
How to Turn Your Website Into a Profit Engine
Pom Chakravarti Bradleys Accountants
Lee Chadwick WOW Analytics
The government has already taken a number of steps to introduce a level playing field for tax in the temporary labour market: reviews of IR35; consultations into tax relief on travel and subsistence; changes to dividend taxation; preventing the use of salary sacrifice schemes to avoid tax and NI contributions and more. Some of these changes are just around the corner. What will this mean for contractors and freelancers?
In a competitive market, generating more leads from your website traffic has become crucial to maximising ROI. But in this day and age, lead generation isn’t enough. In this seminar, Lee Chadwick, MD at WOW Analytics, shows you the tools that can enhance your lead generation and strengthen your sales pipeline. With best practice tips, you can expect to see firsthand how to turn your website into a profit engine.
12.30 - 13.00
Your Data Protection and Security Survival Action Plan starts … Now!
Five Ways Businesses Can Save Money by Outsourcing
Wayne Cleghorn PrivacySolved
Richard Fenton The Zinc Group
Have you heard about the changes to data protection and security that will affect UK and EU companies? Not sure what to do about your company’s personal information, when to do it and how? This lively seminar will focus on the key changes and set out a survival and action plan, so that your business does not just survive, but grow, thrive and innovate.
The presentation will cover five ways companies can save money through business processes outsourcing in the UK; we will cover five points to consider as a business owner, each with its own cost benefit. Business Process Outsourcing is a great way for companies to expand their operations without investing huge sums of money, allowing owners to concentrate on their core strengths.
13.15 - 13.45
The Business Case for Workplace Inclusion
Importance Of Language Training
Diversity focussed seminar looking at the best practices for inclusion in the work place.
Nathalie Danon-Kerr VICI Language Dynamics
When English is a truly global language, it is only natural to question if language training or language recruitment is important, however clearly it is: whether teaching a CEO the language of a foreign office, subsidiary or competitor through to ensuring a team are able to understand health and safety instructions or that the staff you recruit have the requisite language skills in the first place. In the global marketplace the most successful organisations are recognising the competitive edge that comes with staff speaking foreign languages.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Mark Stephens Smart Recruit Online
SEMINAR HALL 10 FRIDAY
SEMINAR HALL 11 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Grow Your Business In 90 Minutes
Bacs and Your Business: What you Need to Know About Rules, Imminent Internet Changes (SHA-2), and the Current Account Switch Service
Andy Wilcox Entrepreneurs Circle
What’s the most important task in business? Getting the accounts done? Answering emails? Nope, it’s getting and keeping customers. That is the most important thing that any business has to do to survive. So, when do you put time aside to get and keep customers? Most business owners never do. They’re too busy working IN the business to spend any time working ON the business. Join Andy Willcox from the Entrepreneurs Circle, who will share with you how to make yourself more productive and get that most important thing done everyday.
Mike Hutchinson Bacs Payment Schemes Limited
Bacs Payment Schemes Limited is the not-for-profit organisation behind UK automated payments Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit, as well as the Current Account Switch Service. Find out what rules apply when you make salary or supplier payments using Bacs, as well as how forthcoming changes to internet security will affect you and your access to the Bacs system, and why the Current Account Switch Service is relevant to business owners.
11.45 - 12.15
Accessing Cost Effective Legal Solutions
Property: The Safest, Securest and Most Profitable Business.
John Deane Slater & Gordon (UK) LLP
Businesses, and in particular SMEs often avoid formal legal support and guidance through fear of high costs and irrelevant advice being sold to them. Having the right legal advisor and knowing how to navigate legal services can add real value to a business and avoid practical pitfalls in entering transactions, resolving disputes or organising a company’s affairs. John will guide you through key issues about working effectively with your lawyer.
Kam Dovedi Premier Property Education
Would you like to create a business that everyone on the Times Rich List has in common? Would you like to know how you can generate continuous revenue regardless of the market conditions? Would you like to know how you can start a business with minimal funds? Then this seminar is perfect for you. In this seminar one of the UK’s leading business and property experts Kam Dovedi will be sharing with you why property is an asset class you must be investing in to create a safe, secure and sustainable income.
12.30 - 13.00
The Whole World in Your Hands: Mobile Marketing for SMEs on a Budget
When Should I Start Up My Start Up?
Irene Moore Digital Marketing London
Still think mobile marketing is just for the big boys with even bigger budgets? Think again. Join Digital Marketing London and discover why mobile marketing is made for small business. In this information-packed seminar you will learn the secrets to successful mobile marketing strategy to help drive sales leads and build customer loyalty. Can’t wait until The Business Show? text MOBILEMARKETING to receive your free Cheat Sheet.
13.15 - 13.45
James Workman, Michael Ranaldo and Jamie Randall Dephrisk Ltd.
Don’t Think You’ll be Hacked - Think Again! * Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
It’s 10pm and you find your company’s been hacked. What do you do? The real-life account of how the UK leader in cybersecurity training was hacked in the middle of the night and how they fixed it in less than 5 hours. Then, watch our tame hacker break into a computer in less than 10 minutes, from his own laptop, and learn how to stop this happening to your company.
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Jane Ollis RIFT Accounting?
The idea of starting your own business is exhilarating, but it’s easy to become paralysed by indecision, unable to realise your dream. You’ll never feel experienced enough, you’ll never have enough capital, and you’ll never have zero risk. It’s less about being the right time to start, and more about ensuring you’re the right person. Learn how to develop the resilience, problem solving abilities, optimism and collaboration skills needed to succeed.
16.15 - 16.45
Nigel Spencer The British Library Business & IP Centre
Introduction to Lean Startup
Lean Startup helps entrepreneurs reduce the cost of developing new products and services by reducing time and money wasted on features that customers do not want. It emphasises the importance of customer feedback from the earliest stages of development. Many believe it gives entrepreneurs a better chance of success without needing large amounts of outside funding. This workshop provides a top level introduction to Lean Startup practices and tools.
SEMINAR HALL 11 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Property: The Safest, Securest and Most Profitable Business.
What is the “Internet of Things”?! No, really!
Kam Dovedi Premier Property Education
Simon Blackler Owly
Would you like to create a business that everyone on the Times Rich List has in common? Would you like to know how you can generate continuous revenue regardless of the market conditions? Would you like to know how you can start a business with minimal funds? Then this seminar is perfect for you. In this seminar one of the UK’s leading business and property experts Kam Dovedi will be sharing with you why property is an asset class you must be investing in to create a safe, secure and sustainable income.
Clueless about this thing being heralded “The 2nd Digital Revolution” but suspect it might affect your life somehow? Or perhaps you’re already involved with IoT? Either way all are welcome for what will probably be part presentation, majority open discussion.
11.45 - 12.15
How to Use Web Analytics to Improve Your Site’s Performance
How To Save Money, Time and Improve Productivity
Agnieszka Szrubkowska Web Behaviour Specialists
Joel Van der Molen Vandercom
The power of digital marketing lies in its measurability, which when combined with the use of web analytics tools results in better, data driven decisions. By capturing the KPIs that drive your business and learning how to interpret and test them, you will be able to better plan your marketing activities. This will ultimately result in better performance of your website.
With information over load on the internet it is difficult to gain insight in to what will be the right solution for your business and one that will serve for years to come. Choosing the right Connectivity and Cloud Services, such as Phone Systems and hosted IT Solutions, to support your strategy is essential to growing your business. Attendees will come away with cutting edge information to make intelligent technology decisions.
12.30 - 13.00
Protect, Save Money and Grow Your Business
Obtaining, Exploiting and Defending Your Patents, Designs and Trade Marks
FSB Energy and FSB Card Payments Federation of Small Businesses
The Federation of Small Businesses will deliver the next in a series of top tips and handy hints seminars designed to offer advice and help for you and your business. Please see online for further details on this seminar topic.
Robert Games Albright IP Ltd
Robert explains the difference between Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. He provides insight as to how best spend your money, discusses benefits of IP and lays bare the realities of IP enforcement. If you are starting a business or growing a business, then this Intellectual Property seminar is for you. A practical lively presentation from an experienced Attorney with a commercial edge.
SEMINAR HALL 11 FRIDAY
13.15 - 13.45
Tim Cameron-Kitchen Exposure Trading Ltd (Exposure Ninja)
The UK’s bestselling SEO author will take you behind the scenes on some SEO campaigns and deconstruct what it takes to boost your ranking and visibility profitably in 2016 and beyond. Using examples from real small and medium sized businesses Tim will share in plain English the strategies him and Exposure Ninja have used to transform businesses with organic traffic.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
How to Increase revenue by 870%, traffic by 6,500% and dominate your market using ninja SEO.
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
WILEY STARTUP SCHOOL THURSDAY
WILEY STARTUP SCHOOL THURSDAY 11.00
14.00
How to Stand Out: Proven Tactics for Getting Noticed
Get and Keep All the Customers You Need
Dr. Rob Yeung Author of How to Stand Out: Proven Tactics For Getting Noticed
Nigel Botterill Author of Build Your Business in 90 Minutes a Day
You have the skills. It’s about showcasing these skills so that colleagues, customers, friends and the rest of the world can recognize what you do. With so many businesses’ out there, how do you make yours stand out from the competition? Drawing on extensive research and inspiring real-life examples, psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Rob Yeung will guide you through techniques that will get you noticed for all the right reasons.
The 18 secrets that super-successful business owners know and do that most business owners either don’t know or don’t do.
12.00
Brad Burton Author of LIFE. BUSINESS. JUST GOT EASIER
Stefan Thomas Author of Business Networking for Dummies
LIFE. BUSINESS. JUST GOT EASIER
Business Networking for Dummies
The UK’s #1 Motivational Biz Speaker: Don’t let the jeans and t-shirt fool you. “A northern Anthony Robbins” - Dragons Den star, Theo Paphitis. MD of the UK’s largest joined-up business network, 4Networking, Brad founded the business in 2006 and now runs over 5,000 events across the UK each year. “Beneath the bluff exterior of the self-styled “fat bloke from Manchester” is a shrewd business brain” – The Times. Brad will change the way you think about your life, business forever.
Ever wondered how to really make networking work for you? From desperation in Stefan HAD to make networking work and, in a fast paced seminar will give you the techniques and strategies proven to work. Stefan had to pay the mortgage and bills and will give you real life information which you can take away and use straight away.
13.00
The Gift of Time – How Delegation Can Help You Succeed in Your Business
Get Focused and Become Unstoppable in Business
Gail Thomas Author of The Gift of Time: How Delegation Can Give you Space to Succeed
Hear about the under-estimated power of delegation in small, new and growing businesses. Learn about the benefits to business owners, the value in growth terms, what to delegate, how to do it best and who could be available to help.
Don’t forget to visit the Business Startup Bookshop at stand No.156. We are offering up to 65% off all the books and you can claim your free eBook.
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Pete Wilkinson Author of Unstoppable: Using The Power Of Focus To Take Action And Achieve Your Goals
To be successful in business and in life, you need to make an impact. Be a force to be reckoned with. Be a winner. No one knows this better than successful triathlete Pete Wilkinson. In his seminar he will share with you his simple system for making sure you stay on track and fulfill your potential. By being focused you will achieve more than you ever thought possible, and if you want to give yourself and your business the best chance of success you need to become unstoppable.
Andy Harrington Author of Passion Into Profit - How To Make Big Money From Who You Are And What You Know
Passion Into Profit – How to Make BIG Money From Who You Are and What You Know
We’re all good at something, but are we really earning what we are worth? Is your business truly pulling in what it deserves? In this seminar, Andy Harrington shows you exactly how to assert your expertise, go it alone, and pull in the mega bucks. Discover how to position, and promote your business as the ‘go to authority’ for your industry.
14.00
Lucy Whittington Author of Find Your Thing: How to discover what you do best, own it and get known for it
Find Your Thing and Get Famous for it
Instead of a business just doing some-thing, find out how to have a business doing your Thing (the thing you are brilliant at). Figuring out what your Thing is, and how to get paid for it, is easier than you think. And when you work out your Thing, find out how to ‘get famous’ for it so everyone gets why you’re brilliant at it too (and buys from you).
12.00
Upgrade Yourself to Achieve the Extraordinary
How to Get Everyone Talking About Your Business
Richard Tyler Author of Jolt: Shake Up Your Thinking And Upgrade Your Impact For Extraordinary Success
Linzi Boyd Author of Brand Famous: How to get everyone talking about your business
In a world where good enough is no longer enough, how are you daring yourself to stand and be extraordinary?The world has changed dramatically - those that are brave enough to stand up, stand out and be noticed will be the ones that disrupt and provoke change. In this session, Richard will share with you how you can start to make the shift from ordinary to extraordinary.
Make your business a household name. There are so many brands out there in all sectors, how do you make yours standout in such a crowded market? Whether you want to build, renovate or just refresh your brand, this seminar will give you the understanding of where you are with your brand now and how to move forward. Learn Linzi’s 5 step process required to achieve stand-out status.
13.00
Oversubscribed: How to Get People Lining up to do Business With You
Starting Your Own Business on £100
Daniel Priestley Author of Oversubscribed: How To Get People Lining Up To Do Business With You
Daniel Priestley, will explain how to find your ‘entrepreneurial sweet spot’. This is all about finding the best business idea for you. Daniel will explain exactly how to discover the perfect ‘thing’ for you that ticks all the boxes. With Daniel’s help you’ll discover your perfect entrepreneurial pursuit or be able to test the idea you already have and assess its potential.
Vince Stanzione Author of The Millionaire Dropout: Fire Your Boss, Do What You Love, Reclaim Your Life
Want to fire your boss, do what you love and reclaim your life? People often say they don’t have a lot of money, so they can’t start their own business. Well Vince Stanzione will tell you otherwise! He will show you that it is very much possible to set up your own business from just £100. Come along to his inspirational talk and learn how this can be done.
ABOUT THE SPONSOR As the UK’s #1 business publisher, Wiley have the best books on starting and growing a business. We work with the UK’s leading entrepreneurs and business experts to bring you sound advice, wisdom and inspiration to help you make your business a success. Be sure to visit the Wiley Startup School, for your chance to hear directly from some of the UK’s bestselling business authors, covering everything from what business idea is best for you to understanding the finances and securing backing. Each seminar will include an in-depth talk from an expert author, followed by a Q&A and the opportunity to get a copy of the book at up to 65%off - and have it signed by the author! To get more info about the Wiley Startup School follow us on Twitter @thisiscaptstone
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
11.00
WILEY STARTUP SCHOOL FRIDAY
WILEY STARTUP SCHOOL FRIDAY
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
INTERNET BUSINESS SCHOOL THURSDAY
THE INTERNET BUSINESS SCHOOL THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.45
15.00 - 15.45
How to DOUBLE Your Business in Less Than 3 Months Using the Internet
How to DOUBLE Your Business in Less Than 3 Months Using the Internet
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Top strategies to enable any business to grow using the Internet in 2016 Learn from Simon Coulson, one of the UK’s leading Internet Marketers, about all the latest essential strategies to grow your business online. Simon will be covering the methods that you should be using to take advantage of the new online generation by leveraging search engines, social media and online communities. Simon will also show you how to engage and convert your web visitors into paying customers.
Top strategies to enable any business to grow using the Internet in 2016 Learn from Simon Coulson, one of the UK’s leading Internet Marketers, about all the latest essential strategies to grow your business online. Simon will be covering the methods that you should be using to take advantage of the new online generation by leveraging search engines, social media and online communities. Simon will also show you how to engage and convert your web visitors into paying customers.
12.00 - 12.45
How to Use Google Adwords and Facebook PPC Advertising Platforms Effectively
How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business in 2016
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Join Simon Coulson, serial entrepreneur with over 10 years experience in Internet Marketing, as he teaches you how to use Google Adwords and Facebook’s advertising platform to grow your business. Learn the key metrics to measure, and strategies to maximise the effectiveness of paid advertising from someone who has spent over £1M of their own money buying traffic through these 2 channels.
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Learn the latest strategies for growing your business leveraging Social Media. Speaker and founder of the Internet Business School Simon Coulson will share case studies of successful marketing campaigns leveraging Social Media for next to zero cost marketing.
13.00 - 13.45
How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business in 2016
How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Learn the latest strategies for growing your business leveraging Social Media. Speaker and founder of the Internet Business School Simon Coulson will share case studies of successful marketing campaigns leveraging Social Media for next to zero cost marketing.
14.00 - 14.45
Richard McMunn The Internet Business School
How to Build Your Profile and Become a Best-Selling Online Author Former firefighter Rick McMunn will teach you how to write a book and become a best-selling author in under 30 days. Rick’s workshop will teach you the process for writing a book, getting it published and keeping all of the profits. Rick McMunn is an award-winning, best-selling author with a portfolio of over 200 books, and has made over £4,000,000 from writing and selling books. This former firefighter, who has been a best-selling author will teach you the 7 stages to generating a 6-figure income from book writing and self-publishing.
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Jay Hastings The Internet Business School
Join Jay Hastings who will share with you how you can make money without your website, simply by referring traffic to affiliate offers and getting paid a commission from big brands for sending them leads. Jay will show you how to sign up to promote offers, and how to create your own webpages to capture leads in the process.
11.00 - 11.45
How to DOUBLE Your Business in Less Than 3 Months Using the Internet
How to Build Your Profile and Become a Best-Selling Online Author
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Richard McMunn The Internet Business School
Top strategies to enable any business to grow using the Internet in 2016 Learn from Simon Coulson, one of the UK’s leading Internet Marketers, about all the latest essential strategies to grow your business online. Simon will be covering the methods that you should be using to take advantage of the new online generation by leveraging search engines, social media and online communities. Simon will also show you how to engage and convert your web visitors into paying customers.
Former firefighter Rick McMunn will teach you how to write a book and become a best-selling author in under 30 days. Rick’s workshop will teach you the process for writing a book, getting it published and keeping all of the profits. Rick McMunn is an award-winning, best-selling author with a portfolio of over 200 books, and has made over £4,000,000 from writing and selling books. This former firefighter, who has been a best-selling author will teach you the 7 stages to generating a 6-figure income from book writing and self-publishing.
12.00 - 12.45
How to Use Google Adwords and Facebook PPC Advertising Platforms Effectively
How to DOUBLE Your Business in Less Than 3 Months Using the Internet
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Join Simon Coulson, serial entrepreneur with over 10 years experience in Internet Marketing, as he teaches you how to use Google Adwords and Facebook’s advertising platform to grow your business. Learn the key metrics to measure, and strategies to maximise the effectiveness of paid advertising from someone who has spent over £1M of their own money buying traffic through these 2 channels.
Top strategies to enable any business to grow using the Internet in 2016 Learn from Simon Coulson, one of the UK’s leading Internet Marketers, about all the latest essential strategies to grow your business online. Simon will be covering the methods that you should be using to take advantage of the new online generation by leveraging search engines, social media and online communities. Simon will also show you how to engage and convert your web visitors into paying customers.
13.00 - 13.45
16.00 - 16.45
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business in 2016 Learn the latest strategies for growing your business leveraging Social Media. Speaker and founder of the Internet Business School Simon Coulson will share case studies of successful marketing campaigns leveraging Social Media for next to zero cost marketing.
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business in 2016 Learn the latest strategies for growing your business leveraging Social Media. Speaker and founder of the Internet Business School Simon Coulson will share case studies of successful marketing campaigns leveraging Social Media for next to zero cost marketing.
INTERNET BUSINESS SCHOOL FRIDAY
THE INTERNET BUSINESS SCHOOL FRIDAY
ABOUT THE SPONSOR
Whether you have an existing business you want to bring online, an online business that could perform better, or you’re starting out and want to build your own new business online – you’re in the right place. The Internet Business School has been approved as a NCFE Investing in Quality (IIQ) centre to give formal recognition to our courses. Accreditation gives assurance that the content of our training courses is of the highest standard, and meets the rigorous quality assurance requirements of a national awarding organisation. We have expert tuition on all aspects of doing business online from a panel of professionals who have made millions online. Simon Coulson founded the Internet Business School after finding out himself just how much there was to learn about doing business online and how widespread the information is.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
The Internet Business School provides Level 3 & 4 accredited InternetInternet Business School Founder, Simon Coulson Marketing Courses. Founded in 2007 by successful online entrepreneur, Simon Coulson Internet Business School is the place to learn everything you need to put your business online.
TECHPRENEUR 2015
TECHPRENEUR HALL THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
An Introduction to Trademarks and Why Every Company Should Own One
TMT Predictions 2016
Ariana Kumar Marks and Clerk
This seminar will explain what a trade mark is, why trademarks are important and how a company may obtain one. The seminar will also focus on the legal requirements for trade mark protection, the importance of using a trade mark once obtained and the importance of actively enforcing your trade mark. It will also touch briefly on how trade mark protection may assist you in situations involving counterfeit reproduction of your goods.
Join Jass Sarai in his seminar at Techpreneur Expo 2015.
11.45 - 12.15
14.45 - 15.15 The Pitch Finalists Panel
Do You Really Understand Your Customer?
Attend our panel session to meet three exciting early stage technology start-up business founders discuss their challenges, how they overcame them and what lessons they’ve learned on the way. Each entrepreneur has brought an idea to life literally from scratch, building and iterating their products to the point of being market ready – join in to ask any questions you might have to this exciting panel.
Emma Cox Grabble
Everyone knows that understanding your customer is essential to successfully developing and marketing your product, but what does understanding your customer mean? How do you learn about your customer? And once you understand them better, how do you apply this knowledge to your product development and marketing? I will walk you through the techniques I use with my team to develop early and growth stage web and mobile products based on customer insight.
12.30 - 13.00
How to Ensure You Never Get Funded
The Past & the Future for iBeacons/ URIbeacons/ Eddystone
Bill Morrow Angels Den
If you want to learn about the do`s and do not`s of looking for funding, how to pitch to investors, what investors are really looking for and how to impress them, learn from expert, Bill Morrow, who`s been there, done it and seen it all.
13.15 - 13.45 Shweta Jhajharia ActionCoach
Building The Ultimate Sales and Marketing Machine
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.techpreneurexpo.co.uk for the latest information.
Jass Sarai PWC
Too many businesses hit an income ceiling, and never make the kind of money (or the kind of impact) that they are capable of. They get stuck at one of the 3 plateaus: Survival, Stability or even Success.And this is not because of inadequate information about what the really successful companies out there are doing! It is because of an inability to identify the simple actions and core strategies that need to be implemented to create an “Ultimate Sales and Marketing Machine” in the business
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Simon Richardson Shufdy Ltd
During the seminar, Simon will explain what these new pieces of technology are and, more importantly, what the market for them is. Using experience gained from relationships with tourist boards and commercial partners, Simon will explain the pros and cons, the do’s and the don’ts of this hot technology area. There will also be some iBeacons being used during the presentation.
16.15 - 16.45
Mark Longbottom
Instagram #Enjoying #Engaging Mark Longbottom will be discussing and showing the benefits and values of Instagram. Sharing tips, tricks and how to enjoy being inspiring and creative on Instagram. Sharing his Instagram journey of 500,000 likes in less than 10 months, connecting this to 33 years of genuine creative social networking. The audience will learn about the basics as well as some advanced user Instagram activity, leaving having learned simple and practical lessons that they will be able to use immediately.
11.00 - 11.30
Say No to Accounting From the Jurassic Era
Female Techpreneur: How to Build a Community of 85k People With No Funding
Bivek Sharma Head of KPMG Small Business Accounting
Bivek Sharma will discuss how to demand more from your accountant…at no extra fee.
Nidhima Kohli My Beauty Matches
With no prior experience in tech, Nidhima will be sharing her tips on how to build a multi award winning business recognised by some of the biggest publications with a community size of 100,000 people with no funding and hence why The Guardian appointed My Beauty Matches as startup of the year 2014.
11.45 - 12.15
Game Over. Life and Business Lessons From a Video Games Master
Michael Wilkinson Crowdcube
Equity crowdfunding has changed phenomenally since Crowdcube coined the phrase back in 2011. It is now the go-to form of funding for start-ups and established companies alike. Michael Wilkinson, Head of Equity Investment for Crowdcube has experienced this change first hand since joining the company in 2012, he will talk about how the industry and the company has changed over the last three years and what the future might hold.
Jason Dutton JPD Associates
What can Space Invaders, Pacman and Angry Birds teach any growing business and why the hell did we pay $1.6M for a hastily drawn picture of a dragon on a napkin? How can you make your marketing remarkable and why did ET destroy Atari? Please join me for the answers!
12.30 - 13.00
Online Businesses Legal MOT – Don’t Get Caught Out
What is Intellectual Property?
Nicola Lucas Nockolds Solicitors
This seminar is aimed at those who need a legal health check for their online business. The seminar will give those dealing in online trading a snapshot of the laws that affect your trade and website, and outline how those laws and regulations are different from other methods of trading, to help you measure up. All delegates will receive a FREE Legal MOT checklist.
Chris Smith Intellectual Property Office
Successful businesses understand the importance of protecting their Intellectual Property for brand names, new inventions, new designs and creative work. IP will account for a large part of the value of most businesses. This seminar will help you understand the four main areas (trade marks, patents, designs and copyright).
TECHPRENEUR HALL FRIDAY
13.15 - 13.45
James Nicholson Tempo Web Design
In this seminar, James Nicholson will discuss the latest ways of ranking your website in 2015. Tactics from years gone by have changed a great deal, so you need to ensure you are up to date with the latest techniques. James will also advise how you can avoid Google penalties such as Google Panda and Google Penguin.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.techpreneurexpo.co.uk for the latest information.
How to Rank Your Site On Google in 2016 and Beyond
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
GOING GLOBAL UNPARALLELED ADVICE ON HOW TO ENTER THE MARKET OVERSEAS AND SUCCEED
Are you thinking about taking your business overseas? Co-located at the event is Going Global, the event dedicated to assisting businesses expanding into international markets with the honest insight and guidance required when entering new countries and cultures. Businesses making the significant leap into overseas trade require expert and experienced knowledge; doing business in unfamiliar climates can be daunting and extremely hazardous. Going Global is here to smoothen this process.
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A range of seminars and a host of international business experts will provide you with the upmost in advice and information about overseas growth, and your ticket enables you to gain free access to absolutely everything on offer.
Whether it’s knowledge on emerging markets or foreign trade you require, or honest advice on the pitfalls of international expansion or the risks and challenges associated with conducting business in a particular country or region, the greatest level of insight and advice is available at Going Global. The next few pages will provide everything you need to know about the exclusive seminar schedule. Each session is free of charge, but just like with every other seminar at The Business Show, places are taken very quickly so ensure you
plan your trip in advance and don’t miss out on what’s essential to you. If you’re a business owner contemplating international growth, then attendance to Going Global is an absolute must. You will not find more information, knowledge, advice, and honesty in one location.
Directions to The Going Global hall are available at the back of this show guide.
GOING GLOBAL LIVE SEMINAR HALL 16 THURSDAY 11.00
FRIDAY
Ulrik Fleischer-Michaelsen Invest in Denmark
Denmark – One of the Best Locations for Business
11.45
John Bendel 3di Information Solutions Ltd
Elizabeth Ward Virtuoso Legal
Stuart Pocock Kompass (UK) Ltd
Emma Scotton KnowGlobal Ltd
Mark Runiewicz Trade and Export Finance Ltd
Stephen Humphreys Atlantic Sales Partners
Mark Runiewicz Trade and Export Finance Ltd
£1M Fund to Support Exports
14.45
How to Use IP to Your Advantage in Global Business
Mark Neal Armagard
The Tools for the Journey to Export Success
16.15
Selling USA: Practicalities and Pitfalls of a US Sales Strategy
14.00
Financing Your Exports - When the Computer Says “No”
15.30
Key Data Decisions: Driving Your Export Activity With the Right Data
13.15
E-commerce; Removing the Barriers to International Expansion
14.45
Stuart Pocock Kompass (UK) Ltd
E-commerce; Removing the Barriers to International Expansion
Key Data Decisions: Driving Your Export Activity With the Right Data
14.00
How to Use IP to Your Advantage in Global Business
13.15
John Bendel 3di Information Solutions Ltd
Export and Grow – How Localization Will Help You and Your Customers
Export and Grow – How Localization Will Help You and Your Customers
12.30
Dr Tahir Akhtar Adam Global
How to Internationalise Your Business With Minimal Capital Outlay
Abdeslam El-Idrissi Arab British Chamber of Commerce
Highlighting the Opportunities and Realities of UK Arab Trade
SEMINAR SESSIONS RUN FOR 30 MINUTES
SPACES ARE FIRST COME FIRST SERVED - GET THERE EARLY TO ENSURE YOU GET A SEAT!
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GOING GLOBAL LIVE SEMINAR HALL 17 THURSDAY 11.00
FRIDAY
John Pearce Made in Britain Campaign
Making Money by Making British
11.45
Sub-Saharan Africa - A Glowing Opportunity!
James Gillespie UK Trade & Investment
Getting the Best From Your Agents or Distributors
15.30
Graham Snape UKTI South East
Iran, a BRIC in Waiting and Now Open for Business?
Top Tips for Selling Internationally
14.45
Martin Johnson British Iran Chamber of Commerce
An In-depth Focus on Iran
UK Export Finance Support for Exporters
13.15
Getting the Best From Your Agents or Distributors
11.45
James Gillespie UK Trade & Investment
14.45
Julian Lynn UK Export Finance
UK Export Finance Support for Exporters
David Billingsby UKTI London
Sub-Saharan Africa - A Glowing Opportunity!
Tracy Masters UKTI South East
Top Tips for Selling Internationally
ABOUT UK TRADE & INVESTMENT UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. UKTI also help overseas companies bring their high-quality investment to the UK’s dynamic economy, acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business.
SEMINAR SESSIONS RUN FOR 30 MINUTES
SPACES ARE FIRST COME FIRST SERVED - GET THERE EARLY TO ENSURE YOU GET A SEAT!
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GOING GLOBAL LIVE SEMINAR HALL 20 THURSDAY 11.00
FRIDAY
David Gibbs Alliotts, Member of Alliott Group
11.00
Going Global, What’s Holding You Back?
Doing Business Overseas? What You Need to Know About Tax
11.45
Keep an Eye on our Digital Show Guide for Speaker Updates
SPEAKER TO BE CONFIRMED On Time Business Setup
Keep an Eye on our Digital Show Guide for Speaker Updates
SEMINAR SESSIONS RUN FOR 30 MINUTES
SPACES ARE FIRST COME FIRST SERVED - GET THERE EARLY TO ENSURE YOU GET A SEAT!
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EXHIBITOR LISTINGS
PARTNERS
.uk - Brought to you by Nominet Stand Number 324 .uk is the shorter domain that offers an exciting new online territory for businesses and for creating a personal identity online. It is the domain of the future. Whether you are a fully fledged business, just starting out or looking to create a unique space online, you can make .uk your own. 01865 332244 www.agreatplacetobe.uk 1-2-1 Accountants Stand Number 570 1-2-1 Accountants are a London firm of Chartered Certified Accountants authorised to practice by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in England & Wales. We offer Accountancy, Payroll, Taxation, Business Development & Mentoring services. 0207 3134 148 www.1-2-1accountants.com 1&1 Internet Ltd Stand number 324 As one of the world’s leading web hosting providers, 1&1 enables SMBs to assert their web presence through a range of hosting solutions. 1&1 offers a variety of domains which includes .uk, the shorter TLD that offers exciting new territory for businesses looking to create a personal online identity. 0333 336 5509 www.1and1.co.uk 3di Information Solutions Stand Number G181 We work closely with you to translate your business information and localize your products, both of which really help you to grow your exports and increase your revenue. 01483 211533 www.3di-info.com
FlamePost Social Media Content Management
4Networking Ltd Stand Number 1021 With over 250 networking groups across the UK and over 50,000 members, online and face to face, 4Networking is a business community that helps you get business appointments. Network within our relaxed yet structured meeting format for efficient and effective use of your business time. 0845 123 4444 www.4networking.biz A.S.A.P Office Services Stand Number 830 A.S.A.P. Office Services provide dedicated, professional and friendly payroll outsourcing service to businesses across the UK. 01621 829 632 www.asapofficeservices.com
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Aaron Parker Franchises Stand Number 170 As international franchise brokers we leverage years of industry experience to help you assess your monetary and lifestyle goals, then connect you with the franchise opportunities across Europe and North America that you may not otherwise find. The process is quick, cost free and painless www.aaronparker.co.uk Academia for Business Stand Number 842 Academia for Business is part of the Academia Technology Group and recognised as one of the fastest growing technology companies in the UK. We have partnered with Microsoft to demonstrate throughout the show a range of productivity tools including; Office 365, CRM Online and Microsoft Surface Pro. 01992 703 900 www.business.academia.co.uk Accountex Stand Number 922 Accountex is the worlds largest event for Accountants. With over 170 exhibitors and one of the best seminar line-ups available Accountex is the place where the most proactive and forward thinking Accountants meet for 2 days of education, networking and to benchmark the latest products and services. 0117 990 2091 www.accountex.co.uk ActionCOACH Stand Number 160 ActionCOACH are the world’s number one business coaching and executive coaching firm, with more than 1,000 offices in 55 countries. www.actioncoach.com ADAM Global Stand Number G140 ADAM Global is a leading Corporate Services firm, delivering International Business Solutions assisting companies and entrepreneurs establish and expand their businesses seamlessly across international borders. With 117 offices globally, we are the global experts who understand the local needs. 00971 4 341 9701 www.adamglobal.com Adia PR Stand Number 1034 Are you having difficulty in getting noticed by your ideal clients? You may truly believe in what you are offering but if your target audience doesn’t know about it, understand it, or trust it, then you have a real problem. Adia PR will help you to be heard, be seen and be a success! Let’s talk.. 01787 221 875 www.adiapr.co.uk
Admedia Stand Number 1016 Admedia are leaders in environmental and audience advertising. We provide Static and Digital advertising opportunities that help small, medium and large businesses & brands grow. Our unique media opportunities direct consumers to your brand, service or business & increase sales. 0207 580 3633 www.admedia.co.uk
AEI Saudi Stand Number G200 AEI is a Saudi based consultancy enabling foreign companies to pursue, grow and deliver business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We help over 100 companies a year to understand, explore, enter and succeed in the Saudi market through our low cost, low risk services. 00 966557984007 www.aeisaudi.com
ADN Accountants Stand Number 920 ADN Accountants work in partnership with you to create a `WOW` moment in everything we do for you. We change your life for the better by giving you back time to focus on the things that are important to you, like more success, more wealth or simply more time for yourself! 020 3667 3688 www.adnltd.com
AET Global Stand Number G192 www.aetglobalgroup.com
AdTube Stand Number 1236 AdTube produce corporate videos and event films for websites and social media. Our videos are the perfect vehicle for you to tell your story and build trust with your audience in an engaging way. 020 3583 1870 www.adtube.uk.com Advanced Payment Solutions Stand Number 540 We offer Business Current Accounts tailored for start-ups and SME’s via our Cashplus brand. With an instant online application process and transparent pricing, the multi award winning account has become the business current account of choice for over 50,000 businesses across the UK. 0203 617 5768 www.mycashplus.co.uksme Advantage Business Partnerships Stand Number 259 ABP provide businesses with coaching, mentoring and hands-on consultancy services, including giving expert advice on accessing funding. Their team of business experts have a wealth of experience from a range of business backgrounds and work in partnership with business owners to grow their business. 0203 384 0276 www.advantagebusinessltd. com AE in a Box Stand Number 269 AE in a Box is everything an accountant, payroll bureau and employer needs to prepare and comply with auto enrolment all in one place and online. 8450568959 www.aeinabox.co.uk
Albright IP Stand Number 1038 We are a small to medium sized professional firm of British and European Patent and Trademark Attorneys. We specialise in invention and brand protection for Start-ups and SMEs. We are cost effective and we try and provide excellence in everything we do. We are ideal for individuals and small firms. 01242 691 801 www.albright-ip.co.uk Align Global Consulting Align Global Consulting is a Raleigh, North Carolina-based globalization firm that helps clients expand globally or improve existing operations by providing creative legal and tax solutions to address commercial, trade, investment and regulatory matters. We assist companies in all stages of growth, from emerging growth companies to the Fortune 100. www.alignglobalconsulting.com Alliott Group Stand Number G196 www.alliotts.com Amanda C. Watts Stand Number 661 Amanda C. Watts is known as The Start-Up Strategist. She specializes in working with stressed-out and burnt-out corporate employees who want to make the leap and set up their own business and become a Thriving Entrepreneur. 07782 505 045 www.amandacwatts.com Andy Harrington Stand Number 924 Andy Harrington and his speaking expert team has a passion; raising peoples earning potential. With over 15 years of experience, Andy and his team has coached Hollywood movie stars and some of the worlds best public speakers through the Public Speakers University & Professional Speakers Academy. 0203 021 4353 www.andyharrington.com
Angels Den Stand Number 1291 Angels Den is an angel-led crowdfunding platform where angel investors and experienced business people invest in pre-vetted SMEs. Investors often play an active role in the business, providing the initial funding, expertise and contacts to drive growth. 0203 318 0230 www.angelsden.com Anicca Digital Ltd Stand Number 1250 Anicca is an established search marketing agency that specialises in data-driven search marketing for competitive B2B and ecommerce brands. 0116 254 7224 www.anicca.co.uk Anke Anusic - ACN Stand Number 152 The ACN Opportunity Are you tired of trading time for money, building someone else’s dream? Discover The ACN Opportunity, where you can be your own boss and make your own hours, while earning lasting, lucrative residual income every time your customers pay their bill. 07480 647 548 www.wealthmentoring.acnrep. com App Your Business Stand Number 1204 Providing bespoke mobile apps to small and medium sized businesses to widen client base and improve interaction with existing clients. 01628 780 962 www.app-your-business.co.uk App2Chat Stand Number 832 App2Chat is the innovative new business telephone system that works using landlines on smartphones over GSM networks - replacing the need for PBX infrastructure, desk phones and ISDN lines. Developed by The Pink Telephone Company Limited, App2Chat will revolutionise the way businesses handle calls. 020 80 993 994 www.app2chat.com Appsme Stand Number 1156 Get a mobile app for your business today. Learn about the benefits a mobile app can offer your business (and learn how to quickly, easily and affordably you can get one, too!) 020 8150 3412 www.appsme.com
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Atlantic Sales Partners Stand Number G162 It is often said that the Brits and Americans speak the same language but the similarities can be deceiving. We are a practical and focussed team of sales professionals with experience on both sides of the Atlantic. We can map your market, plan your entry and, if required, represent you. 00 1 844 239 1135 www.atlanticsp.com ATPI Stand Number G194 We are one of the Travel Management Companies with the highest client retention rate in the industry. We think that’s because we understand you need solutions rather than products. Knowing that travel savings and bespoke service are your priorities, we guarantee that our highly experienced professionals never stand still in their pursuit of the best savings for your corporate travel, using our international buying power. www.atpi.com AutoVu Solutions Stand Number 914 Allow us to introduce the AutoVu platform: a truly customer-focused CRM system with a powerful job ticket Field Service Management module. By bringing these two systems together in one handy solution, our platform will transform the way you do business forever. 0845 474 8824 www.autovusolutions.com AVASK Accounting & Business Consultants Ltd Stand Number 300 At AVASK, we are passionate about what we do, and we take a personal interest in each and every one of our clients. We deliver to you top quality bookkeeping, Accounting and Tax services. 02380 600 120 www.avaskaccounting.co.uk AVPT LTD SHORT COURSES Stand Number 650 AVPT specialises in delivering short courses in over 300 Soft Skills which are all accredited globally accredited. Point of Need training via your own device, your own tutor within 4 weeks. We can also resource SML Enterprises with a LMS system or workshop material for training. 020 3551 2621 www.shortcourses.expert B2B Marketing Expo Stand Number 1264 B2B Marketing Expo is an interactive exhibition designed specifically for the marketing sector, and will help to grow your professional expertise. Here, you will learn new ideas, connect with
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marketers, and find the resources needed to elevate your marketing to the next level and win more business. 01872 218007 www.b2bmarketingexpo.co.uk BACS Stand Number 1082 The not-for-profit organisation behind Direct Debit & Bacs Direct Credit in the UK, processing over 110,000,000,000 transactions since 1968. www.bacs.co.ukBacs/Corporate/ Pages/default.aspx Bells Bookkeeping & Accountancy Services Stand Number 642 We are passionate about running an accountancy practice that is reliable and efficient but also friendly and approachable. We pride ourselves on building a close working relationship with all our clients to enable us to provide the best and most proactive service we can. 020 8468 1087 www.bellsaccountants.co.uk Benefits Communication Limited Stand Number 906 Helping you to communicate your employee benefits via a cloud platform named BORIS. Engage with your employees by ensuring they understand and appreciate the employee benefits they receive, allow them to view their live pay data via a Total Reward Statement and auto-enrol them with BORIS. 0203 143 4040 www.benefitscommunication. co.uk Bibic Stand Number 1062 Bibic has been transforming the lives of children and their families since 1972. Its mission is to help children aged from six months to 18 years with conditions affecting their social, communication and learning abilities to achieve their potential for a happier and more fulfilled life. 01458 253344 www.bibic.org.uk Big Media House Stand Number 450 Big Media is a web development specialist, designing and developing online solutions that work across all devices. We are launching the next release of the Easy2 Training Management System at the Show - turn knowledge and skills into engaging, interactive online courses that pay for themselves. 07585 33 33 03 www.bigmediahouse.co.uk Bookingline.com Stand Number 670 Dedicated online and offline booking management and order
preference for the conference, seminar and training industry. 01189 462849 www.booking-line.com Bradley Keenan Stand Number 1114 07534 588 891 Bradleys Accountants Stand Number 380 Sharing small business and accounting advice for individuals, start-ups, SMEs and contractors; Bradleys Accountants are chartered accountants based in south London. 020 8303 1287 www.bradleysaccountants. co.uk Brandlective Communications Ltd Stand Number 172 We create websites, manage social media and create intriguing ad copy for your online campaigns. Why we do it? We thrive by helping small businesses achieve great results with their online marketing activities. 020 7407 2672 www.brandlective.com Breathe Creative Stand Number 1039 Breathe Creative creates and transforms brands. Brand Design that makes you stand out and connect emotionally with your customers. Web Design that perfectly reflects your brand and clearly communicates your point of difference. Brand Communications, consistently on message, always with imp 01491 699 845 www.breathe4u.com Briscoe French PR Stand Number 532 Briscoe French is an award-winning progressive and innovative public relations, copywriting, media relations and social media company based in Hampshire. 01489 232 030 www.briscoefrench.co.uk British Library Business & IP Centre Stand Number 500 The Business & IP Centre at the British Library provides entrepreneurs and SMEs with free access to databases, market research, journals, directories & reports, along with a programme of free and low-cost one-to-one advice clinics, workshops and webinars on a range of topics to help get you started. 0330 333 1144 www.bl.uk/bipc Broom Payroll & Pension Solutions Stand Number 1084 At Brooms Payroll and Pension Solutions Ltd we can provide everything you need to know and do, to set up an Auto-Enrolment
scheme. Starting from 2012 employers will be required to automatically enrol their workers into a workplace pension if they meet the criteria. 01277 202 222 www. broompayrollpensionsolution. com BSI Stand Number 982 BSI is the business standards company that helps organizations all over the world make excellence a habit. 0845 086 9001 www.bsigroup.comen-GB/ Bunting Stand Number 206 Bunting is the world’s easiest to use website personalization software, designed for ambitious growing businesses. www.getbunting.com BUPA UK Stand Number 430 Established over 60 years ago in the UK, Bupa has grown to become one of the world`s largest healthcare organisations with customers in 190 countries. www.bupa.co.uk Business Junction Stand Number 1014 Business Junction is London`s leading independent business network with 500+ member businesses across 125 sectors (www.businessjunction.co.uk members) & 70 annual panLondon networking events (www.businessjunction. co.ukevents). Please email admin@ businessjunction.co.uk for a free taster event. 020 3667 6776 www.businessjunction.co.uk Business Law Online Ltd. Stand Number 192 Business Law Online is a new breed of legal practice. Our expert Solicitors and Barristers provides quality legal advice and services to small and mid-market businesses on an annual fixed price contract. A great benefit to all businesses is the knowledge that they will not receive unforeseen bills. 01276 804 432 www.business-law-online.com Business Scene Stand Number 1184 Business Scene is the UK’s fastest growing membership organisation helping our members with industry leading benefits in 4 keys areas - Growth, Savings, Protection & Support. We’re here to be your essential business partner, and your success is what drives us. 0845 003 1345 www.business-scene.com
BusinessesForSale.com Stand Number 220 BusinessesForSale.com is the world’s leading business listings website. We promote buying a business as an alternative to starting from scratch and provide business owners and their representatives with a route to market when selling. The site has over 65,000 businesses for sale in 130 countries. www.BusinessesForSale.com
Cleveland Stand Number G186 Cleveland is a firm of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys. Our core services revolve around the protection of ideas as patents, trade marks and designs. We also advise on third party intellectual property (IP)rights and how these affect our clients trade; activities. 020 3077 3499 www.cleveland-ip.com
Businessworx Ltd Stand Number 1260 Providing business support for individuals, start-ups and established companies on a perhour basis. Offering a complete suite of professional business services from industry experts. 020 8504 1317 www.businessworx.co.uk
COMPANIES HOUSE Stand Number 100 Companies House incorporates and dissolves limited companies, registers the information companies are legally required to supply, and makes that information available to the public. Companies House is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills. 0303 1234 500 www.https://www.gov.uk/ government/organisations/ companies-house
Cameroon International Business Consulting Ltd. (CIBC) Stand Number G220 CIBC is an international business consulting and development company headquartered in Douala, Cameroon. We are focused on helping businesses accelerate their overseas trade and corporate development objectives in the CEMAC (Central African) region. 00 237 242660138 www. africanbusinessconsultants.com Caring and Sharing Stand Number 462 Caspian Media Stand Number 461 Caspian can provide you with superior. Print and digital B2B publishing. Content creation. Business event production. Advertising sales www.caspianmedia.com Century 21 UK Stand Number 104 CENTURY 21 UK is an estate and letting agent operating throughout the UK, and is part of the world’s largest residential estate agency organisation, with over 6,900 offices and 100,000 agents operating in 78 countries. 0333 313 2121 www.century21uk.com CFH Docmail Ltd Stand Number 1060 Docmail - print and post for less than the price of a 2nd class stamp. 01761 416311 www.docmail.co.uk City Business Library Stand Number 114 City Business Library provides FREE access to business information resources including; company data (UK and global), market research reports and statistics, import and export data and business start-up information. For a small fee, attend seminars, workshops and training. Room hire is available. 020 7332 1812 www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/cbl
ConventusUK Ltd Stand Number 760 We connect innovators, mentors, investors, education and industry. We seek to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs across the world, so they can create a better tomorrow. 00 3335770146 www.conventus.uk.com Crown Agents Bank Stand Number G166 Crown Agents Bank is a specialist provider of foreign exchange, cash management, trade finance, treasury and investment services. We are experts in working with emerging and fragile markets, and offer tailored, practical and effective solutions built on deep local knowledge and experience. 020 8643 3311 www.crownagents.com/whatwe-do/financial-services CSI Manufacturing Stand Number 140 CSI offer a range of Epilog laser and Vision rotary engraving equipment. Our desktop models give you the ability to mark, cut and engrave an endless range of materials and product. Bring your ideas to life and turn them into profit! From jewellery to model making it’s easy with a CSI system. 0117 911 4367 www.csionline.co.uk Cyclr Systems Ltd Stand Number 1058 Cyclr connects all your cloud apps, transforming them into a powerful integrated marketing platform. You can synchronise data and build automated marketing campaigns with logic controlled branching. All this with our drag and drop workflow builder and not a single line of code. 0330 354 2525 www.cyclr.com
Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) Stand Number G226 The Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) was established as a registered not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, funded by the Cyprus government. “Invest Cyprus” is the brand under which CIPA takes the lead in promoting Cyprus as an attractive FDI destination. 00 35722441133 www.investcyprus.org.cy D Young & Co Intellectual Property Stand Number 742 From SMEs to global businesses, whatever your invention, technology or brand, we will help you get the best intellectual property protection for it. Our specialist teams provide guidance on using IP rights efficiently and effectively to businesses from Europe, America, Asia and around the world. 020 7269 8550 www.dyoung.com Data8 Ltd Stand Number 136 Data8 is a leader in Data Quality and Data Management Solutions. The services provided include realtime data validation, comprehensive data cleansing, B2B and B2C data supply, data management, analytics, and data visualisation enabling a Single Customer View. 0151 355 4555 www.data-8.co.uk Debt Chaser UK Stand Number 1158 Debt Chaser is based in offices in Chatham, Kent where a team of experienced debt recovery specialists work full time on recovering debt for its UK wide client base. www.debt-chaser.com DekoRatio Branding & Design Studio Stand Number 750 High quality visual identity and graphic design for SMEs in the UK. 07405 804 525 www.dekoratio.co.uk Dephrisk Ltd Stand Number 431 Here at Dephrisk we have a mission to help SME`s across the UK with their cyber security. We provide low-cost cyber security scanning and vulnerability assessments on websites and servers from as low as £400. Our goal is to make the UK cyber secure amidst the ever-growing dependence on IT systems. 07842 829 314 www.dephrisk.com Di Vita Private Assistants Stand Number 226 London based luxury concierge, experts in lifestyle management and event planning. 020 7060 6371 www.divitaassistants.com
Digital Marketing Desk Stand Number 902 We are a successful, well established, company of specialists working in the rapidly developing field of Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO. We also help Small and Medium sized businesses with all aspects of their Digital Marketing. Our services include, Facebook advertising, SEO and Google adwords 01306 28 68 78 www.digitalmarketingdesk. co.uk DIGITAL MARKETING LONDON Stand Number 1222 At DIGITAL MARKETING LONDON we believe that with the right training and practice, everyone can become their own on-line marketing expert. We teach SMEs proven digital marketing methods to help build their business through in-house training & consultancy. www.DIGITAL-MARKETING. LONDON DNS Accountants Franchise Stand Number 386 We care dearly about our Franchise Owners and their clients` financial performance and growth. We have developed our own award nominated client software product, enhancing the client experience and providing our franchise owners with an efficient online accounting system. 020 7148 1706 www.dnsaccountantsfranchise. co.uk DNS Associates Stand Number 384 DNS Associates is a highly respected, locally recognized accounting, tax planning and consulting services organization based in Harrow, Euston with expertise in helping owner managed businesses and contractors. We have been thriving in the market since 2005 with a large clientele over 1500. 020 8903 6330 www.dnsassociates.co.uk DOHR Stand Number 731 DOHR is an HR practice providing SMEs with business focused, practical, sensible but legally compliant HR advice and support. Offering a flexible service DOHR works for businesses as if they were our own. We provide ad hoc, retained or outsourced support tailored to client specific needs. 01923 504 100 www.dohr.co.uk DowSocial Stand Number 630 Results orientated strategically focused social media consultancy, training and management. www.dowsocial.com
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Duku Stand Number 1038 Duku are a unique product design consultancy combining professional product design with chartered patent & trademark protection under one roof. We specialise in helping people develop their ideas and turn them into successful products. 01242 697666 www.duku-design.co.uk Dynamix Stand Number 256 A progressive business shop providing accountancy, taxation, VAT, payroll and business development support and implementation services across the South East and London. 0870 034 0155 www.dynamixgroup.co.uk Eco Camping & Leisure Stand Number 180 We offer a unique selection of luxury tents, lodges and residential homes for camping, leisure and residential parks. They come fully designed and furnished to suit your lifestyle needs. We have recently launched an Inflatable Ladybird Playground Tent suitable for Schools, Campsites among others. 07981 147 460 www.ecocampingandleisure. co.uk Edvance Consulting Stand Number 314 As a member of The Edvance Network (TEN) build opportunities to meet key people who could positively influence and build your business. Work together and help one another through the complimentary and varying businesses to create new or grow existing streams of income. TEN is about business growth 01253 404 211 www.theedvancenetwork.co.uk Eggcelerate Stand Number 1140 Are you ready to expand but need help? Work with someone who understands you. Our experts work with SMEs on strategy, product marketing, BizDev and alternative finance. We will not leave you the burden of executing the strategy. We’re helpful, committed, affordable and share your objectives. 020 3239 1653 www.Eggcelerate.comsignup E-GOI Stand Number 840 Multichannel Marketing Automation Made Easy for SMBs 020 3608 0284 www.e-goi.com ela8 limited Stand Number 1132 R&D Tax Services ela8 delivers unrivalled expertise in R&D tax services at an affordable cost. We carry out an efficient
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and seamless service through a small team of highly experienced professionals and pride ourselves on bespoke and personal service. 0203 740 7172 www.ela8.co.uk Elstree Film Design Stand Number 389 Video, animation and interactive content that reaches your audience. Share your story. Grow your business. 020 8819 2652 www.elstreefilmdesign.co.uk EMP Stand Number 134 EMP create outstanding print and digital products including the UK’s leading celebrity lifestyle magazine - at home - and provide creative services that help clients connect their brands with their audiences. www.empgroup.co.uk EntrepreneurAction.com Stand Number 984 01530 215015 www.entrepreneuraction.com Entrepreneurs Circle Stand Number 810 The UK’s Biggest Organisation Dedicated To Helping Businesses Grow. We’ve helped lots of UK businesses to become more successful and our clear purpose is to help many hundreds more business owners to achieve their goals - whatever they are. 0121 765 5551 www.entrepreneurscircle.org Entrevo Limited Stand Number 1240 Entrevo is an award winning company and founder of The Key Person of Influence Method. This strategy has helped thousands of business owners and leaders in 50+ industries globally to become more visible, valuable and connected translating into more fun and more money. 0207 898 3993 www.keypersonofinfluence. com Epic Services Stand Number 1078 Epic Services is dedicated to providing the finest, most responsive personnel to our clients. That is why we take special care to select only the most highly qualified, experienced members of staff to be listed with our service. Best of all, we are are available 24hours a day 7 days a week so you will never have to worry about being caught short handed. Our coordinators have you in mind when seeking temporary staffing, and take time to understand your preferences and match them with the needs of your facility. 020 3532 3471 www.epicservices.co.uk/about. php
eReceptionist Stand Number 942 No more missed calls, no more missed opportunities. The eReceptionist® phone system was designed with the daily needs of entrepreneurs in mind, ensuring customers get an answer and your business gets the opportunity. No contracts, hardware or software. So why not take a free 30 day trial today 0800 689 3704 www.ereceptionist.co.uk
Export-net Stand Number G188 Export-net helps SMEs meet the challenges of exporting to France. Based on a custom-made approach, our experts assist you in finding the right distributors, importers, resellers, agents or end-users. Whether you are just starting out or if you are already a confirmed exporter Export-net can help. 00 33663772912 www.export-net.com
eSeller Stand Number 1072 The award winning resource site for people who sell online. www.eseller.net
Exposure Ninja Stand Number 1186 Tim has helped tens of thousands of SMEs around the world increase their online visibility through his agency Exposure Ninja and their 5 bestselling books, including How To Get to the Top of Google and Profitable Social Media Marketing. Tim loves smashing rankings and helping ambitious SMEs dominate 0115 896 2348 www.exposureninja.com
Eurofast Stand Number G122 Eurofast is a regional business advisory services organisation employing over 200 people in South East Europe and East Mediterranean. www.eurofast.eu/global Evolve Stand Number 780 Evolve supply and support many leading world class companies with communication solutions everything from mobile phones, fixed line systems, business broadband and IT services. But what we do differently is we `join everything up`. Today...tomorrow... together. 01702 411511 www.evolve.co.uk Exact Market Promotions Stand Number 210 Exact Market Promotions, works with coaches, consultants and mentors who are ready to turn their entire internet presence, into a powerful client attraction funnel and the ultimate marketing tool. 01908 410 977 www.exactmarketpromotions. com Experian Stand Number 432 Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. We help businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. We also help individuals to check their credit report and score www.experian.co.uk Export Worldwide Stand Number G116 Export Worldwide will be launched at Going Global. This new, online platform will help businesses to reach new customers across Europe and the USA, fast, offering an easier way to sell products and services into international markets. Visit the Export Worldwide team at stand G116. 0121 608 7255 www.exportworldwide.com
Express Sourcing Stand Number 265 Express Sourcing :Worldwide product sourcing. Branded marketing and campaign merchandise. Promotional gifts Bespoke promotional and retail merchandise. Product development. Corporate workwear. Screen printing. Fulfilment and logistics. 020 8533 0010 www.expresssourcing.co.uk Factum Partners Inc. Stand Number G114 Factum Partners provides Business Improvement & Growth Strategies for UK and European SME’s who are looking to expand their presence internationally. We develop and execute targeted, cost-effective strategies that allow SMEs to achieve their revenue and market share goals into the USA and Canada. 00 1 847 993-3081 www.FACTUMPARTNERSINC. com First Names Group Stand Number G174 We are First Names Group. A global, independent provider of tailored outsourced services for companies looking to enter new markets. We are a member of Nexia International and have highly experienced and skilled First Names in strategic locations worldwide. Above all, we are a people business. 020 7257 2788 www.firstnames.com/ globaloutsourcing Foehn Stand Number 662 Foehn is a leading communication systems integrator, delivering IP telephony and contact centre solutions to the private and public sectors since 2000. We are an
innovative, flexible company that is passionate about Open Source technology, enabling smarter telephony for a smarter business world. 0330 403 0000 www.foehn.co.ukhostedtelephony ForceManager Stand Number 1170 ForceManager is a fully-integrated mobile sales management software that instantly measures and analyses all your sales activity. Improving both your sales team’s productivity and performance, it is the smart solution for sales reps who work out of the office. www.https://forcemanager.net Forest Economics Stand Number 980 Forest Economics is an international Investment and consulting company. We specialize in connecting companies and investors from all over the world. www.feconomics.comindex. html Franchise Expo & The Franchise Show Stand Number 176 FranchiseExpo.co.uk is a free comprehensive web directory which provides a year-round opportunity to find the perfect UK franchise for you! The Franchise Show is the UK’s largest Franchise event taking place at the ExCel, London every February. 0330 1222 049 www.franchiseexpo.co.uk Fresh Consulting and Support Limited Stand Number 263 Systemise-create a marketing funnel that brings you leads from your best prospects. Automate-do the work once and have it bring you a ROI again and again Streamline-get your sales process working for you, without you Net Profit-more money in your pocket by working smart 1st Step-Online Presence. 020 3667 1499 www.fresh.org.uk FundingKnight Stand Number 1220 FundingKnight’s crowdlending platform provides secured and unsecured loans, of up to £1 million, businesses, renewable energy projects and property developers. We offer a personal service based on more than just tick-box assessments to make sure our clients get a loan that suits their requirement 02392 985267 www.fundingknight.com GAC WORLDWIDE LTD Stand Number G170 GAC Worldwide Ltd is the UK’s leading independent freight forwarder to all destinations in the world. Our services include:
airfreight, courier, roadfreight and seafreight both into and out of the UK. Additionally we offer full import customs clearance services for all goods coming into the UK. 0208 917 0000 www.gacworldwide.com GB Energy Supply Stand number 470 GB Energy Supply is a new company and we are bringing a fresh approach to energy supply within both the Domestic and SME market. By running a highly efficient business and keeping our own costs low, we’re able to offer a better deal to the customer. GB Energy Supply offers no fuss, straightforward tariffs which doesn’t try and bamboozle the customer, our motto being “”It’s easy and effortless to switch and save 0800 6444 450 www.gbenergysupply.co.uk Genie Lending Ltd Stand Number 948 NACFB accredited Independent commercial finance broker accessing all high street lenders and niche lenders in the alternative finance market. We specialise in non bank funding solutions helping many UK SME’s achieve their financing aims and their professional advisers in this complex finance space. 01202 868843 www.genielending.co.uk Georgina Dee Limited Stand Number 574 Georgina Dee is an independently owned British clothing label founded in London, UK. They can provide a made to measure and bespoke tailoring services. They also can offer fashion expert advice to help you find the perfect outfit for that special occasion. 07944 210 283 www.georginadee.com GetSet for Growth Stand Number 620 GetSet is a specialist service tailored for small businesses with the potential and ambition for sustainable growth. Fully funded by JP Morgan, GetSet focuses on helping business overcome the two biggest barriers to growth generating sufficient profitable customers and accessing finance. 0800 121 4458 www.getsetforgrowth. comlondon Give A Grad A Go Stand Number 730 Give A Grad A Go is the UK’s leading graduate recruitment agency, providing brilliant businesses with high-calibre junior and mid-level talent. We work with a huge range of burgeoning start-ups, thriving SMEs and global brands, providing them with a quick, low-cost and no-fuss route to hiring. 020 7150 1170 www.giveagradago.com
Give As You Live Stand Number 711 Give as you Live uses 4,000 leading online retailers to raise money for your favourite Charities from all of your business and personal spending. Stationery, office products, print cartridges, through to travel and accommodation - all earn a donation for Charity and add to your CSR commitment. 0800 883 8450 www.giveasyoulive.com Global Language Interpreting Ltd Stand Number G138 We resolve Language Barrier problems within small & large businesses or for individuals in the UK and Globally. 01733 617 051 www.globallanguage.co.uk Global Trader Stand Number G104 Global Trader contains a diverse portfolio of international businessto-business titles, providing current, factual and independent content designed to facilitate international business. www.gtglobaltrader.com Goldcrest Insurance Stand Number 940 Specialists in landlords insurance. Landlord Insurance. Fleets. HMO Insurance. Property Portfolios. Buildings & Contents. www.goldcrestinsurance.com Greenfield Insurance Services Stand Number 610 If you can`t afford the time or more importantly, lack the expertise to shop around for the best insurance for your unique needs, then deal with someone who can do it on your behalf. 01489 579808 www.greenfieldinsurance.co.uk GSC Solicitors LLP Stand Number 1050 GSC Solicitors is an established City-based law firm offering expert legal advice tailored to individuals and businesses. We are specialised in various commercial areas and are passionate about SMEs. With a partner-led approach we are proud of long-standing relationships with our clients. 020 7822 2222 www.gscsolicitors.com Hamriyah Zone Sharjah Stand Number 442 Established in November 1995, HFZA is one of the world`s fastest growing and dynamic free zones and the most cost-effective free zone in the Middle East. 00 971 6 5263333 www.hfza.ae
Hartwell Smith Associates Ltd Stand Number G198 With over 30 years’ experience we help clients choose the most appropriate retail channels, then plan the correct approach and commercial proposal to deliver listings for retail in the UK & overseas. We also have vast experience of securing International distributors and helping drive export sales. 01727 789057 www.hartwellsmith.com HEG Stand Number 242 Europe`s largest privately owned hosting provider. www.heg.com Hodders Law Limited Stand Number 452 Are you looking for expert, cost effective legal advice then Hodders are the experts in Business, Personal and Property law. We can provide one stop legal advice, covering all you legal needs. Our Business team will be at stand 452 so come and see how we can help you 0808 168 8677 www.hodders.co.uk Holiday Park & Resort Innovation 2015 Stand Number 912 Holiday Park & Resort Innovation is the trade event attended by owners and operators of UK Holiday Parks and Resorts, actively seeking new opportunities to attract more customers, gain a competitive edge and increase their revenue stream. 0117 929 6087 www.holidayparkshow.co.uk Hoobar Ltd Stand Number 744 Hoobar ltd is a UK company which designs innovative low tech and high tech consumable products . e,g Solar power HP Inc Stand number 421 www.hp.com/country/us/en/uc/ welcome.html Human Brand Consultants Ltd. Stand Number 640 We are Designers! We help others grow their business through Branding. Turning entrepreneurs into business owners. Our focus is to produce beautiful design that communicates to your consumer aesthetically and emotionally. 07849 146 998 www.weare-human.com
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Hyve Managed Hosting Stand Number 770 Mission-critical cloud hosting for business, providing a secure environment to host websites and store company data. Hyve offer full management, meaning our engineers become an extension of your business. Hyve are ISO27001 certified, PCI DSS compliant and G-Cloud accredited. 0800 612 2524 www.hyve.com ibd Business Advice Group Ltd Stand Number 130 Becoming a Consultant - At a crossroads of your career? Like the idea of running your own business, allowing flexibility and work/life balance? Being an ibd Accredited Member provides a platform, with significant benefits to start, grow and manage your own business or expand an existing busines 01223 257777 www.ibd-uk.comindex.php/ careers/ ICAEW Business Advice Service Stand Number 700 The ICAEW Business Advice Service plays a vital role in the business support landscape by offering a free initial consultation to start-ups and businesses looking for qualified business advice. With over 4,000 ICAEW offices offering the service in the UK, there is a bound to be an office near you. 020 7920 3561 www. businessadviceserviceblog.com Immaculette Stand Number 1180 Immaculette offers a luxurious holiday service. Stay in the most exquisite holiday homes and stunning resorts. We look after you on your arrival, feel welcome, relax and look forward to discovering, local artisan delicacies exclusively chosen by us for you to enjoy. www.immaculette.com ImpulsePay Stand Number 463 ImpulsePay provides ‘Charge to Mobile’ technology, allowing consumers to pay for digital goods and services using their mobile phone number instead of a credit card. No pre-registration or app is required. Our latest product, BillMobile, offers the lowest ever transaction fees on Charge to Mobile 020 7099 2450 www.impulsepay.com Infinicloud Stand Number 604 One of the UK’s leading provider of Cloud IT Services, VoIP Telephony and Managed IT Solutions. We are a team of experienced business consultants and highly qualified technical engineers, that work together with clients to tailor
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service packages that meet the requirements of their business. 0330 088 3905 www.infinicloud.co.uk Inspired Retail Stand Number 212 Inspired Retail is the one stop shop for all your EPoS needs, either online or by phone. We provide great value, advice and service and ship across the UK and abroad. Touchscreens, cash drawers, scanners, printers, till rolls, software, retail and hospitality bundles. 0845 226 3212 www.inspired-retail.co.uk Institute of Recruiters IOR Stand Number 872 The Institute of Recruiters (IOR) is a British Institute representing the highest standard mark in British recruitment. It provides world class Recruitment Training Courses both online and face to face. 0871 288 2108 www.theior.org.uk Intellectual Property Office Stand Number 1054 The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the government body responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the national framework of intellectual property rights (IPRs) (patents, designs, trade marks and copyright) and the granting and management of rights within that framework. We lead an 0300 300 2000 www.gov.uk/ipo Intermedia Stand Number 550 Intermedia is a one-stop shop for cloud business applications. Its Office in the Cloud™; integrates email, file sync and share, security and many other essential IT services - and supports customers and partners with a Worry-free Experience™. 0203 384 2158 www.intermedia.co.uk International Trade Magazine Stand Number G134 ITM is celebrating 15 years of being the leading international publication for the global trade, logistics and economic sectors. Combining market-leading editorial with the latest news and case studies, plus daily news updates on the web platform, ITM is the ideal cross media platform. www.intrademagazine.com Internet Business School Stand Number 154 The Internet Business School is the place to learn everything you need to put your business online. Whether you have an existing business you want to bring online, an online business that could perform better, or a beginner wanting to build your own new online business - we can help. 01233 226222 www.internetbusinessschool. com
Invest in Denmark Stand Number G124 Invest in Denmark, part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, is your optimal first point of contact when looking to set up a business in Denmark. With their highly specialised and competent staff, they are dedicated to advise you on every aspect of locating in Denmark - all free of charge. 020 7333 0247 www.investindk.com
Just Cash Flow PLC Stand Number 900 Just Cash Flow PLC is a responsible specialist lender to UK Businesses. We offer flexible funding solutions from 310,000 to £500,000 to businesses helping them manage their cash flow. This means you can concentrate on running your business and not how you finance it. 0121 418 9756 www.just-cashflow.com
Invest in Warwickshire Stand Number 440 Invest in Warwickshire can provide all the help your company needs for a successful move into the Warwickshire area, including: Access to our commercial property database. Introductions to local networks & organisations. Free & Confidential support. Excellent local intelligence. 01926 412140 www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ invest
K Display Stand Number 240 Winner of “The Most Loved Printer in the UK” award & voted Top 5 Printer in the UK several years running. Experts in large format print, exhibition & display services. As well as shell scheme panels, posters, pop up & roller banner stands, we offer design services & expert knowledge about exhibiting 01926 611777 www.kdisplay.co.uk
IP Genie Stand Number 904 Javita Europe Stand Number 1142 Javita Europe provides a new opportunity for people interested in participating in and developing their own real, long-term business. On payment of a membership & stock fee of circa £650 you can start your own company and immediately begin earning income and build ongoing residuals. 07711 392662 www.javita-europe.com
Jeremy Jacobs Communications Limited Stand Number 258 A witty, entertaining presenter, host and MC, Jeremy Jacobs could be described as a man of many parts. With experience in TV, corporate videos and radio broadcasting Jeremy is in demand for a variety of corporate events. 020 3303 3172 www.jeremyjacobs.com Job Heaven Stand Number 1085 At Job Heaven we aim to go beyond the traditional job board. With a comprehensive job posting and application system we also focus on being a hub of information, be it legal, professional or personal, for recruiters and job seekers alike. 0844 579 1718 www.jobheaven.co.uk JournoLink Stand Number 453 Press Release distributor, directory of small businesses for journalists 020 7193 8262 www.journolink.com
Kafoodle Limited Stand Number 451 Kafoodle Kitchen is the ultimate hassle-free solution to help your restaurant or bar comply to the allergen legislation. Our cloudbased software will allow you to easily manage day to day administration and in doing so, tap into the vast and virtually untouched allergy and intolerance market. 020 7395 6880 www.kafoodle.com Keybacker Stand number 1182 Wordpress website and social media creation and maintenance with SEO. Bookkeeping, general secretarial and administrative work and Event Management. 020 30166547 www.keybacker.com King & Taylor Stand Number 1270 King & Taylor`s business accountancy services enables you to meet all of your management, financial and legal obligations, whilst providing you with valuable decision making tools to help you prepare your business for the future. A team dedicated to your business that goes beyond just accountancy. 01474 569777 www.kingandtaylor.co.uk KnowGlobal Ltd Stand Number G109 KnowGlobal specialises in providing businesses with the know-how they need to achieve international success by reviewing and implementing an effective e-commerce strategy. 0203 585 1471 www.knowglobal.com
Kompass UK Stand Number G202 We are a leading online business to business database provider, offering UK and global company information for use as a sales, marketing, researching and purchasing tool. 0800 0185 882 www.kompassinfo.co.uk Kompass UK Stand Number G202 We are a leading online business to business database provider, offering UK and global company information for use as a sales, marketing, researching and purchasing tool. 0800 0185 882 www.kompassinfo.co.uk KPMG Stand Number 584 KPMG in the UK is a leading provider of professional services including audit, tax and advisory. www.kpmg.comUK/en/Pages/ default.aspx Krystal Hosting Stand Number 820 At Krystal we offer a wide range of UK based website hosting solutions covering all your hosting needs. We offer fast, reliable & secure SSD hosting options from shared, business, Cloud VPS or bespoke dedicated hosting - all UK based and managed by our hosting experts. Please visit us at stand 820! 0203 515 1337 www.krystal.co.uk Laidback Life Ltd Stand Number 946 D-Tangle is a patented innovative gadget where users can place their existing set of earbuds and automatically unwind them - as simple as that! It is compatible with most brands of earbuds like the ones of iPhone, Samsung, Nokia, Sennheiser etc. 35722447300 www.9 Nikodimou Mylonas street LEGALEX - The Business Behind Law Stand Number 922 Legalex is the largest exhibition and conference dedicated to the business behind law. With 100+ exhibitors showcasing the latest products and services available to the legal market and hundreds of seminars to educate and inspire the most proactive and forward thinking professionals working in law. 0117 990 2091 www.legalex.co.uk Life Media UK Stand Number 229 Life Media UK create professional video & photographic media. www.lifemediauk.com
Lighthouse Workplace Solutions Stand Number 949 We provide straightforward, modern workplace pensions and life insurance specifically for smaller and medium-sized businesses. By straightforward we mean no hidden charges, no jargon, minimum paperwork. Plus, our set-up and management service leaves you free to concentrate on running your business. 08000 88 88 90 www.lighthousews.co.ukhome. aspx Liquid Finance Partners Stand Number 1210 Liquid Finance provide finance solutions for small companies that take credit and debit cards in the form of a business cash advance. With no complicated forms to fill in, no payback deadlines, no hidden fees or creeping interest rates, this represents the perfect solution for cash-flow management. 0845 600 3573 www.liquidfinance.com London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Stand Number 680 LCCI is the capital’s largest independent networking and business support organisation. Representing the interests of thousands of companies, we connect thousands of business people every year and offer our members a wide range of practical and professional service 020 7248 4444 www.londonchamber.co.uk London Entrepreneurs Network Stand Number 330 With over 13,000 members & 500+ new members joining every-month, ‘London Entrepreneurs Network’ is the ultimate networking and learning opportunity, GAINING CLIENTS for entrepreneurs, business owners & individuals, in and around London & the UK. Membership & joining is FREE for everyone. www. londonentrepreneursnetwork. com London Small Business Centre Stand Number 516 London Small Business Centre the place to go for funding, support and training for any London based entrepreneurs. We pair entrepreneurs with one of our experienced business advisers and firmly believe that this face to face, customised business support is the key to our clients success. 020 7377 8821 www.smallbusinesscentre.org. uk
LuluLocal Marketing Stand Number 1263 LuluLocal Marketing is Your Marketing Department. We spend time understanding your business and goals, build your Marketing Strategy & Plan with you, and then make it happen, using all traditional and digital marketing techniques. Above all, our aim is to bring more business to your business. 0208 123 5470 www.lululocalmarketing.co.uk
MBL Solutions Ltd Stand Number 212 MBL Solutions is a leading provider of innovative retail, hospitality and member benefit solutions. Products include Inspired EPoS, Gift Cards, Loyalty Cards, E-Commerce, plus Loyalty and Membership Discount Platforms. Suitable for Major brands to single outlet start-ups, integrated or stand alone. 0191 250 4530 www.mblsolutions.co.uk
M2E Pro Stand Number 892 M2E Pro is an integrated service for Amazon, Ebay and others, that simplifies selling on multi-channels. www.m2epro.com
Media Orb Stand Number 1076 Media Orb are a full service digital communication agency. We enable our clients to succeed online through great website design, engaging system development and high impact SEO and marketing. We understand our clients needs and deliver market leading e-commerce, mobile web, SEO and CRM solutions. 01278 450312 www.mediaorb.co.uk
Made in Britain Stand Number G172 The Made in Britain Campaign promotes British manufacturing, enabling buyers and consumers to identify British-made products. Our award winning provenance marque can be applied to any surface material, packaging or digital media. We’re looking for #1000makers - join the campaign. 07774 315766 www.madeingb.org Mail Workshop Ltd Stand Number 880 The rapid growth of the eCommerce sector has boosted demand for high quality storage, fulfilment and delivery services. 01159 481 110 www.mailworkshop. co.ukecommerce-fulfilmentservices/ Mak In India Business Solutions Stand Number G145 Mak India Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (MAK) is a Legal & Commercial based company in India, which is One-Stop business solutions provider for all Foreign Manufacturers, Contractors and Investors in our country. 00 91 8080891046 www.makinindia.in Marks & Clerk Stand Number 1049 We are an intellectual property firm which recognises the importance for all businesses, especially startups, to ensure they have their most important assets protected. From obtaining trade marks for your brand and patents for your products, we can explain the benfits of each form of IP available. 0207 420 0000 www.marks-clerk.com Mauve Stand Number G154 Professional software solutions for today’s investment businesses. Without limitation, our manpower and knowledge resources as well as development and service capacities can be adapted to the needs of any project. 00 43-1-503-8282 www.mauve.com
Mexican Chamber of Commerce Stand Number G128 The Mexican Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain represents Mexican and British entrepreneurs doing business in Great Britain and Mexico. 00 44(0)2078725775 www.mexicanchamberofcommerce.co.uk/ Mi Ventures & FreeAgent Stand Number 804 Mi Ventures: Mi Ventures is an award-winning, live chat online business support platform providing business guidance to start-ups and small businesses. FreeAgent: Accounting software simplified. Providing a simplified way for freelancers and small business owners to manage their books. 01438 791003 www.miventures.co.uk www. freeagent.com Microsoft Stand Number 420 Empower your growing business with Microsoft Dynamicstechnology that helps you achieve great results in the areas that really matter: generating better leads, closing more profitable sales, effortlessly managing your supply chain, inventory, production processes & making sure you get paid on time www.microsoft.comen-gb/smb/ connect-and-grow/ MOO Stand Number 562 Hello, we`re MOO - an online print and design company. We love great design and believe it can work wonders for every business, no matter their size. 020 7392 2781 www.moo.com
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MTA Business Stand Number 1230 The resources of a large firm, without the overheads. MTA Business offers you all the essential services your business needs in one place. From Legal Services, IT and Marketing, to HR & Recruitment, Accountancy and Credit Control, only pay for the services you need, always at preferential rates. 020 8437 0777 www.mtabusiness.co.uk My Financepartner Stand Number 1224 My Financepartner is a next generation accounting service designed to help businesses of all sizes. It gives you everything you need to stay on top of your finances in one place. www.myfinancepartner.co.uk My Social Media PA Stand Number 910 An engaging and consistent online presence has become vital to the success of any talent, brand or business. At My Social Media PA we work closely with Small Businesses, Emerging Brands and Tech Startups to provide Social Media Management and Strategy solutions on either an ad-hoc or long-term bases. www.mysocialmediapa.co.uk mylearnadfriend Limited Stand Number 1226 mylearnadfriend supply bespoke on-line eLearning portals to organisations wishing to take control of their own eLearning. We also supply organisations who want to enter the eLearning market. Our systems are available as White Label products or fully managed systems. Whatever your needs we can help. 0203 397 4349 www.mylearnadfriend.co.uk National Cyber Skills Centre Stand Number 431 01684585111 www.cyberskillscentre.com Neopost Stand Number 1059 Neopost guides and supports organizations in how they send and receive communications helping them to better connect with their customers. Neopost brings Simplicity in the face of the ongoing, complex, transition to digital communications. 0845 850 0442 www.neopost. co.ukneopreference Net-Recruit.co.uk Ltd Stand Number 110 Let Net-Recruit take the hassle out of online recruitment by helping you find your perfect candidate with our low cost advertising packages. With over a decade`s worth of experience in a broad
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range of sectors, we have forged a reputation as a leading supplier of on-line recruitment solutions. 01457 856 270 www.net-recruit.co.uk Network Freelance Ltd Stand Number 606 Network Freelance is an online platform built by freelancers, for freelancers. 020 3829 6851 www.network-freelance.co.uk NFON UK Ltd Stand Number 404 NFON Cloud Telephone Systems offers companies between 2 and 249,000 employees the best telephone system in Europe that is fully integrated with Skype for Business. 160 high-end features, savings on costs, excellent reliability and security all contribute to NFON being Europe’s market leader. 0203 740 6740 www.nfon.com ng experts Stand Number 1118 NG Experts offers flexible IT & Telecom services, professional IT project delivery and expert IT advice. We support small, mediumsized and large businesses. 020 3640 6670 www.ngexperts.net Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Stand Number G130 The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1977. Members range from small and medium sized enterprises to large scale multinational businesses and Government Agencies. NBCC offers a range of services, which include market insight, getting started overseas and building market share. 0330 024 1126 www.nbccuk.org Nockolds Solicitors Stand Number 520 Nockolds Solicitors is a long established, award-winning professional legal practice with roots tracing back to 1831. Nockolds provide corporate and private client legal services locally, nationally and internationally with offices in London and Bishop’s Stortford. 020 7294 7330 www.nockolds.co.uk Nomisma Solutions Stand Number 388 Nomisma is designed to streamline tasks, benefit CRM, and help accountancy practices grow by improving efficiency. It does this by automating and integrating many tasks of accountancy and CRM. Designed by practicing accountants in response to modern-day accountancy practices. 02030210081 www.nomismasolution.co.uk
Nucleus IP Ltd Stand Number 860 Nucleus IP have been protecting clients’ Intellectual Property rights since 1886. Providing focused, innovative and practical advice to all our clients, large or small, to ensure they obtain the best protection for their brands, designs, domain names and copyright their budgets will permit. 0203 102 9000 www.nucleus-ip.com Office in a Box Stand Number 632 Office In a Box provides a one stop, single user, office administration system for £999 plus VAT. www.officeinabox.it On Time Business Setup Stand Number G111 OnTime Group is the leading provider of government services in Dubai. It also provides Business, IT, Interiors, Facilities & a host of other services. 00 971 52 608 4694 www.ontimebusinesssetup.com One2create Stand Number 472 Based in Hampshire, One2create is a digital agency with a difference. Ensuring everything has a purpose is our ethos. That’s why our marketing department has an over arching view of everything we do, meaning things don’t just look good, they work for your business. 0844 8040 796 www.one2create.co.uk OneBizz Stand number 182 OneBizz is the integration of Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics ERP in one single standard solution for small and medium sizes businesses. This means that OneBizz supports all key front and back office processes and the way they interact with each other. 08448241259 www.onebizz.com Open Iran Group Stand Number G106 Open Iran Group provides expert advice and services to foreign companies who wish to explore Iran in order to enter this flourishing market. We organize summits and exhibitions in Iran to enable international companies to network and make contacts. Kish INVEX 2015 is one of our best bespoke events. 00 982122351161 www.open-iran.com OpenIP Ltd Stand Number 1056 OpenIP are a family run IT and Telecoms solutions provider with bases across England, Scotland and Central Europe. With specialities in
IT Support, IT Security, Networking, Disaster Recovery, Leased Lines and IP Phone Systems we are the onestop shop for your business IT and Telecom requirement 01204 707 146 www.openip.co.uk Organo Gold Stand Number 512 Organo Gold is a global Direct Selling company that combines Ganoderma infused products with an unmatched opportunity to help enrich the lives of people.Organo Gold’s Ganoderma-based porducts contain many natural compounds including benefiial anti-oxidants. 07736 720362 www.susanshirley. myorganogold.com Ovatu Stand Number 348 Ovatu is designed to take the stress away from running your business and take care of your diary management, administration, automated reminders, marketing, online bookings and much more, Ovatu has been built by people who care and want to help you grow your business. 01604 238 808 www.ovatu.com Parcelhub Limited Stand Number 880 Sending 1000, 500 or even 10 parcels a day? Save time and money with Parcelhub. 01159 503 018 www.parcelhub.co.uk Parker Software Limited Stand Number 1266 Parker Software is at the forefront of next generation customer communication, and we want to take your business there too. We build software solutions that quicken communications, break barriers and drive operational efficiency. It’s simple: your success is our focus. 01782 822 577 www.parkersoftware.com Payment Gateway Stand Number 720 Secure and affordable payment solutions for small to medium businesses, vendors and payment firms. www.paygatewayonline.com Physical Rehabilitation World Stand Number 1208 Europe’s leading event for rehabilitation therapists! Incorporating four great events under one roof, we’ve created an unmissable show for all rehabilitation professionals and practice owners to grow their business and develop professional knowledge. 01179 296 097 www.physicalrehabworld.co.uk
Pink Lizard Promotions Stand Number 262 Promotional Merchandise & Done For You Marketing specialists. Come and visit us for your special show offers only available at the business show. 01362 693 710 www.pinklizardpromotions. co.uk Platinum Trading Academy Stand Number 307 We will teach you how to trade the markets and create a secondary income by working less than 30 minutes a day. 0207 193 2931 www.platinumtradingacademy. com PMGC Technology Group Limited Stand Number 1200 PMGC is the UK`s leading independent Mobility, Fixed and ICT Managed Service provider and deliver innovative but practical Communications and IT solutions that increase efficiency and staff productivity. We empower businesses nationwide to reach the next level of success and growth. 01675 444 320 www.pmgroupuk.com PMSL Training Stand Number 1066 Are you really good at what you do and growing your business? Now you need to be just as good at managing staff, managing customers and managing your business. PMSL training and coaching will help you develop the management skills you need to run a successful business. 020 3056 1156 www.pmsltraining.co.uk Polarisoft Stand Number 800 Polarisoft are business technology partners. We supply technology solutions and services for business to manage process, people and financials. We offer consultancy, software solutions and managed services focused on transparency and business automation. 020 7692 5697 www.polarisoft.com PPL Stand Number 850 PPL licenses recorded music played in public or broadcast on radio, TV and the internet, and then distributes the licence fees to its performer and rightholder members. 020 7534 1070 www.ppluk.com Premier Property Education Stand Number 762 Premier Property Education provide a range of interactive workshops, courses and private mentorship programmes to help take your property investing to the next level, whether you are new to property or experienced. www.premierproperty.co.uk
Prima Business Solutions Stand Number 302 Prima Business Solutions is a Stratford London (UK) based custom software development company. Established in 2012. We are specializing in the develop of powerful software and web solutions that empower business to grow. 020 3375 4259 www.primabusinessuk. comindex.html Primo Contatto Stand Number 230 Primo Contatto outsourcing multilingual contact center located in Moldova offers an effective multi-language hotline that works both in the B2B and B2C market. Our operators are able to support more than fifteen languages, including English, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, French and more. 00 373 22 260592 www.primocontatto.eu PrivacySolved Stand Number 237 PrivacySolved is a data protection, privacy, technology and information / cyber security compliance company based in London. We advise, solve problems and deliver projects for clients from a wide range of sectors in the UK, EU, USA and internationally. We help you to get business done. 0203 151 9772 www.privacysolved.com Q2Q Ltd Stand Number 1070 We are a friendly and customerservice focused team providing business performance management software to a diverse customer base. At Q2Q we have developed a unique platform in order for you to analyse real-time data within your business. 01524 581690 www.q2q-it.com R.T.Page Stand Number 802 RT Page offers a complete 3PL(third party logistics) service to all online eCommerce retailers, whether you are a start-up business or a long established company we can adapt our service to your requirements. 01903 736300 www.rtpage.co.uk RAK Investment Authority Stand Number G152 RAK Investment Authority is a fully fledged business and industrial arena offering competitive Free Zone and Non Free Zone facilities. RAK Investment Authority offers industrial and business investors the benefit of smooth set up of their operations in a dynamic and synergistic environment. www.rak-ia.com
Realise Partners Stand Number 1040 We are an exclusive, invitation only membership organisation that helps CEO’s, Directors & executives achieve increased personal, leadership and business growth. 020 7813 1346 www.realisepartners.com RecruitmentGenius.com Stand Number 1030 Become a recruitment genius and fill any job for £199 or less. Already several thousand companies have filled over 60,000 jobs, ranging from a FD for Tesco to software developers for Sony Playstation. There are no hidden catches or costs, just amazing service and great results. 01732 617 460 www.recruitmentgenius.com RelevantNow Stand Number 1032 With RelevantNow anyone can do their own PR with no previous experience. It`s simple, fast and best of all - it’s free. It helps you communicate with 100`s of targeted press contacts. It`s a PR revolution! “We generated numerous immediate sales and will be using RelevantNow ongoing.” Number35 020 3286 7288 www.relevantnow.com Rendering Solutions Stand Number 228 External insulation and rendering experts. Don`t put up with a tired looking, cold or expensive to run property. External wall insulation and rendering can save hundreds of pounds a year on your energy bills, create a more sustainable and ecologically friendly building, and revitalise the look of a property with sleek modern lines. For more than a decade we have been helping home owners and building contractors, facility managers and local authorities to affordably upgrade the exterior their properties. And, because of our dedication to quality, our certified status and our fully trained staff, all of our work is covered by warranties of up to 30 years in length. www.renderingsolutions.co.uk Restaurant Interiors Stand number 890 Restaurant Interiors 2016 is an event designed to offer inspiration, practical advice and the products and services needed to transform a restaurant interior space. It attracts designers, architects, interior design agencies, and business owners looking to refurbish their venues. 0117 9304927
RIFT Accounting Ltd Stand Number 402 We`re RIFT Accounting and we’re not traditional, grey-suited number-crunchers. Think of us as your Business Bodyguard - we`ll protect you and make you a success. There`s nothing to be scared of. We`ll simplify everything. Take away the fear. Reduce the risk. 01233 653006 www.riftaccounting.com Rocketspark Stand Number 466 Rocketspark is a website maker that is super easy to use. It’s not only simple, Rocketspark will guide you towards best practice design so that your website looks professional and reflects the quality of your business. If that’s still too much work Rocketspark can design your website for you. 020 3773 8327 www.rocketspark.com Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Stand Number G108 The Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (RBCC) promotes, facilitates and supports business between Russia and the UK. It is independent of government in both countries and is funded by membership fees and event and publication sponsorship. RBCC aims to be the first point of contact for Russian www.rbcc.com 0207 931 6455 Sales Innovation Expo Stand Number 1264 Sales Innovation Expo is the largest and most important event for professional sales leaders. With some of the best-known names, thought leaders and industry experts offering cutting-edge advice and demonstrating the latest technologies, products and services. 01872 218007 www.salesinnovationexpo. co.uk SalesSeek Stand Number 652 SalesSeek is integrated online Sales and Marketing software for growing businesses. Empowering teams and growing revenue for businesses all over the world. Discover our features and start your 14 day free trial at www. salesseek.net! 0203 514 2513 www.salesseek.net S-B-N Limited Stand Number 304 We provide business start- up solutions such as: Virtual Offices, Virtual Services; Virtual PA, virtual manager and virtual receptionist. Office Brokers, Mailbox Services (including mail forwarding), Parcel Services, Phone Services. 0333 666 0088 www.sbnetwork.co.ukindex. aspx
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SCHNEIDER GROUP Stand Number G150 We consult and provide our international clients with the back office services they need to expand their business into or within Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and Germany. Our services include accounting outsourcing, tax consulting, import, EPR systems and support in legal matters. 00 7 495 956 55 57 www.schneider-group.com SDL PLC Stand Number G206 With over two decades of expertise, unequalled technology and coverage for over 200 languages, SDL is the largest translation provider in Europe and the market leader in global customer experience. 01628 410100 www.sdl.com/languagecloud/ Search Utopia Ltd Stand Number 238 We enable businesses to grow by utilising the digital world to drive pre-qualified hand picked leads straight to your on-line sales funnel. By utilising the power of the internet we can take your business to the next level enabling you to live the life you planned to have when you started. 0800 246 5102 www.search-utopia.com Sendible Stand Number 190 Sendible is the leading online marketing platform that enables small businesses, corporates, agencies and franchises to engage, promote, analyse and track their brands through social media, content marketing and email/ sms messaging. With one single composer box, share your message to your audience. 020 3608 6879 www.sendible.com Sentori Email Marketing Stand Number 1232 Sentori manages all aspects of an email marketing campaign. It`s easy to use, and provides all the features you need to deliver effective marketing campaigns. Sentori integrates with your website, Google Analytics and social media. It provides a complete email solution at an affordable price. 01323 645646 www.sentoriapp.com Shaa.com Stand Number 382 21 Steps to creating a business you love. www.shaa.com
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Simply Business Stand Number 600 Simply Business is the UK’s favourite business insurance broker, currently insuring over 300,000 small businesses, start-ups and freelancers. 0845 450 9959 www.simplybusiness.co.uk Simply Factoring Brokers Stand Number 806 We are one of the largest factoring brokers in the UK & we help businesses of all shapes and sizes with their cashflow. If you’re looking to grow your business & you have money tied up in your invoices then we can help and get you into the right facility & kickstart your businesses growth. 0330 134 2826 www.simplyfactoringbroker. co.uk Slater and Gordon Stand Number 530 Slater and Gordon help business people across the UK providing legal representation on a variety of areas that are likely to impact you and your business. At Slater and Gordon we believe prevention is better than cure. 0808 175 8000 www.slatergordon. co.ukbusiness-services Smart Recruit Online Stand Number 812 Award Winning Recruitment Platform For HR & Recruitment Professionals 0800 634 1818 www.smartrecruitonline.com SME Insider Stand Number 522 The premier news and analysis portal focusing on all the things that UK small business owners and managers need to know- from the most relevant national headlines, to support and advice on all aspects of setting up and running a successful business, with regular insights from experts in the field. www.smeinsider.com SME IT Networks Limited Stand Number 222 We provide IT and Telephony Support and Services to Small and Medium sized businesses, providing customised solutions to suit your business. 08458 698 969 www.smeitnetworks.co.uk SME Magazine & Mid Market Insight Stand Number 1052 SME and Mid Market Insight target small and medium-sized enterprises within the UK across the spectrum of business verticals. Looking to support them with useful content and expert views from across a range of industries our publications offer unique insight into running a business in the UK 020 7657 1810 www.smeweb.com
Standard Life Stand Number 266 Standard Life is one of the largest pensions and investments businesses in the UK. www.standardlife.co.ukc1/ index.page Starline Limo Bus Stand Number 30 Welcome to Starline Limo Bus, the custom-made party limos created in the humble heart of Swansea. Made from a stretched Mercedes Sprinter the Straline is truly unique, being the first and only IVA tested Limo Bus to ever hit the roads of the UK. From its promotion of high-tech features such as televisions and wi-fi to its luxury interior and LED lighting, nothing comes close to the innovative design of this vehicle. 0844 567 7715 www.starlinelimobus.com Start Your Business Magazine Stand Number 120 Start Your Business magazine is the UK’s best-selling business magazine for entrepreneurs and SME’s. A monthly publication providing advice, tips, interviews, expert advice and Q&A’s to help SME’s and businesses. www.startyourbusinessmag. com Startup Direct Stand Number 514 We’ve provided funding, support and expert mentors to nearly 1000 businesses, and counting. www.startupdirect.org Startup Overseas Stand Number G136 Welcome to Startup Overseas the definitive resource for starting or expanding a business abroad. 0117 907 3520 www.startupoverseas.co.uk Step Forward Stand Number 234 Step Forward is a high quality 12-month Level 3 apprenticeship programme for 18 year old school leavers in London. We provide great candidates and flexible pathways to match your hiring needs, while also diversifying your workforce. Step Forward is run by a national charity called The Challenge. 0203 793 7333 www.stepforward.uk.com
Stone Cut Solutions Limited Stand Number 135 At Stone Cut Solutions, we strive for innovation. Our goal is to provide new solutions to existing tasks, so as to enable our customers to get a competitive edge. It is our aim to provide cost effective and value added services for all our customers. 0208 481 4844 www.stonecutsolutions.com Stonewall Stand Number 1064 At Stonewall, we believe in acceptance without exception. We’re here to let all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people know they’re not alone. We’re excited to be creating the first ever Diversity Zone at the show, including supporting smaller charities such as the Adult Dyslexia Organisation to attend. 020 7593 3473 www.stonewall.org.uk Strategic Solutions Consultancy Stand Number G148 Strategic Solutions Consultancy (SSC Dubai) is a leading business consultancy based in Dubai. We specialize in offering end-to-end solutions to new and emerging clients in order to establish their business presence in Dubai and across the UAE. Established in 2006, SSC Dubai is pioneering its success. 00 97143142000 www.sscdubai.com Street Food Live Stand Number 1256 Street Food Live - The UK’s leading and industry exhibition for the street food and mobile catering sectors. Attracting 2,500 street food vendors and mobile caterers from across the whole of the UK. Providing an unrivalled route to market for any business selling to this sector. 0117 929 6085 www.streetfoodlive.co.uk Strong-SEO Stand Number 1036 The Strong SEO team are extremely professional and at the same time, very friendly. I now get 85% more business from my online marketing. I highly recommend them to anyone, except my own competitors. Show Offer Only: Free Consultation - Free Audit Free Website Design - SEO 199 offer 0203 761 4887 www.strong-seo.com Stuart Harris Associates Stand Number 1074 Friendly Accountants, easily contactable, explain things in plain English, good networkers (helping clients to grow their businesses and recommending goods and services) 020 3006 3929 www.sha1.co.uk
Sugar Cube Productions Stand Number 944 Sugar Cube Productions is a complete marketing design company, here to provide a one stop shop for all SME’s online and offline marketing needs. We have fully qualified web developers, graphical designers, and we are a full printing and promotion product agency. 020 7078 7623 www.sugarcubeproductions. co.uk Surrey Outdoor Learning & Development Stand Number 919 Surrey Outdoor Learning & Development is committed to achieving positive personal development through outdoor experiences that challenge the mind and body. Through these outdoor experiences, we guide participants to discover more about themselves by learning and developing personal, social, emotional, physical and key skills. www.surreyoutdoorlearning.uk Surrey Translation Bureau Stand Number G168 Surrey Translation Bureau is an independent family-owned business with over 30 years experience translating specialist texts into all world languages at competitive prices. Fields include: medical, legal, technical, automotive, IT, marketing, financial, science, EU, environment and sustainability. 01252 733 999 www.surreytranslation.co.uk Takeaway Innovation Expo Stand Number 1256 Takeaway Innovation Expo - The UK’s industry exhibition for the Takeaway and QSR sectors. Attracting over 6000 key decision makers from across the UK restaurant, takeaway and QSR sectors. Providing an unrivaled route to market for any business selling to this sector. 0117 930 4927 www.takeawayexpo.co.uk Talk Business Magazine Stand Number 1000 Taking an open and honest look at the fight that entrepreneurs face to reach success, Talk Business magazine is bursting with inspiration, tips and advice to assist those battling through the day-to-day struggles of the current climate. 0203 617 4680 www.talkbusinessmagazine. co.uk
Team B Partners LLP Stand Number 612 Not your average Accountants, Founder Richard, as an entrepreneur & tax specialist, brings his unique experience and Team to deliver exceptional value to his clients & their businesses. Team B routinely support other entrepreneurs, owners & finance functions to set up, optimise, grow & exit. 02030 86 85 86 www.teamb.eu Text Global Stand Number 1157 Text Global is one of the UK’s leading mobile messaging service providers. Our customers have sent millions of bulk messages using our easy to use self-serve platform. We are continuously developing our product offering to remain at the cutting edge of the mobile messaging industry. 01793 420424 www.textglobal.co.uk TGS Global Stand Number G160 TGS is a dynamic global accountancy network specialising in the provision of accounting, audit, tax and business advisory services. With 40 members worldwide and combined fee income exceeding $230m, TGS is ranked in the Top 20 networks by International Accounting Bulletin and Accountancy Age. 0333 2000 811 www.tgs-global.com The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce Stand Number G112 The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce is a membership organisation, founded in 1975, to promote economic activity and facilitate trade between the UK and the 22 member countries of the League of Arab States. We do this primarily by providing support services to member companies . 020 7659 4865 www.abcc.org.uk The Blondepreneur Ltd Stand Number 1257 Content without connection is like tea without cake.` - Carrie Eddins. I help Businesses bring `cake` to their marketing and selling with what I call the Return on Connection.™ I specialise in `female-friendly cake,` which comes in many varieties from chocolate, to lemon drizzle! 80% of all buying decisions are made by women, need help? That`s why I`m here! www.theblondepreneur.com The Business Incentives Group Stand Number 580 We provide users of branded merchandise, a range of products and services, that are excellently produced and offer a clear commercial benefit. 0845 450 8979 www.thebigroup.co.uk
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute Stand Number 1130 Unsure of the law on trading standards or whether the rules apply to you? The Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force on 1 October 2015 and free guidance is available through Business Companion to all businesses that sell goods and/or services to consumers. Visit us on stand 1032 to find out more 01268 582 221 www.tradingstandards.uk The Farm Business Innovation Show Stand Number 912 Farm Business Innovation is the UK`s largest, most diverse and fastest growing business event. 0117 9296087 www.farmbusinessshow.co.uk The Food Entrepreneur Show Stand Number 1256 The food and drink industry offers an incredible number of opportunities for any entrepreneur who is hungry for success. If you`re looking for the spark to light up your business empire, you`ve come to the right place. 01179 304 927 www.foodentrepreneurshow. co.uk The Forum of Private Business Stand Number 572 A proactive, not-for-profit membership organisation providing comprehensive support to small businesses. 0845 130 1722 www.fpb.org The Gazette Stand number 1202 The Gazette is the UK’s Official Public Record, published since 1665. 01603 696 981 www.thegazette.co.uk The Institute of Export Stand Number G222 The Institute of Export`s mission is to enhance the UK’s export performance by setting and maintaining professional standards in international trade management and export practice. This is principally achieved by the provision of education, training programmes and practical business support servic 01733 404400 www.export.org.uk The Marketing Queen Bee Stand Number 269 My name is Lorraine Tapper, and I am a local business online marketing consultant. I help SME`s and Micro Businesses to generate increased business from target customers in their chosen post code area. I focus mainly but not predominantly in the East London area 07486 363 852 www.themarketingqueenbee. co.uk
The Missing Link To Wealth Stand Number 112 The missing link to Wealth is YOUR link to the worlds biggest experts on Success, wealth and entrepreneurship. Visit us to get your free ticket to a life changing event with multi-millionaires revealing the secrets to create your entrepreneurial dreams faster and easier. 07973 558 831 www.missinglinktowealth.com The PDF Pen Co Ltd Stand Number 459 PDF to sign? Open Click Sign Save No Printing!No Scanning! 0207 030 3405 www.thedpfpen.co.uk The Pitch Stand Number 918 Founded in 2008, The Pitch is Britain’s biggest small business competition. Learn, network and improve your pitching skills! www.thepitch.uk The Problem Solver – Business Growth Creator Stand Number 651 Janice B Gordon is known as the Problem Solver. Her specialist business growth consultancy and mentoring service tailored for established companies with the potential and ambition for sustainable growth. We focus on helping business overcome the two biggest barriers to growth - profitable customer strategy and sustainable business growth strategy. 020 7175 0877 www.theproblem-solver.com The Quick Click Stand Number 602 The Quick Click is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of Refurbished products, We are a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher and specialize in computer hardware & software from Refurbished Laptops, Brand New Tablets and PC Compoents. Visit www. thequickclick.co.ukpages/about-us for more details. 0800 014 2901 www.thequickclick.co.uk The Rockstar Mentoring Group Stand Number 50 The Rockstar Mentoring Group is by far, the UK’s No.1 Mentoring and Investment organisation for Entrepreneurs. Exhibiting at their16th Business Show and Sponsoring the Midas Touch for the 8th time. Come down, say hi and learn from the best. 0845 652 2905 www.rockstargroup.co.uk
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The SMF Group Stand Number 40 The SMF Group is the top digital marketing company in Cambridge. We provide social media training and account management. We also offer web design and conversion consultancy to help businesses with all their online marketing needs 01223 969 054 www.thesmfgroup.co.uk The Virtual Business Centre Stand Number 1152 The Virtual Business Centre specialises in offering SMEs bespoke solutions through our Virtual Office/Assistant services: Telephone Answering, Virtual Personal Assistant, Sales Order Processing, Holiday Cover, Mail Handling, Mail Order Fulfilment, Pick & Pack, Telemarketing 0844 669 6000 www.virtualbusinesscentre.com The Zinc Group Ltd Stand Number 208 ZincInHouse.com is part of the Zinc Group Ltd, we specialise in B-2-B debt recovery and to date we have collected over £100 million for and on behalf of our clients on a No win No fee basis. As well as providing debt recovery services we also provide full back office services via Zinc BPO Ltd. 0330 100 0852 www.zincinhouse.com TheConsultants.biz Stand Number G184 Doing Business in Iran - We are a consultancy business based in London, UK. We help businesses setup, distribute or invest in Iran. We help find business partners, distributors, agents, storage facilities and factories. 020 3637 1245 www.theconsultants.biz/ middle-east-services Thefullworks Limited Stand Number G179 We assist your business in promoting and delivering product to international and national destinations. Our software solution automatically calculates duties and taxes at checkout, integrates payment solutions, offers full logistics trackability direct to your customer, “click & collect” services 07495 061 774 www.thefull.works ThinkHeadshot UK Stand Number 1160 ThinkHeadshot is a professional
headshot and business portrait service based in Shoreditch, London, UK. ThinkHeadshot is not just another portrait operation, we aim to provide LinkedIn headshots and business portraits showing your confidence and approachability. Startup supported by Virgin StartUp. 0203 3221531 www.thinkheadshot.co.uk TipTop Media Management Ltd Stand Number 257 TipTop Media are an established company providing tape & film storage, document storage, scanning as well as recycling and confidential destruction services for organisations in and around London. 020 3234 0090 www.tiptopmedia.co.uk Tony C Accounting Services Stand Number 261 Friendly and caring NE London based accounting practice offering a quality tailored package to suit individual client needs. Offers full range of services: Accounts, taxation, consultancy, planning, VAT, bookkeeping, payroll, auto enrollment and escrow Approachable, available, trustworthy 07742 976 766 www.tonycaccserv.uk Trade & Export Finance Stand Number G146 Trade & Export Finance Ltd is all about helping you finance your business at the lowest practicable cost so that profit goes to your bottom line rather than the institutions. We think out of the box to create optimal financial solutions and structures which meet the needs of our clients. 0121 794 0280 www.taefl.co.uk True Telecom Stand Number 1150 True Telecom is the UK’s fastest growing telecommunication and payment services provider. We offer to both business and residential customers a range of market leading products and services; from broadband and line rental, to SIM only mobile and payment services. 0800 840 40 60 www.truetelecom.com UK Carline Limited Stand Number 582 UK Carline works with leading financial institutions to offer impartial, expert advice on a variety of services including contract hire, finance lease, contract purchase and lease purchase. We currently lease 4,000 vehicles each year and can supply any make and model of car & commercial vehicle. 01995 642464 www.ukcarline.co.uk
UK India Business Council Stand Number G144 UKIBC is the premier membershipled organisation supporting the UK Government in the promotion of trade, business and investment between the two countries. 020 7592 3040 www.ukibc.com UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Stand Number 100 UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) works with UK-based businesses to ensure their success in international markets, and encourage the best overseas companies to look to the UK as their global partner of choice. 020 7215 5000 www.gov.uk/ukti UK2 Stand Number 710 UK2 has been helping start-ups and small businesses get started and grow online since 1998. From choosing your domain name to the design and hosting of your website, UK2 will be with you at every step. UK2 also offer cloud and dedicated hosting, and have their own London-based data centre. 0800 612 2142 www.uk2.net UK-ASEAN Business Council Stand Number G208 The UKABC provides UK business, looking to or already active in the region, with greater insights into ASEAN’s high growth and emerging markets. +44 20 72155714 www.ukabc.org.uk Ultimate Business Limited Stand Number 236 Donna Still, as The Diamond Detective, Exposes the Hidden Opportunities within your business using insights and information immediately available. She guides you through the 6 step Diamondology system to ensure your customers stay longer and spend more. 07967 200 372 Unlimited Success Ventures LLP Stand Number 254 Unlimited Success help people to transform their business or complete a personal transformation with the help of three of the UK’s leading professionals. 01733 898 557 www.unlimited-success.co.uk Vandercom Voice and Data Solutions Ltd Stand Number 1110 Vault IP Ltd Stand Number 1102 Vault IP is a specialist Intellectual Property firm offering patent,
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design and trade mark services. The company has been set up to assist SMEs secure protection for their intellectual property and being a small firm with low overheads, we can offer much lower professional fees than many IP firms. 01926 203055 www.vault-ip.com Verus360 Stand Number 446 UK alternative finance provider Verus360 was established in 2014, with a simple aim: to provide businesses with finance products that are easy to use, fast to access and fairly priced. Our business finance is delivered online, and you pay only for the money you use and the time that you use it. 0207 554 0700 www.verus360.com VICI Language Dynamics Stand Number 692 The VICI Language Academy is elite in its philosophy, programme structure, concept and resources. We are not just here to teach you a modern foreign language but to help you live an experience and benefit from our expertise of the many different languages and cultures we teach. Highly trained native speakers (passionate about what they do) make VICI an ideal environment for any individual, child or adult keen to explore new horizons and finally conquer that old impossible dream of becoming bilingual! www.thevici.com Virtual Staffing Stand number 702 Is the war on tech talent hurting you yet? Don’t be a victim! We can provide you with the web/software developers you need and save you up to 60% per annum! Zero up front costs Prices start from £8 per hour You get a UK based Account manager Monthly invoicing Monthly rolling contracts 0115 9866775 www.virtualstaffing.co.uk Virtuoso Legal Stand Number G126 We are specialist Intellectual Property advisors, our expertise and commercial acumen are second to none. Whether your question is about international trade mark filings, global IP strategy or cross border agreements, we are here to help. We pride ourselves in getting
great results for our clients. 0113 2379 900 www.virtuosolegal.com Vodafone UK Stand Number 1081 Vodafone is a British multinational telecommunications company. www.vodafone.co.uk We Brand It Stand Number 672 We are a promotional products distributor based in Maidenhead. With a combined experience of over 40 years we specialise in bespoke promotional products. 0800 022 6483 www.webrandit.co.uk Web Behaviour Specialists Stand Number 870 WBS is a London-based digital marketing agency, providing services including PPC, SEO, Social Media advertising and Web Analytics. 02033001637 www.web-behaviour.com Webcertain Group Stand Number G176 Webcertain specialises in international digital marketing, helping businesses of all sizes to expand into new markets. Webcertain`s in-house team of native digital specialists enables it to support projects in 44 languages and develop effective campaigns for audiences all around the world. 0330 330 9000 www.webcertain.com Webformed Ltd Stand Number 250 Not enough hours in the day? If you have a mobile or casual workforce, over 80% of the time you spend scheduling rosters and tracking appointments could be wasted. Visit the TrackIT team on stand 250 to find our more, and then start thinking what else you could be doing with all that time. 01626 798891 www.webformed.co.uk Westminster Kingsway College Stand Number 660 Westminster Kingsway deliver high quality training solutions to meet the needs of your business either in the workplace or one of our Centres in central London. As one of the largest providers of Apprenticeships, we can also help you recruit Apprentices and source funding, including grants of £1500. 020 7963 4181 www.westking.ac.uk/employers
book for up to 65% off! Whether you’re experiencing the early nags of entrepreneurship or you’re a fully-fledged business maverick, we have all the essentials to get you successful. 01243 770 613 www.wiley.comgo/bsubookshop World First Stand Number G183 No matter why you’re transferring money, we can help - so if you’re importing or exporting, paying salaries overseas or making supplier payments, we’ve got a solution that can help you get the most for your money. 020 3740 3925 www.worldfirst.com Worldwide Currencies Stand Number G218 Worldwide Currencies offer Bank beating Exchange Rates without any of the additional charges like transfer fees or commissions. We work with both businesses and individuals to provide enhanced service levels on overseas payment solutions. 0203 326 4444 www.worldwidecurrencies.com WOW Analytics Stand Number 400 WOW Analytics is a website and traffic analyzer with real time traffic statistics. This service provides live data feed, page scoring, lead assignment, company watch, daily reporting, accurate company Matching reports and much more. 0844 880 2899 www.wowanalytics.co.uk WPA Personal Health Insurance Stand Number 224 WPA is one of the UK’s most respected Healthcare insurers offering excellent value and quality of service the is second to none. When it comes to your Health you want the best, and that’s exactly what you get from WPA. You are also free to choose the Specialist or Consultant you want to see. 01372 438 062 www.wpa.org.uk Xcel Sales Ltd Stand Number 608 We are a new breed of agency; we live and breathe professional selling to accelerate your business growth. 01184 021440 www.xcelsales.co.uk XCommNet Ltd
Stand Number 264 XCommNet provides reliable resilient broadband, while at work, at home or on the move. Our vision is to provide Superfast broadband on land, at sea and in the air. 0203 773 5507 www.xcommnet.com
controllers, working `up close and personal` with ambitious business owners or FD`s. Efficient book keeping, insightful management information engagingly explained, focusing on cash and profit improvement. 01252 820002 www.yourrighthand.co.uk
YBC Insurance Services Stand Number 650 We provide specialist advice on all classes of insurance cover including employers liability, public and products liability, property, financial risks, motor and contracting. Our solutions are tailored to your industry sector and deliver the best cover and levels of protection.
YourSinglePageSite Stand Number 174 Build your own professional website in minutes with YourSinglePageSite. com the easy to use website builder. No technical knowledge or design skills are needed. Your Single Page Site provides everything you need, including a domain name and hosting for your site and you can update it yourself anytime 07977 073 649 www.yoursinglepagesite.com
Yingde Group Ltd Stand Number 406 We help British businesses thrive and deliver genuine value for our clients. 01612 093 811 www.yingdegroup.co.uk Younger In 90 Seconds Stand Number 106 Breakthroughs in Stem-cell technology and Anti-aging that literally reverses aging. Come and experience the miracle first hand that can make you look younger in 90 seconds. Start your own business and be part of a revolution with these breakthroughs. Includes PROVEN success system and training. 07973 558 831 www.youngerin90seconds.com Your Business Community Stand Number 454 The small business support community for the 21st Century. For all businesses that realise that they can’t be good at everything. Premium YBC membership gives you unlimited business support & advice, protection, offers, discounted networking and more. Join today for a special show discount 0333 358 3399 www.yourbusinesscommunity. co.uk Your Right Hand Finance Team Stand Number 1015 A team of professional, part time bookkeepers, management accountants and financial
Zenith Street Limited Stand Number 460 Zenith Street Limited is a London based rejuvenation consultancy for your established business. We provide business improvement & growth solutions for ambitious owners who want their business to be strategically fit. Leverage our clever solutions to boost your business and supercharge your profits. 020 8991 3374 www.zenithstreet.com ZigZag Systems Ltd Stand Number 306 Running your business can be hard work, you have all your data, customer information and purchase orders stored in different places, making it a difficult task to find what you need. All of these things are made simple and efficient, with ZigZag even integrate into your accounts package and website. 0115 870 0994 www.zigzagsystems.co.uk Zoho Corporation Stand Number 344 Zoho.com offers a comprehensive suite of award-winning online business, productivity & collaboration applications. Customers use Zoho Applications to run their business processes, manage their information and be more productive while at the office or on the go. 00 1 888 204 3539 www.zoho.com
Wiley Stand Number 156 Visit the Business Startup Bookshop at stand No.630 and grab a
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EXHIBITOR A-Z
.uk - Brought to you by Nominet 1-2-1 Accountants 1&1 Internet Ltd 3di Information Solutions 4Networking Ltd A.S.A.P Office Services Aaron Parker Franchises Academia for Business Accountex ActionCOACH ADAM Global Adia PR Admedia ADN Accountants AdTube Advanced Payment Solutions Advantage Business Partnerships AE in a Box AEI Saudi AET Global Albright IP Align Global Consulting Alliott Group Amanda C. Watts Andy Harrington Angels Den Anicca Digital Ltd Anke Anusic - ACN App Your Business App2Chat Appsme Atlantic Sales Partners ATPI AutoVu Solutions AVASK Accounting & Business Consultants Ltd AVPT LTD SHORT COURSES B2B Marketing Expo BACS Bells Bookkeeping & Accountancy Services Benefits Communication Limited Bibic Big Media House Bookingline Bradley Keenan Bradleys Accountants Brandlective Communications Ltd Breathe Creative Briscoe French PR British Library Business & IP Centre Broom Payroll & Pension Solutions BSI Bunting BUPA UK Business Junction Business Law Online Ltd. Business Scene BusinessesForSale.com Businessworx Ltd Cameroon International Business Consulting Ltd. (CIBC) Caring Sharing Homecare Caspian Media Century 21 UK CFH Docmail Ltd City Business Library Cleveland COMPANIES HOUSE ConventusUK Ltd Crown Agents Bank CSI Manufacturing Cyclr Systems Ltd Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) D Young & Co Intellectual Property Data8 Ltd Debt Chaser UK DekoRatio Branding & Design Studio Dephrisk Ltd Di Vita Private Assistants Digital Marketing Desk DIGITAL MARKETING LONDON DNS Accountants Franchise DNS Associates DOHR DowSocial
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324 570 324 G181 1021 830 170 842 922 160 G140 1034 1016 920 1236 540 259 269 G200 G192 1038 G196 661 924 1291 1250 152 1204 832 1156 G162 G194 914 300 650 1264 1082 642 906 1062 450 670 1114 380 172 1039 532 500 1084 982 206 430 1014 192 1184 220 1260 G220 462 461 104 1060 114 G186 100 760 G166 140 1058 G226 742 136 1158 750 431 226 902 1222 386 384 731 630
Duku Dynamix E-GOI Eco Camping & Leisure Edvance Consulting Eggcelerate ela8 limited Elstree Film Design EMP EntrepreneurAction.com Entrepreneurs Circle Entrevo Limited Epic Services eReceptionist eSeller Eurofast evolve Exact Market Promotions Experian Export Worldwide Export-net Exposure Ninja Express Sourcing Factum Partners Inc. Federation of Small Businesses First Names Group Foehn ForceManager Forest Economics Franchise Expo & The Franchise Show Fresh Consulting and Support Limited FundingKnight GAC WORLDWIDE LTD GB Energy Supply Genie Lending Ltd Georgina Dee Limited GetSet for Growth Give A Grad A Go Give As You Live Global Language Interpreting Ltd Global Trader Goldcrest Insurance Greenfield Insurance Services GSC Solicitors LLP Hamriyah Free Zone Authority Hartwell Smith Associates Ltd HEG Hodders Law Limited Holiday Park & Resort Innovation 2015 Hoobar Ltd HP Inc Human Brand Consultants Ltd. Hyve Managed Hosting ibd Business Advice Group Ltd ICAEW Business Advice Service Immaculette ImpulsePay Infinicloud Inspired Retail Institute of Recruiters IOR Intellectual Property Office Intermedia International Trade Magazine Internet Business School Invest in Denmark Invest in Warwickshire IP Genie Javita Europe Jeremy Jacobs Communications Limited Job Heaven JournoLink Just Cash Flow PLC K Display Kafoodle Limited Keybacker Klarity Vision KnowGlobal Ltd Kompass UK Kompass UK KPMG Krystal Hosting Laidback Life Ltd LEGALEX - The Business Behind Law
1038 256 840 180 314 1140 1132 389 134 984 810 1240 1078 942 1072 G122 780 210 432 G116 G188 1186 265 G114 138 G174 662 1170 980 176 263 1220 G170 470 948 574 620 730 711 G138 G104 940 610 1050 442 G198 242 452 912 744 421 640 770 130 700 1180 463 604 212 872 1054 550 G134 154 G124 440 904 1142 258 1085 453 900 240 451 1182 1270 G109 G202 G202 584 820 946 922
Life Media UK Lighthouse Workplace Solutions Liquid Finance Partners London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) London Entrepreneurs Network London Small Business Centre LuluLocal Marketing M2E Pro Made in Britain Mail Workshop Ltd Mak India Business Solutions Marks & Clerk Mauve MBL Solutions Ltd Media Orb Merchant’s Transaction Finance Mexican Chamber of Commerce Mi Ventures & FreeAgent Microsoft MOO MTA Business My Financepartner My Social Media PA mylearnadfriend Limited National Cyber Skills Centre Neopost Net-Recruit.co.uk Ltd Network Freelance Ltd NFON UK Ltd ng experts Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Nockolds Solicitors Nomisma Solution Nucleus IP Ltd Office in a Box On Time Business Setup One2create OneBizz Open Iran Group OpenIP Ltd Organo Gold Ovatu Parcelhub Limited Parker Software Limited Payment Gateway Physical Rehabilitation World Pink Lizard Promotions Platinum Trading Academy PMGC Technology Group Limited Polarisoft PPL Premier Property Education Prima Business Solutions Primo Contatto PrivacySolved Q2Q Ltd R.T.Page RAK Investment Authority Realise Partners RecruitmentGenius.com RelevantNow Rendering Solutions Restaurant Interiors RIFT Accounting Ltd Rocketspark Russo-British Chamber of Commerce S-B-N Limited Sales Innovation Expo SalesSeek SCHNEIDER GROUP SDL PLC Search Utopia Ltd Sendible Sentori Email Marketing Shaa.com Simply Business Simply Factoring Brokers Slater and Gordon Smart Recruit Online SME Insider SME IT Networks Limited SME Magazine & Mid Market Insight Standard Life
229 949 1210 680 330 516 1263 892 G172 880 G145 1049 G154 212 1076 G178 G128 804 420 562 1230 1224 910 1226 431 1059 110 606 404 1118 G130 520 388 860 632 G111 472 182 G106 1056 512 348 880 1266 720 1208 262 307 1200 800 850 762 302 230 237 1070 802 G152 1040 1030 1032 228 890 402 466 G108 304 1264 652 G150 G206 238 190 1232 382 600 806 530 812 522 222 1052 266
Starline Limo Bus Start Your Business Magazine Startup Direct Startup Overseas Step Forward Stone Cut Solutions Limited Stonewall Strategic Solutions Consultancy Street Food Live Strong-SEO Stuart Harris Associates Sugar Cube Productions Surrey Outdoor Learning & Development Surrey Translation Bureau Takeaway Innovation Expo Talk Business Magazine Team B Partners LLP Text Global TGS Global The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce The Blondepreneur Ltd The Business Incentives Group The Chartered Trading Standards Institute The Farm Business Innovation Show The Food Entrepreneur Show The Forum of Private Business The Gazette The Institute of Export The Marketing Queen Bee The Missing Link To Wealth The PDF Pen Co Ltd The Pitch The Problem Solver - Business Growth Creator The Quick Click The Rockstar Mentoring Group The SMF Group The Virtual Business Centre The Zinc Group Ltd TheConsultants.biz Thefullworks Limited ThinkHeadshot UK TipTop Media Management Ltd Tony C Accounting Services Trade & Export Finance True Telecom UK Carline Limited UK India Business Council UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) UK-ASEAN Business Council UK2 Ultimate Business Limited Unlimited Success Ventures LLP Vandercom Voice and Data Solutions Ltd Vault IP Ltd Verus360 VICI Language Dynamics Virtual Staffing Virtuoso Legal Vodafone UK We Brand It Wealth Training Company Web Behaviour Specialists Webcertain Group Webformed Ltd Westminster Kingsway College Wiley Wiley World First Worldwide Currencies WOW Analytics WPA Personal Health Insurance Xcel Sales Ltd XCommNet Ltd YBC Insurance Services Yingde Group Ltd Younger In 90 Seconds Your Business Community Your Right Hand Finance Team YourSinglePageSite Zenith Street Limited ZigZag Systems Ltd Zoho Corporation
30 120 514 G136 234 135 1064 G148 1256 1036 1074 944 919 G168 1256 1000 612 1157 G160 G112 1257 580 1130 912 1256 572 1202 G222 269 112 459 918 651 602 950 40 1152 208 G184 G179 1160 257 261 G146 1150 582 G144 100 G208 710 236 254 1110 1102 446 692 702 G126 1081 672 316 870 G176 250 660 156 150 G183 G218 400 224 608 264 650 406 106 454 1015 174 460 306 344
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FLOOR PLAN SEMINAR HALL 8
1266
BUSINESS STARTUP
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Unbeatable. Value from FSB. Essential Business Benefits for less. OST O EXTRA C N D E D U INCL
ments u c o D l a g Le Advice l a g e L 7 / 24 olicy P n o i t c e t Legal Pro Care FSB over C n o i t a g i t * Tax Inves 0 5 9 £ e u l Market Va ing, Commercial
at Visit us8 for 13 Stand
0 3 £ HIP! S R E B EM OFF M 60
was £1 0** 13 £ W O N
Bank nce, to Business g, Cash Adva Plus, access in ss ce ro P t n MORE ard Payme to save you ts fi e n e Insurance, C b r e any oth tions plus m Vehicle Solu
Join the thousands of businesses who become members every month to take advantage of our essential business benefits.
Claim your £30 discount off membership Visit us at Stand 138 quoting TBS1215 †
TAX PROTECTION
LEGAL ADVICE
FSB CARE
*The market value of £950 is arrived at by: FSB Legal Documents cost would be £275 to access with Abbey Legal; FSB Legal Advice at £150, average hourly cost of a solicitor; FSB Care at £250 is the cost to access the equivalent service; Legal Protection Scheme at £275, cost to cover a business with up to £100m turnover; All prices correct at May 2015. **Membership starts at £130 per annum with a £30 registration fee for the first year. This rate is applicable to businesses with no employees. † On the 3rd and 4th December 2015, the registration fee will be waived for all new full and associate members joining at Stand 138 and quoting the code TBS1215. In the event of any fault, mistake, misunderstanding or dispute concerning the operation of any part of the promotion the FSB’s decision shall be final. Federation of Small Businesses reserves the right to amend/withdraw this promotion at any time without prior notice. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. Registered Office: National Federation of Self Employed and Small Businesses Ltd., Sir Frank Whittle Way, Blackpool Business Park, Blackpool, FY4 2FE. Registered in England No. 1263540.
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STAND NUMBER 1064
STONEWALL: ACCEPTANCE WITHOUT EXCEPTION At Stonewall, we’re here to let all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people know they’re not alone. We’re excited to be creating the first ever Diversity Zone at the show, including supporting smaller charities such as the Adult Dyslexia Organisation to attend.
We have laid deep foundations across Britain - in some of our greatest institutions - so our communities can continue to find ways to flourish, and individuals can reach their full potential’. 89
We believe we’re stronger united, so we partner with organisations that help us create real change for the better. We have laid deep foundations across Britain - in some of our greatest institutions - so our communities can continue to find ways to flourish, and individuals can reach their full potential. We’re here to support those who cannot yet be themselves. But our work is not finished yet. Not until everyone feels free to be who they are, wherever they are.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.stonewall.org.uk 020 7593 3473 [email protected] [email protected]
YINGDE GROUP
Yingde Group proudly sponsor the Business Show 2015, visit us at stand No: 406.
Yingde Group has united countless Chinese investors and UK businesses since 2008. We provide efficient, professional solutions and boast an extensive base of prudent Chinese investors. Our goals are simple –We
help British businesses thrive and deliver genuine value for our clients.
Grow your business with Yingde Group Is your UK business looking for external funding? Would investment from a trustworthy, knowledgeable source help your business flourish? Look no further than Yingde Group. From marketing and advertising to road shows, our expert team will leverage every opportunity to extend our investor network and give your business the exposure needed to attract investment.
Yingde’s continuing success is a result of our core values – commitment, integrity and a rigorous pursuit of excellence. We provide efficient, professional solutions and boast an extensive base of prudent Chinese investors. Along with funding, you can also benefit from the wealth of business know-how that Yingde and an investor brings to the table. Not to mention a cross-cultural perspective of your business and the opportunity to explore Eastern mar kets to broaden your business’ reach.
To find out more information visit:
Facebook:www.facebook.com/yingdegroupuk
Tel:+44(0)1612093811
STAND NUMBER 1056
DATA BREACHES CAN HAPPEN TO ANY BUSINESS All companies rely on critical business data in order to succeed. Organisations may face overwhelming financial liabilities if they lose sensitive data and they need knowledge to protect and recover lost data, otherwise data breaches will continue to cause problems. How much does a data breach cost a business? Organisations may face insurmountable financial liabilities if they lose sensitive data. Data breaches can result in direct costs such as reimbursement to customers and data recovery costs but even worse is the damage to reputation, as most customers would stop dealing with an organisation in the event of a security breach. There are five reasons as to why an organisation, including SMBs, may be on the brink of a data breach. 1. Employee negligence Employees are a company’s biggest asset, but they are also a weakness. The top reasons for SMB data loss were employees opening attachments or clicking links, leaving systems unattended, not changing passwords and visiting restricted sites. This negligence puts business’ critical data at risk from cybercriminals and malicious insiders. 2. SMBs aren’t protected adequately The majority of SMBs can’t do enough to protect their data using the measures and technologies they currently implement. Most SMBs believe that they do not have enough protection in place especially as data breaches are normally detected accidentally. Not only are organisations at risk of hacking and compromises, but in fact in more danger of employee maliciousness or negligence. Around 60% of organisations believe they need to re-architect their security infrastructure by focusing on outside in and inside out protection as they do not encrypt or safeguard sensitive business data. 3. Employee mobility may cause a disaster Mobile devices enable employees to access data from virtually anywhere at any time, which allows greater flexibility and freedom to the workforce. The ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) age is here to stay. As more and more business data is being accessed by mobile devices not controlled by IT administrators, the likelihood of data loss incidents will continue to rise. 4. SMBs fail to routinely backup data Over 60% of SMBs routinely fail to backup data. Combined with BYOD and employee behaviour, lack of security protection and threats to data are putting organisations at
great risk of a breach. Without automated backups and recovery strategies in place, businesses are at great risk should a disaster strike. Around a third of businesses do not have backup and disaster recovery strategies in place. Due to lack of resource and budget, they would not be confident of avoiding substantial downtime. 5. No enforcement of security policies by SMBs SMBs should ensure that data protection policies are put in place and communicated to everyone. Managing and monitoring end-user privileges and entitlements is an extremely important security measure. Creating policies around social media usage and using personal email would be a huge benefit for organisations, as most attacks occur after falling for a social engineering lure.
What can you do to help your company against data breaches? Andrew Starr of OpenIP Ltd, believes following these steps can protect your assets and data: Install and use effective anti-malware solutions. Protect your network by creating policies via a firewall, such as a SonicWALL. Use secure mobile remote access with mobile device management for workers who use mobile devices, to ensure that data is secure when accessed away from the office network. Create complex passwords and change these regularly – the harder the key, the harder it is to get into the network. Speak with a trusted IT advisor, such as OpenIP, who can strengthen your IT security to develop and implement strategies.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.openip.co.uk 0808 178 3278 [email protected]
visit us visit onus stand on stand 780 780
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evolve evolve telecom telecom havehave been been supplying supplying communication communication services services for over for over 20 years. 20 years. > we>supply we supply everything everything fromfrom mobile mobile phones, phones, fixedfixed line systems, line systems, business business broadband broadband and unified and unified communications communications > unique > unique threethree year year device device guarantee guarantee > a multi > a multi award award winning winning industry industry specialist specialist > exceptional > exceptional customer customer care programme care programme > a service tailored to your individual > a service tailored to your individual needsneeds
Talk Talk to ustoon us0800 on 0800 036 036 63666366
www.evolve.co.uk www.evolve.co.uk | @evolvetelecom | @evolvetelecom
STAND NUMBER 130
BECOMING A CONSULTANT Are you at a crossroads in your career? Do you like the idea of running your own business, with the flexibility to strike the right work/life balance for you? Do you wonder what you could do with all your experience? We can explain how you can establish whether a portfolio of strategic part-time roles is right for you and crucially, where the work would come from and how to fund this new career. ibd Business Advice Group Ltd is an organisation of experienced business professionals that enables owners and managers of small to medium sized companies (SMEs) to achieve their business and personal goals. Our 200+ successful accredited business advisers have hands-on experience and, combined with the unique ibd approach to business development, have created a solid track record of delivering the support strategies that companies need to succeed.
We work with various business organisations such as Transmit Start up Loans,The IOEE, SFEDI, Manufacturing Advisory Service, (MAS) and the British Bankers Association (BBA) to provide business advisers and mentors to SME director/owners. You would work with MDs, directors and owners of small to medium companies throughout the UK to enable them to achieve their goals. Your own experience, combined with our training where necessary, our proven methodologies, and ongoing support could be the basis to build, or further expand, your own business capabilities.
CE ON O O DO TH F IB N’T UR D, M SD DE IS AY LI S K AT VER EV 12 HI IN .30 S S JA AN EM CKS D INA ON FR R ID IN , AY H AT ALL 11 3 .45
THE BENEFITS Becoming an ibd accredited adviser provides you with significant benefits in developing your business with ibd Business Advice Group Ltd. •
First class start-up training and support for advisers who are suitably qualified
•
Conversion training – from corporate operations to consultancy
•
Proven methodologies to deliver assignments and projects effectively
•
Accreditation as an ibd member – a quality benchmark that will prove invaluable in any new client engagement
•
A network of like-minded professionals that will supplement your personal skills and expertise. This will enable you to present a powerful allround offer to clients
•
Marketing support for your business through a strong brand and ready made marketing materials
•
The opportunity to share in high quality leads generated by other members and from the centre
If you’re interested in a challenging role as an Accredited ibd Adviser, please come and have a chat on stand 130.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
1
www.ibd-uk.com 01223 257777 [email protected]
You can also find out more about this exciting opportunity by visiting our careers page at ibd-uk.com/ index.php/careers/
YOU’RE THE WILD-EYED VISIONARIES, THE REBELS AND REVOLUTIONARIES WHO HAVE THE COURAGE TO WANT TO GO IT ALONE. So come and tell us your dreams, your hopes, your fears. We’ll arm you with the knowledge you need to conquer the world. We know. We’re not what you were expecting. Just think of the adventures we’ll have...
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“
Expert Positions In Rarely Awarded, it is Mainly CLAIMED
“
Daniel Wagner
PASSIVE RECURRING INCOME PARTNERING WITH AMAZON Expert Success, founded by Daniel Wagner and James Watson, are on a mission to empower people to make the income they really need to live the life they actually want. Arriving in the UK in 1995, Daniel worked his way up from delivering pizzas in Slough to founding and running Europe’s largest Amazon Business training and mentoring company. His businesses turn over millions a year at industry-leading profit margins and he has set out his vision for success in four books, including the Amazon bestseller: Wealth DNA.
‘Daniel and James’ own Amazon Business, which sells their own brand of supplements using existing high quality products, already makes more than $1 million in its second year’ Together with his business partner James Watson and a team of 12 mentors, he has delivered hundreds of events in the UK and abroad showing over 20,000 people in the last 18 months alone how to start and build a successful Amazon Business. These events range from short previews through two day
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‘Momentum’ booster workshops to the yearly Amazon Millionaire Summit. The first Summit, held this year in London, attracted over 1000 attendees from 13 countries. Daniel’s vision is to make his teachings and knowledge available worldwide using online training courses and mentoring. In 2016 he is planning to expand into the US market. The Amazon opportunity is, in Daniel’s own words, ‘the greatest of my lifetime. This is better than any job and better than any business model I’ve ever seen.’ Daniel and James’ own Amazon Business, which sells their own brand of supplements using existing high quality products, already makes more than $1 million in its second year. Daniel is an engaging and entertaining public speaker who currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest team speech. Expert Success’ vision to help others extends beyond their members and together they have raised over £150,000 this year for charity through various projects. Daniel says he wants ‘to empower people to make the income they really need to live the life they actually want.’ So far this has meant that hundreds of students from all backgrounds, teachers to tilers to stay-at-home mums, have raked in tens of thousands of pounds with their own Amazon Businesses using his fool-proof step-bystep method.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.expertsuccess.com 0333 444 0733 [email protected]
Visions got to be big, right? So when we sat together one late afternoon and asked ourselves what would be an outrageous success for this business, we came up with our 2020 vision. “By the year 2020 Expert Success has helped create 20,000,000 6-figure Experts – people who are recognised within their market as authorities.” We don’t expect to do this all by ourselves. Many of the Experts we are working with are running training and coaching businesses themselves, so it’ll be a joint effort! What we love about our vision is that it is ambitious but achievable and that it will help millions of people lead better lives, generating financial independence and wealth for millions.
CONTACT US Tel: Email:
+447967200372 [email protected]
The Diamondology Six-Step System Incorporates: Where to begin to design a total product experience that has the potential to disrupt your industry How to build your team for dynamic results How to speak so your customers will listen and come back for more What needs to be included in your plan for the best possible outcome
‘Diamondology is a proven six-step system for generating a steady stream of income producing assets for your business as easily as turning on a money tap’.
THE DIAMOND DETECTIVE EXPOSES HIDDEN OPPORTUNITIES “In my experience, independent business owners are not making the most of the opportunities available because they either can’t see them or believe it will be too hard to implement additional ways of generating automatic income.” Says Donna Still. Every business has within a rich stream of possibilities in terms of product and service development opportunities; combine that with immediately available insights that Donna helps them to expose and you have one of the most powerful income generating instruments accessible to the independent business owner. Diamondology is a proven six-step system for generating a steady stream of income producing assets for your business as easily as turning on a money tap. Some of the businesses Donna has successfully worked with have been accountants, coaches, consultants and retail outlets. With a design background, she is quickly able to work with you to map out opportunities, ensuring you, your team and your business are all operating from a place of trust, strength and adding value to your chosen market. One of the most important factors to understand is that working with Donna is not for the feint hearted, your business will not be the same after
your time together. Using disruptive technologies, both digital and analogue, you will develop new ways of working with and serving your ideal market. An expert in unpacking strategy and showing teams how to communicate their message more easily, Donna has been successful in helping teams tackle their communication challenges and turn their experience and expertise into profitable assets for the past five years, helping them extract the information that until now has been inaccessible by the people who needed it most. To find out how to put the Diamondology six-step system to work for your business, come and join Donna on Stand no 236 at The Business Show 2015 on 3rd/4th December at Olympia, London. She’ll be sharing these six-steps in an interactive workshop for you to begin implementing in your business immediately The author of two books and three published training programmes in a diverse range of industries, Donna has the breadth of experience and expertise to help you help your business.
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SHOW OFFER Discounted Packaged Services ...plus the opportunity to win a tablet PC. Simply visit our stand, receive a quote on one of our services and you will be automatically entered into the draw to win.
Contact Klarity Vision on 0845 463 2205
@KlarityVision
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And that’s not the only reason to join us ✓ We offer Fixed Price Energy Plans - Protecting you from energy price increases in the future ✓ We’re all things energy - You can rely on our expertise to help make your energy more affordable, and to make sure your business is both safe and compliant
✓ 6% Direct Debit discount - Set up a Direct Debit for a quick and easy way to pay and you’ll also get a 6% discount from your energy bills
Call us today
0800 316 2354†
* Offer only applies to new customers on a one year contract with an annual gas consumption of less than 73,200kWh and/or an annual electricity consumption of less than 60,000kWh, and is subject to our standard credit checks. We will price match both the unit rate(s) and standing charge if the annual bill value of the competitor quote is cheaper than our quote, and provided that the competitor’s quote is dated up to 5 days before or after the date of our quote. The competitor’s quote must be like for like with the same start date, duration, consumption, meter type and for the same meter as our quote. Gas meters have a unique meter point reference (MPR) and electricity meters have a unique meter point administration number (MPAN), if the meter number(s) in our quote and the competitor’s quote do not match, the offer will not be valid. You will need to provide reasonable proof of the competitor’s
quote (such as a URL of a quotation obtained online or a letter quotation from a competitor’s sales department) and British Gas retains sole discretion as to what constitutes reasonable proof. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. The offer is available until 5 January 2016. ** Prices and boilers may change depending on existing system requirements. Excluding VAT. † We record and monitor calls to help improve our service to you. Calls to 0800 numbers are free. For more information about the mix of fuels used to generate our electricity, simply visit britishgas. co.uk/business/fuel-mix. You can find information about how to make a complaint at www.britishgas.co.uk/business/complaints
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britishgas.co.uk/business/gbb
STAND NUMBER 472
INCREASE THE #!?% OUT OF YOUR WEBSITE CONVERSIONS WITH WEB VIDEO One2create is a fresh thinking company focusing on business growth. With everything under one roof, from web design and content marketing strategies to video and animation, we’ve got it covered. We’re in an age where everyone is constantly on the go, where people want to know what things are and how to do them in a click of a finger. We don’t have time to be trawling through bucket loads of text and even if we do, we don’t want to. If only there was an easier way to explain services, products and processes… oh wait, there is! Websites with video have an 86% higher conversion rate, so with that, we say it’s time to give web video and animation a big warm welcome, open arms and all. Now don’t get us wrong, we love the good old traditional text to explain our services, but let’s face it, people don’t have time to hang around. You see, us humans are becoming lazy. Now before you get offended, answer this – would you rather read a page of text to get to what you need, or watch a web video? Web video, we hear you say? Great, we’re on the right page. Creating a video/animation is a straightforward way to get a complicated idea across to your customers. Yes your copy’s tone can say a lot about you as a company, but it doesn’t come close to how a web video can express your personality and values. With web video, you can connect with your target market in a way that no
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
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www.one2create.co.uk 0844 8040 796 [email protected]
other media can. It’ll make your website stand out from your competitors, too. Search engines absolutely love video content, getting your website to where it needs to be and it also improves email marketing campaigns. What’s not to like? You can’t go wrong with web video and animation. It’s so much more memorable and if you’re on social media (which you should be), your followers will go crazy for them. Users are far more likely to click on your post and share it if it includes a visual.
‘With web video, you can connect with your target market in a way that no other media can’ An engaging web video will communicate your message across to your audience quickly and concisely. Did you know that brain of yours processes visuals over 60,000 times faster than text? Yep, you read that correctly, 60,000! That’s less time your customer spends reading and more time to talk business with you. Incorporating web video and animation takes a unique approach to your business and transforms how you communicate with your audience. Not only is it easy to implement, but it’s cost-effective too, saving you money and time. You can tailor it exactly to suit your company, so it reflects your values, as well as your personality, which is a big bonus for both you and your audience.
Incorporating web video and animation into your website will transform the way others view your products and services. Dedicate your time and money to a creative web video that your customers will love and watch the web conversions rocket. For more info, come and have a chat with us on stand 472. It’ll be the best #!?%ing thing you do all day!
TWO-PART SEMINAR Our MD David Harris will be taking to the stage for a twopart seminar on how the #!?% your website can generate sales and market your business. During part one, David will be covering everything you need to know to turn your website into a 24/7 sales tool for your business. In part two, he’ll be taking a look at the multiple wondrous ways you can market your business to generate more sales revenue. Sounds good, right? David has over 25 years’ industry experience, so trust us, you won’t want to miss this two-part seminar. See you there!
STAND NUMBER 1078
We are extremely impresed with the professional cleaning services that are being performed on a daily basis at our facility. I would reccomend Epic Services for ay of your cleaning/service needs” Mr N Chifamba
We take pride in delivering regular, flexible scheduling, high quality, tailor-made value for money cleaning services Our consultants are on hand 24/7, 365 days a year
E P I C
Exceed staffing expectations Provide competent & dedicated candidates Individual client care Commitment to service
The simple answer to your staffing needs...that’s epic
PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY CLEANING & CARE
Epic Services is dedicated to providing the finest, most responsive nursing and cleaning personnel to our clients. We take time to understand our clients’ preferences and match them with the needs of their facility. Epic Cleaning We have built up a reputation for excellent, consistent and exceptional cleaning services and are determined to work with our clients to create a custom cleaning plan, specifically with the needs of the client. We offer a range of routine and specialised commercial and residential cleaning services daily, weekly, fortnightly and monthly.
‘With our exceptionally high standards, we offer a service that is fast, flexible and deliver reliable candidates’.
Epic Care We are specialists in supplying registered nurses (RGNs) and health care assistants (HCAs) across the public and private healthcare sectors. With our exceptionally high standards, we offer a service that is fast, flexible and deliver reliable candidates. Our nurse led recruitment ensures that both clients and nursing staff seek advice from a qualified nurse on a day-to-day basis.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.epicservices.co.uk 02035323471/07852160617 [email protected]
STAND NUMBER 680
CONNECT. INFLUENCE. SUPPORT Business. It’s all about making the right connections.
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is the capital’s largest independent networking and business support organisation. Representing the interests of thousands of companies, we connect thousands of business people every year and offer our members a wide range of practical and professional service In addition to hosting over 200 B2B events each year, LCCI provides memberto-member marketing opportunities, unlimited access to legal and HR advice,
‘…we connect thousands of business people every year and offer our members a wide range of practical and professional service’. 111
access to our exclusive central London meeting space and the opportunity to be part of an extensive international trade mission programme. LCCI also represents the interests of its members to key business stakeholders and influencers in London and further afield across all business sectors. Unlike many other business membership organisations, membership of LCCI is corporate. This means that any employee of member companies can take advantage of our diverse range of benefits and services.
Find out more about... Events and Networking Policy and Public Affairs Export Documents and International Business Conference Facilities
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.londonchamber.co.uk +44 (0)20 7248 4444 [email protected]
Business Advice Marketing and Business Services New Business Opportunities
S
tuart Griffiths, CEO of True Telecom - the UK’s fastest growing broadband, mobile and telecoms service provider - offers insider tips for SMEs looking to save on their telecoms bills.
ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL
It can be far more cost and time efficient to keep your broadband, mobile and telecoms billing together –make sure your provider is offering telecoms bundles, along with capped rates and low recursive charges.
A UNIQUE AGREEMENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Businesses should consider opting for a provider who can construct a bespoke agreement based on its unique telecoms requirements, as this will ensure that no unnecessary charges are made and the business is getting the most use out of its agreement, as one size doesn’t necessarily fit all.
FOCUS ON THE PERKS
Often, telecoms providers will offer hidden perks to their agreements, which, if used correctly can save a significant amount. For example, free calls to frequently called numbers can be useful if your client base is concentrated, whilst free calls between landline and mobile numbers (if they are covered in a telecoms bundle) can also save in communicating with suppliers or field sales staff.
A SPECIALIST SERVICE
With a range of telecoms providers to choose from, ensure that any agree-
ment is tailored to your business size. For example, as True Telecom specialises in telecoms solutions for SMEs, they are well placed to offer advice based on practical experience – constructing a cost-effective strategy to suit your business type.
USE ALL YOUR TOOLS
When making short or internal calls, look to harness all the communication tools at your disposal, including instant messaging, email or free chat to get your information across. These alternative communication products will ultimately save your business money.
STAY SENSITIVE TO YOUR USAGE
Keeping a close eye on your business’ telecoms usage can save you a considerable amount long term, as too many active lines or unnecessary features in your office can result in inflated bills at the end of each month. A good provider should allow you to downgrade your agreement to suit your changing requirements.
ALWAYS LOOK FOR A PRICE GUARANTEE
SMEs want to take out a telecoms contract safe in the knowledge that there will be no nasty surprises down the line. Consider a provider that offers a price guarantee or a robust price rise policy, to protect your tariff for the duration of the contract.
FUTURE-PROOFING YOUR BUSINESS
It’s important to ensure that your telecoms provider is consistently providing
innovative solutions to drive your business forward. From low cost IP solutions to new technology or agreement types to suit your business, look for a provider with a proactive approach to upgrading your systems to stay at the forefront of changing telecoms technology.
THE REAL VALUE OF INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS
In choosing a provider with a wide product portfolio and ability to offer integrated solutions, small business can benefit from multiple discounts in one place, including cost savings on mobile, broadband and calling charges.
A SECRET WEAPON AGAINST PREMIUM NUMBERS
As SMEs can waste a lot of money calling customers or suppliers on expensive numbers, it is important to make savings where you can. Visit saynoto0870.com to find alternative numbers to help cut your calling costs dramatically (although as the site is crowd sourced, tread carefully with sensitive numbers). The True Telecom team is here to offer you advice on how to keep your costs at a minimum. For more information visit
www.truetelecom.com or call us today on
08008 40 40 60
Relax Switching your business current account is simple and stress-free
Thanks to the Current Account Switch Service, all your Direct Debits and standing orders automatically transfer to your new business current account.* To find out more, go to simplerworld.co.uk/business *This service is available to businesses with a turnover of up to ÂŁ6.5 million and fewer than 50 employees.
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STAND NUMBER 540
CHOOSING THE RIGHT BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT Via our Cashplus brand, Advanced Payment Solutions issue multi-award winning business current accounts tailored for SME’s and start-up businesses. For anyone getting started in business, setting up a business account will be a crucial stage. Many start-ups leave decisions around this too late, unaware of potential complications and time delays this can involve, at a time when they want to concentrate on getting their businesses up and running. Costs A large number of banks offer introductory free periods however, it is important to check the tariff that you will be paying once this free period ends, as switching becomes increasingly more cumbersome as time goes on. Look out for itemised costs for depositing cash, using your card, sending bank transfers and setting up Direct Debits.
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Applying If you are applying with a High Street Bank, be aware that account setup times can often take a number of weeks, with the possibility of being declined depending on your credit history. Our High Street alternative Our multi award winning Cashplus Business Account allows customers to apply instantly online, with successfully verified applicants being provided with an Account Number and Sort Code within minutes of applying. What’s more, as we do not offer an overdraft on day one, you do not need to pass a credit check or attend an interview in order to open the account.
•
• • • • •
Join the over 30,000 businesses that we’ve helped with our low cost Business Current Account: Annual fee of £49 Free to pay in cash Free to receive bank transfers Free to set up Direct Debits Free UK card spend
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.mycashplus.co.uk/sme 0203 617 5768 [email protected]
STAND NUMBER 1257
7 KEYS TO SELL TO WOMEN Business is about relationships and men and women relate very differently; some would even suggest that they inhabit different planets! Here are my seven keys to selling women, helping you to sell to women like women not men!
Key One: Women have so much more verbal capacity than men. This is seen in business, when you keep having the same women asking and asking questions and reading as much as they can about you and what you have to offer and talking it through with you. Key Two: ALL THE DETAILS! The best way to illustrate this is through storytelling. You know that stories bypass the logical part of the brain and go straight to the heart, and that buying is
an emotional decision? The thing is, is that men just want you to get to the point, to the bottom line, whilst women want ALL the details! All the details is so much more than what men want, even when a lady is busy her ‘skinny version,’ of the story has way too much ‘fluff’ for a man. Key Three: SHE SHARES INSTINCTIVELY… (she’s all about we, we, we!) So, how this shows up when you are selling to women is that when you are selling to them, just understand and appreciate that you are selling not just to her but to her ‘team,’ or tribe of girlfriends, colleagues and family. As she is rarely just thinking about herself, it’s always in the back of her mind: ‘This would be so great for so and so, I must remember to tell them about it!’ Key Four: MORE TIME AT THE START. Typically, women need much more time at the start of a business relationship to go through the details and the benefits of your product or service. They need to know and understand pretty much everything and need to know
Women prefer to have the facts and figures about your business wrapped up in an emotional story, especially a transformational one, whereas men typically prefer cold-hard facts and figures with as little emotion as possible!’
much more than men that the support is there if and when required, how much and how often, too!!! Key Five: FACTS AND FEELINGS WRAPPED UP IN AN EMOTIONAL STORY. Women prefer to have the facts and figures about your business wrapped up in an emotional story, especially a transformational one, whereas men typically prefer cold-hard facts and figures with as little emotion as possible! Key Six: BUSINESS IS PERSONAL FOR WOMEN, i.e. relationship first, business second. This can be tricky for some to get. You see, women typically talking with others about their families, their animals, their diets, their exercise plans are all her way of building a relationship with you, to see if you are someone she actually likes and trust and wants to get to know, and do business with! Key Seven: SHE VALUES THE CHANCE TO GIVE YOU FEEDBACK Women just love the chance typically to give you suggestions and feedback on your products and services. Maybe it’s quite simply because when they start their long process of getting to know you and like you and trust you they talk about you to their tribe or team and so out of those chats come up with little bits of feedback, which for you and your business are like gold dust!!
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ANGEL-LED CROWDFUNDING: The professional approach to crowdfunding Find smart angel investors, either at one of our pitching events or through private introductions, who provide the expertise and introductions your business needs to succeed. After being matched with your lead investor, you can open the funding up to our network of 12,000 angel investors and the wider crowd using our online platform.
Talk to our team of experts about your funding strategy Chat to one of our experts, either on the phone or face-to-face at a business funding clinic. Here you will receive free advice on your business and any questions about the funding process will be answered. Find an experienced lead investor We’ll then match you with a lead investor, who will invest the first chunk of the round, carry out the relevant due diligence and will often take an active role in the company, utilising their experience and connections to help your business grow. You can then open the funding up to other angels and the crowd online You can then open the funding round up to our wider network of 12,000 angel investors and the crowd by posting your pitch on our crowdfunding platform.
Resulting in over 90% success rate As a result of our coaching and the ongoing support and direction our angels bring to the company, over 90% of our deals are still trading.
Get in touch 0203 318 0230 | [email protected]
www.angelsden.com Investing in any business involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. This page has been approved as a financial promotion by Angels Den, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Investments can only be made on the basis of information provided in the pitches by the businesses concerned. Angels Den takes no responsibility for this information or for any recommendations or opinions made by the businesses. Angels Den Services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (no.599390). Angels Den Funding Ltd is an Appointed Representative of Angels Den Services Ltd (no.607203). Registered Company: 08384317 | Angels Den Funding Ltd Š Copyright 2015.
STAND NUMBER 574
www.georginadee.com [email protected]
Services offered:
Ready to wear garments Bespoke designs Made to measure Georgina Dee is growing from strength to strength, look out to see some of her designs showcase in some of America’s top TV shows next year as she will be working closely with top stylist Ivan Bitton.
‘Each garment has been individually designed by Georgina herself, who pays close attention to every stitch and detail to ensure the overall quality of the garment remains consistent’.
GEORGINA DEE SHOWCASING LATEST WORKWEAR COLLECTION Georgina Dee is a young British designer who launched her start-up business this year to bring catwalk designs to your front door. Georgina Dee is an independently owned British clothing label founded in London, UK. They specialise in unique ladies’ apparel made from luxurious fabrics sourced over Europe and Asia. Their designs are made for the confident woman who knows her style and is not afraid to stand out from among the crowd and set her own fashion trends. Each garment has been individually designed by Georgina herself, who pays close attention to every stitch and detail to ensure the overall quality of the garment remains consistent. Georgina Dee provide a wide variety of styles to meet your needs from day wear to black tie events. As well as a
ready-to-wear range, they offer a madeto-measure / bespoke service ensuring you look your best for that special occasion. Georgina Dee made her mark in the fashion industry by designing opulent silk scarves. Usual prints soon became her trade mark. In 2015, Georgina Dee launched her first collection at London Fashion Week off schedule showcase. Usual designs and tailoring was very evident in the collection. The collection was well received by fashion bloggers from around the world, and was later featured in May’s edition of Trend Prive and Fashion London magazines. Georgina Dee designs are now available in London’s high end boutiques and online.
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STAND NUMBER 919
STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT WITH A DIFFERENCE With the ever changing business landscape, investing in your staff will have a major impact in ensuring you get the best from your business. Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development (SOLD) are passionate about getting your staff into the outdoors to learn in new and exciting ways. SOLD offer bespoke corporate development programmes which recognise the challenges businesses face and work to ensure specific learning outcomes that are linked to your business needs and objectives. We understand you want your business to operate in the hands of a highly productive team of first-rate professionals. We also recognise that to succeed, your business should and can be represented by industry-leading executives at the top of their game. SOLD understand these demands and deliver effective training and development programmes to make a real difference by getting your staff to make new discoveries about themselves in the outdoors. These programmes are run by highly experienced instructors across our centres in Dorking, Guildford and Richmond, delivering measurable outcomes such as: Planning – Leadership – Communication – Motivation – Time-Management – SelfAwareness – Trust- Resilience – Initiative – Evaluation - Review
characteristics. Our clients’ experiences and feedback demonstrate that professional development in the outdoors delivers a real return on investment through increased productivity, motivation and staff retention. SOLD’s corporate training and development programmes are designed to promote self evaluation, thus enabling an employee to identify his or her own core strengths and potential limitations. Each employee uses these observations to formulate an action plan to be taken back into the workplace to continue the enhancement of their personal performance. How Can SOLD Help My Organisation? Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development offer bespoke corporate training and development programmes including: • • • • • •
Corporate days Graduate and apprentice training Induction programmes Recruitment days Employability programmes SOLD Management Academy
Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development can make a really big difference to your staff’s training and development and make a real impact to the success of your business. The SOLD team look forward to meeting you on Stand 919 at The Business Show
South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) recruit graduate paramedics. We identified a need to provide a bespoke programme of education before graduates took up a place as a leading clinician in an ambulance. It was agreed that some low level, but testing outdoor activity, associated with team building and leadership would be needed. As well as providing exactly what was needed, the most impressive and consistent feature was the willingness to be flexible and go out of the way to provide the best service possible. This and the facilities ensured that SECAmb will be using SOLD again! ‘
OUR APPROACH: Development Through Self-Evaluation Every employee is unique and should be supported, coached and managed in a way that effectively capitalises on their individual
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CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.surreyoutdoorlearning.uk 01372 378901 [email protected]
John Griffiths, Clinical Operations Lead, South East Coast Ambulance Service.
SET YOUR BUSINESS FREE Take your office to the cloud and enjoy the freedom to focus on business
+44(0)20 3384 2158 intermedia.co.uk
CREDIT ASSESSMENT: WHY PERSONAL IS BETTER Automated credit assessment tools are rapidly becoming commonplace in personal and commercial finance. The two main benefits are response speed – just minutes to allocate a score – and, by reducing staff numbers, a reduced overhead. Why would a modern, innovative company forsake technological progress?
The move to ‘computer says no’ assessment by the banking and finance world is something that many businesses wish had never happened. Our borrowers have told us how much they value the ability to talk directly to a human being throughout the process.
Crowdlending is at the forefront of modern financial technologies, bringing borrowers together with crowds of individual and institutional investors. FundingKnight’s business loan platform went live in 2012 and it is continually updated by our in-house tech team.
Our method requires more involvement at our end, and the borrower will need to give some reasoned thought to their position, but we believe the extra effort is worth it.
Instead of automated assessment, we rely on an experienced team of credit analysts to evaluate each potential borrower. As well as credit scores, they look at a variety of factors including the experience, depth and quality of the management, the way the business is capitalised, the general balance sheet structure and liquidity, trading performance, cash generation and cash management. So why don’t we just use automated methods? The data used to drive automated scoring is almost always retrospective. Some of the key constituent data can be really quite old. As such, this methodology gives a strong insight into where a business has been, not where it is now. Even this can be unreliable as there are many factors which it does not take into account. A company can easily appear much less creditworthy than it really is – or much more. We don’t think it’s surprising that a loan provider should be more interested in where a business currently is and where it’s going than where it was a year or two years ago. It’s the future cash generation that will see the loans repaid, after all. Our approach is designed to identify companies
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.one2create.co.uk 0844 8040 796 [email protected]
with a sound financial footing, the ability to deliver consistently and a strong management team. To do this, our credit team makes use of years of experience and a whole range of tools. Some of these are entirely human. For example, we personally speak to every company; this phone interview enables us to better understand the management’s attitudes, what their business ethos is, and how committed they are. These things are strong indicators of a company’s trustworthiness, but no computer assessment would ever be able to quantify them. All this together provides us with as complete a picture of the company as possible.
‘Crowdlending is at the forefront of modern financial technologies, bringing borrowers together with crowds of individual and institutional investors’. Responsivity Once a borrower has been approved, we have the agility to tailor our offering to suit. For example, we will lend amounts we think are realistic and affordable given our analysis, not simply a set proportion of turnover or profit. We can also be more flexible when it comes to repayment schedules.
FundingKnight’s aim is to fuse the latest developments in financial technology with a human approach to finance taking a holistic view of a business to get the best results for our customers.
We’ve seen many instances where a company’s credit score is completely different to its actual creditworthiness. In one case, a profitable, well-run company was astonished to find out how low their score was. It turned out the information held by the credit agencies was out of date and therefore misleading. By simply updating this, their score recovered almost overnight. Regardless, their loan application at FundingKnight was successful and the process was so simple they have subsequently returned for further finance.
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STAND NUMBER 432
STARTING UP A BUSINESS: HOW EXPERIAN CAN HELP YOU ON YOUR WAY People start their own business for all sorts of reasons. Perhaps they’re looking for more freedom, or want to get off the job treadmill, or maybe they just feel ready to take on the challenge of running their own company. Whether you’ve just had a great idea that you think might work, or whether you’ve got an established business, at each stage of the journey there are likely to be challenging times where you may need to look carefully at your finances and the way you manage them. This is where Experian can help not only you but also your business, and help you understand your customers’ financial profiles. Before you set up in business Before you set up on your own, it’s important to make sure that your finances are in shape. At this stage, your business doesn’t have a credit history, so lenders will judge you on how you’ve managed your own finances, in order to assess your creditworthiness and the risk factor. Checking your Experian credit report and score can give you an indication of what kind of loan you might get, in case you need to apply for credit at some point. Usually, a higher score means you’re seen as lower risk – meaning you’re more likely to get credit, and at better rates. Many people will be using their own money to get started and may have to live on a reduced wage while they get things going. No-one can be sure if your venture will turn out to be profitable enough to live on, so unless you’ve got a ready-made vast client
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base it’s worth planning to cover yourself in those early months. Once you’ve set it up So you’re in business now. Your first priorities are likely to be growing your customer base and protecting it from financial risk. Business contacts and simple word of mouth recommendation can be useful, and social media networking can be used as a great promotional tool. One way to find new customers and building up a client base is to buy marketing data lists. Another is to check other businesses, such as customers and suppliers, before you agree
‘Whether you’ve just had a great idea that you think might work, or whether you’ve got an established business, at each stage of the journey there are likely to be challenging times where you may need to look carefully at your finances and the way you manage them’.
CONTACT US Web:
www.experian.co.uk
to go into business with them. Making the right decisions at this stage is crucial, and the ability to assess the creditworthiness and risk factors of those you may be working with is important. Experian can help you with a number of products and subscriptions, depending on your needs, such as discounts on multiple business credit reports. Once it’s established Expanding your business once it has acquired a foothold in its market may require some investment, whether it’s more physical goods, more advertising or simply a more professional or larger working space. With options for increased finance ever widening for SMEs, it is in your interest to boost your business credit report, so that you can show your business in the best possible light to lenders and investors. To that end, Experian has developed MyBusinessProfile, an easy-to-understand tool for directors that enables you to see the same information your business lenders use when making a decision. And once the business has taken off further and needs to expand beyond its local base, Experian Business Express can help companies search for businesses that share characteristics with their current customer base, making marketing more targeted and helping to increase the chances of winning new contracts.
Land your dream employee with Net-Recruit If you are looking for a professional online recruitment service which is both cost effective and efficient then get in touch to find out how you can net your dream candidate at our introductory rate of just £399. Our service covers a multitude of sectors and includes access to the leading job boards and social media sites in the UK. We work closely with all of our partners to ensure that your vacancy is seen by as many of the very best candidates as possible. Don’t let your ideal applicant be the one who got away, drop us a line on 01457 856 270 or [email protected] and let us help you land your dream catch.
Get in touch
Net-recruit.co.uk Ltd, Victorian Gas Works, Arundel Street, Glossop, Derbyshire, SK13 7AB
Or go to www.net-recruit.co.uk to get started
STAND NUMBER 850 PPL is a not-for-profit company which licenses recorded music on behalf of 75,000 performers and record companies for use online, in broadcast and for those businesses that choose to play recorded music to their staff and / or customers as part of what is known as ‘public performance’ Peter Leathem is CEO of PPL. Previously he was a partner for eight years with law firm GSC Solicitors, where he was head of the Intellectual Property Department. Peter is also a director of VPL (the music video licensing company), UK Music and the British Copyright Council.
HOW RECORDED MUSIC CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS Peter Leathem, CEO of the not-for-profit music licensing company PPL, gives his views on how recorded music can bring numerous benefits to business. PPL is at the forefront of promoting the financial and emotional benefits recorded music brings businesses, through MusicWorks, the joint research initiative with PRS for Music.
Research shows that businesses choosing to place music at the heart of their customer experience are reaping numerous benefits. Music has the power to transform businesses and can add real value to any workplace, including a boost to the bottom line. In a recent study we undertook in conjunction with a leading travel brand, we found that 81% of customers agreed playing music helps increase customer dwell time. Over half (51%) of customers said they would spend more time browsing in a store playing music, while in the hospitality sector, 69% of consumers said they would spend more time in the public areas of a hotel if music was played – increasing the potential for making those all-important sales. In another previous study, 76% of businesses also agreed that music could help to positively influence the behaviour and purchasing decisions of customers. Background music has grown to become an integral part of the customer experience, helping to reflect a range of emotions and needs for both staff and customers – two completely distinct audiences. Taking into
consideration the needs of staff as well as customers when playing music can help boost employee productivity and retention rate: 75% of businesses agreed that allowing staff to listen to music helps team working and bonding while 61% say staff are more productive when music is played. In the pubs and bars sector, 80% of managers believe staff would complain if the music was switched off. In fact, 98% of staff stated that playing music would make them feel more motivated while working, and the same number agree that playing music improves staff mood.
Background music has grown to become an integral part of the customer experience, helping to reflect a range of emotions and needs for both staff and customers – two completely distinct audiences’.
Music is also imperative to creating the right atmosphere and help to build a loyal base of returning customers. Research shows 91% of managers / business owners either agreed or agreed strongly that playing music make customers happier. A resounding 72% of respondents think no music would make the atmosphere less welcoming. Playing music also helps give a brand an advantage in a competitive marketplace. Research shows that in retail, businesses that play music are perceived as modern and appealing places to shop. In fact, it can be argued that in an age where even more shoppers are turning to the Internet, you need to create a bit of ‘retail theatre’ to inspire those all-important purchases. The genre of music played is also a key consideration - 88% of respondents stated they would prefer to listen to music by recognisable performers rather than sound-alikes, highlighting the value and appreciation for original artist music. Over the years we have seen there is a growing understanding of music’s value within the business community, which in turn helps us explain the role music licensing plays in supporting the wider creative economy. Given the wide reaching benefits it can bring, music is an important consideration for any business. All we ask is that any business using music is legally compliant by obtaining a PPL licence, ensuring that all those who invest their time and talent in making recorded music are paid fairly for their work.
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CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.1-2-1accountants.com 0333 444 0733 [email protected]
CHARTERED CERTIFIED ACCOUNTANTS, PAYROLL & TAX CONSULTANTS We are a professional, approachable and forward thinking firm of Chartered Certified Accountants. We specialise in accountancy, payroll and tax services for start-ups, professionals, small businesses, property investors and charities. We provide a personal and professional service at a reasonable cost.
We can save you time and money by looking after your accountancy and compliance. We help you nurture the seeds of your business to grow strong. As a visitor to this business exhibition, you are offered a FREE CONSULTATION where you can find out about the range of accountancy services offered at 1-2-1 Accountants, a professional, approachable and forward thinking firm of Chartered Certified Accountants. As a new business it is essential to get expert financial advice early on so you can be sure you have made the right decisions for your business, right from the start. As local experts in financial & business matters, we could offer you valuable advice, save you a lot of hassle and time and help you achieve your goals.
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10% DISCOUNT FOR CLIENTS FROM THIS BUSINESS EXHIBITION FREE 10 MINUTE CONSULTATION (preferably booked in advance) Our range of ACCOUNTANCY & BUSINESS SERVICES include: Company Formation & Charity Registration
The principal is a Chartered Certified Accountant; he has an MBA degree and has experience teaching accountancy, finance and many business subjects as an associate professor at a university in London.
Payroll From £12 Per Month - Monthly Online Real Time
Clients range from:
Cash Flow Projections
• • •
Small businesses from various sectors Professionals like dentists, surveyors and trainers Charities (at 33% discounts) Property landlords – buy to let and limited companies Tax return clients
To take advantage of our FREE TEN MINUTE CONSULTATION, please make an appointment here or call us within two weeks on 07787147362, or email us at: [email protected]
Information Filing
Management Accounts Financial Analysis Taxation & Tax Returns. Business Development Marketing Budget Plans
STAND NUMBER 762
PREMIER PROPERTY EDUCATION
• • •
Discover How to Fast-track your property success by avoiding these pitfalls so you save £10,000’s Learn the proven 3 step formula to successfully invest in property with peace of mind and confidence. How to replace your income so you no longer need to work and you can spend that time doing what you love.
Take the first step and download this E-Book, usually priced £47, for absolutely free. Go to this link: www.premierpropertyeducation.co.uk
Do you want to be your own boss and run your own business? Are you struggling to find that magic idea or innovative product? Is a lack of funds stopping you taking the next step? A property business is your answer. Property is a tried and tested business that has created extreme wealth for so many people. Just look at the Entrepreneurs in the Rich list. Richard Branson, Alan Sugar, Sir James Dyson, what do they all have in common? They all have significant investment in Property.
around the highest price asset we purchase in our lifetime.
Kam Dovedi is the Founder of Premier Property Education and has been investing in property for over 26 years.
If you do have the knowledge and use the tried and tested step by step processes then rewards in Property are only limited by your imagination.
Kam’s multimillion pound property portfolio has been created by using a number of different strategies which you can learn too. Kam now shares his knowledge and experience with new investors and experienced investors who need to take it to the next level.
Knowledge is Key. If you don’t have the correct knowledge then mistakes in property can cost you significant amounts of money.
F EBOREE OK! Download this free report now www.premierpropertyeducation.co.uk
Do you think you don’t have the time? You can learn how to start in property in your spare time. Do you think you need funds? We can show you strategies that need little of no funds.
You may not consider Property as a business, but at Premier Property Education that is exactly how we teach it. At Premier Property Education we provide a range of interactive workshops, trainings and private mentorship programmes to open your eyes up to the possibility in Property and how you can create your own business in Property. We have a step by step process that allows you to use the relevant strategies working in the market right now to build a business
CONTACT US Web:
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So many features. So easy to use.
With the NFON Cloud Telephone System you are getting a world class service at a great price. A cloud solution “Made in Germany” – German engineering where your business needs it most High savings potential – Save up to 50% on traditional fixed line systems No long term fixed contracts – 30 day rolling contract terms for your convenience Unlimited capacity – Scalable solution from 2 to 249,000 extensions Over 150 built-in intelligent functions – And many more Value Added Services Skype for Business integration – Use MS Lync just as you would your regular desk phone Easy to use – 10,000+ customers can’t be wrong For more information call 0203 740 6740, or email [email protected]
The next-generation telephone system.
STAND NUMBER 404 CONTACT US Tel: Email:
0203 740 6740 [email protected]
NO TWO CLOUDS ARE THE SAME! We all know hosted telephony, of a kind, has been around forever. BT Centrex in the 1980s was hosted telephony. Mobile phone services, you could argue, are hosted telephony. And ‘hosted telephony’ services enabled by IP telephony kit vendors are, of course, hosted telephony.
The UK is experiencing huge market demand for cloud telephony and with NFON you can be assured of a world class service. NFON is one of Europe’s leading cloud telephony providers and always puts its customer first. Our standardsbased technology was developed with customer service in mind. We have over 150 built-in functions as well as a wide range of value added service, and we offer “real-time” live technical support, all for a great price. Now’s the time to make the switch to the cloud, and the NFON Cloud Telephone System makes it painless to do so. Find out more. Visit us on stand 404 at The Business Show on the 3rd and 4th December 2015 at Olympia London for live demonstrations and to meet the NFON team. NFON The next-generation telephone system.
There are contentions and parallels between all of those kinds of hosted telephony. Firstly, they’re all as cumbersome as each other, in terms of service flexibility and complexity. Secondly, their pricing can be pretty steep and hard to decipher for the buyer - try adding in the bonus features you’ll need and you’ll get the point. Third, they tie users into long-term contracts and commitments. Finally, they’re usually closed and proprietary systems, making it expensive and complex to integrate with the wider world of personal communications of the sort that smart phone users take for granted. It appears on the surface the only difference between the traditional PBX solution and hosted telephony is the location of the hardware! In short, until pretty recently, these traditionally accepted hosted services made it easy for PBX vendors to compete, and that’s reflected in the early market stats. However, in the context of the modern communications environment, both PBX solutions and old-style hosted telephony systems are competing not just with each other, but with a new breed of cloud telephony. Real cloud telephony services are disrupting similar, if not the same, offerings. For example, flat end user pricing, which delivers simple and sophisticated features, plus desktop and mobile options within a single, affordable license. All services and updates are immediately accessible at the point of activation across all customer bases, and the end of the extended contract can also
be seen! For example, NFON’s customers benefit from being able to renew their licenses on a month-by-month basis, scaling up and down effortlessly. Could you refer to cloud telephony as just another app on the network? Yes, on reflection you could because to the end user that’s exactly how it feels. However, if you’re selling a PBX solution, then you can sell cloud telephony stand-alone (i.e. without having to also sell other cloud or hosting solutions). It just becomes your IPT or UC app, enhancing your portfolio of telephony services. And if you are a data solution reseller, then you can sell it standalone as your telephony solution which nests very nicely with your other cloud and hosted services. While cloud telephony does pretty well stand-alone, it’s also brilliant at integrating. For instance, NFON’s system integrates effortlessly with Skype for business (formally Microsoft Lync). This means the business users’ favourite communication client uses NFON’s cloud telephone system for calls with the outside world, using full PBX functions and features, and the Skype for business cloud to reach other Skype users. And is there enough choice of base platform? Maybe that’s a question better suited to the traditional hosted vendor. The beauty of cloud telephony is that you don’t need to invest in any kind of platform. Ongoing costs are significantly reduced too - no outlay on expensive hardware, very competitive calling costs, and the ability to grow with your business are just some of the main reasons why cloud telephony is taking the march over traditional PBX.
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STAND NUMBER 306 CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.zigzagsystems.co.uk 0115 87 00 994 [email protected]
CONTROL YOUR BUSINESS & DATA – ANYWHERE! ZigZag have created a cloudbased system that can control all the day to day aspects of your retail, wholesale or manufacturing business from your customers, through to your purchase orders, and all from just £49 per month. Using the power of the cloud and their experience in a number of industries, the latest version of ZigZag is an ideal ‘off the shelf’ system for small to medium sized businesses, easy to use and with no setup costs. Whether you are a new business or an established company, it makes sense to transfer to the cloud. ZigZag brings together everything you need to sell your products or services. Starting with your customers, the simple customer input, or for initial set up, the import tool allows you to monitor your customer sales, credit account and all your customer contact details. Each module can be linked through ZigZag’s easy to use diary system and share information with your colleagues. Once you have your customers, you need to have a product to sell to them. That can be as easy or as complex as you need with
ZigZag. A simple product can be set up in a few clicks and you can get placing orders in minutes. If your product has options, that’s not a problem for ZigZag and if they have different prices, the system has that covered as well. The ordering on ZigZag brings together your customers and orders, and then links to the stock control system so you can allocate your stock to your orders. If the item isn’t in stock, you can allocate it to your stock that’s due in, or if you haven’t any on order, it can create that purchase order for you. Once the order is ready, create your delivery notes and put onto a delivery run with your other orders. ZigZag will even give you a map that has route guidance and estimated times for deliveries. When you have all your data on ZigZag, use the report builder to create tabular reports or colourful charts to show you the information and even have ZigZag schedule
‘ZigZag brings together everything you need to sell your products or services’.
the emails to be sent to you daily, weekly or monthly. For the more important reports, save them to your ZigZag desktop and they are in front of you instantly no matter what device you log in on. For presentation purposes, ZigZag can be used on a tablet with a very clean and easy to use interface that can be used as an image slide show, through to placing orders from the comfort of your showroom or customer’s house. ZigZag have partnered with Go Media, specialists in creating e-commerce websites so all your ZigZag data can be displayed beautifully on your interactive e-commerce store without having to enter data twice, and if your customer buys online, ZigZag gets that order so it’s already for your office to despatch. Unlike other systems, ZigZag allows you to have five users on their pro system that is only £99 a month (extra users can be added at £75 a month for each block of 5 users), or for the smaller business, just £49 a month for two users on the ZigZag lite version. For the bigger project, you can use ZigZag’s experience designing intuitive systems to create your very own bespoke package.
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STAND NUMBER 1102
MICHELLE BISHTON AND PHIL SANGER
THE IP SME FOR SMES Vault IP is a specialist intellectual property firm which has been set up to assist SMEs to secure protection for their intellectual property. Being a small firm with low overheads, Vault IP is able to offer lower professional fees than many IP firms. Vault IP was set up in 2014 by Phil Sanger, offering patent and design services. Phil has now been joined by a co-director, Michelle Bishton, enabling the firm to extend its services to include trade marks. Vault IP is the antidote to the traditional law firm. The core values of the business are based on the needs of clients. Our approach is totally flexible- your commercial objectives are our priority and we promise never to use sleep-inducing boilerplate letters. Every piece of advice is tailored to you. Our professional fees are much lower than other law firms because of the tools we use- secure cloud computing and a fully paperless office mean that our overheads are rock bottom. This doesn’t mean we compromise on quality (our deadline monitoring systems and client file storage are secure and reliable) - it just means that we’re working smarter. We proudly fly the flag for SMEs in the UK and we are in a unique position to understand the challenges of forming
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and growing a company because that is exactly what we are doing. We, therefore, have a real insight into how small businesses are run and the challenges they face. For example, we understand that bills of unpredictable size and frequency are unhelpful. We offer flexible pricing structures. We appreciate that many companies are fed up with the sound of the clock running every time they pick up the phone to their lawyer. As such, our fees can be agreed in advance and we have fixed fees, rather than vague estimates, for many stages of the patent, design and trade mark process, which makes it easier to forecast your IP spend.
CONTACT US Web:
www.vault-ip.com
Services offered by Vault IP include: Patents We specialise in securing protection for your inventions. We will work with you to identify the inventions in your new products, undertake prior art searches, draft and file patent applications and manage them through to grant in the UK, Europe and overseas. For larger portfolios we offer full management, including regular reviews and detailed cost projections Trade marks Every business has a company name, logo etc. which it uses to build goodwill and enable consumers to identify its goods or services. Anything which enables consumers to differentiate goods and services of one company from those of another is known as a trade mark. To protect your company adequately it is recommended that registration is sought. We can conduct searches for prior rights, prepare suitable specifications, file applications and deal with objections or oppositions on your behalf, as well as offering ongoing maintenance services in relation to your trade mark portfolio. Designs The caped crusader of IP designs are an inexpensive and fast way to protect the appearance of your products. The Community Design provides five years’ registered protection across the entire EU, with no examination process. Registered designs can, therefore, be secured in a matter of weeks with no long-winded prosecution process. What’s not to like?
MAKING YOUR MARK IS IMPORTANT
You’ve carefully cultivated a unique identity for your young business, so why not express it? At printed.com, we offer one of the largest ranges of papers and finishes so you can express yourself, your way. You’ll find a little business-growing gift from us in your show goody bag, from one young business to another. In the meantime, why not pop by the site at printed.com and say hi?
recruit for just ÂŁ199
Save ÂŁ10 as an attendee of The Business Show with referral code:
visit www.recruitmentgenius.com
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
SPEED NETWORKING: WHY? HOW?
www.salesseek.net 0203 514 2513 [email protected]
SalesSeek - Bringing together essential sales and marketing tools for growth-focused businesses. Our design-led platform provides contact & deal management, email marketing & automation, forecasting, task management, web analytics, and social monitoring in a fresh and visual web application.
SalesSeek is helping organisations scale their revenue generation by providing context to relationships and the tools needed to attract, and engage with a growing customer base. Meet us at The Business show this December. Get a live demo at Stand 652.
In today’s world of digital marketing, search engine optimisation, and pay-per-click advertising, it’s easy to discount face-to-face encounters such as speed networking, events and networking groups. One thing we’ve found is people are more willing to trust a product if they’ve met the people behind it.
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In our experience, the strongest leads are through our personal connections, customer referrals and those we meet at the various events we attend. So why do we like speed networking so much? Practising your pitch – There’s nothing quite like doing it live to 20+ people to refine and perfect your value proposition.
How Can You be Most Effective? Exchange business cards before each conversation. This’ll save time and allow you to move to the next person quickly when prompted. Bring 40+ cards with you; there’s nothing worse than running out of cards at a networking event! Always keep your last card with you so others can take a photo of it.
•
Meeting Prospects We regularly meet people who would like to try and buy our product through speed networking sessions.
Speak Clearly. Take Your Time If you have the right pitch, 60 seconds is plenty of time so you shouldn’t need to rush.
Create Advocates Even if your product isn’t right for them, if you solve a problem they’ll refer others to you.
You must have a clear message for them to easily identify the value your company provides. Then you can usually continue the conversation after the session ends, or follow up by email and phone post event on how your business could help them specifically.
Continue networking, stay in touch with the people you met via email and connect across social media.
RELATE! If you’re speaking second, relate your company to the business of the person that you’ve learned about. They then know you were listening, making your value proposition easier to understand and more likely to pique their interest.
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Gain Feedback Some of the most honest feedback we’ve had comes from people we’ve only spoken to for one minute - they don’t feel bad about hurting your feelings.
‘…the strongest leads are through our personal connections, customer referrals and those we meet at the various events we attend’.
Prepare a 60-Secs Elevator Pitch You only have one minute to talk about your product. Make it count.
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Introduce yourself What? Describe your proposition in 15 seconds. Who is it for? Who’s your target audience? Why should people buy from you? Which problems are you solving? What value do you offer? Is there a particular service you would like to focus?
You may also want to allow some time for the other person to ask a couple of quick questions. Keep a Record Post event, use a CRM tool like SalesSeek to help with the follow up. If you’re doing a lot of networking it’s essential keep a record of who you’re meeting and what you’ve learned about them. Follow up after the event
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Scan all business cards using the World Card mobile app. Export them from the app to a CSV file and send to your email. Use SalesSeek’s upload tool to import them into your visual CRM, including the lead source. Send a bulk but tailored email to them the day after the event. Last but not least: keep momentum.
Start calling those who’ve opened the email and clicked through the links. They are showing real engagement with your proposition.
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STAND NUMBER 570
GET SMART WITH YOUR PENSION. SMART PENSION: FAST, SECURE, FREE! By law, UK companies created before April 2012 must set up an auto enrolment pension scheme for eligible workers. The initiative represents the most substantial change to workplace pensions for 60 years… and for the 1.8 million small businesses it’ll affect in the next few years. A recent study showed that a staggering two thirds of small and micro employers don’t know the exact date they need to comply with the new pension rules. This could mean that these businesses risk some very considerable fines imposed by The Pensions Regulator...from £400 up to £50,000 or even a two-year prison sentence for failing to comply with the legislation. A solid workplace pension makes good commercial sense – a survey by The Pensions Regulator showed that a good pension scheme is the second most valued benefit to employees. But setting up a workplace pension scheme can be confusing, complicated, costly and time consuming…but it’s not with Smart Pension. At Smart Pension, we blend expertise in investment management, technology and regulation to create the fastest and most efficient option, purpose built for UK auto enrolment. We offer a one-stop shop, end-to-end solution that includes: • • • • •
Scheme set up Assessment Communications Ongoing fund investment All at no charge at all for the employer!
“Smart Pension is a fantastic company which helps small businesses with their employee pensions. The Smart Pension team has done a brilliant job in building a successful platform which makes
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other businesses’ lives easier.” - Matthew Hancock, Minister of State for Business, Energy and Enterprise, 2015 Pension auto enrolment for UK companies is all we do at Smart Pension. And with a board of independent professional trustees, the world’s largest independent fund administrator, and our highly experienced investment team all bringing their expertise to bear for you and your company, you can trust us to do it exceptionally well. Our tech team has helped grow some of the world’s biggest online names like eBay and Secret Escapes. Cutting edge technology makes us quite simply the fastest, easiest to use and most secure platform for workplace pension auto enrolment in the UK. Before you get started you can use our market-leading tools to research, understand and plan your company’s auto enrolment. After that you can be signed up and compliant in only a few minutes, and managing your scheme is easy, quick and simple. Our solution is completely free for companies and great value for employees. We get the job done with minimal fuss, doing all the hard work for you. Smart Pension gives you the peace of mind to get on with running your business, knowing that everything is in hand, you are complying with your legal duties and your employees are being well looked after. Come and visit us at Stand 922, or go to www.AutoEnrolment.co.uk to sign up now for free, in just a few minutes.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.autoenrolment.co.uk 0333 444 0733 [email protected]
“Small businesses need an auto enrolment solution that is fast, nimble and reliable. Smart Pension enters the market with that solution and a track record of success. For small businesses complying with the new laws, you make a smart choice with Smart Pension.” Emma Jones, Founder, Enterprise Nation
ew
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The Complete Recruiter Course Increase Your Potential 1hr per day at your desk for 28 days Online with full tutor support The 28 Units will cover:
RESOURCING & RESEARCHING CLIENT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS MANAGEMENT PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Book Now 0871 288 2108 [email protected] www.studycourse.org
FlamePost Social Media Content Management
Business Made Easier Get more clicks, follows & more customers by using FlamePost and it’s FREE! at FlamePost.com
The Professional Body for Recruiters & HR
STAND NUMBER 512 STAND NUMBER 652
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.salesseek.net 0203 514 2513 [email protected]
WHAT MAKES ORGANO GOLD PRODUCTS SO SPECIAL? Organo Gold is a member of the Organic Trade Association, who promote organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the global economy; and Ecocert, who inspect and advise companies on ecologically responsible, environmentally sustainable and global compliance in the organic sector. What makes Organo Gold products so special? It’s a little known ingredient called Ganoderma lucidum, a fungus used extensively in Asian medicine. These mushrooms are unique in that they grow on wood, mostly out of large trees (living or dead, the mushroom doesn’t mind) in forests in the more tropical regions of Asia. With long brown stems and orange-coloured caps, they are a spectacular sight, but they can be hard to see in the wild because they grow in such heavily forested areas. Organo Gold sources only the finest quality Ganoderma, grown on undisturbed logs high in the Wuyi Mountains of China’s Fuzhou region. For thousands of years, Ganoderma lucidum has been recognised by Asian medicine as the highest ranked of all herbs. The Chinese name for it is Lingzhi, which means “spiritual potency.” The Japanes name, Reishi, can be translated as the “King of
‘For thousands of years, Ganoderma lucidum has been recognised by Asian medicine as the highest ranked of all herbs’.
Herbs.” The most renowned doctor of the Ming Dynasty, Dr Shi-Jean Lee, wrote in his famous book Great Pharmacopoeia (Ban Chao Gang Moo) that “Long-term taking of Ganoderma will build a strong healthy body and assure a long life.” Organo Gold is the only North American company who has partnered with the largest certified organic Ganoderma plantations in the world to bring this “treasure of life” to the Western world. In 2009, Organo Gold and its partners celebrated the groundbreaking of their $240 million Gano Herb Industrial Park, the largest of its kind in the world. Our agricultural and food scientists start off with only organically grown Ganoderma. Employing the latest technologies, they gently dry, sterilise and process the mushrooms from a tough, wood-like cap into a fine powder using only natural processes. Once the Ganoderma mushrooms have been transformed, they are added to the Organo Gold family of products, including: • • • •
Gourmet Black Coffee Gourmet Cafe Latte Gourmet Cafe Mocha Organic Green Tea
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.organogold.com 1 (604) 638-6840 [email protected]
Organo Gold, along with its supply chain partners, has voluntarily undergone certification by Ecocert. All of our products are manufactured using the finest organically harvested Ganoderma lucidum, certified independently be Ecocert. Many of Organo Gold’s products have been certified organic by Ecocert, including our King of Coffee and Organic Green Tea. Visit Organic Trade Association and Ecocert to learn more. As well as our r etail products, Organo Gold offers a fantastic business opportunity. Visit out stand at the show to learn more.
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STAND NUMBER 1170
CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF FORCEMANAGER CEO and co-founder of ForceManager, Oscar Maciá, founded his company from his experience in sales management. ForceManager has achieved great success and is now a leading competitor in mobile sales management with well-known clients such as Vauxhall, Pirelli and BASF. Oscar is an experienced, sales-orientated manager and entrepreneur. With his wealth of knowledge in managing technology startups and sales teams, he was able to develop a software that helps companies fast-track their sales. Working as a sales manager, Oscar needed more transparency through his sales team so everyone could understand exactly what was happening and how they were performing. Since there was no such software available, he first set up a tool that asked his sales force to directly report all their activity. However, all the reporting took them away from actually selling. Not long after that, with the support of Oscar’s colleague Xavier Bisbal (co-founder), ForceManager was launched. They took their passion for delivering the best, most user-friendly experience to develop a unique mobile CRM.
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ForceManager facilitates and improves the performance of sales teams by instantly measuring and analysing all sales activity. It is a smart solution for sales reps who work out of the office, allowing them to focus on selling through automatic reporting, on or offline, anytime, anywhere. The app is available across multiple platforms and devices, including smartwatches. ForceManager has transformed from small startup to leading competitor in sales management in just a short space of time. This rapid growth has seen ForceManager’s impact spread globally to over 15 countries, with offices already open in
CONTACT US Web: Tel:
www.forcemanager.net/ +34 931 173 886
London and Latin America. Oscar’s goal is now focussed on expanding the company even further.
‘ForceManager facilitates and improves the performance of sales teams by instantly measuring and analysing all sales activity’
What motivates your sales team? Join Oscar for his tips on managing and building a high-performance sales team. He will give his insight by sharing his experience in the field as a sales rep and manager, having helped hundreds of companies become high performance sales organizations. Oscar will then be happy to answer any questions from the audience in a short Q&A session that will be held at the end of the seminar.
Brand protection for start-ups It is not uncommon for patent and trade mark issues to be pushed to the bottom of your priority list when forming a new business. Protecting our personal possessions from theft is second nature, so why would you not protect your business’s most valuable asset in the same way? At Marks & Clerk, we take time to understand your business, whatever your size, and we tailor our advice to ensure you get maximum value, protection and benefit from your innovations. Get in touch to find out how we can help.
www.marks-clerk.com
We Make Recruitment Easier And recruiters more efficient
Call us to arrange your 6 month FREE trial 0800 634 1818
Advertise your job across the largest UK advertising network Post jobs directly to your career page and across social media Manage recruitment from a single dashboard (Virtually no training required) Mobile and tablet friendly No IT integrations or lengthy contracts Pre-screen candidates with behavioural assessments, video interviewing and more Generate intelligent reports World class customer support
What do our customers say?
“Smart Recruit Online has added real value to our recruitment processes and has increased our ability to recruit quickly & efficiently, and without the use of agencies”
“Smart Recruit Online has provided us with volumes of good quality candidates for our current open roles and also a talent pool that we can revisit at any time in the future. I would recommend Smart Recruit Online as a fantastic platform to any HR team, or in house recruitment function”
www.smartrecruitonline.com
“We have to date filled 100% of the roles we have advertised, saving tens of thousands of pounds in the process. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Smart Recruit Online’s system to my peers and in fact already have!”
STAND NUMBER 1040
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A MISSION STATEMENT? “Profit is not the legitimate purpose of business. The legitimate purpose of business is to provide a product or service that people need and do it so well that it’s profitable.” - James Rouse Why is a business purpose or mission important? Is a business purpose just as important for a small business as it is for a large corporation? This brief article will address both these questions. Clarifying your business purpose is essential whether big or small. A powerful business purpose gives you and your team clarity, direction and focus, a reason for being. The purpose or mission is the ‘compass’ of the organization, keeping it focused and heading in the right direction.
Dell’s mission is to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve
The difference between the mission statement and a vision statement is that a mission statement focuses on a company’s present state while a vision statement focuses on a company’s future. Here are some examples:
Here are some coaching questions to help you clarify your business purpose:
Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.
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Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. What’s interesting about all these leading organizations’ mission/purpose statements is that they are all focused on meeting customer needs.
1. 2.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.realisepartners.com 0207-813-1346 [email protected]
What products / services does your business offer / provide? Who are your target markets and what are their needs? What customer needs does your business meet? Why does your business exist? A business purpose can never be fully realised; it has the ability to last forever, even if products and services change, the business purpose stays the same. Define your business purpose taking these questions into account.
The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.”― Peter F. Drucker
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STAND NUMBER 400
WOW ANALYTICS ARE REVOLUTIONISING WEBSITE’S ROI WOW Analytics have been taking the technology world by storm with their lead generation software. Their forward-thinking web solutions have strengthened both B2B sales and marketing, and they’re set to show exactly what they can do for businesses at The Business Show. t With online sales and marketing going from strength to strength, WOW Analytics is offering companies the ability to find out exactly who is on their website. With their own IP lookup technology and a private database that has access to millions of data IDs, WOW guarantees a higher match rate than any of their competitors. After spending years in the industry, WOW has seen exactly how effective form fills and contact pages are, with only 2% of leads identifying themselves on websites. But around 50% of visitors are potential leads; so WOW designed technology that show you who your leads are so you can get in contact with them. With their own tracking codes, WOW can track who has come to your website and then show you the company name and details. While there are lots of companies that offer this service, no one does it quite like WOW. Why is that? Because WOW won’t just give you company details, they’ll also give you individuals. Within WOW’s technology, you’ll be able to see individual employees from the company and their job titles. This gives your sales team a direct line to key decision makers, so
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they are not blocked in the sales process. But WOW doesn’t just stop there. They also rank your leads, so you can see which leads on your website are ready to buy. This saves your sales team time and gives you the opportunity to maximise ROI. They do this by ranking web pages and judging not just the time spent on your website but by where the visitor has gone on your website. That’s just the start of what they offer. From PPC tracking and social media integration to one-to-one email tracking, WOW has the broadest range of online products designed to help you achieve the largest ROI possible from your website. WOW’s software has revolutionised how businesses can tailor their sales pitch, manage their marketing budgets and
‘WOW’s software has revolutionised how businesses can tailor their sales pitch, manage their marketing budgets and identify the exact audience they’re targeting’.
identify the exact audience they’re targeting. The results have been astounding. Businesses across the world have increased their ROI anywhere from 10-1000%. Many have also halved their marketing budgets by gaining access to more leads with WOW. Those coming to The Business Show will be able to get a chance to see for themselves exactly how WOW’s technology can impact their sales and services. With interactive free demos and staff who can advise on best practices in the online industry, WOW will show businesses exactly how they can now maximise their ROI and make money from their website. They’ll also get a chance to talk to the Managing Director of WOW Analytics, Lee Chadwick, and pick his brain about best practices in the ever-changing online world. Lee will also be presenting a seminar on how to make your website a profit engine with WOW’s lead generation tools at hand. With best practice tips, you can expect to see first-hand how to revolutionise your own website’s ROI.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.wowanalytics.co.uk 0844 880 2899info@ wowanalytics.co.uk
The IPO at Stand 1054 The Business Show Protecting
Products Brands Business
Patents Registered Designs Trade marks Tools Events
If you are starting a business your name will be an essential asset, find out how to protect your brand. If you are designing products, the way they work or look could be unique, find out how to exploit these points. Intellectual Property is a key business asset that can be bought, sold and licensed.
Starting a business?
Own or buying a business?
IPEquip
Learn more about the different types of IP with our free online tool.
Use our free Healthcheck service to identify if you have IP in your business.
www.ipo.gov.uk/blogs/equip/
ipogovuk
uk-ipo
You can contact one of our IP advisors who can answer your questions Call them on 0300 300 2000*, or email them at: [email protected]
*Calls to 0300 numbers are charged at your network provider’s standard national rate. Office hours are 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays.
Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office
QUICK AND AFFORDABLE SOLUTIONS FOR CAMPING AND LEISURE We offer a unique selection of fully designed and furnished luxury tents, lodges and residential homes for camping, leisure and residential parks. We also supply an unfurnished turnkey solution if you prefer to purchase your own furniture and make your own decorations. If you dream about… • Letting a piece of land in the countryside? • Getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city? • Retiring in a sunny, quiet and private refuge? • Living in a park with other similar ages and “like minded” people? • Having your fully furnished residential caravan, park home or leisure home ready to move in at an affordable price and virtually maintenance free? • Having your customised pre-fabricated home and also lots of space for your garden, BBQ area and hot tub? We have the answer for you. There are small, medium and large plot sizes available with panoramic views, some overlooking a lake, to serve your taste and budget. Please check out our caravan & mobile home park in the north of Portugal in our website and Facebook page below. There is also a presentation video in our website homepage.
With a portfolio range of products that you can find in our website, we can also design, customize and build your dream holidaying space at an affordable price and ready to move in a few weeks.
“All of our products are made of natural resources and gives you and your family a natural home to live in and enjoy” All of our products are made of natural resources and gives you and your family a natural home to live in and enjoy. We have launched this year an inflatable ladybird tent suitable for play, rest or fun! It has been designed for children to play and comes with a continuous air fan but we can also make it suitable for camping purposes. Please make us an enquiry about the details and get 5% offer if you decide to make a purchase (please use BUSSHOW offer code).
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
10 Things You Can Do With the Inflatable Ladybird Playground Tent
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A great place to read Ladybird stories;
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You can enjoy the fresh air outside with your playground inside the dome, no matter what the weather;
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You can go camping inside it for a day in the school garden, family garden or outside. Schools may also use it to introduce camping to children as some may not have the opportunity to do it with their families;
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You can use it to spend a day outside with your family and friends. The carrying bag fits a standard family car. Depending on the car space it may only take one car seat space;
INSPIRING RURAL ENTREPRENEURS
You can use it to have a picnic in any type of garden.
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Use it as the main attraction at ladybird-themed children’s parties. Check our Amazon page where you can find other products with the ladybird theme that you can bring to the party: http://ecocampingandleisure. idealsolutionsmall.com
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Add it to other parties with different themes. Our next versions are: Ninja Turtle, Bee, Mini Mouse, etc;
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Ideal as a sleeping tent for an afternoon nap, it’s also useful when you go outside with babies, toddlers or older children and with your family and friends.
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You can use it together with the climbing steel frame. It will allow children to play inside and outside the tent.
www.ecocampingandleisure.co.uk +44 (0)7981147460 [email protected]
Trade Marks | Registered Designs | Copyright | Domain Names
Your brand is your business; your business is your brand. Your brand is hugely valuable, so you must be certain your brand assets (trade marks, designs, copyright and domain names) are properly registered, watched and protected. Having safeguarded clients’ trade marks since 1886, Nucleus IP can help you protect and grow your most valuable asset, worldwide.
For more information contact Ken Sewell: [email protected] +44 (0)20 3102 9000
Visit us at The Great British Business Show stand no. 860
www.nucleus-ip.com
Visit us on YBC Street
YOU FOCUS ON RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS. WE FOCUS ON PROTECTING AND SUPPORTING YOU. Unlimited Professional Advice Professional guidance & support is only a call away Legal -Tax - VAT - PAYE - Health & Safety - HR
Financial Protection
Insured professional fee cover for unexpected actions
Tax Investigation - Employment Disputes - License Protection DPA Defence - H&S Prosecution Defence - Court Attendance Allowance Landlord Diputes - Property Protection - Director & Employee Defence
Document Library
Several hundred at your fingertips
Commercial Contracts & Document Templates HR Guides & Handbook - Health & Safety Guides & Manuals
Save Money & Time
On essential products and services including
Insurance - Card Merchant Account - Banking Account -Telecoms Merchant Cash Advance - Auto Enrolment & Pensions - Receptionist Business Address - Energy - Print & Post - Debt Collection - Office Financial Advice - Foreign Exchange - Print - Websites and more...
Networking & Events
Meet new clients, suppliers and friends
Breakfast & Evening Networking - Fairs & Expos - Training - Seminars Free Exhibition Space At Many Popular YBC Events
Your Business Community
www.yourbusinesscommunity.co.uk Phone - 0333 358 3399 ybcuk
STAND NUMBER 1240
AWARD-WINNING ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY
people, and so we interview more than 300+ people a year. We tend to look for those who:
The award winning Entrevo, are worldwide leaders in strategy and technology for entrepreneurial businesses. A lean global business, with offices in the UK, USA, Singapore and Australia, we have worked directly with 1500+ businesses to help them become more visible, valuable and scalable. Each year in London, we take 150 business leaders on a journey. Some of these leaders have described their experience as the best thing that’s happened to their business. It’s been a life changing experience for others. Let us briefly share with you what this journey entails. The perfect pitch Key People of Influence have a compelling answer to the question ‘What do you do?” If you can’t pitch your value with clarity and credibility it’s game-over.
‘Key People of Influence create opportunities with other high performers so that everyone can achieve more’.
Publish content Key People of Influence create blogs, articles, reports and books for getting their message out to the world. Product ecosystems Key People of Influence turn their skills, talent and ideas into products that people love to buy. Rather than purely trading time for money, Key People of Influence surround themselves with a ‘product ecosystem’ that makes money anytime/anywheare. Raise your profile Being good at what you do is no longer enough. If you want to be a Key Person of Influence you must stand out and be recognised - you are who Google says you are. Partner with performers Nothing great was ever achieved in isolation. Key People of Influence create opportunities with other high performers so that everyone can achieve more. We don’t take just any business or leader onto the programme. At z we look to find the right
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.keypersonofinfluence.com 0207 898 3991 [email protected]
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Have an interesting story and relevant experiences Are already running a viable business or have a start-up funded by investors Are willing to stretch, get resourceful and be held accountable to achieving key outcomes
The complementary interview sessions are held in London with 4-8 business owners around three times a week, and are designed to quickly gauge chemistry between your business and us. During the session we will delve into your business, identify where you are on the entrepreneur journey, explore your current inhibitors for growth, help you develop a 36-month plan to get what you want, and unpack key frameworks that underpin the implementation of our five step method. If you’re interested in finding out more, visit us on stand 1240 or attend one of our masterclasses. Not ready to book straight into a session? Take our complimentary scorecard online at our stand. It’s a series of questions which will benchmark your ability to influence in a business or leadership context. You will be given a report which will identify your opportunities for leveraged growth. And as a gift, you’ll also receive a copy of Daniel Priestley’s best-selling book – Key Person of Influence (Revised Edition).
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At stand
1270 Come and see us and our partners i.e. taxguard & King & Taylor are affiliated partners, they work in partnership to provide our clients with integrated business tax, personal tax, and financial service solutions. You can find additional financial calculators and information via our mobile/online apps, which will be on our stand during The Business Show. www.klarityvision.com
www.ietaxguard.co.uk
www.kingandtaylor.co.uk
SHOW OFFER Discounted Packaged Services ...plus the opportunity to win a tablet PC. Simply visit our stand, receive a quote on one of our services and you will be automatically entered into the draw to win.
Contact Klarity Vision on 0845 463 2205
@KlarityVision
STAND NUMBER 608
THE SCIENCE BEHIND SALES “Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman – not the attitude of the prospect.” W. Clement Stone In today’s economic climate, delivering a strategic sales campaign is essential for any company looking to tower above tough competition in the business world. For Nicola Hartland, founder and CEO of Xcel Sales, the key to securing new clients in a tight market place is having the correct team of skilled professionals to deliver a first-class marketing strategy. Telemarketing conjures up thoughts of unwelcoming sales calls in the middle of an evening meal, or the endless messages for PPI claims or personal injury awards. “Sales are the lifeline of any business. Lead generation is often seen as being grubby, but it is essential part of keeping the sales pipeline flowing. “At the heart of any business is its brand and identity, but often this isn’t identified, causing companies to lose out
…Xcel Sales works with high profile clients based in the UK and across the globe in a range of industries including oil and gas, financial, IT, and legal sectors’.
in the bid to become a success,” she explains. “The one thing that all businesses need is customers. Without them you simply don’t have a business and it’s the sales function that is responsible for delivering this.” Ms Hartland, who has 15 years’ key industry experience, started her career in IT sales, quickly rising to lead a sales team generating over £2.5million a year for her employer. In 2012, taking inspiration from a magazine article about sales, she set to work to create her own bus iness, establishing Xcel Sales in 2013. “The stories in the magazine took me back to the world of professional selling. I thrived on the buzz and excitement of securing multimillion pound contracts in my previous role as head of business development, and the articles truly inspired me to establish my own business.” Xcel Sales works with high profile clients based in the UK and across the globe in a range of industries including oil and gas, financial, IT, and legal sectors, using the four
key areas of planning and strategy; social media; data management; lead generation and telemarketing to get the best results for clients. The business, which employs a team of highly skilled agents, is fast becoming one of the UK’s leading new B2B business acquisition agencies, thanks to its close working relationship with clients. “Preparation is key to representing our customers in a professional manner and allows us to be equipped with all the right information to answer any question or objections. At Xcel Sales our process starts with building a clear picture of a business. We call this our ‘discovery phase’ and we use it to plan sales strategies and set clear expectations on both sides,” she explains. In the last 12 months, Ms Hartland’s hard work and determination to change the perception of telesales has seen her double the size of her company and generate over £10million of pipeline opportunities for her clients. “For me it is about delivering ROI for clients, not just about sales, which is why it is so important to deliver a quality service.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.xcelsales.co.uk 07710 583 736 [email protected]
“Since setting up my business I have helped some of the most successful businesses in the country talk to potential clients and we are slowly but surely changing people’s view of the telemarketing industry.”
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CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.wowanalytics.co.uk 0844 880 2899info@ wowanalytics.co.uk
BUILD YOUR OWN FREE PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE YourSinglePageSite.com is a simple-to-use website builder that enables you to create your own professional website completely free of charge. With YourSinglePageSite.com anyone can create a beautiful professional website in minutes. No technical knowledge or design skills are needed and we provide everything you need, including a domain name and hosting. Once you have built your site, you can update it yourself whenever you like as often as you like. Our websites really are free. There’s no catch. You can build your site and publish it to the Internet without paying a penny and you will never pay anything. We give everyone the opportunity to have their own professional website completely free of charge (although you can add premium features for a small fee, but only if you want them). Our simple to use website builder wizard gives you the flexibility you need to get the web presence you need for your company or organisation. Use your logo and set your colour scheme to reflect your identity. Add loads of great features to your site such as; text, images, videos, maps, contact forms, links, news, social media and much more. You can also sell products and services directly through your website using our payment buttons facility.
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We optimise all our websites for search engines to help you increase your visitors and grow your business and we give you monthly statistics so you can see how your website is performing. Our websites are mobile ready as standard. In today’s world many of your website’s visitors will be using a mobile device, so you need to make sure their experience is as good on a mobile device as it is on a computer. We’ve got you covered. Your site will look great on all devices. Our websites are ideal for everyone, including; start-up businesses, SMEs, shops, auction sellers, clubs and societies, groups, bands, local events and anything else that requires a web presence... Simply go to www.YourSinglePageSite.com to build a website today.
‘With YourSinglePageSite.com anyone can create a beautiful professional website in minutes’.
YourSinglePageSite.com at a glance: Create a FREE fully functioning website with loads of great features Get a domain name of your choice or use a domain name you already own Your site is fully hosted by us Update your site yourself whenever you like All websites are mobile device ready and search engine optimised Get monthly performance statistics
BE TANGLE FREE!
Visit us on stand 946
[email protected]
WWW.D-TANGLED.COM
@DTangledd /DTangled
A COMPLETE LIMITED COMPANY FOR £5?? PO Boxes.com are offering limited companies for £5, and it’s being launched at this show. But is it possible? Start-up costs appear to constantly go up and up, but POBoxes.com claims to be able to reduce at least one of these costs significantly. But how? Well it really is very simple and down to a very clever cross selling opportunity developed by the brains behind the rapidly growing mail service business. You see, as part of your business start-up costs you will need to factor in company set-up, address management and mail handling – all timeconsuming but essential jobs and if we are completely honest they are the tedious part of a start-up! However, POBoxes.com seems to have come up with a user friendly solution which could actually work in startups’ favour.
‘POBoxes.com seems to have come up with a user friendly solution which could actually work in start-ups’ favour’. When a new start-up, or in fact any business, sign up for one of the mail handling packages on offer with POBoxes. com for a minimum of 6 months, you will be invited to form a fully-fledged limited company of your choice for only £5. Yes, that’s right, £5 and not the usual ‘deal’ from other companies of around £30! Well let’s consider this – looking at POBoxes. com’s website, a Darlington Light User scanning account is £66 for 6 months; for this outlay you will get a mail handling service at a street based address with real people looking after your post. Your new address is personalised to you and if you choose to form a company for £5 you can use the address as your company’s registered office address. This is a huge advantage as it keeps your home address and in some circumstances your trading address out of the public domain. Your post will be scanned and uploaded to POBoxes. com’s secure server, leaving you free to deal with it whenever and more importantly wherever you are! POBoxes.com seems to offer the most competitive mail handling services currently
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available in the UK today. The Darlington address is an incredible deal for this type of service especially as you can use this as a registered office, and they also offer a London address too. Once signed up you have access to their free mobile & tablet friendly app which really does give you complete control over your post. If, however, the thought of someone else opening your post is a concern and in this day and age of identify fraud – who wouldn’t be concerned? POBoxes.com has invested heavily in their Internet and webbased security, all scans are encrypted, your mail is discreetly handled in their Darlington office, and in fact they are so proud of their systems they openly invite their clients to visit the mail handling office if reassurance is required. So yes, it would appear that it is possible to reduce the cost of your start-up and increase your business efficiency allowing you to handle your business matters where and when you want. So what are you waiting for? Take advantage of this opportunity before POBoxes.com realise they are actually offering too good a deal!
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.poboxes.com 020 8819 1601 [email protected]
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Fast Formation Easy Online Detail Submission A Printed Copy of the company’s Certificate of Incorporation Access to a Massive Range of Where to Get Guides, Products and Services (Business Hub) Registered Office in County Durham Optional Extras (current): The Seal Pack: Go pro with a pro version of company register, seal and stamp. £64.99 Go pro with a corporate pack (logo, letter heads and compliment slips design service). £149.99
UK Businesses Owed £35.3bn! Call us today, get paid tomorrow
Zinc In-House Ltd
Outstanding debts to the UK’s small businesses have reached £35.3bn the highest total ever recorded. This is a staggering amount of money which is owed to companies like yours. Its not all bad news though as so far this year the Zinc Group has recovered over £10 Million pounds worth of overdue payments on behalf of its growing list of clients, and all of it has been done on a simple No win, No Fee basis. We can speed up the time it takes to get you paid, often payment is made as soon as a debtor realises we are acting on behalf of a client. This means you don’t pay one single penny for our service until we have recovered what you are owed.
Zinc In-House Ltd
Call us today on 0330 100 0852
or email [email protected]
STAND NUMBER 1032
Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions? • • • • • •
HOW CAN I GET THE PR I NEED FOR FREE? Everyone always says ‘I should do PR’ - but what does this really mean? RelevantNow is spearheading a movement to open up PR to everyone and offers a website where anyone can do it for free. You don’t always have the time or resources to devote to marketing and PR, but what’s the point of doing what you’re doing if no one knows about it? This was the issue that Laura Lomer and Gaby Riley, two PR professionals, set out to solve with the creation of RelevantNow. Recognising the media landscape has changed dramatically and journalists prefer to hear directly from source, they wanted to find a way to match clients with a story to interested media. They soon realised that many people faced the same hurdles; a lack of contacts, a fear of writing and very little time. In addition, some people were paying large amounts of money to
“RelevantNow is already creating excitement. Many early users are getting national coverage for free.”
agencies and were unable to justify the expense. “And yet,” says Laura, a former journalist, who has also worked for top-10 PR agencies and as Head of Communications at the Science Museum, “PR is not a difficult thing to do. How could we develop something that could benefit journalists and businesses alike?” Bringing in Carolyn Wharton, a data expert, they formed their comprehensive media contacts into a customised database which now covers a broad range of sectors including hospitality, technology, arts, fashion, sport and more. They created a website where anyone without experience could do their own PR. “Our process couldn’t be intimidating,” explains Gaby, who had previously run her own PR agency working with individuals and small businesses. “The website would need to include lots of guidance as many people will be approaching PR for the very first time, so they would need reassurance, as well as plenty of examples.”
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.relevantnow.com 02032867288 [email protected]
How do I start doing my own PR? How do I get the media coverage my business deserves? I’d love to be featured in that magazine, how can I make it happen? How do I find media contacts and what’s the best way of reaching them? What should I say to the media to get them interested? When should I send information to the media for the best chance of inclusion?
If yes, then RelevantNow can help. It’s a website where anyone can do their own PR. It helps you communicate with hundreds of targeted press contacts. It’s simple, fast – and it’s free.
RelevantNow’s process meets this brief. You can create tailored press materials and media lists. Stories are sent directly to targeted media contacts, including traditional, online and social media. Interested media will respond directly to you. RelevantNow is already creating excitement. Many early users are getting national coverage for free. “We generated numerous immediate sales”, says Andrea Cohen, CEO of Number35, “and in future RelevantNow will be our first port of call for all PR activities.” Clients’ stories have appeared across the media including the Daily Telegraph, Independent, Guardian, Mail on Sunday, Metro, InStyle, Huffington Post and the BBC. There are also products that enable you to plan a PR programme across the year. “PR is a marathon not a sprint, but it doesn’t have to hurt! We have designed it so you get reminders on when to send info at the right time. Additionally, you can get creative ideas on what to publicise, or attend our PR workshops and meet experts,” says Laura. Sending out stories on RelevantNow is free. “We have developed a product that really works and will change the face of PR and marketing for everyone,” says Gaby. “ We just want as many people as possible to use it as often as they have something to say.” Do come and visit us at stand number 1032 where you will also have the chance to win free 1:1 PR for the year.
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STAND NUMBER 1074
FRIENDLY ACCOUNTANTS We are Stuart Harris Associates, a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants based in Woodside Park (Finchley’s tree-spotted little brother) in North London. We’re run by our founder and owner, Stuart Harris, himself a Chartered Certified Accountant. There are three strands to ‘friendly accounting’:• Being easily contactable • Explaining things in plain English • Networking (to help clients to grow their businesses, and/or to acquire goods and services)
In order to achieve the above objectives, we use state of the art technology. We love our gadgets, but not just for the sake of them – they all genuinely assist us in providing a friendly, efficient and professional service. And we are also keen to help and advise clients with cloud-based services for bookkeeping, backups, documents, paperless office etc. And on the technical and professional side, we believe in modern accounting for your hectic world. No jargon, no unnecessary paperwork, just clear advice and e-reminders of deadlines so you can stay on top of things.
DEDICATE REMOTE DEVELOPERS FOR COMPANIES VirtualStaffing, a UK-based firm, assists entrepreneurial setups and other tech-based business ventures across Europe by catering to their needs of dedicated offshore web and application developers. Some perks include: no upfront investment, unbelievably low rates and convenient live onsite supervision. VirtualStaffing, a UK-based firm, vows to assist entrepreneurial setups and other tech-based business ventures across Europe by catering to their needs of dedicated offshore web and application developers. What gives “VS” a unique edge over its contemporaries is a series of first-hand offshoring nightmares at the hands of some (supposedly) big names of the industry, ultimately leading to its own entrepreneurial inception many years ago. In fact, this is what compels us to help
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‘…we believe in modern accounting for your hectic world. No jargon, no unnecessary paperwork, just clear advice and e-reminders of deadlines so you can stay on top of things’.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
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other entrepreneurs and business owners in nurturing their business from ground-up for much less and without losing something significant in the process. Despite all their enthusiasm and planning, many would-be entrepreneurs often hit a road-block when it comes to coping with the challenges of software development, application development or web development, whether it’s about managing the nitty-gritty of the trade or finances involved.
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So, VirtualStaffing offer a win-win solution for European entrepreneurs and businesses in tackling any such issues with perks like no upfront investment, unbelievably low rates and convenient live onsite supervision. Huge sums of money thus saved could be used by businesses in other areas of business development like hiring technical, marketing and other essential resources.
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Our stringent vetting procedures followed by comprehensive training and fully modernised, well equipped premises backed up with precise supervision guarantees the highest level of services. We serve as your offshore station abroad and offer you to:
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www.sha1.co.uk 020 3006 3929 [email protected]
Hire a highly skilled developer to work specifically for you on your terms and instructions with zero recruitment fees You may even hire a complete team of dedicated developers Enjoy the flexibility of month-to-month contracts to suit your changing needs You are in charge of your dedicated developers who work as an extension of your own team, reporting to you directly on a daily basis You get your offshore office with no setup costs at all You can choose from our extensive pool of highly talented developers best suited to your needs. If our existing human resource pool lacks your desired skill set, we hire your desired developers on an immediate basis Our stringent vetting process not only ensures the technical soundness of your developers, but also focuses on enhanced communication skills with high proficiency in English After we recommend you the best potential developers based on your needs, you also get to scrutinise your potential virtual developer(s) before the final selection If you don’t feel satisfied with your developer(s) for any reason, we immediately offer you an alternate resource This is how we bring entrepreneurs a step closer to success and prosperity.
Come see how
| The UK’s Only Homegrown Social Media Management Software
Call us: 0208 123 1526 | Start Your Free 30-Day Trial: sendible.com/freetrial
STAND NUMBER 1260
THE AGE OF THE STARTUP: CLOUD STAFFING With so many businesses taking to the cloud for IT infrastructure solutions, isn`t it time you used the cloud to its full potential for staffing solutions too? Forget about traditional methodologies: this is the age of the start-up. Want to start your own business? No problem: today’s global virtual landscape gives you the power you need to succeed with minimal start-up and extremely lowcost overheads. Now anyone with a great idea can start a business and get the solid backing of a professional workforce without any long-term commitment or concerns about salaries, pensions, offices or other traditional business hang-ups. Having the right foundation for your business is essential when you’re starting out, but that doesn’t mean that you have to spend thousands on letting an office, buying office equipment for staff, and getting the latest software and other traditional essentials in place. Not to mention, the cost of consultants or hiring full-time staff members can make an enormous dent in your new business’s bank account if you’re able to secure the funds in the first place. Instead, embrace the latest trend in global businesses both big and small by turning to the cloud. Working virtually with e-commerce or other online solutions allows you to work from anywhere, at any time. You can now run your business with
a 24/7 presence, and can grow your customer base to reach all over the globe. Additionally, you can make significant cost savings by taking advantage of access to high-end professionals who work remotely and come with their own equipment on a per-hour cost basis thanks to contemporary hiring trends. With more than 4.2 million professionals working virtually, more and more of the nation’s skilled workforce is taking to the cloud to offer professional virtual services at an affordable rate. That means that you can get access to designers, developers, administration experts, copywriters, event planners, bookkeepers, operations professionals … and more, all on a per-hour and as-needed basis. This makes a significant impact on your business plan, cost projections and expected business
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.businessworx.co.uk 0208 504 1317 [email protected]
longevity; it also provides many businesses with the boost they need to get through their financial year without operating at a loss. This isn’t a new way of doing business. Some of the world’s largest and most successful businesses started out just like this: using virtual services wherever possible, working out of a garage, and holding meetings in local stores or coffee shops like many contemporary businesses. Amazon, Mattel, Hewlett-Packard and Apple are just some of the big names that have completely transformed the business landscape. It’s time to take your big idea and turn it into a huge success by transforming the way you do business and taking advantage of the many cloud solutions available. Gone are the days of outdated and outmoded business models; this is the age of the start-up and you are in the driving seat.
Running a business is really hard work without worrying about the everyday business administration tasks like accounting, sales, web development, social media, research, graphic design and event management. We call this the `businessworx,` and these are the tasks we`re really good at. •
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Businessworx offers virtual professional services on a per-hour basis so you only pay for what you need Get access to experienced professionals who can help boost your business Turn your BIG idea into a HUGE success with the right backing and intelligent support
PRINT & POST FOR LESS ●
A4 letter - print and 2nd class post from only 39p +vat
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No contract or minimum quantity
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Huge time and cost savings
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A LA CARTE IT SERVICES Flexible and Customised Services Your technology needs to be as flexible as your business, so we developed our a la carte IT support program. The a la carte program allows you to customize your support and service needs directly related to your critical business services, all at a cost effective price.
‘Simply work with us to determine what services make sense for you, and we’ll ensure that you have a solution tailored to your needs’.
This offering allows you to select individual services that meet specific needs within your business. You may not need a fully outsourced IT department, but everyone needs a telephone line and to avoid viruses, backup failures, and wasted time on emails you should have never received. Simply work with us to determine what services make sense for you, and we’ll ensure that you have a solution tailored to your needs. You know your business better than anyone, so we put the decision and purchasing power in your hands!
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WIRELESS
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INNOVATE / CREATE / CULTIVATE
STAND NUMBER 1084
ARE YOU READY FOR AUTO ENROLMENT? The government has recently made it compulsory for you to start a pension for your employees. At BPPS Ltd, we can provide everything you need to know and do to set up an auto-enrolment scheme. The regulator will have the power to issue a fixed penalty of £400 to an employer, as well as escalating penalties at a daily rate. With this in mind, Brooms Payroll and Pension Solutions Ltd are offering advice on auto-enrolment, from the initial consultation, to the implementation, payroll and more. Complexity removed with our auto-enrolment process There are five stages to the financial planning process, each of which is separately costed, although the initial consultation is at our expense: • • • • •
Initial consultation Gathering financial data Pre assessment Implementation Ongoing service
Contact Brooms Payroll and Pension Solutions Ltd to discuss your specific needs and how we can help you to meet your autoenrolment obligations.
‘Brooms Payroll and Pension Solutions Ltd are offering advice on auto-enrolment, from the initial consultation, to the implementation, payroll and more’.
STAND NUMBER 1158
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR OVERDUE DEBTS WITH DEBT CHASER LIMITED Debt Chaser Limited is run by seasoned debt collection professionals in conjunction with experienced accountants and law firms. We collect your problem debts while you concentrate on running your business – leaving the problem of chasing your cash flow to us! Using recently introduced powerful legislations brought in across Europe, we can now leverage your debtors to pay quickly using our polite but firm credit control techniques. The only cost to your company will be agreed and fixed in advance of us taking on the task recovering your undisputed debt on a no win, no fee basis. We can offer you support, training and advice on all
‘We are so confident that if a debt is collectable, we will collect it without upfront fees, letter writing fees, call charges or yearly contracts – so when we say no fee – we mean exactly that’.
matters for effective credit management, helping you reduce your ‘debtor days’. Two regular questions we ask are; are you struggling to keep your debtor days under control and are your accounts team spending too much time chasing unpaid invoices? If you answer yes to either question, you can consider outsourcing these tasks to Debt Chaser Limited. NO WIN NO FEE We are working hard to change the perception and experiences you may have had with other debt recovery companies. We are so confident that if a debt is collectable, we will collect it without upfront fees, letter writing fees, call charges or yearly contracts – so when we say no fee – we mean exactly that. On this basis, we collect the vast majority of all debts that are assigned to us without the need for costly legal process. 01634 650048
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.broompayrollpensionsolution.com 0333 366 0006 [email protected]
CONTACT US Web:
Response Handling
Internet Consultancy
Bespoke solutions for your business I can fully endorse The Virtual Business Centre. They are very professional and it’s such a relief to know our clients are being looked after.” – Claire Crockett, Crockett’s Gates Ltd
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STAND 800
IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH AUTOMATION AND TRANSPARENCY Our research and customer feedback shows us that many organisations struggle to keep costs down as they grow their business. Automation of key business processes creates a back bone for a scalable and transparent business. Our knowledge and expertise in digitising business helps organisations achieve more with less.
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• Use maturity analytics to identify how changes in process and resources can improve financial outcomes. • Spend less time managing spreadsheets. • Get information anywhere on mobile and tablet. It’s easy to overcome your challenges when you can see exactly where they are. Come and see us on stand 800 for a demo.
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Business technology partners
ATTENTION: ALL BUSINESS ShOw aTTendEeS!
IS THIS THE BUSINESS WORLD’S BEST KEPT SECRET?
Hundreds of UK businesses have seen their sales and profits soar this year as a direct result of training they’ve received at the UK’s leading business training centre based in Birmingham. Over 13,500 delegates have experienced the training which covers all aspects of business growth.
“It seems crazy that our training is making such a difference to businesses owners and their bottom line, yet so many businesses don’t even know about it”, says Hannah Chalkley who heads up the Entrepreneurs Circle Training Academy. To help put that right, the Academy has introduced a Match Funding programme for attendees at The Business Show.
“There are 300 Match Funding places available”, explains founder Nigel Botterill, “and the impact on those 300 businesses next year will be stellar. They’ll be able to get the business owner and/or the staff skilled up in all the areas that will make the biggest difference to their growth and our unique Annual Pass combined with the Match Funding makes it a tiny investment.” The UK’s Best Business Training The Entrepreneurs Circle Training Academy is based in Birmingham near the NEC, and delivers nearly 90 different courses on pretty much any business subject you can think of. There are courses specifically for business owners, but also courses for your staff to make sure your team are skilled so your business achieves its goals. The courses are all delivered by genuine experts in their field and are 100% practical. As one delegate said last week, “This is world class training of the highest quality”.
Unique Unlimited Annual Pass In 2015, the EC Academy pioneered the TEAP Training Event Annual Pass - whereby business owners could invest in a ‘season ticket’ for unlimited training for them and their staff. With a TEAP you can attend unlimited courses for 12 months and save £££’s on your training investment.
Visit us at stand 810 To find out more or request a free Prospectus
EC Training Academy founder Nigel Botterill discussing plans for the EC Academy over lunch with Sir Richard Branson in the Caribbean. Botterill has launched eight separate £1m+ business brands right here in the UK.
Match Funding Available There is still Match Funding available for just 156 Business Show Attendees (at time of print) who meet the following criteria: Employ between 2-25 staff Attended The Business Show Have a turnover of less than £2 million per year Are serious about growing their business in 2016 If you can tick all 4 of these boxes, then you qualify for Match Funding and can get your Training Event Annual Pass (TEAP) for half price making this even more of a no-brainer.
visit www.ECTrainingAcademy.org or call 0121 765 3404 84 Available Courses Including: Setting Up Your Google AdWords • Pricing for Profit • Selling to Consumers • Time Management • Writing Good Marketing Copy • Setting up Facebook Ads • How to Run Webinars • Dealing with Problem Staff • Negotiation Skills • Effective Decision Making • Basic Video Editing • Graphic Design • Writing and Publishing a Bestselling Book • How to Build Your Database • How to Sell Your Business • Become a Better Leader • Goal Setting
The EC Training Academy, 2635 Kings Court, Birmingham Business Park, Birmingham, B37 7YE
“
Superb!
I love the EC Training Academy and it’s helped us so much. The team are incredibly helpful. The range of topics is huge - like nothing I have ever seen in any organisation before. There is always a friendly, welcoming face and they look after us brilliantly. Superb!
“
We’re much more capable
”
The Training Academy has been great for me - and my team. I’ve sent some of my staff on a couple of courses and they’ve got lots from them. We’re now so much more capable as a result. You’d be mad not to try it!
“
Amy Somerville Tutts of Dorking
”
The Most Amazing Content
I booked onto a course each month and I’ve experienced the most amazing content, delivered by people who are as excited about helping me to succeed as I am, surrounded by hungry business owners keen to learn and share.
Danielle Proctor PST Ltd
Reward for innovation and development
Professional, expert and bespoke service SME and large company claims
Techpreneur Stand 1132 www.ela8.co.uk
Is Data the driver for your Business Decisions? Validate
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ARE YOU STRUGGLING TO FIND THAT NEXT STEP FOR YOUR BUSINESS? GetSet for Growth offers fully funded support to help ‘ambitious but stuck’ East London businesses achieve their growth potential. When you first start your business, that start-up phase is said to be the most difficult. However, there is always something to do and there seems to be plenty of help to hand. But what next? How do you take your business to the next level? Every year, hundreds of businesses, just like yours, hit this growth ceiling. They don’t know what to do next. It may be that they don’t know how to find more customers or that they need to take on more staff before they can look for more customers. It may be that they need finance to move into new premises, create new products, buy new equipment or just help to manage cashflow as they grapple with the financial pains associated with growing a business. Through a flexible and tailored programme, including workshops, masterclasses, 1:1 advice and mentoring, we work to build your knowledge, skills and confidence. Our team of experienced marketing and finance professionals, many of whom have run their own businesses, help you develop robust business growth plans,
Come and visit us on stand 620
build effective marketing and business strategies, and identify and secure finance for your business to help you achieve your growth ambitions.
The GetSet for Growth team have really helped us clarify our business vision and what we needed to do to take things to the next level; from developing the business plan and marketing strategy to unlocking finance and even pointing us in the right direction with regards to our day to day bookkeeping! We’re now looking to take on new staff and are in a much stronger position to move the business forward. Dan Stanley, Managing Director, Small Axe Communications, London You're not alone - these are the challenges faced by East London businesses
LONDON
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Funded by
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Stand 520
Join us at Online Businesses Legal MOT – Don’t Get Caught Out Friday 4th December @ 12.30pm - Seminar Hall 13
Bishop’s Stortford
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Tailor Made Invoice Factoring for Your Business
Simply Factoring Brokers are one of the UK’s largest Invoice Finance Brokers, our breadth of knowledge is second to none. We know that each enquiry is unique and no two businesses are the same. Each business has different requirements and we realise this. We can tailor the funding package to each individual prospective client getting it to fit perfectly.
INVOICE FINANCE HAS CHANGED TAKE A LOOK
If you have looked at Invoice Factoring before, but were put off by the costs, let us show you how much invoice factoring has changed. Our friendly team of experienced brokers are waiting to take your call.
DO YOU ALREADY HAVE A FACILITY? If you do have a facility, we bet you £500 that we will be able to find out a better priced facility by at least 20% against what you are currently paying. Try to prove us wrong??
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The Estates Office, 25-26 Gold Tops, Newport, NP20 4PG E [email protected]
YOUR BUSINESS with James Caan
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Guest edited by former Dragons’ Den investor and business guru, James Caan CBE, Your Business magazine gives you all the advice you need if you are starting and running your own business. From finance, to e-commerce and accountancy to marketing, Your Business is an expert-led publication that gives you the inside track on how to build and run a successful business.
www.yourbusinessmagazine.co.uk
| Donald Trump |
An Ipsos MORI survey carried out this year showed politicians to have the lowest level of trust of any occupation in the U.K. What percentage of people trusted politicians in general to tell the truth. ( accept within + or - 5 % ) ? | The Business Show December 2015 Show Guide by Prysm Group - issuu
issuu
3 & 4 DECEMBER 2015 THURSDAY 10AM - 6PM
FRIDAY 10AM - 5PM
OLYMPIA, LONDON
MAKE 2016 YOUR MOST PROFITABLE YEAR EVER! EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO START, GROW AND IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS
TOP GUEST FUNDING LEADING OPPORTUNITIES SPEAKERS EUROPE’S BIGGEST BUSINESS SHOW
1 UNMISSABLE EVENT
INDUSTRY 25,000 VISITORS OVER 350
EXPERTS 250 FREE EXHIBITORS 170 MASTERCLASS
NETWORKING
SESSIONS SEMINARS FEATURES Speed Networking bussiness opportunies
HEADLINE SUPPORTER
SPONSORED BY
YINGDE GROUP
4N SPEED NETWORKING INTERACTIVE MASTERCLASSES MIDAS TOUCH SPEED NETWORKING BUSINESSES FOR SALE LIVE BUSINESS JUNCTION BUSINESS CONNECTIONS ANGELS DEN YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY SEMINAR SCHEDULE EXHIBITOR LISTINGS FLOOR PLAN
04 15 18 24 25 26 27 28 29 31 33 68 84
TWEET US
THE
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
EUROPE’S BIGGEST BUSINESS SHOW IS BACK Two days in December could define your business’ future; that’s why we have more than 350 exhibitors, 250 seminars, and 140 masterclasses to give you the information that will grow your business into a monster. We’ve gathered a globe’s worth of information and assembled a world class array of business minds all under one roof to ensure your business dream starts here. On December the 3rd and 4th, Olympia London will see a phenomenal level of insight, knowledge, and education passionately delivered to you by eminent leaders of the business world. Starting on the next page, you’ll find every single detail on our exclusive range of masterclasses, seminars, and features. Our line-up of speakers continues our proud tradition of attracting business’ most influential names. Through their business acumen and extensive experience, their seminars are essential to anyone with serious plans for their business. Over its two-day duration, we have serial entrepreneur, Touker Suleyman; David Gold, one of the UK’s most revered businessmen; Inspirational entrepreneur Alfie Best; MyBeautyMatches.com founder Nidhima Kohli; and Brad Burton, the UK’s no 1 motivational speaker. Also available will be key representatives of leading brands such as Facebook, Vodafone, KPMG, Bupa, and many more. There’s a full listing of every seminar taking place during the show’s duration, making planning of your trip easier and ensuring you don’t miss out on what you have to see! Every session is rich in education and will light your business spark. There are 140 masterclasses covering a plethora of key topics,
from digital marketing and selling online to looking at how social media can boost your business. Each session is delivered to you by an expert, and they’ll provide you with any answers – and more – to the questions you need to ask. Networking at our event is made easy through Speed Networking and Business Connections. Popular live features return, such as Angels Den and Midas Touch, where you have the chance to make the pitch of a lifetime to someone who can instantly change your business fortunes. Even if you’re not ready to persuade one of the affluent investors to part with their cash, you can watch those that are from the safety of the audience. Places for masterclasses and many of the features are limited and fill up fast, so make sure you don’t miss out – book your place now at www.thebusinessshow.co.uk. Every one of the exhibitors contributing to the show is listed at the rear of this guide as well as a floor plan so you know how to get to them. Build the blocks to your business empire and tower over the competition with The Business Show. We look forward to seeing you at the show.
The Business Show Team
ALSO AT THE SHOW
TECHPRENEUR 2015 Techpreneur 2015 is the UK’s number one exhibition and conference for early stage and start-up businesses operating in the most progressive and dynamic sector of British business. Receive expert advice from industry leaders on the critical issues facing your business, network with 10,000 other tech business owners and explore the magnitude of opportunity available to your business as it seeks to scale up its operation.
Going Global is the biggest and most comprehensive exhibition around solely dedicated to assisting businesses making the significant leap into international expansion, and provides a mixture of expert knowledge and guidance with honest insight that’s imperative when entering global markets and cultures.
15 | 4N SPEED NETWORKING
18 | MASTERCLASSES
24 | MIDAS TOUCH
Meet new contacts, prospects and clients at this hugely entertaining networking feature created by the people behind 4Networking.
Focussing on the areas crucial for every business to thrive, these sessions give your business the best chance of success.
Pitch to a panel of investors who’ve all built up multi-million pound businesses – and could help you do the same.
25 | SPEED NETWORKING
26 | BUSINESSES FOR SALE
28 | BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
Make the most contacts in the minimum amount of time with this intensive programme of one-minute mini-meetings.
Providing you with the expert advice, hints, tips and resources necessary when buying or selling a business.
Pin your business card to our wall and let your new prospects, partners and suppliers come to you!
29 | ANGELS DEN
33 | SEMINAR SCHEDULE
60 | TECHPRENEUR
Present your business concept to business angels and gain their financial backing with the pitch of a lifetime.
Benefit from an unparalleled schedule of seminars that provide everything you need presented by the very best speakers.
The very first event dedicated to the country’s most progressive and dynamic early-stage and start-up tech businesses.
04 | KEYNOTE SPEAKERS The Business Show will deliver the finest line-up of speakers the business world can offer. Our keynote schedule will provide you with an unsurpassable depth of knowledge and insight to help you start, grow and establish your business.
We have assembled a line-up of speakers to present our exclusive seminar schedule that simply cannot be matched by any other event; in front of you will be a prominent, experienced and inspirational expert, ready to pass on their insight, guidance and ambition to you. These are the people we’ve hand-picked to present this exclusive series of keynote seminars for you throughout both days of The Business Show. We’re proud to bring you an unrivalled selection of the very finest business leaders in Britain today, delivering an essential mix of advice, ideas,
and inspiration that will benefit any business, whether you’re just starting out or moving into the big leagues. The next few pages detail every keynote speaker and their seminars so that you can make sure you don’t miss the session that’s imperative to you. If your hot topic isn’t covered, don’t forget to check out the full seminar schedule later in this guide for more chances to hear first-hand from the experts that can change your business fortunes. Don’t miss out! Get there early.
TOUKER SULEYMAN
THE CLOTHING KING IN THE DRAGONS’ DEN
ALASTAIR COOK MBE
THE ENGLAND CRICKET CAPTAIN
HOW HE BOUGHT HAWES & CURTIS FOR £1 AND TURNED IT INTO A MULTI-MILLION POUND BUSINESS In 2000, Touker Suleyman bought the luxury menswear brand Hawes & Curtis for £1. Today, the brand is free of debt, boasts a £21m turnover, and has stores across Britain. Now a star of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, Touker’s story is one of determination to achieve his goals no matter what challenge stands in his way. After arriving in the UK, when Touker wasn’t in school he was spending his time working in the family restaurant where, through the inspiration he gained from his father’s work ethic, he learned many of the values he maintains to this day: hard work, determination and always making time for family. Touker’s interest in retail and manufacturing developed early in life when he purchased his grandmother’s clothes to sell onto her friends. This soon become a business and in 1976 Kingsland Models, a clothing manufacturer,
was born, eventually supplying the likes of C&A and Topshop. As a young businessman driven by a burning ambition to quickly grow, Touker’s rawness and naivety would see him descend to the depths of desperation. Following the liquidation of one of his companies, Touker was forced to sell off his home in order to repay debts. Touker’s extraordinary resolve saw him bounce back with the ladies wholesale business, Low Profile, and later he purchased the British menswear brand Hawes & Curtis, transforming the ailing business’ fortunes. In 2008, Touker added British womenswear label `Ghost’, and alongside his active portfolio of investments and media career, the Touker Suleyman story truly is one to inspire.
As England’s all-time record Test run scorer and a multiple record breaker, Alastair Cook has become one of English sport’s most celebrated figures, and as captain of the side since 2012, he has led teams in some of the most hostile environments the game can offer. Through a combination of outstanding ability and a talent to lead his team through the most pressure-filled situations across the globe, Alastair has earned a reputation as being one of the game’s most distinguished and resolute captains. But with the great honour of captaining your country comes unique pressure; Alastair’s role is rarely out of the public eye. His position is perpetually the subject of great interest and scrutiny from the media and public alike, whether it’s for his playing, captaining or selection of the side.
Alastair s ning item will be sig Gordon and at Slater ices egal Serv L s s e Busin , 3 mber 5 0 stand nu te o keyn after his seminar.
THURSDAY | 14:45 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
Leading A Winning Team FRIDAY | 14.00 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
Q & A With A Fashion Retail King Hear from one of the nation’s leading fashion entrepreneurs and influential manufacturers as he shares with you some of the stories, tips and techniques he’s experienced throughout his long and distinguished business career in this exclusive Q&A.
4
At The Business Show with his sponsor Slater and Gordon Business Legal Services, Alastair will provide insights into his approach in leading the national team across the globe against some of the game’s best and most competitive teams in front of the world’s most partisan crowds. Alastair will also reveal his strategies in dealing with the pressure and demands that come with being both a professional athlete and captain of the England cricket team, drawing on moments from his illustrious career.
DAVID GOLD
ONE OF THE UK’S MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSMEN OWNER OF GOLD GROUP INTERNATIONAL, ANN SUMMERS AND WEST HAM UNITED. David Gold is one of the country’s most prominent and well recognised businessmen. Best known as the owner of Gold Group International and its parent company Ann Summers, David’s success is made all the more remarkable through an upbringing which was beset with poverty and the austerity of the war years. An astute business mind and relentless desire to succeed aren’t the only driving forces in David’s story, with an overwhelming determination to never return to the poverty he and his family endured in the early part of his life also fuelling his steadfast motivation. David has enjoyed a remarkable business career that has kept him in the public eye for over 50 years. From an early age he showed signs of the entrepreneur he would become by running a card and sweet shop from the front room of the family home. He went onto run a
ALFIE BEST
bookstore in Charing Cross, before branching out into publishing, printing and distribution. It was with Ann Summers where David’s rise to become one of British retailing’s most distinguished entrepreneurs started. Currently with 140 stores in the UK and beyond, it has been an established high street brand for over forty years. Other ventures have seen David combine his interest in flying with Gold Air International and pour his enduring passion for football into
steering Birmingham City into the Premier League and, since 2010, seen him serve as co-chairman of West Ham United, the club that offered him an apprenticeship as a schoolboy.
THURSDAY | 14.00 KEYNOTE HALL 1
Q & A With David Gold David Gold will be interviewed on stage about his rags to riches story from an East London council estate to the owner of one of England’s most famous football clubs.
MY BIG FAT GYPSY FORTUNE THE SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR WHO WENT FROM RAGS TO RICHES Coming from an extremely poor Romany Gypsy background, Alfie’s desire and will to succeed has seen him become one of the UK’s most inspirational business figures. Nowadays he has successful businesses within the hospitality and leisure, events, trading and finance industries – as well as enjoying continued success with Wyldecrest Parks.
FRIDAY | 12.30 KEYNOTE HALL 1
Having left school at the age of 12, Alfie had already been working for two years as a labourer with his father before starting his first business at the age of 17 with a van hire centre and dealership in Forest Gate.
resolve and business prowess to launch his own mobile phone business just three months after begging for a job in a local mobile phone store; 18 months later he would have 13 of his own shops across London.
Alfie’s progression was interrupted when the recession struck in 1990. Having to start from scratch, Alfie relied upon his extraordinary
Following the sale of this business, and after a venture into the commercial property sector, Alfie embarked on a business in the motor home industry, buying his first in 2001 for £1.75m. Since then, the business has blossomed to become Wyldecrest Parks, soon to be the UK’s largest park home operator with over 40 (and counting) premier residential parks across the country.
From Rags To Riches – How Romany Gypsy Alfie Best Built A Business Worth £200m All you need for your business to succeed is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. This is Alfie Best’s philosophy. Surrounded by the right team, with his hands-on approach and his very unique business style, he built a successful business totally from scratch. And today he shares all his story and his secrets to succeed.
Alfie also successfully ventured into the restaurant industry with the Rare Cow chain, before selling it on. Alfie’s success continues to prove how a dynamic attitude and modern spirit can see you prosper no matter how humble your beginnings may have been.
5
JAMIE BARBER
THE UK’S MOST ACCLAIMED RESTAURANTPRENEUR FOUNDER AND CEO OF HUSH RESTAURANT AND CABANA BRASILIAN BARBECUE GROUP A renowned and distinguished restauranteur and founder and CEO of Hush restaurant in Mayfair, London, and the Cabana Brasilian Barbecue group, Jamie Barber has forged a lauded reputation for choosing and launching a variety of restaurant concepts.
SHAA WASMUND MBE
BUILDING YOUR ONLINE EMPIRE FOUNDER OF SMARTA, BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND INFLUENTIAL DIGITAL ENTREPRENEUR As a business owner, digital consultant, and critically acclaimed author, Shaa Wasmund is one of Britain’s most influential digital entrepreneurs, and her guidance in online money making could see your ambitions become reality. Shaa is used to getting to number one. Not only is she the founder of Smarta.com, the UK’s number one online resource for entrepreneurs, but she’s also a number one bestselling author of ‘Stop Talking, Start Doing: A Kick in the Pants in Six Parts’. Her latest book, ‘Live Life Your Way’ came out in May. Having received an MBE in 2015 for services to business and entrepreneurship, Shaa’s ability | to create positive action with her no-nonsense, no-excuse advice remains as influential amongst her clients as ever before.
THURSDAY 14.00 KEYNOTE HALL 2
How To Make Money Online Using The Skills You Already Have
Shaa inspires positive action with her no-nonsense, no-excuse advice, and here she’ll share her formula for freedom: how to escape the busy trap, stop trading time for money and build an online business with multiple, recurring revenues around the skills, expertise and knowledge you already have. Discover how to stop doing everything at once in order to have the time do anything you want and build a business and life on your terms.
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Jamie trained as an entertainment lawyer at media law firm Harbottle & Lewis where he acted for clients including Sir Roger Moore. In 2000, he left the company to work with Sir Roger`s son, Geoffrey, to create a new venue, Hush, with founding shareholders including Evgeny Lebedev and Geoffrey and Sir Roger Moore. Since then, Jamie’s opened two smaller Hush Brasseries in Holborn and St Paul`s in May 2013. A year later, Hush Mayfair received the prestigious “Test of Time” award at the Tatler Restaurant Awards, an accolade that recognises restaurants over 10 years old which, in the words of host/Tatler Restaurant Awards editor Jeremy Wayne, “Are still as good as the day they opened.” In November 2011, Jamie and his business
NICK GOLD
MD OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING SPEAKER AGENCIES Nick Gold is managing director of Speakers Corner, a market-leading speaking bureau and one of the world’s leading speaker agencies. With a background in the first dotcom boom and then Centrica PLC in business development, bid tendering and project management, Nick was looking for an opportunity to create something new and grow his own company. Over 10 years ago, the chance came when his path crossed with a fledgling speaker bureau owner. Nowadays working with his brother and partner Tim, together they’ve grown the business tenfold and are proud that their speaker consultation & booking company work on over 1000 events a year across six continents. Nick has held a number of industry association positions and is currently chairman of the European Association of Speaker Bureaus.
FRIDAY | 14.00 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
Speakers Corner And Delivering Content Strategy For Company Events A look at the world of conferences, seminars and events from the perspective of external speakers, facilitators and hosts. Planning an event to ensure delivery of content and message to a wide audience is a very powerful tool in both engagement and adding value and delivering content. How to maximise the effectiveness of content in events is something that Speakers Corner has spent the last 14 years immersed in.
partner, Momo Restaurant founder David Ponte, opened Cabana Restaurants at Westfield Stratford and Covent Garden, and Westfield London nine months after that. Cabana’s fourth and fifth sites opened in Wembley’s London Design Outlet and Islington’s Upper Street, followed by Trinity Leeds Centre , and a flagship in Greenwich O2 in Autumn 2014. 2015 saw the opening of Cabana Brixton and Manchester, with a proposed five sites per year planned over the next 2 - 3 years.
THURSDAY | 11.45 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
So You Want To Start A Restaurant? Award-winning restaurant owner Jamie Barber runs through the thought processes behind restaurant start-ups and how to maximise your financial success.
DANIEL MURRAY
BRINGING FASHION TO THE FINGERTIPS As an online shopping enthusiast, Daniel Murray thought it would be great to have one big fashion wish list in one place. Since then, his idea has raised over £1.8 million for an app that has been named ‘Best New App’ by Apple in 34 countries. Grabble is the UK’s fastest growing mobile commerce app, co-founded by Daniel. Evolved from the web into a mobile focused product, he has created one of the UK’s most loved fashion apps, which has also been featured as the “Best Shopping App” by Apple alongside Zara and Topshop. Dan has previously worked in a film studio as a screenplay researcher, in publishing and creative advertising, and eventually in media. Over this time, Dan has worked with major technology brands like Amazon, Spotify, and Intel, helping them define their creative PR strategies for engaging the youth market in the UK at various agencies.
THURSDAY | 11.00 KEYNOTE HALL 1
How To Raise £1 Million For Your Start-Up With No Prior Experience Learn how to take the plunge from a normal job and dive straight into the unknown, with no relevant experience, and armed only with a sense of adventure and determination to do something different with your life.
JULIEN CALLÈDE
COO OF MADE.com, EUROPE’S SECOND FASTEST GROWING TECH COMPANY ONE OF THE DESIGN FURNITURE INDUSTRY’S MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURES Co-founder and COO of MADE.com, Julien Callède and his team are continuing to take the online high street by storm. By offering original furniture design at affordable prices, it’s no wonder this retailer is only getting bigger and bigger… Past experience in the sourcing business enabled Julien to realise the potential in the furniture design industry for innovative entrepreneurs, and with a wealth of knowledge in operations and management, Julien founded MADE.com together with his business partner Chloé Macintosh and school friend Ning Li. Originally from Nantes in Western France, but now based in London, Julien achieved a master’s degree from the hugely prestigious Ecole HEC PARIS university before moving onto his first job in retailing – door-to-door selling of educational books in the USA. At MADE.com, he oversees sourcing, IT and supply chain. Made.com has remained one of the UK’s fastest growing tech firms. High quality products with a cheaper price tag than their competitors has seen the company double their revenue each year since its 2010 birth, so it’s time to sit back, relax, and listen to this informed opinion leader.
THURSDAY | 14.45 KEYNOTE HALL 2
Thinking Outside The Box - Make Your Business Unique Julien will discuss the Made.com business model and give insights about growth, how to manage it, overcome challenges and alter your business model to increase profitability. This will be followed by a Q & A session.
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BRAD BURTON
THE UK’S NO 1 MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER @BradBurton
PREPARE FOR A MOTIVATIONAL TALK LIKE NO OTHER With his tattoos, t-shirt, and jeans, you’d be forgiven for thinking Brad Burton doesn’t look like your typical business leader; but doubt his business brain at your peril, as this self-made man has the power to transform your business.
THURSDAY | 15.30 | KEYNOTE HALL 1 FRIDAY | 14.45 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
Brad’s unique take on business speaks to everyone, regardless of your position or industry sector. Brad’s rise to become the UK’s no 1 motivational speaker is a hugely inspirational one and is described in his first book, ‘Get Off Your Arse’.
Can Someone Really Motivate You To Change Your Life In 25 Minutes? Can someone really motivate you to change your life in 25 minutes? Yup. Take the challenge and find out. Get there early. Once every seat is full, there is no stopping him. Highest rated & reviewed Amazon business author, founder of 4Networking and the UK’s #1 motivational business speaker brings his unique brand of wisdom, humour and high energy presentation to the always packed audience. Winning at life is more important than coming first in business. As you’ll find out.
SHWETA JHAJHARIA
Brad is now the highest rated & reviewed business author on Amazon. Brad left school with no qualifications and spent years on the dole before starting his own business in 2006. Soon £25,000 in debt, he ended up delivering pizzas to keep the business afloat. Unable to find a style of networking that worked for him, Brad started 4Networking, which obviously now works for many others too as it is the UK’s only joinedup business network with 5,000+ meetings each year. As a speaker, Brad packs halls with his energetic and participative sessions, a sure-fire hit at numerous business shows. Author of three books, his most recent one is ‘LIFE. BUSINESS. JUST GOT EASIER’. Brad will change the way you approach your life, business and direction forever.
COACHING YOU INTO ACTION
When you’ve been winning the London Business Coach of the Year award consistently since 2009, and in recent years overseen your clients achieve an average growth of 41%, demand for your services is going to be sky high.
THURSDAY | 11.00 | KEYNOTE HALL 2 THURSDAY | 13.15 | TECHPRENEUR HALL
Building The Ultimate Sales And Marketing Machine Too many businesses hit an income ceiling, and never make the kind of money (or the kind of impact) that they are capable of. They get stuck at one of the three plateaus: survival, stability or even success. And this is not because of inadequate information about what the really successful companies out there are doing! It is because of an inability to identify the simple actions and core strategies that need to be implemented to create an “ultimate sales and marketing machine” in the business
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With results like that, it’s little wonder that Shweta Jhajharia has been the recipient of such a consistent and high level of recognition on so many occasions; and now is your chance to benefit from her expertise. Included amongst her achievements are the prestigious awards for ‘Global Best Client Results’ in 2012, and ‘Fastest Growing Coaching Business’ in 2010, finishing above over 1,000 coaches globally. Before starting her ActionCOACH journey in 2008, Shweta worked internationally in sales and marketing and was global marketing manager with Unilever.
BILL MORROW
ALTERNATIVE FINANCE LEADER
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL FIGURE IN ALTERNATIVE FINANCE Always a huge draw at The Business Show, the unique Bill Morrow will captivate you with his energetic and thoroughly entertaining presentation on the hazardous process of securing funding. A serial entrepreneur, Bill has been creating, building and selling businesses for the last 25 years. He is CEO and co-founder of Angels Den, the angel-led crowdfunding platform, and he has recently been named the most influential person in alternative finance by City AM. Bill started his working life as an accountant with Virgin and quickly moved into investment banking in the City of London. He set up an
JONATHAN PFAHL
international financial recruitment company, which he sold to a Wall Street Bank in 2001. Since then he has been making his own investments. Bill is passionate that every credible business looking to grow, in any part of the world, should have the opportunity to access funding. Since founding Angels Den in 2007, he has changed the rules on angel investing and led the way in making investment truly accessible to great businesses.
THE ROCKSTAR OF MENTORING
Jonathan Pfahl is a perennial favourite at The Business Show, with his fascinating, inspirational, and hugely entertaining talks on how he became the leader of the largest mentoring and investment firm for entrepreneurs. Jonathan is the founder and managing director of the Rockstar Mentoring Group, and he and his team are a consistent attraction at the show, with their Rockstar Mentoring Village consisting of hourly mentoring run by the man himself, the always popular Midas Touch show feature run by some of his mentors, and a stand filled with clients and team members ready to answer all your questions. Passionate, dynamic, and hugely interesting, Jonathan and the Rockstar Group will keep you entertained all day long!
ROSS KINGSLAND
Ross Kingsland is passionate that the ability to inspire others to act is the difference between success and failure; this is why he has dedicated his life to inspiring others and applying his ideas to help organisations achieve the results they are seeking. Ross is the founder of InceptionGrowth.net and InceptionElite.com, two companies dedicated to supporting organisations committed to accelerated growth and outstanding results. Their clients include Uber, TransferWise, Protein World and Clarins. Ross is an international speaker and advisor to companies, individuals and politicians to support them in achieving the result they want.
What Do Angels Really Bring? And It’s NOT All About The Money… If you want to learn about the do’s and don’ts of looking for funding, how to pitch to investors, what investors are really looking for and how to impress them, learn from the expert, Bill Morrow, who’s been there, done it and seen it all.
THURSDAY | 12.30 KEYNOTE HALL 2 FRIDAY | 16:15 KEYNOTE HALL 1
How To Adapt Your Sales And Marketing Model For The 21st Century A big favourite at the Business Show and making his 16th Appearance in the last eight years, Rockstar founder Jonathan Pfahl will be sharing with you the real life lessons learnt and implemented in producing a product catered to today’s digital age. One not to be missed!
UNIQUE STRATEGIES, INSPIRED RESULTS
UNLOCKING THE SECRETS TO TAKE YOUR BUSINESS INTO AN ACCELERATED GROWTH CURVE
THURSDAY | 12.30 TECHPRENEUR HALL FRIDAY | 11.45 KEYNOTE HALL 2
THURSDAY | 13.15 KEYNOTE HALL 2
How To Grow Your Business (Lessons From A Growth Hacker) We believe in thinking differently. We challenge the status quo. We’re perceived as underdogs. We are, in fact, giant slayers. Discover the strategies that resulted in winning clients like Lamborghini, Virgin and KPMG without existing relationships, traditional marketing or brand name. Learn how your organisation can implement the same model to deliver a true step change in your business and revenue.
FRIDAY | 15.30 KEYNOTE HALL 2 9
BIANCA MILLER
PERSONAL BRANDING EXPERT & APPRENTICE 2014 RUNNER UP FOUNDER OF THE BE GROUP & WOMEN’S FASHION VISIONARY The award-winning director and founder of ‘The Be Group’, and diverse hosiery brand ‘Bianca Miller London’ has seen Bianca Miller go from accomplishment to accomplishment in her professional career. Bianca created ‘The Be Group’ on the premise that everyone should have access to services to enable them to market themselves for a better future. Bianca later rose to the nation’s attention on BBC show ‘The Apprentice’, finishing second in a hotly contested final. Bianca now works with an impressive range of clients including HSBC, Olswang LLP, Accenture, and Kings College to assist in employment skills, personal branding and increasing online visibility for entrepreneurs alike. She is also brand ambassador for the “.UK” domain name managed by UK domain name registry Nominet.
THURSDAY | 13.15 KEYNOTE HALL 1
Personal Branding Online: Be You, Only Better “Brands are built about what people are saying about you, not what you say about yourself.” Learn how to effectively use the Internet to showcase and develop your brand to niche audiences using platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, your brand website, etc. Understand how to network utilising your personal brand whilst leaving a lasting legacy and so much more.
WARREN CASS
SETTING THE BUSINESS SCENE Providing a community that supports SME business owners, offers essential advice and information, and brings together like-minded people must sound like a business Elysian Field for entrepreneurs and business owners.
But that is exactly what Warren Cass, founder and CEO of www.Business-Scene. com has done. Business Scene is an essential partner to businesses and has become the UK’s most dynamic membership with over 70,000 members, in excess of 100 networking events each year, and offers a value packed, amazing range of benefits.
ing, and assists in supporting SMEs thrive by helping them grow, drive profit, and providing peace of mind. In addition to this, he’s also the author of ‘Zero to Social Media’, a guide on how to get the very best out of your social media marketing strategy.
Warren consults with major brands as well as small businesses on strategic market-
FRIDAY | 12.30 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
WTF – What’s The Future? The best networkers seem totally magnetic, attracting people to them, oozing credibility and connected. But how did they get there? Where did they start and what were the key lessons?
LINZI BOYD
INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED BRAND EXPERT MAKING YOUR BRAND RISE ABOVE THE COMPETITION
An award-winning author and speaker, Linzi Boyd is now a global partner at Shirlaws Group, working in the SME space where she takes business owners on a journey to grow, fund and exit their business. By 24, Linzi had set up and sold two businesses – the second of which had seven global distribution channels and was sold to Caterpillar. Her third business, Surgery, became renowned for influencing an industry championing some of the country’s most well-respected high-street consumer brands known today. Linzi ‘s No1 bestseller, “Brand Famous - How To Get Everyone Talking About Your Business” was awarded ‘Book of the Month’ by the CIM in July 2014 and 2015 winner – “Marketing Category” by Small Business Trends in the US.
FRIDAY | 11.00 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
How To Get Everyone Talking About Your Business There are so many brands out there in all sectors, so how do you make yours standout in such a crowded market? Whether you want to build, renovate or just refresh your brand, this seminar will give you the understanding of where you are with your brand now and how to move forward. Learn Linzi’s five-step process required to achieve stand-out status.
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NIDHIMA KOHLI
RESHMA SOHONI
BUSINESS START-UP INVESTMENT EXPERT AND FOUNDER OF SEEDCAMP Since 2007, Seedcamp have supported almost 200 start-ups from ‘the pre-seed and seed stage’. For Reshma Sohoni, the company’s co-founder, starting the company was a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ – and now she’s helping start-ups achieve theirs. Reshma has always combined technology and business from university to today. Getting degrees in both engineering and business (UPenn M&T), meant that from an early age she was cultivating a path that would always bring business and technology together.
During the height of the dot com boom, Reshma worked in M&A and venture capital across B2B software and Internet services businesses in the US and India. She had a small helping hand in building MakeMyTrip (NASDAQ) in its formative days. Following on from this, Reshma went to INSEAD and earned her MBA, fell in love with Europe and stayed on to work in commercial and marketing strategy at Vodafone.
THURSDAY | 12.30 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
What Does A Standout Start-Up Look Like? Reshma and Chris Goodfellow (editor, BusinessZone.co.uk) talk about what investors such as Seedcamp look for in start-up businesses and founders to identify the exciting growth opportunities.
FOUNDER OF EUROPE`S LARGEST ONLINE MARKETPLACE FOR BEAUTY PRODUCTS BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF 100,000 PEOPLE WITH NO FUNDING
Providing a trustworthy platform in the £380bn beauty market, in a short period of time My Beauty Matches has become a multiple award-winner and counts the likes of House of Fraser and Boots amongst the UK’s top retailers to work with them. Voted Top Woman Business Leader by The Guardian, Nidhima Kohli is the brains behind My Beauty Matches – the world’s first price comparison site for personal beauty shopping.
WARREN KNIGHT
SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT
Warren Knight is here to talk technology and how its integration into sales and marketing can do big things for the creative entrepreneur’s business growth. Warren is the author of ‘Think #Digital First’, is an international keynote speaker and is one of the UK’s most inspirational, dynamic and sought-after technology, sales, and marketing experts. As an award-winning coach and entrepreneur, he delivers training masterclasses that help thousands of start-ups and SMEs build their digital footprint, double conversion rates. increase their sales by up to 500% and grow their business through social media, digital marketing, and e-commerce.
FRIDAY | 13.15 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
How To Design A Social Media Plan For Success This keynote presentation will take you through the four simple steps to help you define your business online, understand the four types of your digital audience, create shareable content that builds a community and drive sales and how to structure your social media into aseven day plan for success, with an actionable checklist to help you stay consistent with your brand message.
After years of advising CEOs at one of the world’s top investment banks, Nidhima changed direction and focused this expertise towards becoming a beauty entrepreneur. She was tired of biased, expensive product recommendations from beauty counters and abstract online suggestions that never worked. As a woman tech founder, Nidhima managed to build Europe’s largest online marketplace for beauty products with no funding and My Beauty Matches has now been appointed as the Digital Game-Changer for online shopping by WGSN.
FRIDAY | 15.30 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
Female Techpreneur: How To Build A Community Of 100K People With No Funding With no prior experience in tech, Nidhima will be sharing her tips on how to build a multi-award winning business recognised by some of the biggest publications, with a community size of 100,000 people, started without funding and hence why The Guardian appointed My Beauty Matches as start-up of the year 2014.
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RICHARD WALTERS Richard has built a career around a strong technical background, in-depth knowledge of IT Security and Cloud and has a uniquely thorough understanding of risk management, standards, regulations and legislation.
PENNY POWER OBE
SOCIAL MEDIA PIONEER Penny Power OBE broke new ground in building a global community for like-minded business owners years before LinkedIn and Facebook took the world by storm.
GM EMEA & VP IDENTITY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT AT INTERMEDIA A start-ups expert (CTO & Co-Founder SaaSID now part of Intermedia, and CTO & Director of Business Development at Integralis, Europe’s largest independent security integrator), Richard has also worked with blue-chip vendors including Digital, Dell, and Panasonic and
spent many years consulting with FTSE100 companies. Richard has spoken at countless events, written numerous articles and was one of the first to talk about ‘cyberliability’. Richard has been referenced in many IT industry publications, as well as on Radio and TV.
DANIEL WAGNER
FOUNDER OF EUROPE’S LARGEST AMAZON TRAINING BUSINESS From delivering pizzas to assisting hundreds of people achieve personal and financial success and freedom, Daniel Wagner now leads Europe’s largest Amazon Business training and mentoring company. Daniel’s businesses turn over millions a year at industry-leading profit margins and he has put his successful vision for business success into four books, including the Amazon bestseller: Wealth DNA.
Penny receieved her OBE for her contribution to Social Digital development. As the Founder of the worlds first Social network for Business in 1998 Penny had the foresight to see that the socially connected world would become a critical aspect for
all businesses. Penny now works closely with the Digital Economy, creating the UKs first Digital Marketing Apprenticeship and helping Board Directors digitally transform. In 2016 she is bringing to market a new business community on the High Street called The Business Cafe.
FRIDAY | 11.00 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
Digital Skills Starts With Mindset. Learn How To Grow Your Business As A Friend Penny will share her experience of building an online personal brand that supports her business and how her global network of business friends has helped her start and build her companies
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Daniel has helped deliver hundreds of events in the UK and abroad showing over 20,000 people how to start and build a successful Amazon Business in the last 18 months alone. His public speaking is entertaining, engaging and he even holds the current Guinness World for the longest team speech!
FRIDAY | 13.15 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
The Amazon Opportunity: Introduction To This Accessible Business Model Learn why running your own Amazon business is a certain, fast and scalable model with a very low start-up cost. Anyone can grab a share of this fast-growing $15 trillion dollar marketplace without the need to invent or develop your own products. Daniel will explain how converging business trends create a unique window of opportunity that you can take advantage of right now to change your life forever.
THURSDAY | 16.15 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
Born In The Cloud Building a business and realising your dreams can be extremely liberating. But how can you ensure you enjoy the freedom to focus on your business to help it grow? Part of the answer is Worry-Free IT. Richard will share his experiences and insights leveraging technology to build and grow world-class businesses. Through case studies he’ll show how Cloud technology can be a business growth enabler without costing the world.
DAVE MORRISSEY
CONNECTING FACEBOOK & BUSINESS’ BIGGEST NAMES
JULIANNE PONAN AWARD-WINNING YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR In just over three years, Julianne Ponan and her company Creative Nature have made huge waves in the organic food industry. Fuelled by ambition, the future looks very bright for this multiple award-winner and inspirational entrepreneur. Having already become a hit in the UK, Creative Nature’s rise shows no sign of halting; just in the last few months, the superfood brand has expanded its range into Germany, Dubai, Sweden and Slovakia. On a personal level, Julianne has received widespread recognition for her work; having already picked up an award from the Federation of Small Businesses for ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’, in November 2014 she became the youngest winner of the “National Natwest Everywoman Artemis Award for Women Entrepreneurs.”
Julianne is a strong believer that hard work gets results, and the proof is the amount she has achieved in such a short space of time. Now working as a start-up mentor for Virgin in her spare time, Julianne provides strategic advice for young entrepreneurs, aiming to share in the knowledge she has developed of business management.
THURSDAY | 15.30 KEYNOTE HALL 1
Launch YOUR Small Business Into The “Big 4” Drawing directly on her experience of launching and growing Creative Nature Superfoods into the world of supermarkets, Julianne’s seminar will hit the sweet spot of any aspiring entrepreneur. Don’t miss a chance to hear Julianne discuss her journey of finance, marketing, branding and the launch into major multiples to see what lessons you can learn for your own start-up. ‘Failure doesn’t come from falling down. Failure comes from not getting up!’
With more daily page views and more users than anything else on the web, Facebook provides arguably the most effective and affordable way to grow your business in the history of commerce. Dave Morrissey provides expert guidance on the power this social network brings to building your customer base. Dave works on the Retail & e-Commerce vertical team for Facebook in the UK. In his role, he collaborates with clients on how to best utilise the Facebook platform to drive business results from a branding & performance perspective. Clients that Dave works with include LEGO, Farfetch, Shop Direct and Made.com. Prior to working at Facebook, Dave worked in London`s Tech City for the award-winning e-commerce start-up Flubit.
THURSDAY | 15.30 | KEYNOTE HALL 2
Powerfully Talking To Customers Throughout The Marketing Funnel Today`s consumers demand relevance. We need to talk to the right person, at the right time, with the right message. With Facebook and Instragram, we now can.
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JONATHAN KINI
DELIVERING THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY TO BRITAIN’S BUSINESSES THURSDAY Jonathan Kini is head of small & SME business at Vodafone UK, working with SMEs and small businesses across the UK in supporting them to make best use of technology in order for them to realise their business ambitions. Jonathan is responsible for the strategy and management of the sales function, delivering Vodafone UK’s products and services that are tailored to small businesses and SMEs, including its hero product – One Net, which integrates a business’ fixed and mobile communications. Prior to his current role, Jonathan was enterprise commercial marketing director at Vodafone
PAUL SACKMANN
Building your community of brand advocates is a vitally important low-cost, high-return marketing strategy. Paul Sackman of Hootsuite knows exactly what steps to take in using the customer’s word-ofmouth to drive a business forward. Paul is part of the Community Team at Hootsuite and in charge of their social strategy for EMEA. With over 12 million users worldwide, Paul has experience in growing and nurturing communities, executing social strategies and delivering social media success across multiple languages.
THURSDAY | 11.45 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
UK, overseeing all marketing and commercial functions in the company’s successful and vibrant enterprise business. Jonathan joined Vodafone UK in April 2013 from Virgin Media; during his eight-year career there, he held a number of roles working within finance, commercial and marketing. Just before moving to Vodafone UK, Jonathan was the director of customer services.
16.15 KEYNOTE HALL 1 |
Get Future Ready And Become A Ready Business In the UK today, there are over five million SMEs. These businesses are hard-working, unique, at the heart of the British economy… And you’re one of them. This session will cover how embracing change and getting closer to the local communities and creating local networks can help you engage with customers better.
JONATHAN L DAVEY
SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTORS Jonathan L Davey calls himself an ‘ice breaker’, saying hello to strangers so you don’t have to. He started his sales career with Nestle Foodservice followed by a seven-year stint with Johnson & Johnson, launching Acuvue Contact Lenses in the north of England. Twenty years ago, Jonathan got into digital, starting with web design, and pioneering email marketing. In 2001, he created an online business community, getting five million page views in 2008. Jon was awarded Social Media Week’s ‘Social Media Personality
of the Year’ in 2012. Jonathan is a sales & marketing gun for hire and at this year’s Business Show he’ll be getting all sentimental, sharing an important message for all marketing managers and marketing directors keen to look after their brand value.
FRIDAY | 11.45 | KEYNOTE HALL 1
5 Steps To Building Your Advocate Community
Should Marketing Managers Be Getting Sentimental? Analyse THIS...
What is the secret to growing a great company? Getting your customers to build your business. This presentation will show the difference between brand fans and brand advocates, how you can identify your top advocates and how to develop community programmes that nurture these relationships and allow you to scale customer loyalty and advocacy to drive business success.
Sentiment analysis is critical in today’s marketing world; we’ll be looking at three case studies showing why you need to have your ear to the ground and listening to the social whirl in order to protect your brand value. No big deal for small businesses but immensely important for global brands and those companies with aspirations to join them. Come and listen to what I have to say, you never know, it might come in handy one day and save you a million or two!
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www.4networking.biz
SPEED NETWORKING…
WITH A 4N TWIST FOLLOW UP STRAIGHTAWAY USING OUR 1-2-1 AREA Love speed networking, but sometimes frustrated by the time constraint per person? 4Networking has the answer! 4N is offering speed networking with a twist – use our 1-2-1 Area to follow up STRAIGHTAWAY with selected people you’d like to talk to in more depth. It’s all FREE to Business Startup delegates.
This gives you the best of both worlds. Gather contacts and business cards using the speed networking format. And THEN have 10 minute 1-2-1s with selected people, using our 4Networking 1-2-1 Area, right next to speed networking. At every 4Networking breakfast, lunch and evening meeting (and 4N runs 5000+ networking events across the UK each year) the final half hour of each meeting is three
10 minute 1-2-1 appointments with people you choose. This is the most productive part of each meeting - so we’re giving you the facility to have 1-2-1s at the show to build relationships with other business owners, as well as the opportunity for quick introductions via speed networking.
To find out more about all aspects of 4Networking, visit 4Networking stand 1021 or www.4networking.biz
DON’T MISS 4N MD BRAD BURTON
The 4N team will be hands on to facilitate speed networking and 1-2-1s.
CALLING ALL BUSINESS STARTUP DELEGATES •
Speed networking sessions are running across the 2 days of the show.
•
Sessions sell out, so book your place on the 4N stand, or just turn up to get lucky!
•
Use our 1-2-1 Area at any time to have 10 min follow-up business appointments with people you’ve met.
LIFE. BUSINESS. JUST GOT EASIER. KEYNOTE HALL 1, THURS, 15.30 KEYNOTE HALL 2, FRI, 14.45
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TIMETABLE THURSDAY
THE WILEY STARTUP SCHOOL Be sure to visit The Wiley Startup School for your chance to hear directly from some of the UK’s bestselling business authors, covering everything from what business idea is best for you to understanding the finances and securing backing.
BRAD BURTON
Brad Burton, author of Life. Business. Just Got Easier, will change the way you approach your life, business & direction forever. Sometimes provocative. At times hilarious. ALWAYS Inspiring. Brought up on a council estate, he’s got no qualifications, spent years on the dole and started his first business in 2006 with £25K of personal debt! That business, 4Networking is now the largest joined up business network in the UK, running over 6,000 events each year.
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11:00 Dr. Rob Yeung 12:00 Brad Burton 13:00 Gail Thomas 14:00 Nigel Botterill 15:00 Stefan Thomas 16:00 Pete Wilkinson
VISIT
SEMI US IN N HALL AR 5
Each seminar will include an in-depth talk from an expert author, followed by a Q&A and the opportunity to get a copy of the book at up to 65% off - and have it signed by the author! Also on site is our very own Business Startup Bookshop, which can be found at stand No.156, offering up to a jaw dropping 65% off books - a must buy for any budding entrepreneur!
NIGEL BOTTERILL
Nigel Botterill is one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs having built nine million pound business, Entrepreneurs Circle, in the last 10 years. He is also the author of The Botty Rules, which reached number two in the Sunday Times Bestseller list. His engaging, high energy, straight talking style will be sure to make this a popular seminar at the show.
LINZI BOYD
Linzi Boyd is an International speaker, Author and Global Partner of Shirlaws Group. By age 24 she had set up and sold two businesses - her second company, was sold to Caterpillar. Her third business, Surgery, became renowned for influencing an industry championing some of the countries most well-respected high-street consumer brands. Today, a Global partner in Shirlaws Group she now works in the SME space taking business owners on a journey to Grow, Fund and Exit their business.
FRIDAY 11:00 Andy Harrington 12:00 Richard Tyler 13:00 Daniel Preistley 14:00 Lucy Whittington 15:00 Linzi Boyd 16:00 Vince Stanzione
STEFAN THOMAS
Stefan Thomas, author of Business Networking For Dummies, will give a fun and fast-paced presentation with real-life information that you can take away and use straightaway to make great things happen! Ever wondered how to really make networking work for you? From desperation, Stefan HAD to make networking work and, in this seminar, he’ll give you proven techniques and strategies so you can improve your own networking skills, both personally and professionally.
ANDY HARRINGTON
Andy Harrington is the founder of The Professional Speakers Academy (PSA) and the creator of the Public Speakers University. He has shared the stage and worked with Richard Branson, Tony Robbins, Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, Steve Wozniak, Sir Bob Geldof, Brian Tracy, Bob Proctor, John DeMartini, Nick Vujicic, Paul Mckenna and former president of the United States Bill Clinton. His debut book is entitled Passion Into Profit - How to Make Big Money From Who You Are and What You Know.
LUCY WHITTINGTON
After many years of being ‘good’ at marketing - working for start-ups to international Plcs, getting overqualified with an MBA, and running her own business since 2005 - she realised her ‘thing’ was seeing other people’s ‘thing’ and showing them how to get paid for it. She sees clearly how business owners and entrepreneurs can move forward doing what they are brilliant at, even when they can’t see it themselves!
DANIEL PRIESTLEY
Daniel Priestley is a successful entrepreneur, international speaker and best-selling author. In his talk, he will explain how to find your ‘entrepreneurial sweet spot’. This is all about finding the best business idea for you. Daniel will explain exactly how to discover the perfect ‘thing’ for you that ticks all the boxes. With Daniel’s help you’ll discover your perfect entrepreneurial pursuit or be able to test the idea you already have and assess its potential.
PETE WILKINSON
Triathlete Pete Wilkinson knows that to be successful, in business or in life, you need to make an impact. In his seminar he will share with you his simple system for making sure you stay on track and fulfill your potential. In the 18 years Pete has spent motivating and inspiring people, he has learnt what it takes to become an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. Let him show you how to do the same.
GAIL THOMAS
Gail Thomas, delegation consultant and founder of the Virtual PA company, is going to take you on a journey through the delegation process, and help you towards freedom from your unbearable workload and space to breathe! She will get you thinking about why delegation is good for you, what to delegate, how to delegate and what might be holding you back. If you want to succeed in your career, or make more room in your life for the nonwork stuff, then you need to free up some time. Let Gail help you!
RICHARD TYLER
Richard has spent his lifetime kicking up a ruckus. He works with organisations and their leaders across the globe - challenging them to choose more, dare more and jolt more. Richard believes that those that are brave enough to stand up, stand out and be noticed will be the ones that disrupt and provoke change. In his session, he will share with you how you can start to make the shift from ordinary to extraordinary.
DR. ROB YEUNG
Dr Rob Yeung is a director at coaching and training firm Talentspace (www.talentspace.co.uk). He is an organisational psychologist who specialises in coaching and training managers, to become more effective and successful. With nearly 20 years of experience of advising and consulting, he has worked with the owners of many high-growth businesses in industries.
VINCE STANZIONE
Vince Stanzione, author of The Millionaire Dropout: Fire Your Boss, Do What You Love, Reclaim Your Life, will demonstrate how you could set up your own business from just £100. This will appeal to anyone that doesn’t have buckets of money to start their business dream, and will help them reclaim their life in the process! Come along to his inspirational talk and learn how you can do this.
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MASTERCLASSES YOUR BUSINESS WILL BENEFIT FROM THE VERY BEST ADVICE These interactive small group sessions are led by experts who will focus on a wide range of critical areas for the success of your business. The workshop schedule at The Business Show has been painstakingly assembled to provide your business with the advice and information it needs, whether you are just starting out or targeting rapid growth. This exclusive suite of workshop sessions give you the chance to explore indepth about every area of business. Subjects cover everything from business planning, finance, and setting up your own start-up to branding, franchising, successful selling online and stronger SEO. Each of our workshops is led by an expert in their field, so you can be confident that you will receive the
TRADING FROM HOME AS A BUSINESS
Learn How To Trade From Home Successfully SPONSORED BY
best advice with the very latest information about each topic – crucial for the success of your business. The interactive format and small group size means that you have the opportunity to drill down further into the specifics that are relevant to your business. The following pages detail every workshop at The Business Show this November, the huge range of topics on offer and how you will benefit from attending. The workshops start at 11.00 both days and run on the hour, but please check the online schedule for the latest information.
Trading Forex and the stock market can be your route to wealth, so learn the tricks that will work in today’s market. Learn how to find great trades, when to buy and sell, how to minimise risk and maximise profits. Ensure you attend this presentation as you’ll learn techniques that impact your life and help create new income. Darren Winters is the number one attended investment speaker in the UK having personally trained over 300,000 people. He founded Win Investing LLP and The Wealth Training Company LLP, which has successfully trained investors since 2000. Darren is a full time trader, international investment speaker, and investment writer. He has been investing for over 20 years, having traded in both the UK and the USA
HOW TO BOOK
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The workshops are free to attend, but due to their popularity you’ll need to book your place to avoid missing out. • • • • •
Visit www.gbbs.co.uk Select ‘masterclasses’ and pick the masterclass you’d like to attend. Select the time and day you’d like, fill out a few details and click ‘book my seat’. You’ll receive an email confirmation of your booking. As the show dates approach, you’ll receive a reminder for you to confirm you’re still attending and secure your seat.
- PUBLIC SPEAKING - BRANDING - BUSINESS GROWTH - DIGITAL AND GROWTH 18
- DIGITAL MARKETING - FREE PROFIT BUILDING - GROWING YOUR BUSINESS - INCREASE INFLUENCE & REACH
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- MENTORING - MOBILE MARKETING - ONLINE MARKETING - START, SCALE & SELL YOUR START-UP
A simple high profit, low risk strategy How even beginners can get great returns When to buy and when to sell How to find great Forex and stock trades fast How to minimize risk and maximize profit Create second income stream trading from home
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Learn How To Master Public Speaking
Your Idea, Your Business, Our Support
SPONSORED BY
SPONSORED BY
Learn how to master public speaking and maximise your business income potential. With over 15 years of experience, Andy and his team have coached Hollywood movie stars, corporate heavyweights and some of the world’s best public speakers through the Public Speakers University & Professional Speakers Academy. His engaging, entertaining and direct style of teaching has helped business owners and entrepreneurs from around the world to grow their revenues by positioning, packaging and promoting themselves as the go to experts for their industry or niche. Andy Harrington`s Public Speakers University course is the choice of professionals who wish to improve their ability to inform, impact, inspire and influence their target consumers. Andy is also founder of Professional Speakers Academy, an incubator for industry experts wishing to take their skills of influence and persuasion to the highest level. • • • • •
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Improve your state and stance when presenting Develop your presentations to WIN business Become the ‘go to’ expert for your industry Use storytelling to connect with the audience Inspire your customer base with proven motivation techniques Have your programmes tailored to suit your business
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Driving Growth In Your Business SPONSORED BY
Your brand is everything about your business. Make sure it has the right protection.
How management information and KPIs can be better used to drive growth.
Behind every successful business is a good brand. Something recognisable and trustworthy. Something which ensures customer loyalty, satisfaction and retention. It’s about innovation and separating your business from the rest. But it’s also about the protection of your ideas and hard work: your intellectual property. Without the right protection behind your brand, you leave it vulnerable to infringement, or even theft. Our experts from the Intellectual Property Office will explain the importance of branding and protection. By the time you leave this masterclass, you will know the difference between patents, trademarks and copyright, and which ones apply to different areas of your business.
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The importance of branding Forming ideas for your business How to innovate and distinguish your business Why intellectual property matters The difference between patents, copyright and trademarks How to find value in your business How to apply for protection
All of the masterclasses are incredibly popular and there are only so many seats! To make sure you don’t miss out, fire up your browser and type in www.gbbs.co.uk now!
This session, for ambitious CEOs and FDs, is designed to help simplify how best to grow your business. The My Financepartner team, qualified accountants from PwC, share their expertise and leading market insight. We will help attendees better understand where the opportunities for growth are – and what information they need to identify which parts of their business are making money and where costs are incurred. Our tools, tips and insight will also help businesses plan their growth effectively.
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OK BO LINE ON NOW
Planning for growth – what information do you really need? How do you best track the performance and growth of your business? What changes do you need to make to the content, quality and cost of performance reporting in your business?
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BOOK YOUR PLACE ONLINE AT
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Get Future Ready. Be A Ready Business
Make The Internet Work For You And Your Business
SPONSORED BY
Vodafone started as an SME and now have the pleasure of working with thousands of SMEs throughout the UK. We want to help you make the most out of your business and to grow by having the right digital expertise in place. In today’s fast paced environment, being digital will differentiate you and help you engage with your customers. We will be running a variety of sessions on digital, flexible ways of working, customer engagement and growth. These sessions will be run by experts from the industry, including those who have started their own business.
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Digital marketing, social media and content marketing How to attract and retain talent within a business Better ways of working and how to become more flexible Customer service Customer engagement “How to grow your business” Talk by a successful SME owner
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SPONSORED BY
Is your website and online marketing bringing target enquiries to your business? Are you afraid of wasting time and money online? If YES then come and see us! Are you concerned about the effectiveness of your online presence? Are you afraid of wasting time and money online? The SMF Group can help. We provide companies and individuals with the tools & training they need to make the most of the Internet. Selling your products and services online should never be considered a waste, and by following the expert advice of Mili Ponce many businesses have already seen the many benefits of a strong online strategy. Mili has spent years travelling the globe to deliver the best, up-to-date tips & strategies for maximising your potential online. With their help, you too can: Make the Internet work for you!
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- PUBLIC SPEAKING - BRANDING - BUSINESS GROWTH - DIGITAL AND GROWTH
Double Your Sales Inside 24 Months!
SPONSORED BY
Become digitally agile and ready to embrace change and maximise your business potential.
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FREE PROFIT BUILDING MASTERCLASS
How to convert website visits into enquiries. How to generate large amounts of traffic to your site How to optimise your paid ads, achieve better results for less How to create a social media strategy How to create a marketing funnel How to monitor your results and ROI
- DIGITAL MARKETING - FREE PROFIT BUILDING - GROWING YOUR BUSINESS - INCREASE INFLUENCE & REACH
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Business growth specialists from the world’s number 1 business coaching team will be on hand to discuss your challenges and opportunitiesin confidence with you. There’s a 1 in 4 chance you’ll then get the added bonus of being offered a 1-2-1 coaching programme, backed by a no quibble 100% refund of your investment in coaching you do not double your net sales inside 24 months of coaching. ActionCOACH has coached 1,000+ clients in the UK and had two instances of needing to refund a client... so yes, it’s a possibility that your business will less than double in the two years you work with your ActionCOACH business growth specialist, and in that event you’ll end up not paying a penny for the input and growth you did achieve!
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How Business Mentoring Can Attract Investment
One-To-One Digital Increase Your Business Level Of Marketing & Brand Building Consultancy Performance SPONSORED BY
SPONSORED BY
SPONSORED BY
If you’re serious about maximising the potential in your business, it makes sense to seek guidance from an expert. A business mentor could be your new best friend.
Anicca’s team of five marketing experts will be on hand throughout the day to discuss ways of making the most of the digital marketing opportunities available now.
Two things matter most in this fast-changing world: 1. The ability to influence. 2. The ability to reach more people.
Each expert will cover one of five topics, allowing them to advise on the points that really matter to each individual business. Whether you’re looking to attract more website visits, increase conversions, improve your brand authority within your industry or learn how to harness social media to improve loyalty, we have a topic that suits you.
We help with both. Entrevo are global leaders in strategy and technology for entrepreneurial businesses. We have offices in the UK, USA, Singapore and Australia. We have worked directly with 1500+ businesses to help them become more visible, valuable and scalable. We’ve launched three best-selling books on business, won major awards and grown a global business in under five years.
Choose from free 30-minute consultations on: 1. How to set-up your business website 2. SEO and content marketing 3. Paid search and ecommerce marketing 4. Social media marketing 5. Public relations (PR) and brand building Book now to secure your free consultation with our specialists!
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How to set-up your business website SEO and content marketing Paid search and ecommerce marketing Social media marketing Public relations (PR) and brand building
K BOOINE L ON OW N
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MENTORING MASTERCLASS
Our clients have won awards, grown internationally, been featured in the press, and increased their revenue and profit. We’ve focused 70% of our clients on creating a “lifestyle business” and 30% on “performance business”.
Across two masterclasses, Daniel Priestley and Steven Oddy will teach you: • Five skills that make you more visible, valuable and connected • Position yourself and your message in a way that is ready to scale to wider audience. • Generate new leads • Increase sales • Deliver remarkable value to clients
All of the masterclasses are incredibly popular and there are only so many seats! To make sure you don’t miss out, fire up your browser and type in www.gbbs.co.uk now!
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Business mentoring can help strengthen your business and your own entrepreneurial skills, and can be invaluable in getting your business off the ground, or taking it to the next level. You’ll learn from the experience and mistakes of more experienced business owners; be guided through achieving the objectives of your business, both short and long term; and you can leverage off their contacts to help open new doors for your business. A mentor will also make sure that the goals and objectives that have been set in your business are achieved. Mentoring is a very personal business and having the right mentor is vital, so come along to this free workshop and find out more about what’s involved.
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Learn how to drive sales to your business from day one Use cost-effective marketing that works! Leverage off a mentor’s contacts to fast-track growth Learn how to secure start-up capital for your business Q&A for your business by our expert team and mentors
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BOOK YOUR PLACE ONLINE AT
WWW.GBBS.CO.UK 21
Get A Mobile App For Your Business Today
START, SCALE & SELL YOUR START-UP MASTERCLASS
Get Online, Grow Online, Succeed Online
Start Your Business Journey Today
SPONSORED BY
SPONSORED BY
Learn about the benefits a mobile app can offer your business (and learn how to quickly and easily get one, too!)
You know getting online has the potential to help your business, but what skills do you REALLY need to succeed?
Consumers spend more time on their mobile phone than they do in front of a computer and 80% of their phone time is using apps, not web. If you want your customers to engage with you, you need an app for your business that your customers can use on their phone.
Taking your new business online can be a challenge. There’s a lot to consider – choosing your domain, designing and building your website, driving traffic, and turning visitors into loyal repeat customers.
A mobile app is the most efficient way to market to customers – apps drive customer engagement, encourage loyalty and increase sales. This workshop covers the specifics of how a mobile app can drive business, why it’s so important and how you can use Appsme as an easy, cost-effective way to get one in app stores!
SPONSORED BY
For this workshop series, we’ve brought together six experts from the fields of brand development, website design, search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), social media, and email marketing. In a series of 45-minute sessions, we’ll introduce you to each area and guide you through the essential steps you’ll need to be successful.
Bradley Keenan will talk you through many of the key learnings from his experience of starting, growing and selling his technology business. Bradley is a British born tech entrepreneur, founder of E-Tale (acquired by ChannelAdvisor in 2014), investor, vegetarian, dad, author & blogger. In 2009, without any financial backing, Bradley founded a company called E-Tale. Over a 5-year period he grew this company from his basement, to working with over 100 of the world’s leading brands in over 40 countries. These clients included Samsung, Unilever, LG, OKI, Xerox, and Hotpoint. In November 2014, Bradley and his team sold E-Tale to ChannelAdvisor, a US based public company. Bradley wants to share with you the key learnings from his experience, so you can expedite your own startup journey.
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The importance of making your business mobile-friendly Why a mobile app is the most efficient marketing spend for any business Which app features offer the most value to businesses and why Short demo of the Appsme self-service mobile app builder Q&A to answer any and all mobile app questions
BOOK ONLINE NOW
BOOK NOW 22
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The Psychology of Branding From Browsers to Buyers: Designing Websites That Convert How to Grow Your Business With PPC Getting the Right Results From Social Media Email Marketing in Six (Fairly) Simple Steps Essential Steps in SEO How to Write a Blog That Brings 1,000s of Visitors
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BOOK ONLINE NOW
Evaluating Your Idea From Start-Up To Scale-Up Booking Meetings With Major Brands Presentations nd Proposals The Competition Selling Your Company.
BOOK ONLINE NOW
All of the masterclasses are incredibly popular and there are only so many seats! To make sure you don’t miss out, fire up your browser and type in www.gbbs.co.uk now!
http://londonentrepreneursnetwork.com
LONDON ENTREPRENEURS NETWORK DRAGONS INVESTMENT SHOW
SPEED NETWORKING
Pitch your business idea to receive investment offers from our multi-millionaire Dragon Investors. Become a Dragon Investor, receive investment, present or promote in front of 1000s of people!
Networking is a fantastic business tool – but only if you’re talking to the right people!
The Dragons Investment Show is a brand new concept which allows audience members to vote on the pitchers and their presentation before and after Dragons’ in/out declaration! If you wish to receive investment offers from our multi-millionaire Dragon Investors, come and pitch in the Dragons Investment Show. Moreover, by attending or by joining London Entrepreneurs Network, you can receive business advice, mentoring, and marketing tips from our already successful multi-millionaire Dragon Investors. After all, who can provide better business tips and advice than those who already have created a successful and profitable business?!
Talking to every person who comes your way is inefficient because you never know if that person is the target you need to connect with. Moreover, you can talk to a maximum of 10 to 20 people then give up and leave, whether you’ve found the right connection or not! Therefore we have a solution: we offer a real speed networking opportunity, where you can get a microphone on the stage and in one minute say the most important things needed for efficient and productive networking! Simply say your name, what you are looking for and what you offer; this way only the right people approach you! Don’t forget about our wall-of-fame, where you can put your details if you are looking for investment OR put notes for finding projects to invest if you are an investor.
ANTI-PITCH If you like seeing start-up hopefuls pitching for investment from angel investors, you’re going to LOVE Anti-Pitch. Anti-Pitch is a brand new concept for the Business Show: two start-up companies are given the opportunity to have their business interrogated by a panel of experts, where their concept, marketing and financials are explored, and if any weaknesses are found, they will be brought to light. The winner, as decided by the crowd and panellists, will be interviewed and get a chance to be featured on the front page of Disrupts magazine and also entered into the running to appear on the new TV show, ‘Angels Investment Show’. Get your questions ready as audience participation is encouraged throughout!
The winner of both Anti-Pitch and the Dragons Investment Show, as decided by the crowd and panellists, will be interviewed and get a chance to be featured on the front page of Disrupts magazine and also entered into the running to appear on the new TV show, ‘Angels Investment Show’. Get your questions ready as audience participation is encouraged throughout!
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SCHEDULE
MIDAS TOUCH PITCH TO A PANEL OF MILLIONAIRE INVESTORS
Are you an entrepreneur looking to take your business to the next level? Don’t miss this chance to pitch to an expert panel of investors who have all built up their own £multi-million business – and could help you do the same. Could you convince one of these four millionaires to invest in your business idea or model in just five minutes? That’s how long you’ll have to impress the panel with your business acumen, vision and potential profitability as you do your best to persuade them to put their money where your mouth is in the most important pitch of your life.
in front of an active investor base from varying sectors of the same network. This promises to give you not only up to four honest and varied expert opinions on the viability of your business, but a genuine ‘next step’ for everyone who pitches that could see you banking a cheque or receiving the mentoring you need to get you investor-ready.
Midas Touch is an exciting live show featuring a Dragons’ Den-style panel of millionaire entrepreneurs. These Rockstar mentors have on average built up and sold one of their companies for a sale price of £18million, so they know a business with great potential when they see it – and how to make good on that promise. If you think you could be the next big thing, then this is an unmissable opportunity to get
Whether you have a cutting edge technology solution to today’s hottest problems, or you’ve identified a gap in the service market, you will have the panel’s undivided attention. The only limit is your imagination. Previous shows have brought us pitches that range from quirky to creative as the investors sort the flawed from the fabulous and find the gem that is too valuable not to invest in.
24 contestants will compete over the course of the two days to make the best pitch of the show and earn the title of ‘Innovator of the Show’, with the winner being announced in the last session on Thursday. It’s a great opportunity for entrepreneurs who are ready to make their pitch and looking to attract investment, but Midas Touch is also a fantastic spectator
THURSDAY & FRIDAY
11.30 - 12.30 13.30 - 14.30 15.30 - 16.30
Places are limited and competition is always fierce for the chance to participate in Midas Touch, so book now!
event. Every pitch is made in front of a live audience and with the stakes so high, it makes for an exciting spectacle. Not only is it an entertaining break from the bustle of the show floor, but Midas Touch is also a unique opportunity for the audience to pick up tips for when they’re ready to pitch for their own investment.
AT A GLANCE • • • • • • •
Pitch to a panel of millionaire entrepreneurs Expert feedback on your business The UK’s Number 1 mentoring and funding organisation for entrepreneurs Walk away with a cheque to take your business to the next level Advice to get you investor-ready Could you be the ‘Innovator of the Show’? Take part as a spectator, or have a go yourself!
ABOUT THE SPONSOR
Rockstar Mentoring Group is the UK’s Number 1 mentoring and funding organisation for entrepreneurs looking to grow or raise finance. They fast-track profit growth and investment by providing experienced and successful mentors on a one-to-one, face-to-face basis to help with your business plan, valuation and management team to give you the best chance of securing the investment you need. Regular panellist Jonathan Pfahl, a former Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Manager, founded Rockstar Mentoring Group in 2007, building a phenomenal team of over 70 mentors from more than 25 different industries. Each mentor is experienced in taking good ideas and turning them into real life £multi-million businesses, and they are on the hunt for new and exciting investment opportunities. www.rockstargroup.co.uk
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PITCH?
Email your business idea on one side of A4 to [email protected]
To take part, entrants will need to register for a free ticket to The Business Show at www.thebusinessshow.co.uk.
SPEED NETWORKING MEET 40 NEW CONTACTS IN 40 MINUTES
Take your seat, prepare your pitch, and get ready to take part in a networking session like no other! Speed Networking is the quickest and most effective way for you to add potential suppliers, partners, or clients to your contact list and give your business its best chance of growth. Whether you’re looking for the people that can take your new business off the ground, or you’re an experienced firm seeking the contacts to help you increase your size or explore a new area of operation, Speed Networking is the most thrilling business event you will attend! Speed Networking is exactly as the name suggests. It’s a networking session designed to give you the maximum amount
of new contacts in the minimum amount of time. All you do is sit down and use your allotted 30 second timeframe to try to impress a potential new client, supplier, or partner, before they then do the same to you. After one minute, you move on and do it again, and again, and again. The process is so straightforward and the benefits are huge. By the end of your session, you will have connected with 40 new contacts and started some new and long lasting professional relationships that will provide your business venture with a greater chance of success.
ABOUT THE SPONSOR
Thousands of SMEs are receiving tax reimbursements from the government for research and development. We’re 100% successful in helping our clients evaluate and claim money back, or gain tax relief on sector advances and innovations they have made - with no upfront fee and minimal disruption to their business. SMEs can see a return of up to 25% of relevant costs, and businesses are claiming back £46,000 on average – a great cash injection for any business or future tax relief. You’d be surprised what activities and costs qualify for this scheme. www.riftresearch.com
GAIN LONG LASTING PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT WILL PROVIDE YOUR BUSINESS VENTURE WITH A GREATER CHANCE OF SUCCESS 25
TIMETABLE 11.00
HOW TO BUY A BUSINESS How do you find the right business for you? And what happens once you’ve found it? You’ll learn about all the aspects of the sale process – from where to look for a business for sale to working out your exit strategy.
12.00
UNUSUAL WAYS TO RAISE FINANCE WHEN BUYING A BUSINESS Your bank is the first place you turn when you need money to buy a business, but it’s not your only option. From crowdfunding and angel investment to borrowing from your family, we’ll give you the advice you need to find the right finance for you.
BUSINESSES
FOR SALE LEARN EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BUYING AND SELLING A BUSINESS If you’re thinking of starting a business or want to expand it fast, why not buy one?
Whether you are buying or looking to sell, our session on how to sell will help you prepare your exit strategy and maximise the value of your business.
Attend our programme of seminars and you’ll learn everything you need to know about the buying process – including where to find your dream business, how to raise finance to buy it, and what you can do to make sure your deal goes through.
We’ll have industry experts with more buying and selling experience than you can shake a stick at on hand to help you demystify the business transfer process.
13.00
GET AHEAD OF THE START-UPS: HOW TO BUY SUCCESS Thinking of starting a business? Why not buy one? Find out how buying an established business could help you leapfrog the start-ups to business success.
All in one place, all under one roof; Businesses For Sale Live has everything you need to know about getting started or getting out.
AT A GLANCE
www.gbbs.co.uk
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How do you find the right business for you? And what happens once you’ve found it?
14.00
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From crowdfunding and angel investment to borrowing from your family, get the advice you need to finance your purchase.
HOW TO SELL A BUSINESS
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Learn why buying a business is a great alternative to starting one.
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Get your head around the potentially complex and arduous process of selling a business.
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Understand the importance of due diligence, preparation, and why this will stop your deal falling apart.
From the headline on an advert to the fine print on a contract, selling a business can be a complex process. We look to simplify this process for you and clarify any concepts that maybe confusing. If you’re struggling to make heads or tails of your heads of terms, this is the seminar for you!
15.30
ABOUT THE SPONSOR
BUSINESS BUYING NIGHTMARES; HOW TO AVOID YOUR DEAL FALLING APART Doing your research on a prospective business is paramount to a successful sale. You need to understand exactly what it is you are buying. The only way to do this is by conducting thorough due diligence; but what is due diligence? And why is it so important in the business buying process? Both days will feature the same sessions.
BusinessesForSale.com connects business buyers and sellers. With over 65,000 businesses in 130 countries worldwide, the website is the world’s largest business for sale marketplace. For aspiring entrepreneurs, BusinessesForSale.com provides a route into ownership, and features thousands of business and franchise opportunities in every sector imaginable. If you are looking to exit, we can help you cost-effectively market your business and find the right buyer. www.businessesforsale.com
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BUSINESS JUNCTION Created and operated by business people for those who own, run, or work for businesses, Business Junction is London’s foremost independent business network with 500+ member businesses across 125 sectors and 70 annual pan-London networking events, with the primary aim of increasing trade opportunities for its members. Business Junction promotes and encourages the development of close relationships between the members of its business community, where any business can be introduced to another potential supplier or purchaser through our network in the most relaxed and comfortable environment possible.
A large, interesting and diverse business membership, we’ve established an enviable culture for our friendly, informal yet business-focussed events. Membership of Business Junction is for the company, not just an individual, so if you do decide to join, any of your business colleagues can also attend any of our events.
AS A BUSINESS JUNCTION MEMBER, YOU CAN ENJOY: •
A relaxed, highly effective, innovative and diverse network, where borders don’t exist and there’s no pressure to attend.
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Business Junction publishes the London Business Directory (www.businessjunction.co.uk/londonbusiness-directory), which contains the company information and contact details of over 500 dynamic businesses across every size, sector and expertise. This is included in your membership package and every Business Junction member and guest attendee will be given a free copy of the directory which is also distributed across key commercial sites in London.
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Members can enjoy a weekly networking lunch held at some of the best restaurants, hotels and venues available, a monthly Champagne Philippe Brugnon networking breakfast, and six evening free networking events. www.businessjunction.co.uk
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BUSINESS CONNECTIONS CONNECT WITH THOUSANDS OF NEW PROSPECTS, PARTNERSHIPS AND SUPPLIERS
Quite possibly the easiest way you’ll ever make contact with tens of thousands of serious business people… Business Startup is part of Britain’s biggest business exhibition and conference, with 25,000 visitors attending across the two days. Every one of those visitors is a potential business partner, supplier, or client. It’s an amazing hotbed of networking on a scale
that you just can’t find anywhere else. The problem is that even if you spent all day everyday doing nothing other than networking on the show floor you will still only have reached a tiny portion of your potential contacts. If only there was a way you could let everyone know what you’re looking for and that you take your business seriously enough to attend Europe’s fastest growing business event…that’s where Business Connections comes in!
Business Connections is always a huge draw at Business Startup because it is such an easy and efficient way to reach out to tens of thousands of visitors every bit as serious about their business as you are about yours. The Business Connections area has a wall, categorised by industry, where notices can be posted and replied to with the upmost ease. The idea is so simple: proudly pin your business card to the wall for all to see. If you’re looking to make a particular kind of connection, say
ANGELS DEN MAKE THE PITCH OF A LIFETIME
Could your business benefit from financial backing from a business angel who not only has the cash, but also the experience and insight to make the very most out of your business? That’s what’s on offer from Angels Den. How often do you get the chance to present your business in front of wealthy, successful individuals who have the knowledge and financial clout to change your business fortunes in an instant? Probably not that often, and just to heat things up a little more, did we mention that you will be making the pitch of your life in front of a live audience? If you’re not ready to make your own pitch just yet, come and support these exciting entrepreneurs by taking your place in the audience and see some entertaining presentations, as well as learning the do’s and
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don’ts for when you are ready to seek your own investment. If you’re thinking about pitching for investment, but are not sure if you’re as versed as you should be before taking the plunge, Angels Den can help with one-to-one funding clinics held throughout both days at the show. These free funding clinics are a great opportunity to chat to an expert about your business and ask any questions you may have about the funding process and Angels Den. To ensure your business stands the best chance of attracting the investment it needs, simply come
to the Angels Den theatre as soon as you can and if they can’t see you right away, they’ll book you in for a one-to-one session with an experienced adviser. Whether you want to walk away with investment from one of Angels Den’s affluent individuals, or just want to take in the spectacle as part of the audience, Angels Den is always a hit.
WANT TO PITCH? For your chance to pitch, fill in the application form here: www.greatbritishbusinessshow. co.uk/masterclasses/angels-den
so, and potential partners will pin their card to your request. Make sure you scan the wall for people looking for what you can offer and respond by pinning your card to their request and pick up some extra clients! It’s a fantastically straightforward, efficient and convenient way to build your business’s client base, which is why many visitors regularly put Business Connections to the top of their priority list when the doors open.
TIMETABLE
THURSDAY & FRIDAY As well as the live pitching and funding clinics, Angels Den will hold a series of talks and lectures throughout both days at the Angels Den theatre.
11.30 Talk: How do I value my business? 12.00 Live pitches to investors 13.30 Talk: What is really important in your pitch and it’s NOT your numbers 14.00 Live pitches to investors 15.30 Talk: Why are angel investors so important and what are they looking for?
HOW DOES IT WORK? 1.
Write down what your business is looking for (a web designer, a sales team, a logo, etc).
2.
Pin it to the Business Connections wall, along with your business card.
3.
Come back at the end of the day to collect all the relevant business cards pinned to yours.
That’s it! Don’t forget to pin your card to answer other requests during the day…
The Business Connections wall is up and running throughout both days of the show and you’re welcome to use it any time, for any industry. But if you want to raise your chances of meeting a contact from a specific industry in person, why not stop by at the scheduled times for that sector?
THURSDAY 10.30 11.30 12.30 13.30 14.30 15.30 16.30 17.30
Retail Ecommerce Manufacturing Leisure / Food and Drink Skilled Trade / Construction Education Medical / Healthcare Professional Business Services
FRIDAY 10.30 11.30 12.30 13.30 14.30 15.30
Retail Ecommerce Manufacturing Leisure / Food and Drink Skilled Trade / Construction Education
16.30 Medical / Healthcare
FUNDING CLINCS: 1-2-1 BUSINESS & FUNDING ADVICE
Join us in the Angels Den theatre, throughout both days for 1-2-1 advice on your business and the funding process.
Angels Den is an angel-led crowdfunding platform where angel investors and experienced business people invest in pre-vetted SMEs. Investors often play an active role in the business, providing the initial funding, expertise and contacts to drive growth. Once a lead investor is on board, Angels Den opens the funding to other angels and the crowd, who have the security of investing alongside an experienced lead investor who ensures a fair deal for all. Since Angels Den was founded in 2007, they have changed the rules on angel investing and led the way in making investment truly accessible to great
businesses with strong growth potential and provided a fast-track to business funding. Angels Den has now successfully raised finance for over 170 businesses through their pitching events and online equity platform. Angels Den understands that having an active angel investor on board increases the chance of success and, as a result, over 90% of their funded deals are still trading. They have an established network of over 12,000 angel investors, between them offering a wealth of experience and a proven track record of getting great businesses funded.
DON’T MISS
Tech Hall, Thu, 12.30 & Keynote Hall 2, Fri, 11.45 Hear from Angels Den’s CEO and Founder, Bill Morrow, recently named most influential person in alternative finance by City AM.
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can en You Warr te r a e o h also his keyn er deliv minar on se
.30 y, 14 Frida ynote Ke l 2 Hal
CHAMPIONS OF SMALL BUSINESS SEMINAR HALL For two days this hall will inspire growth in businesses of all shapes & sizes. Whether you are an entrepreneur at the helm of a start-up or an experienced business owner with several years already under your belt, all will leave with ideas for growth. Our speakers are are guaranteed to make you think and all highly experienced business educators with fun delivery styles. But it doesn’t end with just a
presentation. We will also show you how to take full advantage of Champions of Small Business as soon as you leave the event with free access to a whole load of
online resources, interviews with experts from across the country and much, much more. Everyone can become a Champion and be part of this positive movement.
ABOUT THE SEMINAR Essential Strategies for Growing your Business Over 50% of businesses fail within the first 3 years. Why is this? Are we finding new ways to fail or just making the same old mistakes? This seminar will focus on how YOU can avoid these all too common pitfalls and build a healthy, sustainable & successful business. Whether you’re thinking of starting a business or are looking to grow and take your existing business to the next level, this isn’t one to be missed.
TIMETABLE
INTRODUCING CHAMPIONS OF SMALL BUSINESS Exclusively launching at the Business Show is a new national initiative brought to you by leading business community Business Scene and an impressive list of partners from across the UK… And this is just the beginning! Champions of Small Business (CoSB) will be a free online resource for SMEs across the UK backed by major brands and SMEs alike. We already have strong support from several established brands all committed to adding value & supporting growth.
take advantage of amazing offers & giveaways, and what is more…. All of this is absolutely free to access.
FRIDAY
• •
• •
National campaign encouraging SMB growth in the UK A mission to increase the turnover/profitability of all who get involved Online events (webinars, hangouts & live streaming) Offline events (networking & knowledge based) Online resources (video, blogs, podcasts, how to guides, useful downloads) Offers & savings Sign posting grants, access to investment & advice
Business Scene are proud to launch Champions of Small Business because we believe more should be done to support growth in UK small business. We exist to create the perfect environment for you to start, grow and maintain a business by providing a modern approach to business membership. Focusing around 4 key areas essential to any business; growth, savings, protection & support, Business Scene membership has been developed with today’s business owner in mind - and what really sets us apart is just how much we care about our members’ success.
YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY
We are the fastest growing business community in the UK. YBC membership provides unlimited free advice and documents, financial protection against potential areas of prosecution and occupational hazards, discounts on many business services, and regular networking opportunities.
AS A YBC MEMBER, YOU CAN ENJOY: •
Free legal and employment advice 24/7, and free VAT, tax, PAYE, and health and safety advice during office hours. Phone and ask that burning question, or simply get clarity or confirmation on any issue.
•
An online document library providing hundreds of documents, templates, fact sheets, and handbooks covering law, tax, health and safety, and HR.
•
Financial protection in the event of your business being subject to: -
HMRC tax investigation HMRC aspect enquiry Employment disputes and awards Health and safety prosecution Data protection prosecution Licence protection Landlord disputes Director, partner, and employee prosecution
Members can also save money by making use of our growing range of commercial benefits, bringing DISCOUNTS and ADVICE on essential products and services such as insurance, telecoms, card processing, banking, printing, energy, access to finance, debt collection, financial advice and auto enrolment. Our members know that the more people you know, the more chance you have of finding clients. That’s why our networking events are always very well attended. History of Your Business Community: YBC was formed as a 21st century alternative to the traditional support services that are now viewed by many as out of date. We seek to solve problems rather than just complain about them. Whatever business service you are looking for you will find it in YBC Street.
EXHIBITING IN YBC STREET: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
AVPT Caring and Sharing Dynamix Group Express Sourcing Fresh Consulting Jeremy Jacobs Journolink Kafoodle Pdf Pen Rocketspark Xcommnett YBC YBC Insurance Zenith Street Amanda C Watts Advantage Business Partnership AE In A Box Tip Top Media Lorraine Tapper Tony C Accountants The Problem Solver Business Growth Creator
By visiting YBC Street you will be able to meet a selection of our members and service providers and see for yourself why so many business owners are choosing to be members of Your Business Community.
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Take one day out to change the way you work forever. Speakers include Gill Fielding, a self-made millionaire with a no-nonsense, positive approach to finance and a personal mission to educate the nation in managing and improving their own financial position.
85% OFF! Promo Code: SIMPLE Exclusive offer: £29 £197 BOOK YOUR SPOT NOW! s h a a . co m / b o ot c a m p
LIVE FEED
SEMINAR SCHEDULE Presenting the very finest business advice, inspiration, and guidance, The Business Show’s seminar schedule features an unrivalled array of globally revered experts and proven entrepreneurs sharing their talent for business success. The best business guidance can be hard to come by, and even if you manage to find a guru you trust, their time isn’t cheap - unless you’re at The Business Show. Then it’s free. We give you direct access to many of the most respected business people in the UK as they deliver state-of-the-art seminars to support your business growth. Over two days, you’ll hear the latest insight on a huge range of topics that will immediately benefit any business, whether you’re just starting out or targeting growth for your established SME. Many of our speakers help shape the face of British business, so acting upon their forecasts and predictions could see your business streets ahead of your competition. The following pages will provide you with details on every seminar at this December’s show*.The seminar schedule has been carefully compiled to reflect the hottest topics in business
right now, but not only is it topical, it also encompasses every area of business that entrepreneurs and SMEs have told us they need to know about. Covering the entire range of business needs from writing a winning business plan to floating on the stock market, the schedule also picks up on everything in-between including the latest marketing trends, new technology shaping the business landscape, and business success stories that are sure to inspire. You don’t need to book for any of our seminars, but they fill up fast, so we recommend you get there early to be sure of a seat. We’re constantly adding to our seminar line-up right up until the show, so please check the online schedule for the latest information.
Demand for seats in our keynote seminar halls is always high, and unfortunately not everyone will be able to enjoy our experts from the comfort of a seat within the hall. So why not enjoy their unique take on business from the comfort of a seat just outside their hall? Our live feed of each keynote seminar means missing out on their superb and highly sought-after talks is a thing of the past. You can enjoy every minute of the guidance, advice, insight and entertainment provided by our keynote experts through the large screens situated right by Keynote Hall 1, which is in the Business Startup area of Olympia, and Keynote Hall 2, located in The Business Show area.
LIVE FEED SPONSOR
Get up to £400 for switching more than one gas or electricity contract to British Gas* To say thank you for doing more with us, British Gas are giving one-off credit rewards. The reward amount is based on consumption and payment will be made by the time of your second bill. Who is eligible? • •
New customers who switch more than one additional supply point to British Gas Existing customers who do more with British Gas
To find out more visit: britishgas.co.uk/business/gbb * Details correct at time of publication. Please check the website for the latest updates.
*Average reward credit is £100 britishgas.co.uk/business/gbb
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KEYNOTE HALL 1 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How to Raise £1 Million for Your Startup With o Prior Experience
Q & A with David Gold
Daniel Murray Grabble
Learn how to take the plunge from a normal job and dive straight into the unknown, with no relevant experience, and armed only with a sense of adventure and determination to do something different with your life.
David Gold West Ham United & Ann Summers
David Gold will be interviewed on stage about his rags to riches story from an East London Council Estate to the Owner of one of England’s most famous football clubs.
11.45 - 12.15
5 Steps to Building Your Advocate Community
Leading a Winning Team
Paul Sackman Hootsuite
Alastair Cook England Cricket Captain
What is the secret to growing a great company? Getting your customers to build your business. This presentation will show the difference between brand fans and brand advocates, how you can identify your top advocates and how to develop community programmes that nurture these relationships and allow you to scale customer loyalty and advocacy to drive business success.
At The Business Show with his sponsor Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Alastair will provide insights into his approach in leading the national team across the globe against some of the game’s best and most competitive teams in front of the world’s most partisan crowds. Alastair will also reveal his strategies in dealing with the pressure and demands that come with being both a professional athlete and captain of the England cricket team, drawing on moments from his illustrious career.
12.30 - 13.00
What Does a Stand Out Startup Look Like?
Can Someone Really Motivate You to Change Your Life in 25 Minutes?
Reshma Sohoni and Chris Goodfellow SeedCamp and BusinessZone
Brad Burton 4 Networking
Reshma and Chris Goodfellow (editor BusinessZone.co.uk) talk about what investors such as Seedcamp look for in startup businesses and founders to identify the exciting growth opportunities.
Can someone really motivate you to change your life in 25 minutes? Yup. Take the challenge and find out. Get there early. Once every seat is full, there is no stopping him. Highest rated & reviewed Amazon business author, founder of 4Networking and The UK’s #1 Motivational Business speaker brings his unique brand of wisdom, humour and high energy presentation to the always packed audience. Winning at life is more important than coming first in business. As you’ll find out.
13.15 - 13.45
Personal Branding Online: Be You, Only Better
Vodafone UK
Bianca Miller The Be Group
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
Brands are built about what people are saying about you, not what you say about yourself.” Learn how to effectively use the internet to showcase and develop your brand to niche audiences using platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, your brand website etc. Understand how to network utilising your personal brand whilst leaving a lasting legacy and so much more.
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Jonathan Kini Vodafone
In the UK today, there are over five million SMEs. These businesses are hard-working, unique, at the heart of the British economy… And you’re one of them. This session will cover how embracing change and getting closer to the local communities and creating local networks can help you engage with customers better.
KEYNOTE HALL 1 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Digital Skills Starts With Mind-set. Learn How to Grow Your Business as a Friend
Q & A With a Fashion Retail King.
Touker Suleyman Hawes and Curtis
Penny will share her experience of building an online personal brand that supports her business and how her global network of business friends has helped her start and build her companies
Hear from one of the nation’s leading fashion entrepreneurs and influential manufacturers as he shares with you some of the stories, tips and techniques he’s experienced throughout his long and distinguished business career in this exclusive Q&A.
11.45 - 12.15
Should Marketing Managers be getting Sentimental? Analyse THIS...
Launch YOUR Small Business Into the “Big 4”
Jonathan L Davey Social Media Directors
Julianne Ponan Creative Nature
Sentiment Analysis is critical in today’s marketing world... we’ll be looking at 3 case studies showing why you need to have your ear to the ground, listening to the social whirl, in order to protect your brand value. No big deal for small businesses but immensely important for global brands and those companies with aspirations to join them. Come and listen to what I have to say, you never know, it might come in handy one day and save you a million or two!
Drawing directly on her experience of launching and growing Creative Nature Superfoods into the world of supermarkets, Julianne’s seminar will hit the sweet spot of any aspiring entrepreneur. Don’t miss a chance to hear Julianne discuss her journey of finance, marketing, branding and the launch into major multiples to see what lessons you can learn for your own start up. ‘Failure doesn’t come from falling down. Failure comes from not getting up’!
12.30 - 13.00
From Rags to Riches – How Romany Gypsy Alfie Best Built a Business Worth £200m
Female Techpreneur: How to Build a Community of 85k People With No Funding
Alfie Best Wyldecrest Parks
Nidhima Kohli My Beauty Matches
All you need for your business to succeed is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. This is Alfie Best philosophy. Surrounded by the right team, with his hands-on approach and his very unique business style, he built a successful business totally from scratch. And today he shares all his story and his secrets to succeed.
With no prior experience in tech, Nidhima will be sharing her tips on how to build a multi award winning business recognised by some of the biggest publications with a community size of 100,000 people with no funding and hence why The Guardian appointed My Beauty Matches as startup of the year 2014.
13.15 - 13.45
How to Design a Social Media Plan for Success
How To Adapt Your Sales and Marketing Model For The 21st Century
Warren Knight Think #Digital First
In this thought provoking seminar, Warren will be sharing with you how every business, entrepreneur, sales and marketing manager can use technology to help their business grow. Warren will share how building brand awareness, marketing to your niche target audience, decreasing the length of time in the sales cycle and building customer retention by using the latest technology is crucial for moving your business forward.
Jonathan Pfahl The Rockstar Mentoring Group
A big favourite at the Business Show and making his 16th Appearance in the last 8 years, Rockstar Founder Jonathan Pfahl will be sharing with you the real life lessons learnt and implemented in producing a product catered to todays Digital Age. 80% of UK small business owners sell a service over a tangible product and many of their sales and marketing techniques are still very much in the ‘dark ages’.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Penny Power, OBE The Business Cafe
KEYNOTE HALL 1 FRIDAY
KEYNOTE HALL 2 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Building The Ultimate Sales and Marketing Machine
How to Make Money Online Using the Skills You Already Have
Shweta Jhajharia ActionCOACH
Shaa Wasmund SW MEdia Enterprises
Too many businesses hit an income ceiling, and never make the kind of money (or the kind of impact) that they are capable of. They get stuck at one of the 3 plateaus: Survival, Stability or even Success.And this is not because of inadequate information about what the really successful companies out there are doing! It is because of an inability to identify the simple actions and core strategies that need to be implemented to create an “Ultimate Sales and Marketing Machine” in the business.
UK #1 bestselling author and recipient of an MBE for services to business and entrepreneurship, Shaa Wasmund inspires positive action with her no-nonsense, no-excuse advice. Entrepreneur. Prolific Speaker. Founder of Smarta and champion of small businesses. Author of the bestselling ‘Stop Talking, Start Doing’ and ‘Do Less, Get More: How To Work Smart and Live Life Your Way’. With a galaxy of stellar connections from professional boxer Chris Eubank to Sir James Dyson and Sir Richard Branson, she radiates success.
11.45 - 12.15
So You Want to Start a Restaurant?
Thinking Outside the Box - Make your Business Unique
Jamie Barber Cabana Brasilian Barbeque
Award-winning restaurant owner Jamie Barber runs through the thought processes behind restaurant start-ups and how to maximise your financial success.
Julien Callede MADE
Julien will discuss the Made.com business model and give insights about growth, how to manage it, overcome challenges and alter your business model to increase profitability. This will be followed by a Q and A session.
12.30 - 13.00
How to Adapt Your Sales and Marketing Model for the 21st Century
Powerfully Talking to Customers Throughout The Marketing Funnel
Jonathan Pfahl The Rockstar Mentoring Group
Dave Morrisey Facebook
A big favourite at the Business Show and making his 16th Appearance in the last 8 years, Rockstar Founder Jonathan Pfahl will be sharing with you the real life lessons learnt and implemented in producing a product catered to todays Digital Age. 80% of UK small business owners sell a service over a tangible product and many of their sales and marketing techniques are still very much in the ‘dark ages’.
Today’s consumers demand relevance. We need to talk to the right person, at the right time, with the right message. With Facebook and Instragram, we now can.
13.15 - 13.45
How To Grow Your Business (Lessons From A Growth Hacker)
Born In The Cloud
Ross Kingsland Inception Growth
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
We believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. When the odds are stacked against us we challenge the status quo by winning. We are perceived as underdogs. We are, in fact, giant slayers. Discover the exact strategies that resulted in an unknown business owner winning clients like Lamborghini, Virgin and KPMG with no existing relationships, no traditional marketing and no brand name. Learn how your organisation can implement the same model to deliver a true step change in your business and revenue.
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Richard Walters Intermedia
Building a business and realising your dreams can be extremely liberating. But how can you ensure you enjoy the freedom to focus on your business to help it grow? Part of the answer is Worry-Free IT. Richard will share his experiences and insights leveraging technology to build and grow world-class businesses. Through case studies he’ll show how Cloud technology can be a business growth enabler - without costing the world.
KEYNOTE HALL 2 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How to get Everyone Talking About Your Business
Speakers Corner and Delivering Content Strategy for Company Events
Linzi Boyd Shirlaws Group
Nick Gold Speakers Corner
Make your business a household name. There are so many brands out there in all sectors, how do you make yours standout in such a crowded market? Whether you want to build, renovate or just refresh your brand, this seminar will give you the understanding of where you are with your brand now and how to move forward. Learn Linzi’s 5 step process required to achieve stand-out status
A look at the world of conferences, seminars and events from the perspective of external speakers, facilitators and hosts. Planning an event to ensure delivery of content and message to a wide audience is a very powerful tool in both engagement and adding value and deliver content. How to maximise the effectiveness of content in events is something that Speakers Corner has spent the last 14 years immersed in
11.45 - 12.15
What do Angels Really Bring? And it’s NOT All About the Money…
Can someone Really Motivate You to Change Your Life in 25 minutes?
Bill Morrow Angels Den
Brad Burton 4 Networking
If you want to learn about the do’s and do not’s of looking for funding, how to pitch to investors, what investors are really looking for and how to impress them, learn from expert, Bill Morrow, who’s been there, done it and seen it all.
Can someone really motivate you to change your life in 25 minutes? Yup. Take the challenge and find out. Get there early. Once every seat is full, there is no stopping him. Highest rated & reviewed Amazon business author, founder of 4Networking and The UK’s #1 Motivational Business speaker brings his unique brand of wisdom, humour and high energy presentation to the always packed audience. Winning at life is more important than coming first in business. As you’ll find out.
12.30 - 13.00
WTF – What’s the Future?
How To Grow Your Business (Lessons From a Growth Hacker)
Warren Cass Business Scene
The best networkers seem totally magnetic, attracting people to them, oozing credibility and connected. But how did they get there? Where did they start and what were the key lessons?
Ross Kingsland Inception Growth
We believe in challenging the status quo. We believe in thinking differently. When the odds are stacked against us we challenge the status quo by winning. We are perceived as underdogs. We are, in fact, giant slayers. Discover the exact strategies that resulted in an unknown business owner winning clients like Lamborghini, Virgin and KPMG with no existing relationships, no traditional marketing and no brand name. Learn how your organisation can implement the same model to deliver a true step change in your business and revenue.
KEYNOTE HALL 2 FRIDAY
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
13.15 - 13.45 Daniel Wagner Expert Success
Learn more about why running your own Amazon Business is a certain, fast and scalable model with a very low startup cost. Anyone can grab a share of this fast-growing $15 trillion dollar marketplace without the need to invent or develop your own products. Daniel will explain how converging business trends create a unique window of opportunity that you can take advantage of right now to change your life forever.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
The Amazon Opportunity: Introduction to this Accessible Business Model
SEMINAR HALL 3 THURSDAY
SEMINAR HALL 3 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Making Downtime a Thing of the Past
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Gilli Coston Wyless Europe Plc
63% of SME’s globally consider disaster recovery or business continuity to be a critical priority; Forrester Research. This presentation will ask and answer a number of questions that every business should be asking themselves. How to avoid system downtime resulting in revenue loss and equally important, reputation and lost customers? It will detail the steps that should be taken to implement a business continuity strategy supported by customer case studies.
Companies House Staff Companies House
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
11.45 - 12.15
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Workplace AE Pensions and Life Assurance Made Easy
Companies House Staff Companies House
Roger Sanders OBE Lighthouse Workplace Solutions [Lighthouse Group Plc.]
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
1.8M smaller employers have to stage by 2018. Businesses must be ready on time for their staging dates or else face daily fines of £50-£2,500. Help is at hand if your payroll cannot cope, your employee records are a mess and your finance/HR functions are struggling. This presentation shows how to get the problem off your desk, get your life back and give your employees’ security in retirement.
12.30 - 13.00
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Kevin Jackson ibd Business Advice Group Ltd
Are you at a crossroads of your career, like the idea of running your own business, having the flexibility and work/life balance but thinking I have all this experience, but what do I do with it? Kevin can explain how to establish if a portfolio of strategic part-time roles is right for you and importantly where the work would come from and how to fund this new career.
13.15 - 13.45 Speaker to Be Confirmed Keep an Eye on our Digital Show Guide for Speaker Updates
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
Companies House Staff Companies House
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
16.15 - 16.45
Neil Morrow Benefits Communication
Embracing Technology to Reduce SMEs’ costs Cloud-based products such as Dropbox and MailChimp have long helped businesses of all sizes by allowing them to outsource expensive technology and regulatory requirements. So why are such products not being used to engage with employees and communicate their employee benefits? With many companies seeing pension Auto-enrolment as an opportunity to create and review their benefits package, the need for tech products to replace expensive external benefits portals has never been stronger.
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SEMINAR HALL 3 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Companies House Staff Companies House
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
11.45 - 12.15
14.45 - 15.15
Becoming A Consultant
Content that converts: How to Use Content and the Skills you Already Have to Make More Money Online
Kevin Jackson ibd Business Advice Group Ltd
Are you at a crossroads of your career, like the idea of running your own business, having the flexibility and work/life balance but thinking I have all this experience, but what do I do with it? Kevin can explain how to establish if a portfolio of strategic part-time roles is right for you and importantly where the work would come from and how to fund this new career.
Matt Thomas Curators Of Awesome
Content isn’t just about marketing – it’s your ticket to creating a brand people want to buy from and your most powerful asset for driving not just leads but sales, repeat buyers and an audience of fans. Find out how to do this and to use content to stop trading time for money and grow a digital business multiple revenue streams and recurring sales.
12.30 - 13.00
Defining an Effective B2B Social Media Marketing Strategy
Limited Companies and Responsibilities of a Company Director
Kristian Downer DowSocial
A staggering number of businesses waste time on social media due to a lack of strategic planning. This seminar is aimed at businesses selling to other businesses, looking to start using or improve how they use social media and blogging to achieve a marketing ROI. Kristian will analyse WHY your business should invest in digital marketing, which platforms to use and what content to publish and when.
Companies House Staff Companies House
How to incorporate a limited company and costs involved. Responsibilities of a director. What information all companies must file. How to search on FREE information.
13.15 - 13.45
Become A Key Person of Influence
Business Networking For Dummies
Daniel Priestley Entrevo
Daniel Priestley, Co Founder of Entrevo Limited explains how to position yourself as a Key Person of Influence in your industry. Attract more opportunities, make more money and have more fun
Stef Thomas The Networking Retreat
Ever wondered how to really make networking work for you? From desperation Stefan HAD to make networking work and, in this fast paced seminar, will give you the techniques and strategies proven to work. Stefan had to pay the mortgage and bills and will give you real life information which you can take away and use straight away.t
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Companies House Staff Companies House
SEMINAR HALL 3 FRIDAY
SEMINAR HALL 4 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How To Earn 10K A Month, Guaranteed
Shortcuts to Creating Your Dream Life in 2016
Ian Christelow ActionCOACH
AC UK co-founder, Ian Christelow, explains how helping others can be the fastest way to make a million & outlines the guaranteed high-return investment models operated by AC UK Franchise Partners to maximise profitability
Svietlana Lavrentidi Entrepreneurial Women’s Network
Most people think that starting a business is hard and takes years before you are profitable, but in this talk you will learn how successful people think and act to get what they want fast. If you are ready to step up to finally claim your dream-life you MUST learn these secrets. Stop the madness of trial and error and discover the proven shortcuts to success as an entrepreneur.
11.45 - 12.15
How to Start Your Business Empire With Little or NO Money
Getting it Right From the Start: Setting up Your Business Properly
Patrick Powers Entrepreneurs in London
Patrick Herrlinger Advanced Payment Solutions Ltd
Discover a Simple and Bulletproof Formula for starting a business empire EVEN if you are totally broke and can’t get any funding. Don’t put your dreams on hold because you think starting a business is risky or costly. Don’t wait for a perfect time in the future, when some investor MIGHT give you money. When you learn this formula it could be THIS week or even tomorrow.
Setting up a new company is exciting and all-involving, but what is it that entrepreneurs often miss in the early stages of setting up their business? We will be exploring the key building blocks that every small business should be putting in place to ensure that there is no rude awakening from the dream.
12.30 - 13.00
40 Years of Sales, 40 Years of Tales
How to Turn Your Website into a Profit Engine
Terry Cooper 4 Networking
They say that salesmen never really retire. Terry tried retirement but was bored and now he brings his experience of over 40 years’ direct selling to advise and guide audiences up and down the country. Terry was a salesman before mobile phones, email, social media and all the other modern excuses were invented. Terry had shoe leather, a winning smile and learnt exactly how to engage and persuade. You will learn sales techniques that really work from someone who has sold since the 1970s.
Lee Chadwick WOW Analytics
In a competitive market, generating more leads from your website traffic has become crucial to maximising ROI. But in this day and age, lead generation isn’t enough. In this seminar, Lee Chadwick, MD at WOW Analytics, shows you the tools that can enhance your lead generation and strengthen your sales pipeline. With best practice tips, you can expect to see firsthand how to turn your website into a profit engine.
13.15 - 13.45
16.15 - 16.45
Microsoft Productivity Tools for Business
Taking on Employees can be Scary... How to Avoid the Pitfalls and Get the Basics Right!
Mark Deakin Microsoft
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
Academia and Microsoft in partnership to showcase productivity tools for the modern workplace including an introduction to Office 365 with an overview of features and benefits. There will be a live demonstration and the announcement of the winner of our prize draw.
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Therese Stokes 4TEC Limited t/a ASAP Office Services
It’s a daunting prospect taking on employees. It’s also vital that you get it right both from an HMRC perspective and for the future of your new company. This seminar will cover tips on the legalities-getting it right, options for your payroll, interview techniques and ideas to build a team to represent your business.
SEMINAR HALL 4 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Getting It Right From The Start: Setting Up Your Business Properly
The Desk Phone is Dead - What’s Next for Business Communications?
Mark Trowbridge The Pink Telephone Company Ltd
Setting up a new company is exciting and allinvolving, but what is it that entrepreneurs often miss in the early stages of setting up their business? We will be exploring the key building blocks that every small business should be putting in place to ensure that there is no rude awakening from the dream.
We’ll review some the recent changes in business communications from the convergence of VoIP in fixed PBX systems to cloud-based solutions and how that is benefitting business and take a closer look at what’s coming next.
11.45 - 12.15
How to Start Your Business Empire With Little or NO Money
Shortcuts To Creating Your Dream Life In 2016
Patrick Powers Entrepreneurs in London
Svietlana Lavrentidi Entrepreneurial Women’s Network
Discover a Simple and Bulletproof Formula for starting a business empire EVEN if you are totally broke and can’t get any funding. Don’t put your dreams on hold because you think starting a business is risky or costly. Don’t wait for a perfect time in the future, when some investor MIGHT give you money. When you learn this formula it could be THIS week or even tomorrow.
Most people think that starting a business is hard and takes years before you are profitable, but in this talk you will learn how successful people think and act to get what they want fast. If you are ready to step up to finally claim your dreamlife you MUST learn these secrets. Stop the madness of trial and error and discover the proven shortcuts to success as an entrepreneur.
12.30 - 13.00
Business Success Through Online Marketing
Marketing Automation Made Easy to Startups & SMBs!
Mili Ponce The SMF Group
Tiago Oliveira E-Goi
Attract hundreds if not thousands of potential clients to your business and convert them not only in to clients but into brand advocates and recurring clients. Learn how to become a leader in your industry and beat your competition without investing thousands of pounds. Digital marketing can be a waste of time, we will show you how to achieve high ROI on your digital efforts.
E-GOI empowers you with the ability to launch integrated e-mail, SMS, MMS and voice messaging campaigns from a single on-line interface and monitor any campaign in real time for all broadcast channels, gauging and honing its progress over time. All of this made easy to Startups & SMBs!a
13.15 - 13.45
Ensuring Marketing Spend Delivers More Customers
Enabling SME Growth Through Cloud Base Technology
Robyn Sinclair Get Set For Growth
Thanks to e-commerce, price comparison sites, online reviews and social media, there has never been so much choice… or competition! Consumers have more options, more offers and are more discriminating than ever before. As a business, you are no longer just competing within your immediate geography, but with organisations you’ve never heard of in parts of the world you’ve never seen. The internet has created an even and much larger playing field and almost every business has suffered its effects in one way or another - but this also brings opportunities
Gildas Le Pallec Neopost
The advent of cloud technology and the democratisation of enterprise size applications that followed can help SME grow their business... here’s why
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Patrick Herrlinger Advanced Payment Solutions Ltd
SEMINAR HALL 4 FRIDAY
SEMINAR HALL 5 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Top Tips for Marketing small and Local Businesses Within Google
An Introduction to Auto Enrolment and Work Place Pensions
Ann Stanley Anicca Digital
Jeff Watson Broom Payroll and Pension Solutions
Ann Stanley shares her top tips on search marketing for growing businesses. The presentation includes an overview of the digital marketing landscape in 2015 and Ann imparts advice on maximising visibility in the local Google search results. She goes through the essential tools and techniques that will help a small business run its own sophisticated search marketing campaigns on a budget.
An overview of workplace pensions and auto enrolment. The complications, penalties and solutions for a business. An explanation on employee eligibility, are they eligible or non-eligible. And finally the 5 stages of the financial planning process.
11.45 - 12.15
Using PR To Transform and Grow Your Business
The Business Case for LGBT Inclusion
Kevin Briscoe Briscoe French PR
Venu Dhupa Stonewall
The reputation of your business defines whether it is a success or not and PR manages, enhances and protects your reputation. Find out why PR is essential to your business and get simple tips on how to enhance your reputation with carefully managed PR.
Research shows that LGBT colleagues who feel included in the workplace show higher levels of job satisfaction, performance and job security versus who are not out in the workplace. We will be looking at the business rationale for an inclusive work environment and offering practical guidance on how your organisation can get it right.
12.30 - 13.00
Mark Gouldstone & Wayne Spencer BSI
How Certification Can Benefit Your Business?
With more than 70,000 certified clients and more full-time assessors than any other certification body worldwide, BSI are one of the largest and most experienced certification bodies you could ever find. This seminar will highlight the benefits that businesses have seen after they have become certified.
13.15 - 13.45 Jon Marsh CFH Docmail Ltd
Cost and Time Saving Solutions for Client Communications
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
How do you communicate with your clients? 57% of clients say receiving a letter rather than an email makes them feel more valued. 63% say they are likely to take a letter more seriously than an email. 55% say it gives them a better impression of your company. Is there a more cost effective way of communicating with your clients? Stats - Royal Mail, The Private Life of Mail Study 2015.
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Richard Fenton The Zinc Group
Five Ways Businesses Can Save Money by Outsourcing The presentation will cover five ways companies can save money through business processes outsourcing in the UK; we will cover five points to consider as a business owner, each with its own cost benefit. Business Process Outsourcing is a great way for companies to expand their operations without investing huge sums of money, allowing owners to concentrate on their core strengths.
SEMINAR HALL 5 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Starting a Business Abroad: 7 Keys to Successful Foreign Entrepreneurship
Why Do Some Businesses Fly When Others Don’t Get Off The Ground?
Adrian Knight Aaron Parker Franchises
Ted Wigzell Your Business Community
Opening a business for the first time can be a daunting process for anyone. Add a move to a different country, a new home, a 70-to-80 hour work schedule with little or no pay and you have a recipe for disaster. International franchise broker Adrian Knight talks you through the 7 keys to successfully relocating and starting a business abroad.
Discover what differentiates successful businesses from those that never get off the ground. Designed to challenge your thinking if you are an established business owner and to help form good habits if you are a StartUp, this seminar will identify the key strategies to adopt to maximise your chances of success.
11.45 - 12.15
Selling Across Multiple Channels Made Easy
Find and Release the Cash That’s Hiding In Your Business
Alex Podopryhora M2E Limited
Jennifer Raines Your Right Hand Finance Team
The heydays of conventional “brick and mortar” as well as catalogue channels are over. The online multichannel transformation has made it more difficult for businesses to acquire and retain shoppers; it has added major challenges to a product online visibility and stock management. But all this can be addressed with new strategies while managing multichannel complexities. What are the main online marketplaces? What multi channel solution choices are available?
You will already have cash in your business that you think is tied up and not accessible. This seminar will give you the knowledge and an action plan that you can easily implement today to hunt it down and get it working for you. You may still need funding for your growth plans, but after this seminar you may realise that you don’t.
12.30 - 13.00
Who Cares About Intellectual Property (IP)
Digital Marketing Seminar - The Directors Cut
Ese Akpogheneta Nucleus IP
As you start a new business or an existing business evolves, your IP needs will also evolve. This seminar will give you a general overview of the various IP options available and how they interact and add value to your business if adequate protection is in place. This seminar aims to give a simplified overview of what some perceive to be a very confusing area of law.
Alasdair Inglis Grow
It can be hard to keep up with the constant change taking place in digital marketing. Choosing the right digital marketing strategies for a small business can be an overwhelming task. For digital savvy business owners, the opportunities in our fast moving digital landscape are incredible. Choosing the right digital marketing strategies for your business can dramatically increase your business enquiries, sales and profits. During this Digital Marketing seminar, Alasdair Inglis, Grow’s MD will teach proven digital marketing strategies that get amazing results.
SEMINAR HALL 5 FRIDAY
13.15 - 13.45
Julie Barry RIFT R&D Tax Credits
There is cash waiting for businesses who are developing new ideas – software, products, and processes. Any of these could qualify and you could be up for a much needed cash injection or vital research and development tax relief. Tax credits for R&D is a huge topic and it can take a lot to get your head around it so come and find out if you have fund to unlock in within your business
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Unlock the Hidden Funds You Didn’t Know You Had!
SEMINAR HALL 6 THURSDAY
SEMINAR HALL 6 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Perils, Pitfalls & Potential: Setting Up & Running Your Business
PR for Entrepreneurs: Be Heard, be Seen, be a Success!
John Walker MTA Business
Ali Shadrack Adia PR
John Walker, Partner at MTA Solicitors, will take you through the legal minefield of setting up and running a successful business. From current legislation and changes in consumer regulation to the need to regularly review your Terms & Conditions and contracts, there’s a lot to consider. Let MTA Business guide you through some of the common pitfalls and the not so obvious perils to avoid.
Every business small or large should be doing PR. PR activities that are carried out consistently and professionally will help you to: raise awareness of your business, build and improve your reputation, reach out to prospects and generate leads, and so much more! Join Ali Shadrack and learn some key tips and techniques on how to create thousands of pounds worth of free PR and propel your business to success.
11.45 - 12.15
14.45 - 15.15
John Davy Dojo Media Consulting Limited
How to Effectively Make LinkedIn Work for You & Your Business LinkedIn is the dominant business social media platform in our world today. With over 19 million UK users, LinkedIn is an important ally to have on your side. John Davy will reveal how this powerful platform can help you and explain why Linkedin is both good for your employees and good for your business. Discover the connection this creates and how you can blow your competitors out of the (social) water
Dwain Reid
Get The Most Out Of Networking At The Business Show And Beyond “Your network is your net worth” but how do you build a powerful network if you are too shy to network? Learn how to deal with networking at events including how to get over nerves you may feel beforehand. Learn 5 essential things to remember in networking situations including how to break the ice and get into conversations and how to follow up with key contacts.
12.30 - 13.00
IP Essentials For Start-Ups and SMEs
The Age of Start Ups-Virtual Professional Services in the Cloud
Richard Burton D Young & Co LLP
Whether a fledgling start up or established SME, intellectual property is one of your core assets. Are you using innovation to secure growth? Are you aware of the schemes available to support your growing business? Leading IP specialist Richard Burton from D Young & Co give a snapshot of what’s on offer and the IP rights essential for the best protection for your invention, technology and brand. Don’t miss out!
Stella Fehmi Businessworx
With so many businesses taking to the cloud for IT and Network infrastructure solutions, isn’t it time you used the cloud to its full potential for staffing solutions too? Now anyone with a great idea can start a business and get the solid backing of a professional workforce without any long-term commitment or concerns about salaries, pensions, offices or other traditional business methodologies.
13.15 - 13.45
How Technology Is Enabling Access To Finance For SMEs
Unlocking the Secrets to Getting Press Coverage
Graeme Marshall Funding Knight
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
On overview of how technology is breaking down the barriers within finance, and how new solutions are enabling UK’s SMEs to access capital for growth outside a traditional banking sector that has stopped lending. These new wave of companies also allow retail investors to receive the same rate of return as city insiders. In short, it is nothing less than the democratisation of finance.
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Stuart Hall Ten Alps Media
Do you want to know how to get published in B2B and Trade magazines and on relevant websites? How to become a regular contributor and get your business or product published? In this session we will look at the 3 types of editorial content most commonly used and will give you the top 5 points you need to know to unlock the power of PR coverage
SEMINAR HALL 6 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Sources of Finance for Your Business – Know all Your Options
Important Legal Considerations for Small Businesses
Amanda Williams (nee Friston) Business Law Online
This seminar will identify the numerous sources of finance available to start-up and young businesses, the key differences between them and how to best prepare an application for finance. It will also signpost businesses to further information on finance providers as well as how chartered accountants can help businesses get appropriate finance.
Starting up a new business can be both exciting and stressful and there are many things to cover all at a time when you have few staff and little disposal income, so what are the keys things you must take into account? We will guide you through the top ten legal considerations to help you avoid making costly mistakes.
11.45 - 12.15
From Bedroom to Boardroom: Taking Your Business to the Next Level
Richard Walters Intermedia
Building a business and realising your dreams can be extremely liberating. But how can you ensure you enjoy the freedom to focus on your business to help it grow? Part of the answer is Worry-Free IT. Richard will share his experiences and insights leveraging technology to build and grow world-class businesses. Through case studies he’ll show how Cloud technology can be a business growth enabler - without costing the world.
Iain Colbeck Experian
Where are you on your business journey? Whether you’re still refining your business idea, or have already started your business, Experian can help you at every step of the way. Join this seminar to see our credit expert share the latest views, best practices, hints and tips to help you protect your personal credit report and grow your business.
12.30 - 13.00
Why Social Media is the Make or Break of Any Small Business
Battle of Good and Bad Online Marketing, What Works Today?
Stacey Berold-Kutscher Sendible Ltd
Gary Strong Strong SEO
Serious about growing your market share? Still not sure about social media for your business? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this seminar is for you. Small businesses fight to thrive in competitive markets, with small budgets and limited resources. Social media is the great equaliser, allowing anyone to compete in the same space as the big-budget goliaths. See how it’s done on any budget.
Summary of what Strong SEO performs for our clients to help businesses triple profits from recent tips in the battle for online marketing
13.15 - 13.45
How Music Can Benefit Your Business
Cash Is King - The Importance of Cash Flow
Nick Chambers PPL UK
Nick will be sharing his key insights into the power of music and the role it plays in building your brand, growing your business and creating a unique experience for your company and customers.
Lisa Jones Klarity Vision
Cash, the lifeblood of business, making it critical you maintain a strong cash flow in your business. Throughout this seminar we will identify causes of poor cash flow, help you understand how to prevent/manage them. Showing you the importance of creating and maintaining a cash flow forecast so you can plan for and survive any shortfalls. One vital business lesson you should learn is creating a strong cash flow strategy.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Clive Lewis ICAEW
SEMINAR HALL 7 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
ET Phoned Home. He’d Be Over the Moon With SME Cloud Communications
What to Look out for When Buying and Selling a Business
Rafael Cortes Foehn
Sherine Silva Hodders Law Ltd
One of the most remarkable inventions of all time – the telephone – has become one of the most ubiquitous items of electronic communication, and yet only now in the 21st Century are businesses truly harnessing its full potential. Learn how to take control of your business phone system, get really smart with your business communications and do some really clever things that possibly you didn’t even know were possible!
Many of the pitfalls of buying and selling a business can be avoided by getting good advice upfront. This seminar explains what the common pitfalls are and how to avoid them.
11.45 - 12.15
Why You Don’t Need Consultants to Grow Your Business
What is Intellectual Property?
Stefano Maifreni Stem Advisory Ltd (eggcelerate)
The symptoms can creep up on you. There’s a sensation that you’re losing control. Perhaps you’re overcome by a feeling of weariness. And maybe your wallet seems mysteriously lighter… While growing your business, employing people with specialist skills may be too much of a commitment. Hiring consultants can prove expensive and fruitless. Perhaps you’ve had your fingers burned before? It’s horrible. Attend to discover what you can do instead.
Chris Smith Intellectual Property Office
Successful businesses understand the importance of protecting their Intellectual Property for brand names, new inventions, new designs and creative work. IP will account for a large part of the value of most businesses. This seminar will help you understand the four main areas (trade marks, patents, designs and copyright).
12.30 - 13.00
A Lawyer’s Guide to Structuring Your Business, Dealing with Investors and Tech
The New Voice of Telemarketing
Clive Halperin GSC Solititors
This Seminar will help start-ups and small to medium sized businesses understand how to structure their business, deal with shareholders and other investors and discuss how to exploit and protect your IP and technology. It is aimed at young and growing businesses including those who may be looking to bring in other shareholders and investors as part of their growth.
13.15 - 13.45
Robyn Sinclair Get Set For Growth
Ensuring Marketing Spend Delivers More Customers
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
Thanks to e-commerce, price comparison sites, online reviews and social media, there has never been so much choice… or competition! Consumers have more options, more offers and are more discriminating than ever before. As a business, you are no longer just competing within your immediate geography, but with organisations you’ve never heard of in parts of the world you’ve never seen. The internet has created an even and much larger playing field and almost every business has suffered its effects in one way or another - but this also brings opportunities
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Nicola Hartland Xcel Sales Limited
Online and social platforms can build strong awareness of your brand, but it is telemarketing with its direct and personal approach that will secure your business deals. Implemented well, social media activity enforced by engaging senior decision makers in conversations gives your business a competitive edge that leads to success. After all – people buy from people. So how do you turn online experiences into measurable results?
SEMINAR HALL 7 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
What Does the Increasing Chinese Investment Mean to British Companies?
Chris Smith Intellectual Property Office
Successful businesses understand the importance of protecting their Intellectual Property for brand names, new inventions, new designs and creative work. IP will account for a large part of the value of most businesses. This seminar will help you understand the four main areas (trade marks, patents, designs and copyright).
Andy Han YingDe Group Ltd
China is now at a stage of large-scale outward investment. It became the world’s third largest investor in 2014 with a total outward investment of more than USD 100 billion. Chinese investment in the UK has become diversified in the areas and patterns of investment amid drastic growth. Chinese investors does not only bring in investments, but also the cross-cultural perspective of your business and the opportunity to explore Eastern markets to broaden your business’ reach.
11.45 - 12.15
Navigating the Auto Enrolment Minefield
More Than A Jolly - Dispelling the Myth of Outdoor Team Development.
Will Wynne Smart Pension Limited
Two thirds of small businesses in the UK don’t know the exact date they need to comply with the new auto enrolment pension rules. This puts them at risk of some very considerable fines from The Pensions Regulator. Setting up a workplace pension scheme can be confusing, complicated, costly and time consuming. Will will talk you through how to navigate the auto enrolment minefield painlessly, simply and quickly.
Louise Edwards Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development
A seminar which looks at the potential value and outcomes a well planned and delivered outdoor development training programme can offer your team. It’s had a bad reputation as being a macho, uncomfortable, painful and slightly cheesy training experience. In actual fact, it can be a powerful, effective and engaging tool for bringing teams together to become more self-aware of their behaviours with the purpose of improving performance and changing attitudes.
12.30 - 13.00
Revolutionise your Business Efficiency with Mobile Working
Learn Multi Millionaire Trader’s Exact Strategies, Trading As A new income stream
Dan Farrell-Wright Webformed Ltd
Be more competitive, improve your quality of service and save money! Allow your mobile workforce to focus on the job at hand by eliminating tedious and time consuming paperwork. By providing all your field workforce with a smart phone or tablet and using the right mobile working applications, you can remove paperwork, improve the quality of service and become more competitive.
Darren Winters The Wealth Training Company LLP
Learn From A Multi-Millionaire Trader Proven Strategies, That Require Just A Few Hours A Week! Revealed: top secret strategies, investors use to make money: how to find great trades fast, when to buy and when to sell, how to minimize risk and maximize profits. Make sure you attend this presentation as you’ll be learning techniques that will impact your life and will help you create a new income stream.
SEMINAR HALL 7 FRIDAY
13.15 - 13.45
Josh Aarons & Peter Small SalesSeek Limited
Josh and Peter explain how aligning Sales and Marketing allows businesses to share insights, close business more effectively and provide the highest quality of client interaction. Sharing and comparing their separate experience from Marketing and Sales standpoints this seminar will shed light on that parts the are missing your revenue generation process. If you sell B2B then this is a presentation not to be missed.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Aligning Sales and Marketing for Explosive Businesses Growth
SEMINAR HALL 8 THURSDAY
SEMINAR HALL 8 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How the #!?% Can my Website Generate sales?
How to Rank Your Site On Google in 2016 and Beyond
Dave Harris One 2 Create
James Nicholson Tempo Web Design
Does your website win you business? Well it should! Part one of our two-part seminar covers everything you need to know to turn your website into a 24/7 sales tool for your business. We‘ll cover topics such as, understanding what makes a great website, using calls to action to improve conversions and different ways to be found in search engines.
In this seminar, James Nicholson will discuss the latest ways of ranking your website in 2015. Tactics from years gone by have changed a great deal, so you need to ensure you are up to date with the latest techniques. James will also advise how you can avoid Google penalties such as Google Panda and Google Penguin.
11.45 - 12.15
Voice Technology Has Advanced – Beyond Recognition
Simon Blackler Krystal Hosting
Simon set up his first company when he was 17. Turns out he didn’t know anything about running a business! Drop by for a relaxed and possibly humorous talk to find out what you should and shouldn’t be doing if you’re going into business for the first time. There’ll be a Q&A session at the end where you can ask all those burning questions you’ve got, like “Should I set up my own business?” (the answer is YES) and “Why are there so many forms to fill in?”
Terry Elwell LOASys
Computerised Speech Recognition has been available for nearly three decades and millions of people around the world have invested a good deal of their own time and money attempting to make this technology work for them. Unfortunately the majority of these people have failed to obtain the benefits that they desire and have abandoned the project. Let us see how Voice Technology is becoming more used and more useful.
12.30 - 13.00
Spend Less - Save Time: Sell More and Get Paid Online
Who Cares About Intellectual Property (IP)
FSB Energy and FSB Card Payments Federation of Small Businesses
Ese Akpogheneta Nucleus IP
This presentation will be hosted and delivered by the FSB with two of our major member benefit service providers: FSB Energy and FSB Card Payments. Packed full of essential tips and hints, this seminar will show you how to start and sustain your business by maximising time and outsourcing the things you don’t have time to do, from energy savings to finance and payroll. It will also provide you with the products and tools to help you sell more and grow your business with payment solutions for online and face to face transactions.
As you start a new business or an existing business evolves, your IP needs will also evolve. This seminar will give you a general overview of the various IP options available and how they interact and add value to your business if adequate protection is in place. This seminar aims to give a simplified overview of what some perceive to be a very confusing area of law.
13.15 - 13.45
Trade Marks – How to Protect and Preserve your Brand
Making 2016 Your Best Ever Year in Business
Michelle Bishton Vault IP Ltd
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
This presentation will initially explain what trade marks are and why it is important to conduct clearance searches and secure registered protection. It will also give guidance as how to secure registration of a trade mark in the UK and overseas, as well as how to preserve and strengthen your brand and things to be considered if you are planning to expand your business overseas.
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Ian Dickson Unlock Success Limited
There really is no better time to be in business. It’s your time and your turn to have the success you deserve. I will share with you some simple and proven ways to make sure 2016 is your best ever year in business. I’ll also share the three keys that you need to unlock the success in your business today guaranteed!
SEMINAR HALL 8 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Spend Less - Save Time: Sell More and Get Paid Online
Alternative Finance Solutions for SMEs
FSB Energy and FSB Card Payments Federation of Small Businesses
This presentation will be hosted and delivered by the FSB with two of our major member benefit service providers: FSB Energy and FSB Card Payments. Packed full of essential tips and hints, this seminar will show you how to start and sustain your business by maximising time and outsourcing the things you don’t have time to do, from energy savings to finance and payroll. It will also provide you with the products and tools to help you sell more and grow your business with payment solutions for online and face to face transactions.
Geoff Cooney Genie Lending Ltd
An overview for business owners and their advisers of the plethora of non-bank funding solutions currently available in the SME marketplace including Peer to Peer debt funders, unsecured loan providers, selective invoice discounters and trade finance solutions.
11.45 - 12.15
Using Advertising to Grow Your Business Beyong Word of Mouth
Getting Her Sold on YOU™ with 7 Keys to Selling to Women™
Phil Daniel Admedia
Carrie Eddins The Blondepreneur
Our seminar will describe how advertising can help you grow your business or service, beyond word of mouth.
Get her SOLD on YOU ™ with my 7 Keys to Selling to Women ™ 80% of all buying decisions are made by women… “ Forget China, India and the Internet, economic growth is driven by women.” Tom Peters. - Are you selling & marketing to women like men… BIG MISTAKE! * As women and men relate very differently! - Attend if you would like to learn how to increase your sales by fourfold!
12.30 - 13.00
Increase Sales, Improve Efficiency & Retain More Business Using SMS Communications
Brand or Bland? The Brand Challenge for SME’s.
Andrew Cook Text Global Limited
An in-depth look into engagement with customers via SMS text. How the simple SMS text can be used as a marketing tool to increase sales & integrated with third party applications to improve customer service. As the number of smart phone user’s increase & the amount of time consumers spend on a mobile device, SMS is a communication channel that can’t be ignored.
Geoff Hocking Breathe Creative
Branding often takes a back seat for SMEs who plead lack of resources or time and see it as something only for the Apples and Nikes of this world and not for them. Yet, branding is a vital element in propelling a company in to the consciousness of its potential customers. Learn how you can effectively use the power of branding in your business to give you the competitive edge.
SEMINAR HALL 8 FRIDAY
13.15 - 13.45
Richard Burton D Young & Co LLP
Whether a fledgling start up or established SME, intellectual property is one of your core assets. Are you using innovation to secure growth? Are you aware of the schemes available to support your growing business? Leading IP specialist Richard Burton from D Young & Co give a snapshot of what’s on offer and the IP rights essential for the best protection for your invention, technology and brand. Don’t miss out!
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
IP Essentials For Start-Ups and SMEs
SEMINAR HALL 9 THURSDAY
SEMINAR HALL 9 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How to Maximise Your Business Potential Through Online Marketing
Reward for Innovation - UK R&D Tax Relif and Patent Box
Kate Cox 123-Reg Limited
Gareth Edwards Ela8 Limited
You know digital has the potential to help your business, and you know you need skills to capitalise on that opportunity. But which skills do you REALLY need, and how can you avoid wasting time on skills that aren’t helpful?” 123-reg, as the UK’s largest domain registrar, registers a quarter of UK business websites and hosts over 500,000. As such, we have in depth knowledge of UK businesses digital presence
Experts from ela8 limited explain how businesses can maximise rewards through the R&D tax relief and patent box regimes. Using case studies, the presentation will explore how businesses become eligible and where the boundaries of eligibility might be drawn. It will also give examples of how ela8 has helped clients to increase claims, defend claims and construct methodologies to capture thinly spread R&D and present these to HMRC.
11.45 - 12.15
Data Breaches are not Just for Very Large Businesses
How To Have A Profitable Businesses Using The Thriving Entrepreneur Method:
Andrew Starr OpenIP Ltd
Amanda C. Watts The Start-Up Strategist
Companies, regardless of size, rely on critical business data in order to succeed. But if there is a loss of sensitive information, what would happen? Regardless of the size of the business and who is responsible for the loss of data: negligent employees, insiders or those with malicious intent—unless an organisation has the knowledge and skills to protect and recover lost data, data breaches will continue to cause problems.
With 80% of businesses closing within 3 years you need to create deep foundations and a strong brand that people recognise. Whether your business is just an idea, in start-up phase, or well established, this seminar clearly explains the step by step Thriving Entrepreneur Method that will guarantee your success. Learn Amanda’s 5-step method to attract ideal clients to your business like paparazzi round a celebrity.
12.30 - 13.00
Entrepreneurial Success Factors to Take Your Business to the Next Level
Say No to Accounting From the Jurassic Era
Sacha Sorrell Realise Partners Ltd
Bivek Sharma Head of KPMG Small Business Accounting
This interactive workshop will enable participants to evaluate their business based on Entrepreneurial Success factors (underpinned by our rigorous global research), and come up with actions to take their business to the next level.
Bivek Sharma will discuss how to demand more from your accountant…at no extra fee.
13.15 - 13.45
Improve Your Business Through Automation and Transparency
101 Reasons Why Your Business Fail or Falter & What To Do
Stephen Brown Polarisoft
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
In this talk we will explore how you can out-perform your competitors by automating key processes in your business and show how digital transparency is the key to scaling your profits while keeping your costs down. We will demonstrate how simple it can be to digitise your business and identify improvements to impact your financial outcomes.
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Janice B Gordon The Problem Solver - Business Growth Creator
No one goes into business expecting to fail or falter, yet a good number of established companies do. We do not focus on the problem we give you real practical solutions of what to do and how to avoid it. Too many businesses hit an income ceiling and do not know how to change their business strategy and push through. We want you to make the money and impact of your ambitions. This is not because of a lack of information but an inability to identify the practical actions and unique strength and bespoke strategies needed to create your ultimate sustainable business.
SEMINAR HALL 9 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
How the #!?% Do I Market My Business?
Private Medical Insurance“Let your Employees feel the Love!”
Simon Bradley WPA Healthcare Practice.
Does your website win you business? Well it should! Part one of our two-part seminar covers everything you need to know to turn your website into a 24/7 sales tool for your business. We‘ll cover topics such as, understanding what makes a great website, using calls to action to improve conversions and different ways to be found in search engines.
In the extremely fast paced world of business it’s important to look after the Healthcare of all your employees. This seminar highlights what Private Medical insurance is, the benefits it provides and the impact it could have on your business if you lose key employees to long-term illness. And importantly if you want to attract and retain the best staff you really need to offer this key employee benefit!
11.45 - 12.15
Keep an Eye on our Digital Show Guide for Speaker Updates
Philip Bryan Sentori
Understand The Numbers And Get More From Email Marketing When you send out email marketing messages using an on-line service provider you get information about message performance. Philip will explain how to make your email marketing more effective by understanding this information, and using to help you sell more products and services. He’ll explain some of the tricks of the trade on how to use what you can learn about your contacts to make future campaigns more effective.
12.30 - 13.00
Diamondology. Turning Insights into Profits
Want To Win Business? Make Your Staff The Prize
Donna Still Ultimate Business
As the owner of a retail business your only aim is to ensure your customers happily stay longer and spend more. Whether you are selling products or services. Diamondology is a sixstep process that helps you uncover the insights required to transform your customers’ behaviour and preferences into actions that can revolutionise and reinvigorate your business leading to increased profits.
Claudia Jordan True Telecom
After a lengthy recession that created a battle field of economic failure, the end result has been a market place swamped with less skilled and less qualified people. The cost of a new hire makes people your hardest fought assets. So having gained your assets, how do you keep your prizes?
16.15 - 16.45
Darren Winters The Wealth Training Company LLP
Learn Multi Millionaire Trader’s Exact Strategies, Trading As A new income stream Learn From A Multi-Millionaire Trader Proven Strategies, That Require Just A Few Hours A Week! Revealed: top secret strategies, investors use to make money: how to find great trades fast, when to buy and when to sell, how to minimize risk and maximize profits. Make sure you attend this presentation as you’ll be learning techniques that will impact your life and will help you create a new income stream.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Dave Harris One 2 Create
SEMINAR HALL 9 FRIDAY
SEMINAR HALL 10 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Top Ten Tips When Considering Non-traditional Finance for Your Business
What Does the Increasing Chinese Investment Mean to British Companies?
Richard Morley Liquid Finance
Andy Han YingDe Group Ltd
As alternative finance options become more mainstream and traditional bank finance does not always meet the needs of growing small businesses, how do you ensure that you are getting the best finance option for your business. Come and hear how companies like yours have utilised business cash advances to grow their business and how to avoid the typical pitfalls. All attendees will receive a FREE Finance Jargon Buster!
China is now at a stage of large-scale outward investment. It became the world’s third largest investor in 2014 with a total outward investment of more than USD 100 billion. Chinese investment in the UK has become diversified in the areas and patterns of investment amid drastic growth. Chinese investors does not only bring in investments, but also the cross-cultural perspective of your business and the opportunity to explore Eastern markets to broaden your business’ reach.
11.45 - 12.15
Improving Your Direct Hire Masterclass
The 7 Figure Mindset
Mark Stephens Smart Recruit Online
Tony J. Selimi TJS Cognition Ltd
Mark will be sharing the results of many years of research, which has provided unique insights into the recruitment landscape and the behaviours of recruiters and candidates. These insights have helped the hundreds of companies Mark works with improve their recruitment efficiencies, reduce administration time, increase the number of quality direct applications they receive and dramatically reduce recruitment costs.
To do your best work, become a spectacular performer, and thrive it requires mental agility, emotional stability, love, and laser sharp focus. In this talk, Tony J. Selimi the author of the Amazon’s bestselling book “A Path to Wisdom” and the coach to top business leaders and CEO’s, he shares 12 key insights that his clients use to change the inner game, center their being, and create the seven figure mindset.
12.30 - 13.00
Grow Your Business In 90 Minutes
Insecure Passwords or Insecure People?
Andy Wilcox Entrepreneurs Circle
Richard Walters Intermedia
What’s the most important task in business? Getting the accounts done? Answering emails? Nope, it’s getting and keeping customers. That is the most important thing that any business has to do to survive. So, when do you put time aside to get and keep customers? Most business owners never do. They’re too busy working IN the business to spend any time working ON the business. Join Andy Willcox from the Entrepreneurs Circle, who will share with you how to make yourself more productive and get that most important thing done everyday.
For the majority of applications, passwords are the only option for secure authentication. Although there’s nothing wrong with them, barely a week goes by without a high profile data breach resulting from weak or stolen credentials. Essentially, users select passwords that are too simple and predictable. What if SMBs could improve the way passwords are implemented, selected and changed regularly without user involvement? Security would be improved significantly. Join us to find out how.
13.15 - 13.45
The Key to Building a High-Performance Sales Team
Everyone Loves a Freebie! The Surprising Power of Promotional Products
Oscar Maciá ForceManager
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
What does it take to motivate your sales team and be an effective sales leader? Sales managers often focus too much on expenses, overlooking the human aspect of a business. Oscar Maciá firmly believes that the importance of accelerating the growth of your business includes knowing your sales team. In this seminar, Oscar will be giving his insight into what it takes to elevate your team to the top of their game.
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Karim Saykali We Brand It
In this insightful seminar Karim will tell you why promotional products create a much higher return on investment than any other forms of advertising, as well as giving you some great tips on ensuring you choose the right products for your business.
SEMINAR HALL 10 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Improving Your Direct Hire Masterclass
Grow and Control Your Business - Avoid Buying Stand-Alone Software and the Aggravation af Trying to Integrate Them
Mark will be sharing the results of many years of research, which has provided unique insights into the recruitment landscape and the behaviours of recruiters and candidates. These insights have helped the hundreds of companies Mark works with improve their recruitment efficiencies, reduce administration time, increase the number of quality direct applications they receive and dramatically reduce recruitment costs.
Will McIntee April Six
Introducing OneBizz: a combination of the best business software from Microsoft – Office 365, Dynamics CRM and Dynamics ERP – in one easy to use solution, designed for the entrepreneur driven organisation. OneBizz is the only all-in-one solution for all your front and back office processes, in the cloud and on a pay-per-use model, so you are ready for the future and can focus on what you do best; running your business.
11.45 - 12.15
Keeping Contractors and Freelancers on the Right Side of HMRC
How to Turn Your Website Into a Profit Engine
Pom Chakravarti Bradleys Accountants
Lee Chadwick WOW Analytics
The government has already taken a number of steps to introduce a level playing field for tax in the temporary labour market: reviews of IR35; consultations into tax relief on travel and subsistence; changes to dividend taxation; preventing the use of salary sacrifice schemes to avoid tax and NI contributions and more. Some of these changes are just around the corner. What will this mean for contractors and freelancers?
In a competitive market, generating more leads from your website traffic has become crucial to maximising ROI. But in this day and age, lead generation isn’t enough. In this seminar, Lee Chadwick, MD at WOW Analytics, shows you the tools that can enhance your lead generation and strengthen your sales pipeline. With best practice tips, you can expect to see firsthand how to turn your website into a profit engine.
12.30 - 13.00
Your Data Protection and Security Survival Action Plan starts … Now!
Five Ways Businesses Can Save Money by Outsourcing
Wayne Cleghorn PrivacySolved
Richard Fenton The Zinc Group
Have you heard about the changes to data protection and security that will affect UK and EU companies? Not sure what to do about your company’s personal information, when to do it and how? This lively seminar will focus on the key changes and set out a survival and action plan, so that your business does not just survive, but grow, thrive and innovate.
The presentation will cover five ways companies can save money through business processes outsourcing in the UK; we will cover five points to consider as a business owner, each with its own cost benefit. Business Process Outsourcing is a great way for companies to expand their operations without investing huge sums of money, allowing owners to concentrate on their core strengths.
13.15 - 13.45
The Business Case for Workplace Inclusion
Importance Of Language Training
Diversity focussed seminar looking at the best practices for inclusion in the work place.
Nathalie Danon-Kerr VICI Language Dynamics
When English is a truly global language, it is only natural to question if language training or language recruitment is important, however clearly it is: whether teaching a CEO the language of a foreign office, subsidiary or competitor through to ensuring a team are able to understand health and safety instructions or that the staff you recruit have the requisite language skills in the first place. In the global marketplace the most successful organisations are recognising the competitive edge that comes with staff speaking foreign languages.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
Mark Stephens Smart Recruit Online
SEMINAR HALL 10 FRIDAY
SEMINAR HALL 11 THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Grow Your Business In 90 Minutes
Bacs and Your Business: What you Need to Know About Rules, Imminent Internet Changes (SHA-2), and the Current Account Switch Service
Andy Wilcox Entrepreneurs Circle
What’s the most important task in business? Getting the accounts done? Answering emails? Nope, it’s getting and keeping customers. That is the most important thing that any business has to do to survive. So, when do you put time aside to get and keep customers? Most business owners never do. They’re too busy working IN the business to spend any time working ON the business. Join Andy Willcox from the Entrepreneurs Circle, who will share with you how to make yourself more productive and get that most important thing done everyday.
Mike Hutchinson Bacs Payment Schemes Limited
Bacs Payment Schemes Limited is the not-for-profit organisation behind UK automated payments Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit, as well as the Current Account Switch Service. Find out what rules apply when you make salary or supplier payments using Bacs, as well as how forthcoming changes to internet security will affect you and your access to the Bacs system, and why the Current Account Switch Service is relevant to business owners.
11.45 - 12.15
Accessing Cost Effective Legal Solutions
Property: The Safest, Securest and Most Profitable Business.
John Deane Slater & Gordon (UK) LLP
Businesses, and in particular SMEs often avoid formal legal support and guidance through fear of high costs and irrelevant advice being sold to them. Having the right legal advisor and knowing how to navigate legal services can add real value to a business and avoid practical pitfalls in entering transactions, resolving disputes or organising a company’s affairs. John will guide you through key issues about working effectively with your lawyer.
Kam Dovedi Premier Property Education
Would you like to create a business that everyone on the Times Rich List has in common? Would you like to know how you can generate continuous revenue regardless of the market conditions? Would you like to know how you can start a business with minimal funds? Then this seminar is perfect for you. In this seminar one of the UK’s leading business and property experts Kam Dovedi will be sharing with you why property is an asset class you must be investing in to create a safe, secure and sustainable income.
12.30 - 13.00
The Whole World in Your Hands: Mobile Marketing for SMEs on a Budget
When Should I Start Up My Start Up?
Irene Moore Digital Marketing London
Still think mobile marketing is just for the big boys with even bigger budgets? Think again. Join Digital Marketing London and discover why mobile marketing is made for small business. In this information-packed seminar you will learn the secrets to successful mobile marketing strategy to help drive sales leads and build customer loyalty. Can’t wait until The Business Show? text MOBILEMARKETING to receive your free Cheat Sheet.
13.15 - 13.45
James Workman, Michael Ranaldo and Jamie Randall Dephrisk Ltd.
Don’t Think You’ll be Hacked - Think Again! * Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
RELEVENT TO TECHPRENEUR
It’s 10pm and you find your company’s been hacked. What do you do? The real-life account of how the UK leader in cybersecurity training was hacked in the middle of the night and how they fixed it in less than 5 hours. Then, watch our tame hacker break into a computer in less than 10 minutes, from his own laptop, and learn how to stop this happening to your company.
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Jane Ollis RIFT Accounting?
The idea of starting your own business is exhilarating, but it’s easy to become paralysed by indecision, unable to realise your dream. You’ll never feel experienced enough, you’ll never have enough capital, and you’ll never have zero risk. It’s less about being the right time to start, and more about ensuring you’re the right person. Learn how to develop the resilience, problem solving abilities, optimism and collaboration skills needed to succeed.
16.15 - 16.45
Nigel Spencer The British Library Business & IP Centre
Introduction to Lean Startup
Lean Startup helps entrepreneurs reduce the cost of developing new products and services by reducing time and money wasted on features that customers do not want. It emphasises the importance of customer feedback from the earliest stages of development. Many believe it gives entrepreneurs a better chance of success without needing large amounts of outside funding. This workshop provides a top level introduction to Lean Startup practices and tools.
SEMINAR HALL 11 FRIDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
Property: The Safest, Securest and Most Profitable Business.
What is the “Internet of Things”?! No, really!
Kam Dovedi Premier Property Education
Simon Blackler Owly
Would you like to create a business that everyone on the Times Rich List has in common? Would you like to know how you can generate continuous revenue regardless of the market conditions? Would you like to know how you can start a business with minimal funds? Then this seminar is perfect for you. In this seminar one of the UK’s leading business and property experts Kam Dovedi will be sharing with you why property is an asset class you must be investing in to create a safe, secure and sustainable income.
Clueless about this thing being heralded “The 2nd Digital Revolution” but suspect it might affect your life somehow? Or perhaps you’re already involved with IoT? Either way all are welcome for what will probably be part presentation, majority open discussion.
11.45 - 12.15
How to Use Web Analytics to Improve Your Site’s Performance
How To Save Money, Time and Improve Productivity
Agnieszka Szrubkowska Web Behaviour Specialists
Joel Van der Molen Vandercom
The power of digital marketing lies in its measurability, which when combined with the use of web analytics tools results in better, data driven decisions. By capturing the KPIs that drive your business and learning how to interpret and test them, you will be able to better plan your marketing activities. This will ultimately result in better performance of your website.
With information over load on the internet it is difficult to gain insight in to what will be the right solution for your business and one that will serve for years to come. Choosing the right Connectivity and Cloud Services, such as Phone Systems and hosted IT Solutions, to support your strategy is essential to growing your business. Attendees will come away with cutting edge information to make intelligent technology decisions.
12.30 - 13.00
Protect, Save Money and Grow Your Business
Obtaining, Exploiting and Defending Your Patents, Designs and Trade Marks
FSB Energy and FSB Card Payments Federation of Small Businesses
The Federation of Small Businesses will deliver the next in a series of top tips and handy hints seminars designed to offer advice and help for you and your business. Please see online for further details on this seminar topic.
Robert Games Albright IP Ltd
Robert explains the difference between Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. He provides insight as to how best spend your money, discusses benefits of IP and lays bare the realities of IP enforcement. If you are starting a business or growing a business, then this Intellectual Property seminar is for you. A practical lively presentation from an experienced Attorney with a commercial edge.
SEMINAR HALL 11 FRIDAY
13.15 - 13.45
Tim Cameron-Kitchen Exposure Trading Ltd (Exposure Ninja)
The UK’s bestselling SEO author will take you behind the scenes on some SEO campaigns and deconstruct what it takes to boost your ranking and visibility profitably in 2016 and beyond. Using examples from real small and medium sized businesses Tim will share in plain English the strategies him and Exposure Ninja have used to transform businesses with organic traffic.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
How to Increase revenue by 870%, traffic by 6,500% and dominate your market using ninja SEO.
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
WILEY STARTUP SCHOOL THURSDAY
WILEY STARTUP SCHOOL THURSDAY 11.00
14.00
How to Stand Out: Proven Tactics for Getting Noticed
Get and Keep All the Customers You Need
Dr. Rob Yeung Author of How to Stand Out: Proven Tactics For Getting Noticed
Nigel Botterill Author of Build Your Business in 90 Minutes a Day
You have the skills. It’s about showcasing these skills so that colleagues, customers, friends and the rest of the world can recognize what you do. With so many businesses’ out there, how do you make yours stand out from the competition? Drawing on extensive research and inspiring real-life examples, psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Rob Yeung will guide you through techniques that will get you noticed for all the right reasons.
The 18 secrets that super-successful business owners know and do that most business owners either don’t know or don’t do.
12.00
Brad Burton Author of LIFE. BUSINESS. JUST GOT EASIER
Stefan Thomas Author of Business Networking for Dummies
LIFE. BUSINESS. JUST GOT EASIER
Business Networking for Dummies
The UK’s #1 Motivational Biz Speaker: Don’t let the jeans and t-shirt fool you. “A northern Anthony Robbins” - Dragons Den star, Theo Paphitis. MD of the UK’s largest joined-up business network, 4Networking, Brad founded the business in 2006 and now runs over 5,000 events across the UK each year. “Beneath the bluff exterior of the self-styled “fat bloke from Manchester” is a shrewd business brain” – The Times. Brad will change the way you think about your life, business forever.
Ever wondered how to really make networking work for you? From desperation in Stefan HAD to make networking work and, in a fast paced seminar will give you the techniques and strategies proven to work. Stefan had to pay the mortgage and bills and will give you real life information which you can take away and use straight away.
13.00
The Gift of Time – How Delegation Can Help You Succeed in Your Business
Get Focused and Become Unstoppable in Business
Gail Thomas Author of The Gift of Time: How Delegation Can Give you Space to Succeed
Hear about the under-estimated power of delegation in small, new and growing businesses. Learn about the benefits to business owners, the value in growth terms, what to delegate, how to do it best and who could be available to help.
Don’t forget to visit the Business Startup Bookshop at stand No.156. We are offering up to 65% off all the books and you can claim your free eBook.
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Pete Wilkinson Author of Unstoppable: Using The Power Of Focus To Take Action And Achieve Your Goals
To be successful in business and in life, you need to make an impact. Be a force to be reckoned with. Be a winner. No one knows this better than successful triathlete Pete Wilkinson. In his seminar he will share with you his simple system for making sure you stay on track and fulfill your potential. By being focused you will achieve more than you ever thought possible, and if you want to give yourself and your business the best chance of success you need to become unstoppable.
Andy Harrington Author of Passion Into Profit - How To Make Big Money From Who You Are And What You Know
Passion Into Profit – How to Make BIG Money From Who You Are and What You Know
We’re all good at something, but are we really earning what we are worth? Is your business truly pulling in what it deserves? In this seminar, Andy Harrington shows you exactly how to assert your expertise, go it alone, and pull in the mega bucks. Discover how to position, and promote your business as the ‘go to authority’ for your industry.
14.00
Lucy Whittington Author of Find Your Thing: How to discover what you do best, own it and get known for it
Find Your Thing and Get Famous for it
Instead of a business just doing some-thing, find out how to have a business doing your Thing (the thing you are brilliant at). Figuring out what your Thing is, and how to get paid for it, is easier than you think. And when you work out your Thing, find out how to ‘get famous’ for it so everyone gets why you’re brilliant at it too (and buys from you).
12.00
Upgrade Yourself to Achieve the Extraordinary
How to Get Everyone Talking About Your Business
Richard Tyler Author of Jolt: Shake Up Your Thinking And Upgrade Your Impact For Extraordinary Success
Linzi Boyd Author of Brand Famous: How to get everyone talking about your business
In a world where good enough is no longer enough, how are you daring yourself to stand and be extraordinary?The world has changed dramatically - those that are brave enough to stand up, stand out and be noticed will be the ones that disrupt and provoke change. In this session, Richard will share with you how you can start to make the shift from ordinary to extraordinary.
Make your business a household name. There are so many brands out there in all sectors, how do you make yours standout in such a crowded market? Whether you want to build, renovate or just refresh your brand, this seminar will give you the understanding of where you are with your brand now and how to move forward. Learn Linzi’s 5 step process required to achieve stand-out status.
13.00
Oversubscribed: How to Get People Lining up to do Business With You
Starting Your Own Business on £100
Daniel Priestley Author of Oversubscribed: How To Get People Lining Up To Do Business With You
Daniel Priestley, will explain how to find your ‘entrepreneurial sweet spot’. This is all about finding the best business idea for you. Daniel will explain exactly how to discover the perfect ‘thing’ for you that ticks all the boxes. With Daniel’s help you’ll discover your perfect entrepreneurial pursuit or be able to test the idea you already have and assess its potential.
Vince Stanzione Author of The Millionaire Dropout: Fire Your Boss, Do What You Love, Reclaim Your Life
Want to fire your boss, do what you love and reclaim your life? People often say they don’t have a lot of money, so they can’t start their own business. Well Vince Stanzione will tell you otherwise! He will show you that it is very much possible to set up your own business from just £100. Come along to his inspirational talk and learn how this can be done.
ABOUT THE SPONSOR As the UK’s #1 business publisher, Wiley have the best books on starting and growing a business. We work with the UK’s leading entrepreneurs and business experts to bring you sound advice, wisdom and inspiration to help you make your business a success. Be sure to visit the Wiley Startup School, for your chance to hear directly from some of the UK’s bestselling business authors, covering everything from what business idea is best for you to understanding the finances and securing backing. Each seminar will include an in-depth talk from an expert author, followed by a Q&A and the opportunity to get a copy of the book at up to 65%off - and have it signed by the author! To get more info about the Wiley Startup School follow us on Twitter @thisiscaptstone
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
11.00
WILEY STARTUP SCHOOL FRIDAY
WILEY STARTUP SCHOOL FRIDAY
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
INTERNET BUSINESS SCHOOL THURSDAY
THE INTERNET BUSINESS SCHOOL THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.45
15.00 - 15.45
How to DOUBLE Your Business in Less Than 3 Months Using the Internet
How to DOUBLE Your Business in Less Than 3 Months Using the Internet
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Top strategies to enable any business to grow using the Internet in 2016 Learn from Simon Coulson, one of the UK’s leading Internet Marketers, about all the latest essential strategies to grow your business online. Simon will be covering the methods that you should be using to take advantage of the new online generation by leveraging search engines, social media and online communities. Simon will also show you how to engage and convert your web visitors into paying customers.
Top strategies to enable any business to grow using the Internet in 2016 Learn from Simon Coulson, one of the UK’s leading Internet Marketers, about all the latest essential strategies to grow your business online. Simon will be covering the methods that you should be using to take advantage of the new online generation by leveraging search engines, social media and online communities. Simon will also show you how to engage and convert your web visitors into paying customers.
12.00 - 12.45
How to Use Google Adwords and Facebook PPC Advertising Platforms Effectively
How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business in 2016
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Join Simon Coulson, serial entrepreneur with over 10 years experience in Internet Marketing, as he teaches you how to use Google Adwords and Facebook’s advertising platform to grow your business. Learn the key metrics to measure, and strategies to maximise the effectiveness of paid advertising from someone who has spent over £1M of their own money buying traffic through these 2 channels.
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Learn the latest strategies for growing your business leveraging Social Media. Speaker and founder of the Internet Business School Simon Coulson will share case studies of successful marketing campaigns leveraging Social Media for next to zero cost marketing.
13.00 - 13.45
How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business in 2016
How To Make Money With Affiliate Marketing
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Learn the latest strategies for growing your business leveraging Social Media. Speaker and founder of the Internet Business School Simon Coulson will share case studies of successful marketing campaigns leveraging Social Media for next to zero cost marketing.
14.00 - 14.45
Richard McMunn The Internet Business School
How to Build Your Profile and Become a Best-Selling Online Author Former firefighter Rick McMunn will teach you how to write a book and become a best-selling author in under 30 days. Rick’s workshop will teach you the process for writing a book, getting it published and keeping all of the profits. Rick McMunn is an award-winning, best-selling author with a portfolio of over 200 books, and has made over £4,000,000 from writing and selling books. This former firefighter, who has been a best-selling author will teach you the 7 stages to generating a 6-figure income from book writing and self-publishing.
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Jay Hastings The Internet Business School
Join Jay Hastings who will share with you how you can make money without your website, simply by referring traffic to affiliate offers and getting paid a commission from big brands for sending them leads. Jay will show you how to sign up to promote offers, and how to create your own webpages to capture leads in the process.
11.00 - 11.45
How to DOUBLE Your Business in Less Than 3 Months Using the Internet
How to Build Your Profile and Become a Best-Selling Online Author
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Richard McMunn The Internet Business School
Top strategies to enable any business to grow using the Internet in 2016 Learn from Simon Coulson, one of the UK’s leading Internet Marketers, about all the latest essential strategies to grow your business online. Simon will be covering the methods that you should be using to take advantage of the new online generation by leveraging search engines, social media and online communities. Simon will also show you how to engage and convert your web visitors into paying customers.
Former firefighter Rick McMunn will teach you how to write a book and become a best-selling author in under 30 days. Rick’s workshop will teach you the process for writing a book, getting it published and keeping all of the profits. Rick McMunn is an award-winning, best-selling author with a portfolio of over 200 books, and has made over £4,000,000 from writing and selling books. This former firefighter, who has been a best-selling author will teach you the 7 stages to generating a 6-figure income from book writing and self-publishing.
12.00 - 12.45
How to Use Google Adwords and Facebook PPC Advertising Platforms Effectively
How to DOUBLE Your Business in Less Than 3 Months Using the Internet
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
Join Simon Coulson, serial entrepreneur with over 10 years experience in Internet Marketing, as he teaches you how to use Google Adwords and Facebook’s advertising platform to grow your business. Learn the key metrics to measure, and strategies to maximise the effectiveness of paid advertising from someone who has spent over £1M of their own money buying traffic through these 2 channels.
Top strategies to enable any business to grow using the Internet in 2016 Learn from Simon Coulson, one of the UK’s leading Internet Marketers, about all the latest essential strategies to grow your business online. Simon will be covering the methods that you should be using to take advantage of the new online generation by leveraging search engines, social media and online communities. Simon will also show you how to engage and convert your web visitors into paying customers.
13.00 - 13.45
16.00 - 16.45
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business in 2016 Learn the latest strategies for growing your business leveraging Social Media. Speaker and founder of the Internet Business School Simon Coulson will share case studies of successful marketing campaigns leveraging Social Media for next to zero cost marketing.
Simon Coulson The Internet Business School
How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business in 2016 Learn the latest strategies for growing your business leveraging Social Media. Speaker and founder of the Internet Business School Simon Coulson will share case studies of successful marketing campaigns leveraging Social Media for next to zero cost marketing.
INTERNET BUSINESS SCHOOL FRIDAY
THE INTERNET BUSINESS SCHOOL FRIDAY
ABOUT THE SPONSOR
Whether you have an existing business you want to bring online, an online business that could perform better, or you’re starting out and want to build your own new business online – you’re in the right place. The Internet Business School has been approved as a NCFE Investing in Quality (IIQ) centre to give formal recognition to our courses. Accreditation gives assurance that the content of our training courses is of the highest standard, and meets the rigorous quality assurance requirements of a national awarding organisation. We have expert tuition on all aspects of doing business online from a panel of professionals who have made millions online. Simon Coulson founded the Internet Business School after finding out himself just how much there was to learn about doing business online and how widespread the information is.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk for the latest information.
The Internet Business School provides Level 3 & 4 accredited InternetInternet Business School Founder, Simon Coulson Marketing Courses. Founded in 2007 by successful online entrepreneur, Simon Coulson Internet Business School is the place to learn everything you need to put your business online.
TECHPRENEUR 2015
TECHPRENEUR HALL THURSDAY 11.00 - 11.30
14.00 - 14.30
An Introduction to Trademarks and Why Every Company Should Own One
TMT Predictions 2016
Ariana Kumar Marks and Clerk
This seminar will explain what a trade mark is, why trademarks are important and how a company may obtain one. The seminar will also focus on the legal requirements for trade mark protection, the importance of using a trade mark once obtained and the importance of actively enforcing your trade mark. It will also touch briefly on how trade mark protection may assist you in situations involving counterfeit reproduction of your goods.
Join Jass Sarai in his seminar at Techpreneur Expo 2015.
11.45 - 12.15
14.45 - 15.15 The Pitch Finalists Panel
Do You Really Understand Your Customer?
Attend our panel session to meet three exciting early stage technology start-up business founders discuss their challenges, how they overcame them and what lessons they’ve learned on the way. Each entrepreneur has brought an idea to life literally from scratch, building and iterating their products to the point of being market ready – join in to ask any questions you might have to this exciting panel.
Emma Cox Grabble
Everyone knows that understanding your customer is essential to successfully developing and marketing your product, but what does understanding your customer mean? How do you learn about your customer? And once you understand them better, how do you apply this knowledge to your product development and marketing? I will walk you through the techniques I use with my team to develop early and growth stage web and mobile products based on customer insight.
12.30 - 13.00
How to Ensure You Never Get Funded
The Past & the Future for iBeacons/ URIbeacons/ Eddystone
Bill Morrow Angels Den
If you want to learn about the do`s and do not`s of looking for funding, how to pitch to investors, what investors are really looking for and how to impress them, learn from expert, Bill Morrow, who`s been there, done it and seen it all.
13.15 - 13.45 Shweta Jhajharia ActionCoach
Building The Ultimate Sales and Marketing Machine
* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.techpreneurexpo.co.uk for the latest information.
Jass Sarai PWC
Too many businesses hit an income ceiling, and never make the kind of money (or the kind of impact) that they are capable of. They get stuck at one of the 3 plateaus: Survival, Stability or even Success.And this is not because of inadequate information about what the really successful companies out there are doing! It is because of an inability to identify the simple actions and core strategies that need to be implemented to create an “Ultimate Sales and Marketing Machine” in the business
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Simon Richardson Shufdy Ltd
During the seminar, Simon will explain what these new pieces of technology are and, more importantly, what the market for them is. Using experience gained from relationships with tourist boards and commercial partners, Simon will explain the pros and cons, the do’s and the don’ts of this hot technology area. There will also be some iBeacons being used during the presentation.
16.15 - 16.45
Mark Longbottom
Instagram #Enjoying #Engaging Mark Longbottom will be discussing and showing the benefits and values of Instagram. Sharing tips, tricks and how to enjoy being inspiring and creative on Instagram. Sharing his Instagram journey of 500,000 likes in less than 10 months, connecting this to 33 years of genuine creative social networking. The audience will learn about the basics as well as some advanced user Instagram activity, leaving having learned simple and practical lessons that they will be able to use immediately.
11.00 - 11.30
Say No to Accounting From the Jurassic Era
Female Techpreneur: How to Build a Community of 85k People With No Funding
Bivek Sharma Head of KPMG Small Business Accounting
Bivek Sharma will discuss how to demand more from your accountant…at no extra fee.
Nidhima Kohli My Beauty Matches
With no prior experience in tech, Nidhima will be sharing her tips on how to build a multi award winning business recognised by some of the biggest publications with a community size of 100,000 people with no funding and hence why The Guardian appointed My Beauty Matches as startup of the year 2014.
11.45 - 12.15
Game Over. Life and Business Lessons From a Video Games Master
Michael Wilkinson Crowdcube
Equity crowdfunding has changed phenomenally since Crowdcube coined the phrase back in 2011. It is now the go-to form of funding for start-ups and established companies alike. Michael Wilkinson, Head of Equity Investment for Crowdcube has experienced this change first hand since joining the company in 2012, he will talk about how the industry and the company has changed over the last three years and what the future might hold.
Jason Dutton JPD Associates
What can Space Invaders, Pacman and Angry Birds teach any growing business and why the hell did we pay $1.6M for a hastily drawn picture of a dragon on a napkin? How can you make your marketing remarkable and why did ET destroy Atari? Please join me for the answers!
12.30 - 13.00
Online Businesses Legal MOT – Don’t Get Caught Out
What is Intellectual Property?
Nicola Lucas Nockolds Solicitors
This seminar is aimed at those who need a legal health check for their online business. The seminar will give those dealing in online trading a snapshot of the laws that affect your trade and website, and outline how those laws and regulations are different from other methods of trading, to help you measure up. All delegates will receive a FREE Legal MOT checklist.
Chris Smith Intellectual Property Office
Successful businesses understand the importance of protecting their Intellectual Property for brand names, new inventions, new designs and creative work. IP will account for a large part of the value of most businesses. This seminar will help you understand the four main areas (trade marks, patents, designs and copyright).
TECHPRENEUR HALL FRIDAY
13.15 - 13.45
James Nicholson Tempo Web Design
In this seminar, James Nicholson will discuss the latest ways of ranking your website in 2015. Tactics from years gone by have changed a great deal, so you need to ensure you are up to date with the latest techniques. James will also advise how you can avoid Google penalties such as Google Panda and Google Penguin.
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* Content and speakers are subject to change. The digital show guide and seminar timetable will be updated online prior to the show, so please check www.techpreneurexpo.co.uk for the latest information.
How to Rank Your Site On Google in 2016 and Beyond
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
GOING GLOBAL UNPARALLELED ADVICE ON HOW TO ENTER THE MARKET OVERSEAS AND SUCCEED
Are you thinking about taking your business overseas? Co-located at the event is Going Global, the event dedicated to assisting businesses expanding into international markets with the honest insight and guidance required when entering new countries and cultures. Businesses making the significant leap into overseas trade require expert and experienced knowledge; doing business in unfamiliar climates can be daunting and extremely hazardous. Going Global is here to smoothen this process.
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A range of seminars and a host of international business experts will provide you with the upmost in advice and information about overseas growth, and your ticket enables you to gain free access to absolutely everything on offer.
Whether it’s knowledge on emerging markets or foreign trade you require, or honest advice on the pitfalls of international expansion or the risks and challenges associated with conducting business in a particular country or region, the greatest level of insight and advice is available at Going Global. The next few pages will provide everything you need to know about the exclusive seminar schedule. Each session is free of charge, but just like with every other seminar at The Business Show, places are taken very quickly so ensure you
plan your trip in advance and don’t miss out on what’s essential to you. If you’re a business owner contemplating international growth, then attendance to Going Global is an absolute must. You will not find more information, knowledge, advice, and honesty in one location.
Directions to The Going Global hall are available at the back of this show guide.
GOING GLOBAL LIVE SEMINAR HALL 16 THURSDAY 11.00
FRIDAY
Ulrik Fleischer-Michaelsen Invest in Denmark
Denmark – One of the Best Locations for Business
11.45
John Bendel 3di Information Solutions Ltd
Elizabeth Ward Virtuoso Legal
Stuart Pocock Kompass (UK) Ltd
Emma Scotton KnowGlobal Ltd
Mark Runiewicz Trade and Export Finance Ltd
Stephen Humphreys Atlantic Sales Partners
Mark Runiewicz Trade and Export Finance Ltd
£1M Fund to Support Exports
14.45
How to Use IP to Your Advantage in Global Business
Mark Neal Armagard
The Tools for the Journey to Export Success
16.15
Selling USA: Practicalities and Pitfalls of a US Sales Strategy
14.00
Financing Your Exports - When the Computer Says “No”
15.30
Key Data Decisions: Driving Your Export Activity With the Right Data
13.15
E-commerce; Removing the Barriers to International Expansion
14.45
Stuart Pocock Kompass (UK) Ltd
E-commerce; Removing the Barriers to International Expansion
Key Data Decisions: Driving Your Export Activity With the Right Data
14.00
How to Use IP to Your Advantage in Global Business
13.15
John Bendel 3di Information Solutions Ltd
Export and Grow – How Localization Will Help You and Your Customers
Export and Grow – How Localization Will Help You and Your Customers
12.30
Dr Tahir Akhtar Adam Global
How to Internationalise Your Business With Minimal Capital Outlay
Abdeslam El-Idrissi Arab British Chamber of Commerce
Highlighting the Opportunities and Realities of UK Arab Trade
SEMINAR SESSIONS RUN FOR 30 MINUTES
SPACES ARE FIRST COME FIRST SERVED - GET THERE EARLY TO ENSURE YOU GET A SEAT!
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GOING GLOBAL LIVE SEMINAR HALL 17 THURSDAY 11.00
FRIDAY
John Pearce Made in Britain Campaign
Making Money by Making British
11.45
Sub-Saharan Africa - A Glowing Opportunity!
James Gillespie UK Trade & Investment
Getting the Best From Your Agents or Distributors
15.30
Graham Snape UKTI South East
Iran, a BRIC in Waiting and Now Open for Business?
Top Tips for Selling Internationally
14.45
Martin Johnson British Iran Chamber of Commerce
An In-depth Focus on Iran
UK Export Finance Support for Exporters
13.15
Getting the Best From Your Agents or Distributors
11.45
James Gillespie UK Trade & Investment
14.45
Julian Lynn UK Export Finance
UK Export Finance Support for Exporters
David Billingsby UKTI London
Sub-Saharan Africa - A Glowing Opportunity!
Tracy Masters UKTI South East
Top Tips for Selling Internationally
ABOUT UK TRADE & INVESTMENT UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is the Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. UKTI also help overseas companies bring their high-quality investment to the UK’s dynamic economy, acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business.
SEMINAR SESSIONS RUN FOR 30 MINUTES
SPACES ARE FIRST COME FIRST SERVED - GET THERE EARLY TO ENSURE YOU GET A SEAT!
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GOING GLOBAL LIVE SEMINAR HALL 20 THURSDAY 11.00
FRIDAY
David Gibbs Alliotts, Member of Alliott Group
11.00
Going Global, What’s Holding You Back?
Doing Business Overseas? What You Need to Know About Tax
11.45
Keep an Eye on our Digital Show Guide for Speaker Updates
SPEAKER TO BE CONFIRMED On Time Business Setup
Keep an Eye on our Digital Show Guide for Speaker Updates
SEMINAR SESSIONS RUN FOR 30 MINUTES
SPACES ARE FIRST COME FIRST SERVED - GET THERE EARLY TO ENSURE YOU GET A SEAT!
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EXHIBITOR LISTINGS
PARTNERS
.uk - Brought to you by Nominet Stand Number 324 .uk is the shorter domain that offers an exciting new online territory for businesses and for creating a personal identity online. It is the domain of the future. Whether you are a fully fledged business, just starting out or looking to create a unique space online, you can make .uk your own. 01865 332244 www.agreatplacetobe.uk 1-2-1 Accountants Stand Number 570 1-2-1 Accountants are a London firm of Chartered Certified Accountants authorised to practice by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in England & Wales. We offer Accountancy, Payroll, Taxation, Business Development & Mentoring services. 0207 3134 148 www.1-2-1accountants.com 1&1 Internet Ltd Stand number 324 As one of the world’s leading web hosting providers, 1&1 enables SMBs to assert their web presence through a range of hosting solutions. 1&1 offers a variety of domains which includes .uk, the shorter TLD that offers exciting new territory for businesses looking to create a personal online identity. 0333 336 5509 www.1and1.co.uk 3di Information Solutions Stand Number G181 We work closely with you to translate your business information and localize your products, both of which really help you to grow your exports and increase your revenue. 01483 211533 www.3di-info.com
FlamePost Social Media Content Management
4Networking Ltd Stand Number 1021 With over 250 networking groups across the UK and over 50,000 members, online and face to face, 4Networking is a business community that helps you get business appointments. Network within our relaxed yet structured meeting format for efficient and effective use of your business time. 0845 123 4444 www.4networking.biz A.S.A.P Office Services Stand Number 830 A.S.A.P. Office Services provide dedicated, professional and friendly payroll outsourcing service to businesses across the UK. 01621 829 632 www.asapofficeservices.com
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Aaron Parker Franchises Stand Number 170 As international franchise brokers we leverage years of industry experience to help you assess your monetary and lifestyle goals, then connect you with the franchise opportunities across Europe and North America that you may not otherwise find. The process is quick, cost free and painless www.aaronparker.co.uk Academia for Business Stand Number 842 Academia for Business is part of the Academia Technology Group and recognised as one of the fastest growing technology companies in the UK. We have partnered with Microsoft to demonstrate throughout the show a range of productivity tools including; Office 365, CRM Online and Microsoft Surface Pro. 01992 703 900 www.business.academia.co.uk Accountex Stand Number 922 Accountex is the worlds largest event for Accountants. With over 170 exhibitors and one of the best seminar line-ups available Accountex is the place where the most proactive and forward thinking Accountants meet for 2 days of education, networking and to benchmark the latest products and services. 0117 990 2091 www.accountex.co.uk ActionCOACH Stand Number 160 ActionCOACH are the world’s number one business coaching and executive coaching firm, with more than 1,000 offices in 55 countries. www.actioncoach.com ADAM Global Stand Number G140 ADAM Global is a leading Corporate Services firm, delivering International Business Solutions assisting companies and entrepreneurs establish and expand their businesses seamlessly across international borders. With 117 offices globally, we are the global experts who understand the local needs. 00971 4 341 9701 www.adamglobal.com Adia PR Stand Number 1034 Are you having difficulty in getting noticed by your ideal clients? You may truly believe in what you are offering but if your target audience doesn’t know about it, understand it, or trust it, then you have a real problem. Adia PR will help you to be heard, be seen and be a success! Let’s talk.. 01787 221 875 www.adiapr.co.uk
Admedia Stand Number 1016 Admedia are leaders in environmental and audience advertising. We provide Static and Digital advertising opportunities that help small, medium and large businesses & brands grow. Our unique media opportunities direct consumers to your brand, service or business & increase sales. 0207 580 3633 www.admedia.co.uk
AEI Saudi Stand Number G200 AEI is a Saudi based consultancy enabling foreign companies to pursue, grow and deliver business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We help over 100 companies a year to understand, explore, enter and succeed in the Saudi market through our low cost, low risk services. 00 966557984007 www.aeisaudi.com
ADN Accountants Stand Number 920 ADN Accountants work in partnership with you to create a `WOW` moment in everything we do for you. We change your life for the better by giving you back time to focus on the things that are important to you, like more success, more wealth or simply more time for yourself! 020 3667 3688 www.adnltd.com
AET Global Stand Number G192 www.aetglobalgroup.com
AdTube Stand Number 1236 AdTube produce corporate videos and event films for websites and social media. Our videos are the perfect vehicle for you to tell your story and build trust with your audience in an engaging way. 020 3583 1870 www.adtube.uk.com Advanced Payment Solutions Stand Number 540 We offer Business Current Accounts tailored for start-ups and SME’s via our Cashplus brand. With an instant online application process and transparent pricing, the multi award winning account has become the business current account of choice for over 50,000 businesses across the UK. 0203 617 5768 www.mycashplus.co.uksme Advantage Business Partnerships Stand Number 259 ABP provide businesses with coaching, mentoring and hands-on consultancy services, including giving expert advice on accessing funding. Their team of business experts have a wealth of experience from a range of business backgrounds and work in partnership with business owners to grow their business. 0203 384 0276 www.advantagebusinessltd. com AE in a Box Stand Number 269 AE in a Box is everything an accountant, payroll bureau and employer needs to prepare and comply with auto enrolment all in one place and online. 8450568959 www.aeinabox.co.uk
Albright IP Stand Number 1038 We are a small to medium sized professional firm of British and European Patent and Trademark Attorneys. We specialise in invention and brand protection for Start-ups and SMEs. We are cost effective and we try and provide excellence in everything we do. We are ideal for individuals and small firms. 01242 691 801 www.albright-ip.co.uk Align Global Consulting Align Global Consulting is a Raleigh, North Carolina-based globalization firm that helps clients expand globally or improve existing operations by providing creative legal and tax solutions to address commercial, trade, investment and regulatory matters. We assist companies in all stages of growth, from emerging growth companies to the Fortune 100. www.alignglobalconsulting.com Alliott Group Stand Number G196 www.alliotts.com Amanda C. Watts Stand Number 661 Amanda C. Watts is known as The Start-Up Strategist. She specializes in working with stressed-out and burnt-out corporate employees who want to make the leap and set up their own business and become a Thriving Entrepreneur. 07782 505 045 www.amandacwatts.com Andy Harrington Stand Number 924 Andy Harrington and his speaking expert team has a passion; raising peoples earning potential. With over 15 years of experience, Andy and his team has coached Hollywood movie stars and some of the worlds best public speakers through the Public Speakers University & Professional Speakers Academy. 0203 021 4353 www.andyharrington.com
Angels Den Stand Number 1291 Angels Den is an angel-led crowdfunding platform where angel investors and experienced business people invest in pre-vetted SMEs. Investors often play an active role in the business, providing the initial funding, expertise and contacts to drive growth. 0203 318 0230 www.angelsden.com Anicca Digital Ltd Stand Number 1250 Anicca is an established search marketing agency that specialises in data-driven search marketing for competitive B2B and ecommerce brands. 0116 254 7224 www.anicca.co.uk Anke Anusic - ACN Stand Number 152 The ACN Opportunity Are you tired of trading time for money, building someone else’s dream? Discover The ACN Opportunity, where you can be your own boss and make your own hours, while earning lasting, lucrative residual income every time your customers pay their bill. 07480 647 548 www.wealthmentoring.acnrep. com App Your Business Stand Number 1204 Providing bespoke mobile apps to small and medium sized businesses to widen client base and improve interaction with existing clients. 01628 780 962 www.app-your-business.co.uk App2Chat Stand Number 832 App2Chat is the innovative new business telephone system that works using landlines on smartphones over GSM networks - replacing the need for PBX infrastructure, desk phones and ISDN lines. Developed by The Pink Telephone Company Limited, App2Chat will revolutionise the way businesses handle calls. 020 80 993 994 www.app2chat.com Appsme Stand Number 1156 Get a mobile app for your business today. Learn about the benefits a mobile app can offer your business (and learn how to quickly, easily and affordably you can get one, too!) 020 8150 3412 www.appsme.com
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Atlantic Sales Partners Stand Number G162 It is often said that the Brits and Americans speak the same language but the similarities can be deceiving. We are a practical and focussed team of sales professionals with experience on both sides of the Atlantic. We can map your market, plan your entry and, if required, represent you. 00 1 844 239 1135 www.atlanticsp.com ATPI Stand Number G194 We are one of the Travel Management Companies with the highest client retention rate in the industry. We think that’s because we understand you need solutions rather than products. Knowing that travel savings and bespoke service are your priorities, we guarantee that our highly experienced professionals never stand still in their pursuit of the best savings for your corporate travel, using our international buying power. www.atpi.com AutoVu Solutions Stand Number 914 Allow us to introduce the AutoVu platform: a truly customer-focused CRM system with a powerful job ticket Field Service Management module. By bringing these two systems together in one handy solution, our platform will transform the way you do business forever. 0845 474 8824 www.autovusolutions.com AVASK Accounting & Business Consultants Ltd Stand Number 300 At AVASK, we are passionate about what we do, and we take a personal interest in each and every one of our clients. We deliver to you top quality bookkeeping, Accounting and Tax services. 02380 600 120 www.avaskaccounting.co.uk AVPT LTD SHORT COURSES Stand Number 650 AVPT specialises in delivering short courses in over 300 Soft Skills which are all accredited globally accredited. Point of Need training via your own device, your own tutor within 4 weeks. We can also resource SML Enterprises with a LMS system or workshop material for training. 020 3551 2621 www.shortcourses.expert B2B Marketing Expo Stand Number 1264 B2B Marketing Expo is an interactive exhibition designed specifically for the marketing sector, and will help to grow your professional expertise. Here, you will learn new ideas, connect with
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marketers, and find the resources needed to elevate your marketing to the next level and win more business. 01872 218007 www.b2bmarketingexpo.co.uk BACS Stand Number 1082 The not-for-profit organisation behind Direct Debit & Bacs Direct Credit in the UK, processing over 110,000,000,000 transactions since 1968. www.bacs.co.ukBacs/Corporate/ Pages/default.aspx Bells Bookkeeping & Accountancy Services Stand Number 642 We are passionate about running an accountancy practice that is reliable and efficient but also friendly and approachable. We pride ourselves on building a close working relationship with all our clients to enable us to provide the best and most proactive service we can. 020 8468 1087 www.bellsaccountants.co.uk Benefits Communication Limited Stand Number 906 Helping you to communicate your employee benefits via a cloud platform named BORIS. Engage with your employees by ensuring they understand and appreciate the employee benefits they receive, allow them to view their live pay data via a Total Reward Statement and auto-enrol them with BORIS. 0203 143 4040 www.benefitscommunication. co.uk Bibic Stand Number 1062 Bibic has been transforming the lives of children and their families since 1972. Its mission is to help children aged from six months to 18 years with conditions affecting their social, communication and learning abilities to achieve their potential for a happier and more fulfilled life. 01458 253344 www.bibic.org.uk Big Media House Stand Number 450 Big Media is a web development specialist, designing and developing online solutions that work across all devices. We are launching the next release of the Easy2 Training Management System at the Show - turn knowledge and skills into engaging, interactive online courses that pay for themselves. 07585 33 33 03 www.bigmediahouse.co.uk Bookingline.com Stand Number 670 Dedicated online and offline booking management and order
preference for the conference, seminar and training industry. 01189 462849 www.booking-line.com Bradley Keenan Stand Number 1114 07534 588 891 Bradleys Accountants Stand Number 380 Sharing small business and accounting advice for individuals, start-ups, SMEs and contractors; Bradleys Accountants are chartered accountants based in south London. 020 8303 1287 www.bradleysaccountants. co.uk Brandlective Communications Ltd Stand Number 172 We create websites, manage social media and create intriguing ad copy for your online campaigns. Why we do it? We thrive by helping small businesses achieve great results with their online marketing activities. 020 7407 2672 www.brandlective.com Breathe Creative Stand Number 1039 Breathe Creative creates and transforms brands. Brand Design that makes you stand out and connect emotionally with your customers. Web Design that perfectly reflects your brand and clearly communicates your point of difference. Brand Communications, consistently on message, always with imp 01491 699 845 www.breathe4u.com Briscoe French PR Stand Number 532 Briscoe French is an award-winning progressive and innovative public relations, copywriting, media relations and social media company based in Hampshire. 01489 232 030 www.briscoefrench.co.uk British Library Business & IP Centre Stand Number 500 The Business & IP Centre at the British Library provides entrepreneurs and SMEs with free access to databases, market research, journals, directories & reports, along with a programme of free and low-cost one-to-one advice clinics, workshops and webinars on a range of topics to help get you started. 0330 333 1144 www.bl.uk/bipc Broom Payroll & Pension Solutions Stand Number 1084 At Brooms Payroll and Pension Solutions Ltd we can provide everything you need to know and do, to set up an Auto-Enrolment
scheme. Starting from 2012 employers will be required to automatically enrol their workers into a workplace pension if they meet the criteria. 01277 202 222 www. broompayrollpensionsolution. com BSI Stand Number 982 BSI is the business standards company that helps organizations all over the world make excellence a habit. 0845 086 9001 www.bsigroup.comen-GB/ Bunting Stand Number 206 Bunting is the world’s easiest to use website personalization software, designed for ambitious growing businesses. www.getbunting.com BUPA UK Stand Number 430 Established over 60 years ago in the UK, Bupa has grown to become one of the world`s largest healthcare organisations with customers in 190 countries. www.bupa.co.uk Business Junction Stand Number 1014 Business Junction is London`s leading independent business network with 500+ member businesses across 125 sectors (www.businessjunction.co.uk members) & 70 annual panLondon networking events (www.businessjunction. co.ukevents). Please email admin@ businessjunction.co.uk for a free taster event. 020 3667 6776 www.businessjunction.co.uk Business Law Online Ltd. Stand Number 192 Business Law Online is a new breed of legal practice. Our expert Solicitors and Barristers provides quality legal advice and services to small and mid-market businesses on an annual fixed price contract. A great benefit to all businesses is the knowledge that they will not receive unforeseen bills. 01276 804 432 www.business-law-online.com Business Scene Stand Number 1184 Business Scene is the UK’s fastest growing membership organisation helping our members with industry leading benefits in 4 keys areas - Growth, Savings, Protection & Support. We’re here to be your essential business partner, and your success is what drives us. 0845 003 1345 www.business-scene.com
BusinessesForSale.com Stand Number 220 BusinessesForSale.com is the world’s leading business listings website. We promote buying a business as an alternative to starting from scratch and provide business owners and their representatives with a route to market when selling. The site has over 65,000 businesses for sale in 130 countries. www.BusinessesForSale.com
Cleveland Stand Number G186 Cleveland is a firm of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys. Our core services revolve around the protection of ideas as patents, trade marks and designs. We also advise on third party intellectual property (IP)rights and how these affect our clients trade; activities. 020 3077 3499 www.cleveland-ip.com
Businessworx Ltd Stand Number 1260 Providing business support for individuals, start-ups and established companies on a perhour basis. Offering a complete suite of professional business services from industry experts. 020 8504 1317 www.businessworx.co.uk
COMPANIES HOUSE Stand Number 100 Companies House incorporates and dissolves limited companies, registers the information companies are legally required to supply, and makes that information available to the public. Companies House is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills. 0303 1234 500 www.https://www.gov.uk/ government/organisations/ companies-house
Cameroon International Business Consulting Ltd. (CIBC) Stand Number G220 CIBC is an international business consulting and development company headquartered in Douala, Cameroon. We are focused on helping businesses accelerate their overseas trade and corporate development objectives in the CEMAC (Central African) region. 00 237 242660138 www. africanbusinessconsultants.com Caring and Sharing Stand Number 462 Caspian Media Stand Number 461 Caspian can provide you with superior. Print and digital B2B publishing. Content creation. Business event production. Advertising sales www.caspianmedia.com Century 21 UK Stand Number 104 CENTURY 21 UK is an estate and letting agent operating throughout the UK, and is part of the world’s largest residential estate agency organisation, with over 6,900 offices and 100,000 agents operating in 78 countries. 0333 313 2121 www.century21uk.com CFH Docmail Ltd Stand Number 1060 Docmail - print and post for less than the price of a 2nd class stamp. 01761 416311 www.docmail.co.uk City Business Library Stand Number 114 City Business Library provides FREE access to business information resources including; company data (UK and global), market research reports and statistics, import and export data and business start-up information. For a small fee, attend seminars, workshops and training. Room hire is available. 020 7332 1812 www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/cbl
ConventusUK Ltd Stand Number 760 We connect innovators, mentors, investors, education and industry. We seek to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs across the world, so they can create a better tomorrow. 00 3335770146 www.conventus.uk.com Crown Agents Bank Stand Number G166 Crown Agents Bank is a specialist provider of foreign exchange, cash management, trade finance, treasury and investment services. We are experts in working with emerging and fragile markets, and offer tailored, practical and effective solutions built on deep local knowledge and experience. 020 8643 3311 www.crownagents.com/whatwe-do/financial-services CSI Manufacturing Stand Number 140 CSI offer a range of Epilog laser and Vision rotary engraving equipment. Our desktop models give you the ability to mark, cut and engrave an endless range of materials and product. Bring your ideas to life and turn them into profit! From jewellery to model making it’s easy with a CSI system. 0117 911 4367 www.csionline.co.uk Cyclr Systems Ltd Stand Number 1058 Cyclr connects all your cloud apps, transforming them into a powerful integrated marketing platform. You can synchronise data and build automated marketing campaigns with logic controlled branching. All this with our drag and drop workflow builder and not a single line of code. 0330 354 2525 www.cyclr.com
Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) Stand Number G226 The Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) was established as a registered not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, funded by the Cyprus government. “Invest Cyprus” is the brand under which CIPA takes the lead in promoting Cyprus as an attractive FDI destination. 00 35722441133 www.investcyprus.org.cy D Young & Co Intellectual Property Stand Number 742 From SMEs to global businesses, whatever your invention, technology or brand, we will help you get the best intellectual property protection for it. Our specialist teams provide guidance on using IP rights efficiently and effectively to businesses from Europe, America, Asia and around the world. 020 7269 8550 www.dyoung.com Data8 Ltd Stand Number 136 Data8 is a leader in Data Quality and Data Management Solutions. The services provided include realtime data validation, comprehensive data cleansing, B2B and B2C data supply, data management, analytics, and data visualisation enabling a Single Customer View. 0151 355 4555 www.data-8.co.uk Debt Chaser UK Stand Number 1158 Debt Chaser is based in offices in Chatham, Kent where a team of experienced debt recovery specialists work full time on recovering debt for its UK wide client base. www.debt-chaser.com DekoRatio Branding & Design Studio Stand Number 750 High quality visual identity and graphic design for SMEs in the UK. 07405 804 525 www.dekoratio.co.uk Dephrisk Ltd Stand Number 431 Here at Dephrisk we have a mission to help SME`s across the UK with their cyber security. We provide low-cost cyber security scanning and vulnerability assessments on websites and servers from as low as £400. Our goal is to make the UK cyber secure amidst the ever-growing dependence on IT systems. 07842 829 314 www.dephrisk.com Di Vita Private Assistants Stand Number 226 London based luxury concierge, experts in lifestyle management and event planning. 020 7060 6371 www.divitaassistants.com
Digital Marketing Desk Stand Number 902 We are a successful, well established, company of specialists working in the rapidly developing field of Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO. We also help Small and Medium sized businesses with all aspects of their Digital Marketing. Our services include, Facebook advertising, SEO and Google adwords 01306 28 68 78 www.digitalmarketingdesk. co.uk DIGITAL MARKETING LONDON Stand Number 1222 At DIGITAL MARKETING LONDON we believe that with the right training and practice, everyone can become their own on-line marketing expert. We teach SMEs proven digital marketing methods to help build their business through in-house training & consultancy. www.DIGITAL-MARKETING. LONDON DNS Accountants Franchise Stand Number 386 We care dearly about our Franchise Owners and their clients` financial performance and growth. We have developed our own award nominated client software product, enhancing the client experience and providing our franchise owners with an efficient online accounting system. 020 7148 1706 www.dnsaccountantsfranchise. co.uk DNS Associates Stand Number 384 DNS Associates is a highly respected, locally recognized accounting, tax planning and consulting services organization based in Harrow, Euston with expertise in helping owner managed businesses and contractors. We have been thriving in the market since 2005 with a large clientele over 1500. 020 8903 6330 www.dnsassociates.co.uk DOHR Stand Number 731 DOHR is an HR practice providing SMEs with business focused, practical, sensible but legally compliant HR advice and support. Offering a flexible service DOHR works for businesses as if they were our own. We provide ad hoc, retained or outsourced support tailored to client specific needs. 01923 504 100 www.dohr.co.uk DowSocial Stand Number 630 Results orientated strategically focused social media consultancy, training and management. www.dowsocial.com
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Duku Stand Number 1038 Duku are a unique product design consultancy combining professional product design with chartered patent & trademark protection under one roof. We specialise in helping people develop their ideas and turn them into successful products. 01242 697666 www.duku-design.co.uk Dynamix Stand Number 256 A progressive business shop providing accountancy, taxation, VAT, payroll and business development support and implementation services across the South East and London. 0870 034 0155 www.dynamixgroup.co.uk Eco Camping & Leisure Stand Number 180 We offer a unique selection of luxury tents, lodges and residential homes for camping, leisure and residential parks. They come fully designed and furnished to suit your lifestyle needs. We have recently launched an Inflatable Ladybird Playground Tent suitable for Schools, Campsites among others. 07981 147 460 www.ecocampingandleisure. co.uk Edvance Consulting Stand Number 314 As a member of The Edvance Network (TEN) build opportunities to meet key people who could positively influence and build your business. Work together and help one another through the complimentary and varying businesses to create new or grow existing streams of income. TEN is about business growth 01253 404 211 www.theedvancenetwork.co.uk Eggcelerate Stand Number 1140 Are you ready to expand but need help? Work with someone who understands you. Our experts work with SMEs on strategy, product marketing, BizDev and alternative finance. We will not leave you the burden of executing the strategy. We’re helpful, committed, affordable and share your objectives. 020 3239 1653 www.Eggcelerate.comsignup E-GOI Stand Number 840 Multichannel Marketing Automation Made Easy for SMBs 020 3608 0284 www.e-goi.com ela8 limited Stand Number 1132 R&D Tax Services ela8 delivers unrivalled expertise in R&D tax services at an affordable cost. We carry out an efficient
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and seamless service through a small team of highly experienced professionals and pride ourselves on bespoke and personal service. 0203 740 7172 www.ela8.co.uk Elstree Film Design Stand Number 389 Video, animation and interactive content that reaches your audience. Share your story. Grow your business. 020 8819 2652 www.elstreefilmdesign.co.uk EMP Stand Number 134 EMP create outstanding print and digital products including the UK’s leading celebrity lifestyle magazine - at home - and provide creative services that help clients connect their brands with their audiences. www.empgroup.co.uk EntrepreneurAction.com Stand Number 984 01530 215015 www.entrepreneuraction.com Entrepreneurs Circle Stand Number 810 The UK’s Biggest Organisation Dedicated To Helping Businesses Grow. We’ve helped lots of UK businesses to become more successful and our clear purpose is to help many hundreds more business owners to achieve their goals - whatever they are. 0121 765 5551 www.entrepreneurscircle.org Entrevo Limited Stand Number 1240 Entrevo is an award winning company and founder of The Key Person of Influence Method. This strategy has helped thousands of business owners and leaders in 50+ industries globally to become more visible, valuable and connected translating into more fun and more money. 0207 898 3993 www.keypersonofinfluence. com Epic Services Stand Number 1078 Epic Services is dedicated to providing the finest, most responsive personnel to our clients. That is why we take special care to select only the most highly qualified, experienced members of staff to be listed with our service. Best of all, we are are available 24hours a day 7 days a week so you will never have to worry about being caught short handed. Our coordinators have you in mind when seeking temporary staffing, and take time to understand your preferences and match them with the needs of your facility. 020 3532 3471 www.epicservices.co.uk/about. php
eReceptionist Stand Number 942 No more missed calls, no more missed opportunities. The eReceptionist® phone system was designed with the daily needs of entrepreneurs in mind, ensuring customers get an answer and your business gets the opportunity. No contracts, hardware or software. So why not take a free 30 day trial today 0800 689 3704 www.ereceptionist.co.uk
Export-net Stand Number G188 Export-net helps SMEs meet the challenges of exporting to France. Based on a custom-made approach, our experts assist you in finding the right distributors, importers, resellers, agents or end-users. Whether you are just starting out or if you are already a confirmed exporter Export-net can help. 00 33663772912 www.export-net.com
eSeller Stand Number 1072 The award winning resource site for people who sell online. www.eseller.net
Exposure Ninja Stand Number 1186 Tim has helped tens of thousands of SMEs around the world increase their online visibility through his agency Exposure Ninja and their 5 bestselling books, including How To Get to the Top of Google and Profitable Social Media Marketing. Tim loves smashing rankings and helping ambitious SMEs dominate 0115 896 2348 www.exposureninja.com
Eurofast Stand Number G122 Eurofast is a regional business advisory services organisation employing over 200 people in South East Europe and East Mediterranean. www.eurofast.eu/global Evolve Stand Number 780 Evolve supply and support many leading world class companies with communication solutions everything from mobile phones, fixed line systems, business broadband and IT services. But what we do differently is we `join everything up`. Today...tomorrow... together. 01702 411511 www.evolve.co.uk Exact Market Promotions Stand Number 210 Exact Market Promotions, works with coaches, consultants and mentors who are ready to turn their entire internet presence, into a powerful client attraction funnel and the ultimate marketing tool. 01908 410 977 www.exactmarketpromotions. com Experian Stand Number 432 Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients around the world. We help businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. We also help individuals to check their credit report and score www.experian.co.uk Export Worldwide Stand Number G116 Export Worldwide will be launched at Going Global. This new, online platform will help businesses to reach new customers across Europe and the USA, fast, offering an easier way to sell products and services into international markets. Visit the Export Worldwide team at stand G116. 0121 608 7255 www.exportworldwide.com
Express Sourcing Stand Number 265 Express Sourcing :Worldwide product sourcing. Branded marketing and campaign merchandise. Promotional gifts Bespoke promotional and retail merchandise. Product development. Corporate workwear. Screen printing. Fulfilment and logistics. 020 8533 0010 www.expresssourcing.co.uk Factum Partners Inc. Stand Number G114 Factum Partners provides Business Improvement & Growth Strategies for UK and European SME’s who are looking to expand their presence internationally. We develop and execute targeted, cost-effective strategies that allow SMEs to achieve their revenue and market share goals into the USA and Canada. 00 1 847 993-3081 www.FACTUMPARTNERSINC. com First Names Group Stand Number G174 We are First Names Group. A global, independent provider of tailored outsourced services for companies looking to enter new markets. We are a member of Nexia International and have highly experienced and skilled First Names in strategic locations worldwide. Above all, we are a people business. 020 7257 2788 www.firstnames.com/ globaloutsourcing Foehn Stand Number 662 Foehn is a leading communication systems integrator, delivering IP telephony and contact centre solutions to the private and public sectors since 2000. We are an
innovative, flexible company that is passionate about Open Source technology, enabling smarter telephony for a smarter business world. 0330 403 0000 www.foehn.co.ukhostedtelephony ForceManager Stand Number 1170 ForceManager is a fully-integrated mobile sales management software that instantly measures and analyses all your sales activity. Improving both your sales team’s productivity and performance, it is the smart solution for sales reps who work out of the office. www.https://forcemanager.net Forest Economics Stand Number 980 Forest Economics is an international Investment and consulting company. We specialize in connecting companies and investors from all over the world. www.feconomics.comindex. html Franchise Expo & The Franchise Show Stand Number 176 FranchiseExpo.co.uk is a free comprehensive web directory which provides a year-round opportunity to find the perfect UK franchise for you! The Franchise Show is the UK’s largest Franchise event taking place at the ExCel, London every February. 0330 1222 049 www.franchiseexpo.co.uk Fresh Consulting and Support Limited Stand Number 263 Systemise-create a marketing funnel that brings you leads from your best prospects. Automate-do the work once and have it bring you a ROI again and again Streamline-get your sales process working for you, without you Net Profit-more money in your pocket by working smart 1st Step-Online Presence. 020 3667 1499 www.fresh.org.uk FundingKnight Stand Number 1220 FundingKnight’s crowdlending platform provides secured and unsecured loans, of up to £1 million, businesses, renewable energy projects and property developers. We offer a personal service based on more than just tick-box assessments to make sure our clients get a loan that suits their requirement 02392 985267 www.fundingknight.com GAC WORLDWIDE LTD Stand Number G170 GAC Worldwide Ltd is the UK’s leading independent freight forwarder to all destinations in the world. Our services include:
airfreight, courier, roadfreight and seafreight both into and out of the UK. Additionally we offer full import customs clearance services for all goods coming into the UK. 0208 917 0000 www.gacworldwide.com GB Energy Supply Stand number 470 GB Energy Supply is a new company and we are bringing a fresh approach to energy supply within both the Domestic and SME market. By running a highly efficient business and keeping our own costs low, we’re able to offer a better deal to the customer. GB Energy Supply offers no fuss, straightforward tariffs which doesn’t try and bamboozle the customer, our motto being “”It’s easy and effortless to switch and save 0800 6444 450 www.gbenergysupply.co.uk Genie Lending Ltd Stand Number 948 NACFB accredited Independent commercial finance broker accessing all high street lenders and niche lenders in the alternative finance market. We specialise in non bank funding solutions helping many UK SME’s achieve their financing aims and their professional advisers in this complex finance space. 01202 868843 www.genielending.co.uk Georgina Dee Limited Stand Number 574 Georgina Dee is an independently owned British clothing label founded in London, UK. They can provide a made to measure and bespoke tailoring services. They also can offer fashion expert advice to help you find the perfect outfit for that special occasion. 07944 210 283 www.georginadee.com GetSet for Growth Stand Number 620 GetSet is a specialist service tailored for small businesses with the potential and ambition for sustainable growth. Fully funded by JP Morgan, GetSet focuses on helping business overcome the two biggest barriers to growth generating sufficient profitable customers and accessing finance. 0800 121 4458 www.getsetforgrowth. comlondon Give A Grad A Go Stand Number 730 Give A Grad A Go is the UK’s leading graduate recruitment agency, providing brilliant businesses with high-calibre junior and mid-level talent. We work with a huge range of burgeoning start-ups, thriving SMEs and global brands, providing them with a quick, low-cost and no-fuss route to hiring. 020 7150 1170 www.giveagradago.com
Give As You Live Stand Number 711 Give as you Live uses 4,000 leading online retailers to raise money for your favourite Charities from all of your business and personal spending. Stationery, office products, print cartridges, through to travel and accommodation - all earn a donation for Charity and add to your CSR commitment. 0800 883 8450 www.giveasyoulive.com Global Language Interpreting Ltd Stand Number G138 We resolve Language Barrier problems within small & large businesses or for individuals in the UK and Globally. 01733 617 051 www.globallanguage.co.uk Global Trader Stand Number G104 Global Trader contains a diverse portfolio of international businessto-business titles, providing current, factual and independent content designed to facilitate international business. www.gtglobaltrader.com Goldcrest Insurance Stand Number 940 Specialists in landlords insurance. Landlord Insurance. Fleets. HMO Insurance. Property Portfolios. Buildings & Contents. www.goldcrestinsurance.com Greenfield Insurance Services Stand Number 610 If you can`t afford the time or more importantly, lack the expertise to shop around for the best insurance for your unique needs, then deal with someone who can do it on your behalf. 01489 579808 www.greenfieldinsurance.co.uk GSC Solicitors LLP Stand Number 1050 GSC Solicitors is an established City-based law firm offering expert legal advice tailored to individuals and businesses. We are specialised in various commercial areas and are passionate about SMEs. With a partner-led approach we are proud of long-standing relationships with our clients. 020 7822 2222 www.gscsolicitors.com Hamriyah Zone Sharjah Stand Number 442 Established in November 1995, HFZA is one of the world`s fastest growing and dynamic free zones and the most cost-effective free zone in the Middle East. 00 971 6 5263333 www.hfza.ae
Hartwell Smith Associates Ltd Stand Number G198 With over 30 years’ experience we help clients choose the most appropriate retail channels, then plan the correct approach and commercial proposal to deliver listings for retail in the UK & overseas. We also have vast experience of securing International distributors and helping drive export sales. 01727 789057 www.hartwellsmith.com HEG Stand Number 242 Europe`s largest privately owned hosting provider. www.heg.com Hodders Law Limited Stand Number 452 Are you looking for expert, cost effective legal advice then Hodders are the experts in Business, Personal and Property law. We can provide one stop legal advice, covering all you legal needs. Our Business team will be at stand 452 so come and see how we can help you 0808 168 8677 www.hodders.co.uk Holiday Park & Resort Innovation 2015 Stand Number 912 Holiday Park & Resort Innovation is the trade event attended by owners and operators of UK Holiday Parks and Resorts, actively seeking new opportunities to attract more customers, gain a competitive edge and increase their revenue stream. 0117 929 6087 www.holidayparkshow.co.uk Hoobar Ltd Stand Number 744 Hoobar ltd is a UK company which designs innovative low tech and high tech consumable products . e,g Solar power HP Inc Stand number 421 www.hp.com/country/us/en/uc/ welcome.html Human Brand Consultants Ltd. Stand Number 640 We are Designers! We help others grow their business through Branding. Turning entrepreneurs into business owners. Our focus is to produce beautiful design that communicates to your consumer aesthetically and emotionally. 07849 146 998 www.weare-human.com
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Hyve Managed Hosting Stand Number 770 Mission-critical cloud hosting for business, providing a secure environment to host websites and store company data. Hyve offer full management, meaning our engineers become an extension of your business. Hyve are ISO27001 certified, PCI DSS compliant and G-Cloud accredited. 0800 612 2524 www.hyve.com ibd Business Advice Group Ltd Stand Number 130 Becoming a Consultant - At a crossroads of your career? Like the idea of running your own business, allowing flexibility and work/life balance? Being an ibd Accredited Member provides a platform, with significant benefits to start, grow and manage your own business or expand an existing busines 01223 257777 www.ibd-uk.comindex.php/ careers/ ICAEW Business Advice Service Stand Number 700 The ICAEW Business Advice Service plays a vital role in the business support landscape by offering a free initial consultation to start-ups and businesses looking for qualified business advice. With over 4,000 ICAEW offices offering the service in the UK, there is a bound to be an office near you. 020 7920 3561 www. businessadviceserviceblog.com Immaculette Stand Number 1180 Immaculette offers a luxurious holiday service. Stay in the most exquisite holiday homes and stunning resorts. We look after you on your arrival, feel welcome, relax and look forward to discovering, local artisan delicacies exclusively chosen by us for you to enjoy. www.immaculette.com ImpulsePay Stand Number 463 ImpulsePay provides ‘Charge to Mobile’ technology, allowing consumers to pay for digital goods and services using their mobile phone number instead of a credit card. No pre-registration or app is required. Our latest product, BillMobile, offers the lowest ever transaction fees on Charge to Mobile 020 7099 2450 www.impulsepay.com Infinicloud Stand Number 604 One of the UK’s leading provider of Cloud IT Services, VoIP Telephony and Managed IT Solutions. We are a team of experienced business consultants and highly qualified technical engineers, that work together with clients to tailor
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service packages that meet the requirements of their business. 0330 088 3905 www.infinicloud.co.uk Inspired Retail Stand Number 212 Inspired Retail is the one stop shop for all your EPoS needs, either online or by phone. We provide great value, advice and service and ship across the UK and abroad. Touchscreens, cash drawers, scanners, printers, till rolls, software, retail and hospitality bundles. 0845 226 3212 www.inspired-retail.co.uk Institute of Recruiters IOR Stand Number 872 The Institute of Recruiters (IOR) is a British Institute representing the highest standard mark in British recruitment. It provides world class Recruitment Training Courses both online and face to face. 0871 288 2108 www.theior.org.uk Intellectual Property Office Stand Number 1054 The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the government body responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the national framework of intellectual property rights (IPRs) (patents, designs, trade marks and copyright) and the granting and management of rights within that framework. We lead an 0300 300 2000 www.gov.uk/ipo Intermedia Stand Number 550 Intermedia is a one-stop shop for cloud business applications. Its Office in the Cloud™; integrates email, file sync and share, security and many other essential IT services - and supports customers and partners with a Worry-free Experience™. 0203 384 2158 www.intermedia.co.uk International Trade Magazine Stand Number G134 ITM is celebrating 15 years of being the leading international publication for the global trade, logistics and economic sectors. Combining market-leading editorial with the latest news and case studies, plus daily news updates on the web platform, ITM is the ideal cross media platform. www.intrademagazine.com Internet Business School Stand Number 154 The Internet Business School is the place to learn everything you need to put your business online. Whether you have an existing business you want to bring online, an online business that could perform better, or a beginner wanting to build your own new online business - we can help. 01233 226222 www.internetbusinessschool. com
Invest in Denmark Stand Number G124 Invest in Denmark, part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, is your optimal first point of contact when looking to set up a business in Denmark. With their highly specialised and competent staff, they are dedicated to advise you on every aspect of locating in Denmark - all free of charge. 020 7333 0247 www.investindk.com
Just Cash Flow PLC Stand Number 900 Just Cash Flow PLC is a responsible specialist lender to UK Businesses. We offer flexible funding solutions from 310,000 to £500,000 to businesses helping them manage their cash flow. This means you can concentrate on running your business and not how you finance it. 0121 418 9756 www.just-cashflow.com
Invest in Warwickshire Stand Number 440 Invest in Warwickshire can provide all the help your company needs for a successful move into the Warwickshire area, including: Access to our commercial property database. Introductions to local networks & organisations. Free & Confidential support. Excellent local intelligence. 01926 412140 www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ invest
K Display Stand Number 240 Winner of “The Most Loved Printer in the UK” award & voted Top 5 Printer in the UK several years running. Experts in large format print, exhibition & display services. As well as shell scheme panels, posters, pop up & roller banner stands, we offer design services & expert knowledge about exhibiting 01926 611777 www.kdisplay.co.uk
IP Genie Stand Number 904 Javita Europe Stand Number 1142 Javita Europe provides a new opportunity for people interested in participating in and developing their own real, long-term business. On payment of a membership & stock fee of circa £650 you can start your own company and immediately begin earning income and build ongoing residuals. 07711 392662 www.javita-europe.com
Jeremy Jacobs Communications Limited Stand Number 258 A witty, entertaining presenter, host and MC, Jeremy Jacobs could be described as a man of many parts. With experience in TV, corporate videos and radio broadcasting Jeremy is in demand for a variety of corporate events. 020 3303 3172 www.jeremyjacobs.com Job Heaven Stand Number 1085 At Job Heaven we aim to go beyond the traditional job board. With a comprehensive job posting and application system we also focus on being a hub of information, be it legal, professional or personal, for recruiters and job seekers alike. 0844 579 1718 www.jobheaven.co.uk JournoLink Stand Number 453 Press Release distributor, directory of small businesses for journalists 020 7193 8262 www.journolink.com
Kafoodle Limited Stand Number 451 Kafoodle Kitchen is the ultimate hassle-free solution to help your restaurant or bar comply to the allergen legislation. Our cloudbased software will allow you to easily manage day to day administration and in doing so, tap into the vast and virtually untouched allergy and intolerance market. 020 7395 6880 www.kafoodle.com Keybacker Stand number 1182 Wordpress website and social media creation and maintenance with SEO. Bookkeeping, general secretarial and administrative work and Event Management. 020 30166547 www.keybacker.com King & Taylor Stand Number 1270 King & Taylor`s business accountancy services enables you to meet all of your management, financial and legal obligations, whilst providing you with valuable decision making tools to help you prepare your business for the future. A team dedicated to your business that goes beyond just accountancy. 01474 569777 www.kingandtaylor.co.uk KnowGlobal Ltd Stand Number G109 KnowGlobal specialises in providing businesses with the know-how they need to achieve international success by reviewing and implementing an effective e-commerce strategy. 0203 585 1471 www.knowglobal.com
Kompass UK Stand Number G202 We are a leading online business to business database provider, offering UK and global company information for use as a sales, marketing, researching and purchasing tool. 0800 0185 882 www.kompassinfo.co.uk Kompass UK Stand Number G202 We are a leading online business to business database provider, offering UK and global company information for use as a sales, marketing, researching and purchasing tool. 0800 0185 882 www.kompassinfo.co.uk KPMG Stand Number 584 KPMG in the UK is a leading provider of professional services including audit, tax and advisory. www.kpmg.comUK/en/Pages/ default.aspx Krystal Hosting Stand Number 820 At Krystal we offer a wide range of UK based website hosting solutions covering all your hosting needs. We offer fast, reliable & secure SSD hosting options from shared, business, Cloud VPS or bespoke dedicated hosting - all UK based and managed by our hosting experts. Please visit us at stand 820! 0203 515 1337 www.krystal.co.uk Laidback Life Ltd Stand Number 946 D-Tangle is a patented innovative gadget where users can place their existing set of earbuds and automatically unwind them - as simple as that! It is compatible with most brands of earbuds like the ones of iPhone, Samsung, Nokia, Sennheiser etc. 35722447300 www.9 Nikodimou Mylonas street LEGALEX - The Business Behind Law Stand Number 922 Legalex is the largest exhibition and conference dedicated to the business behind law. With 100+ exhibitors showcasing the latest products and services available to the legal market and hundreds of seminars to educate and inspire the most proactive and forward thinking professionals working in law. 0117 990 2091 www.legalex.co.uk Life Media UK Stand Number 229 Life Media UK create professional video & photographic media. www.lifemediauk.com
Lighthouse Workplace Solutions Stand Number 949 We provide straightforward, modern workplace pensions and life insurance specifically for smaller and medium-sized businesses. By straightforward we mean no hidden charges, no jargon, minimum paperwork. Plus, our set-up and management service leaves you free to concentrate on running your business. 08000 88 88 90 www.lighthousews.co.ukhome. aspx Liquid Finance Partners Stand Number 1210 Liquid Finance provide finance solutions for small companies that take credit and debit cards in the form of a business cash advance. With no complicated forms to fill in, no payback deadlines, no hidden fees or creeping interest rates, this represents the perfect solution for cash-flow management. 0845 600 3573 www.liquidfinance.com London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Stand Number 680 LCCI is the capital’s largest independent networking and business support organisation. Representing the interests of thousands of companies, we connect thousands of business people every year and offer our members a wide range of practical and professional service 020 7248 4444 www.londonchamber.co.uk London Entrepreneurs Network Stand Number 330 With over 13,000 members & 500+ new members joining every-month, ‘London Entrepreneurs Network’ is the ultimate networking and learning opportunity, GAINING CLIENTS for entrepreneurs, business owners & individuals, in and around London & the UK. Membership & joining is FREE for everyone. www. londonentrepreneursnetwork. com London Small Business Centre Stand Number 516 London Small Business Centre the place to go for funding, support and training for any London based entrepreneurs. We pair entrepreneurs with one of our experienced business advisers and firmly believe that this face to face, customised business support is the key to our clients success. 020 7377 8821 www.smallbusinesscentre.org. uk
LuluLocal Marketing Stand Number 1263 LuluLocal Marketing is Your Marketing Department. We spend time understanding your business and goals, build your Marketing Strategy & Plan with you, and then make it happen, using all traditional and digital marketing techniques. Above all, our aim is to bring more business to your business. 0208 123 5470 www.lululocalmarketing.co.uk
MBL Solutions Ltd Stand Number 212 MBL Solutions is a leading provider of innovative retail, hospitality and member benefit solutions. Products include Inspired EPoS, Gift Cards, Loyalty Cards, E-Commerce, plus Loyalty and Membership Discount Platforms. Suitable for Major brands to single outlet start-ups, integrated or stand alone. 0191 250 4530 www.mblsolutions.co.uk
M2E Pro Stand Number 892 M2E Pro is an integrated service for Amazon, Ebay and others, that simplifies selling on multi-channels. www.m2epro.com
Media Orb Stand Number 1076 Media Orb are a full service digital communication agency. We enable our clients to succeed online through great website design, engaging system development and high impact SEO and marketing. We understand our clients needs and deliver market leading e-commerce, mobile web, SEO and CRM solutions. 01278 450312 www.mediaorb.co.uk
Made in Britain Stand Number G172 The Made in Britain Campaign promotes British manufacturing, enabling buyers and consumers to identify British-made products. Our award winning provenance marque can be applied to any surface material, packaging or digital media. We’re looking for #1000makers - join the campaign. 07774 315766 www.madeingb.org Mail Workshop Ltd Stand Number 880 The rapid growth of the eCommerce sector has boosted demand for high quality storage, fulfilment and delivery services. 01159 481 110 www.mailworkshop. co.ukecommerce-fulfilmentservices/ Mak In India Business Solutions Stand Number G145 Mak India Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (MAK) is a Legal & Commercial based company in India, which is One-Stop business solutions provider for all Foreign Manufacturers, Contractors and Investors in our country. 00 91 8080891046 www.makinindia.in Marks & Clerk Stand Number 1049 We are an intellectual property firm which recognises the importance for all businesses, especially startups, to ensure they have their most important assets protected. From obtaining trade marks for your brand and patents for your products, we can explain the benfits of each form of IP available. 0207 420 0000 www.marks-clerk.com Mauve Stand Number G154 Professional software solutions for today’s investment businesses. Without limitation, our manpower and knowledge resources as well as development and service capacities can be adapted to the needs of any project. 00 43-1-503-8282 www.mauve.com
Mexican Chamber of Commerce Stand Number G128 The Mexican Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain represents Mexican and British entrepreneurs doing business in Great Britain and Mexico. 00 44(0)2078725775 www.mexicanchamberofcommerce.co.uk/ Mi Ventures & FreeAgent Stand Number 804 Mi Ventures: Mi Ventures is an award-winning, live chat online business support platform providing business guidance to start-ups and small businesses. FreeAgent: Accounting software simplified. Providing a simplified way for freelancers and small business owners to manage their books. 01438 791003 www.miventures.co.uk www. freeagent.com Microsoft Stand Number 420 Empower your growing business with Microsoft Dynamicstechnology that helps you achieve great results in the areas that really matter: generating better leads, closing more profitable sales, effortlessly managing your supply chain, inventory, production processes & making sure you get paid on time www.microsoft.comen-gb/smb/ connect-and-grow/ MOO Stand Number 562 Hello, we`re MOO - an online print and design company. We love great design and believe it can work wonders for every business, no matter their size. 020 7392 2781 www.moo.com
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MTA Business Stand Number 1230 The resources of a large firm, without the overheads. MTA Business offers you all the essential services your business needs in one place. From Legal Services, IT and Marketing, to HR & Recruitment, Accountancy and Credit Control, only pay for the services you need, always at preferential rates. 020 8437 0777 www.mtabusiness.co.uk My Financepartner Stand Number 1224 My Financepartner is a next generation accounting service designed to help businesses of all sizes. It gives you everything you need to stay on top of your finances in one place. www.myfinancepartner.co.uk My Social Media PA Stand Number 910 An engaging and consistent online presence has become vital to the success of any talent, brand or business. At My Social Media PA we work closely with Small Businesses, Emerging Brands and Tech Startups to provide Social Media Management and Strategy solutions on either an ad-hoc or long-term bases. www.mysocialmediapa.co.uk mylearnadfriend Limited Stand Number 1226 mylearnadfriend supply bespoke on-line eLearning portals to organisations wishing to take control of their own eLearning. We also supply organisations who want to enter the eLearning market. Our systems are available as White Label products or fully managed systems. Whatever your needs we can help. 0203 397 4349 www.mylearnadfriend.co.uk National Cyber Skills Centre Stand Number 431 01684585111 www.cyberskillscentre.com Neopost Stand Number 1059 Neopost guides and supports organizations in how they send and receive communications helping them to better connect with their customers. Neopost brings Simplicity in the face of the ongoing, complex, transition to digital communications. 0845 850 0442 www.neopost. co.ukneopreference Net-Recruit.co.uk Ltd Stand Number 110 Let Net-Recruit take the hassle out of online recruitment by helping you find your perfect candidate with our low cost advertising packages. With over a decade`s worth of experience in a broad
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range of sectors, we have forged a reputation as a leading supplier of on-line recruitment solutions. 01457 856 270 www.net-recruit.co.uk Network Freelance Ltd Stand Number 606 Network Freelance is an online platform built by freelancers, for freelancers. 020 3829 6851 www.network-freelance.co.uk NFON UK Ltd Stand Number 404 NFON Cloud Telephone Systems offers companies between 2 and 249,000 employees the best telephone system in Europe that is fully integrated with Skype for Business. 160 high-end features, savings on costs, excellent reliability and security all contribute to NFON being Europe’s market leader. 0203 740 6740 www.nfon.com ng experts Stand Number 1118 NG Experts offers flexible IT & Telecom services, professional IT project delivery and expert IT advice. We support small, mediumsized and large businesses. 020 3640 6670 www.ngexperts.net Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Stand Number G130 The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1977. Members range from small and medium sized enterprises to large scale multinational businesses and Government Agencies. NBCC offers a range of services, which include market insight, getting started overseas and building market share. 0330 024 1126 www.nbccuk.org Nockolds Solicitors Stand Number 520 Nockolds Solicitors is a long established, award-winning professional legal practice with roots tracing back to 1831. Nockolds provide corporate and private client legal services locally, nationally and internationally with offices in London and Bishop’s Stortford. 020 7294 7330 www.nockolds.co.uk Nomisma Solutions Stand Number 388 Nomisma is designed to streamline tasks, benefit CRM, and help accountancy practices grow by improving efficiency. It does this by automating and integrating many tasks of accountancy and CRM. Designed by practicing accountants in response to modern-day accountancy practices. 02030210081 www.nomismasolution.co.uk
Nucleus IP Ltd Stand Number 860 Nucleus IP have been protecting clients’ Intellectual Property rights since 1886. Providing focused, innovative and practical advice to all our clients, large or small, to ensure they obtain the best protection for their brands, designs, domain names and copyright their budgets will permit. 0203 102 9000 www.nucleus-ip.com Office in a Box Stand Number 632 Office In a Box provides a one stop, single user, office administration system for £999 plus VAT. www.officeinabox.it On Time Business Setup Stand Number G111 OnTime Group is the leading provider of government services in Dubai. It also provides Business, IT, Interiors, Facilities & a host of other services. 00 971 52 608 4694 www.ontimebusinesssetup.com One2create Stand Number 472 Based in Hampshire, One2create is a digital agency with a difference. Ensuring everything has a purpose is our ethos. That’s why our marketing department has an over arching view of everything we do, meaning things don’t just look good, they work for your business. 0844 8040 796 www.one2create.co.uk OneBizz Stand number 182 OneBizz is the integration of Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics ERP in one single standard solution for small and medium sizes businesses. This means that OneBizz supports all key front and back office processes and the way they interact with each other. 08448241259 www.onebizz.com Open Iran Group Stand Number G106 Open Iran Group provides expert advice and services to foreign companies who wish to explore Iran in order to enter this flourishing market. We organize summits and exhibitions in Iran to enable international companies to network and make contacts. Kish INVEX 2015 is one of our best bespoke events. 00 982122351161 www.open-iran.com OpenIP Ltd Stand Number 1056 OpenIP are a family run IT and Telecoms solutions provider with bases across England, Scotland and Central Europe. With specialities in
IT Support, IT Security, Networking, Disaster Recovery, Leased Lines and IP Phone Systems we are the onestop shop for your business IT and Telecom requirement 01204 707 146 www.openip.co.uk Organo Gold Stand Number 512 Organo Gold is a global Direct Selling company that combines Ganoderma infused products with an unmatched opportunity to help enrich the lives of people.Organo Gold’s Ganoderma-based porducts contain many natural compounds including benefiial anti-oxidants. 07736 720362 www.susanshirley. myorganogold.com Ovatu Stand Number 348 Ovatu is designed to take the stress away from running your business and take care of your diary management, administration, automated reminders, marketing, online bookings and much more, Ovatu has been built by people who care and want to help you grow your business. 01604 238 808 www.ovatu.com Parcelhub Limited Stand Number 880 Sending 1000, 500 or even 10 parcels a day? Save time and money with Parcelhub. 01159 503 018 www.parcelhub.co.uk Parker Software Limited Stand Number 1266 Parker Software is at the forefront of next generation customer communication, and we want to take your business there too. We build software solutions that quicken communications, break barriers and drive operational efficiency. It’s simple: your success is our focus. 01782 822 577 www.parkersoftware.com Payment Gateway Stand Number 720 Secure and affordable payment solutions for small to medium businesses, vendors and payment firms. www.paygatewayonline.com Physical Rehabilitation World Stand Number 1208 Europe’s leading event for rehabilitation therapists! Incorporating four great events under one roof, we’ve created an unmissable show for all rehabilitation professionals and practice owners to grow their business and develop professional knowledge. 01179 296 097 www.physicalrehabworld.co.uk
Pink Lizard Promotions Stand Number 262 Promotional Merchandise & Done For You Marketing specialists. Come and visit us for your special show offers only available at the business show. 01362 693 710 www.pinklizardpromotions. co.uk Platinum Trading Academy Stand Number 307 We will teach you how to trade the markets and create a secondary income by working less than 30 minutes a day. 0207 193 2931 www.platinumtradingacademy. com PMGC Technology Group Limited Stand Number 1200 PMGC is the UK`s leading independent Mobility, Fixed and ICT Managed Service provider and deliver innovative but practical Communications and IT solutions that increase efficiency and staff productivity. We empower businesses nationwide to reach the next level of success and growth. 01675 444 320 www.pmgroupuk.com PMSL Training Stand Number 1066 Are you really good at what you do and growing your business? Now you need to be just as good at managing staff, managing customers and managing your business. PMSL training and coaching will help you develop the management skills you need to run a successful business. 020 3056 1156 www.pmsltraining.co.uk Polarisoft Stand Number 800 Polarisoft are business technology partners. We supply technology solutions and services for business to manage process, people and financials. We offer consultancy, software solutions and managed services focused on transparency and business automation. 020 7692 5697 www.polarisoft.com PPL Stand Number 850 PPL licenses recorded music played in public or broadcast on radio, TV and the internet, and then distributes the licence fees to its performer and rightholder members. 020 7534 1070 www.ppluk.com Premier Property Education Stand Number 762 Premier Property Education provide a range of interactive workshops, courses and private mentorship programmes to help take your property investing to the next level, whether you are new to property or experienced. www.premierproperty.co.uk
Prima Business Solutions Stand Number 302 Prima Business Solutions is a Stratford London (UK) based custom software development company. Established in 2012. We are specializing in the develop of powerful software and web solutions that empower business to grow. 020 3375 4259 www.primabusinessuk. comindex.html Primo Contatto Stand Number 230 Primo Contatto outsourcing multilingual contact center located in Moldova offers an effective multi-language hotline that works both in the B2B and B2C market. Our operators are able to support more than fifteen languages, including English, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, French and more. 00 373 22 260592 www.primocontatto.eu PrivacySolved Stand Number 237 PrivacySolved is a data protection, privacy, technology and information / cyber security compliance company based in London. We advise, solve problems and deliver projects for clients from a wide range of sectors in the UK, EU, USA and internationally. We help you to get business done. 0203 151 9772 www.privacysolved.com Q2Q Ltd Stand Number 1070 We are a friendly and customerservice focused team providing business performance management software to a diverse customer base. At Q2Q we have developed a unique platform in order for you to analyse real-time data within your business. 01524 581690 www.q2q-it.com R.T.Page Stand Number 802 RT Page offers a complete 3PL(third party logistics) service to all online eCommerce retailers, whether you are a start-up business or a long established company we can adapt our service to your requirements. 01903 736300 www.rtpage.co.uk RAK Investment Authority Stand Number G152 RAK Investment Authority is a fully fledged business and industrial arena offering competitive Free Zone and Non Free Zone facilities. RAK Investment Authority offers industrial and business investors the benefit of smooth set up of their operations in a dynamic and synergistic environment. www.rak-ia.com
Realise Partners Stand Number 1040 We are an exclusive, invitation only membership organisation that helps CEO’s, Directors & executives achieve increased personal, leadership and business growth. 020 7813 1346 www.realisepartners.com RecruitmentGenius.com Stand Number 1030 Become a recruitment genius and fill any job for £199 or less. Already several thousand companies have filled over 60,000 jobs, ranging from a FD for Tesco to software developers for Sony Playstation. There are no hidden catches or costs, just amazing service and great results. 01732 617 460 www.recruitmentgenius.com RelevantNow Stand Number 1032 With RelevantNow anyone can do their own PR with no previous experience. It`s simple, fast and best of all - it’s free. It helps you communicate with 100`s of targeted press contacts. It`s a PR revolution! “We generated numerous immediate sales and will be using RelevantNow ongoing.” Number35 020 3286 7288 www.relevantnow.com Rendering Solutions Stand Number 228 External insulation and rendering experts. Don`t put up with a tired looking, cold or expensive to run property. External wall insulation and rendering can save hundreds of pounds a year on your energy bills, create a more sustainable and ecologically friendly building, and revitalise the look of a property with sleek modern lines. For more than a decade we have been helping home owners and building contractors, facility managers and local authorities to affordably upgrade the exterior their properties. And, because of our dedication to quality, our certified status and our fully trained staff, all of our work is covered by warranties of up to 30 years in length. www.renderingsolutions.co.uk Restaurant Interiors Stand number 890 Restaurant Interiors 2016 is an event designed to offer inspiration, practical advice and the products and services needed to transform a restaurant interior space. It attracts designers, architects, interior design agencies, and business owners looking to refurbish their venues. 0117 9304927
RIFT Accounting Ltd Stand Number 402 We`re RIFT Accounting and we’re not traditional, grey-suited number-crunchers. Think of us as your Business Bodyguard - we`ll protect you and make you a success. There`s nothing to be scared of. We`ll simplify everything. Take away the fear. Reduce the risk. 01233 653006 www.riftaccounting.com Rocketspark Stand Number 466 Rocketspark is a website maker that is super easy to use. It’s not only simple, Rocketspark will guide you towards best practice design so that your website looks professional and reflects the quality of your business. If that’s still too much work Rocketspark can design your website for you. 020 3773 8327 www.rocketspark.com Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Stand Number G108 The Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (RBCC) promotes, facilitates and supports business between Russia and the UK. It is independent of government in both countries and is funded by membership fees and event and publication sponsorship. RBCC aims to be the first point of contact for Russian www.rbcc.com 0207 931 6455 Sales Innovation Expo Stand Number 1264 Sales Innovation Expo is the largest and most important event for professional sales leaders. With some of the best-known names, thought leaders and industry experts offering cutting-edge advice and demonstrating the latest technologies, products and services. 01872 218007 www.salesinnovationexpo. co.uk SalesSeek Stand Number 652 SalesSeek is integrated online Sales and Marketing software for growing businesses. Empowering teams and growing revenue for businesses all over the world. Discover our features and start your 14 day free trial at www. salesseek.net! 0203 514 2513 www.salesseek.net S-B-N Limited Stand Number 304 We provide business start- up solutions such as: Virtual Offices, Virtual Services; Virtual PA, virtual manager and virtual receptionist. Office Brokers, Mailbox Services (including mail forwarding), Parcel Services, Phone Services. 0333 666 0088 www.sbnetwork.co.ukindex. aspx
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SCHNEIDER GROUP Stand Number G150 We consult and provide our international clients with the back office services they need to expand their business into or within Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and Germany. Our services include accounting outsourcing, tax consulting, import, EPR systems and support in legal matters. 00 7 495 956 55 57 www.schneider-group.com SDL PLC Stand Number G206 With over two decades of expertise, unequalled technology and coverage for over 200 languages, SDL is the largest translation provider in Europe and the market leader in global customer experience. 01628 410100 www.sdl.com/languagecloud/ Search Utopia Ltd Stand Number 238 We enable businesses to grow by utilising the digital world to drive pre-qualified hand picked leads straight to your on-line sales funnel. By utilising the power of the internet we can take your business to the next level enabling you to live the life you planned to have when you started. 0800 246 5102 www.search-utopia.com Sendible Stand Number 190 Sendible is the leading online marketing platform that enables small businesses, corporates, agencies and franchises to engage, promote, analyse and track their brands through social media, content marketing and email/ sms messaging. With one single composer box, share your message to your audience. 020 3608 6879 www.sendible.com Sentori Email Marketing Stand Number 1232 Sentori manages all aspects of an email marketing campaign. It`s easy to use, and provides all the features you need to deliver effective marketing campaigns. Sentori integrates with your website, Google Analytics and social media. It provides a complete email solution at an affordable price. 01323 645646 www.sentoriapp.com Shaa.com Stand Number 382 21 Steps to creating a business you love. www.shaa.com
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Simply Business Stand Number 600 Simply Business is the UK’s favourite business insurance broker, currently insuring over 300,000 small businesses, start-ups and freelancers. 0845 450 9959 www.simplybusiness.co.uk Simply Factoring Brokers Stand Number 806 We are one of the largest factoring brokers in the UK & we help businesses of all shapes and sizes with their cashflow. If you’re looking to grow your business & you have money tied up in your invoices then we can help and get you into the right facility & kickstart your businesses growth. 0330 134 2826 www.simplyfactoringbroker. co.uk Slater and Gordon Stand Number 530 Slater and Gordon help business people across the UK providing legal representation on a variety of areas that are likely to impact you and your business. At Slater and Gordon we believe prevention is better than cure. 0808 175 8000 www.slatergordon. co.ukbusiness-services Smart Recruit Online Stand Number 812 Award Winning Recruitment Platform For HR & Recruitment Professionals 0800 634 1818 www.smartrecruitonline.com SME Insider Stand Number 522 The premier news and analysis portal focusing on all the things that UK small business owners and managers need to know- from the most relevant national headlines, to support and advice on all aspects of setting up and running a successful business, with regular insights from experts in the field. www.smeinsider.com SME IT Networks Limited Stand Number 222 We provide IT and Telephony Support and Services to Small and Medium sized businesses, providing customised solutions to suit your business. 08458 698 969 www.smeitnetworks.co.uk SME Magazine & Mid Market Insight Stand Number 1052 SME and Mid Market Insight target small and medium-sized enterprises within the UK across the spectrum of business verticals. Looking to support them with useful content and expert views from across a range of industries our publications offer unique insight into running a business in the UK 020 7657 1810 www.smeweb.com
Standard Life Stand Number 266 Standard Life is one of the largest pensions and investments businesses in the UK. www.standardlife.co.ukc1/ index.page Starline Limo Bus Stand Number 30 Welcome to Starline Limo Bus, the custom-made party limos created in the humble heart of Swansea. Made from a stretched Mercedes Sprinter the Straline is truly unique, being the first and only IVA tested Limo Bus to ever hit the roads of the UK. From its promotion of high-tech features such as televisions and wi-fi to its luxury interior and LED lighting, nothing comes close to the innovative design of this vehicle. 0844 567 7715 www.starlinelimobus.com Start Your Business Magazine Stand Number 120 Start Your Business magazine is the UK’s best-selling business magazine for entrepreneurs and SME’s. A monthly publication providing advice, tips, interviews, expert advice and Q&A’s to help SME’s and businesses. www.startyourbusinessmag. com Startup Direct Stand Number 514 We’ve provided funding, support and expert mentors to nearly 1000 businesses, and counting. www.startupdirect.org Startup Overseas Stand Number G136 Welcome to Startup Overseas the definitive resource for starting or expanding a business abroad. 0117 907 3520 www.startupoverseas.co.uk Step Forward Stand Number 234 Step Forward is a high quality 12-month Level 3 apprenticeship programme for 18 year old school leavers in London. We provide great candidates and flexible pathways to match your hiring needs, while also diversifying your workforce. Step Forward is run by a national charity called The Challenge. 0203 793 7333 www.stepforward.uk.com
Stone Cut Solutions Limited Stand Number 135 At Stone Cut Solutions, we strive for innovation. Our goal is to provide new solutions to existing tasks, so as to enable our customers to get a competitive edge. It is our aim to provide cost effective and value added services for all our customers. 0208 481 4844 www.stonecutsolutions.com Stonewall Stand Number 1064 At Stonewall, we believe in acceptance without exception. We’re here to let all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people know they’re not alone. We’re excited to be creating the first ever Diversity Zone at the show, including supporting smaller charities such as the Adult Dyslexia Organisation to attend. 020 7593 3473 www.stonewall.org.uk Strategic Solutions Consultancy Stand Number G148 Strategic Solutions Consultancy (SSC Dubai) is a leading business consultancy based in Dubai. We specialize in offering end-to-end solutions to new and emerging clients in order to establish their business presence in Dubai and across the UAE. Established in 2006, SSC Dubai is pioneering its success. 00 97143142000 www.sscdubai.com Street Food Live Stand Number 1256 Street Food Live - The UK’s leading and industry exhibition for the street food and mobile catering sectors. Attracting 2,500 street food vendors and mobile caterers from across the whole of the UK. Providing an unrivalled route to market for any business selling to this sector. 0117 929 6085 www.streetfoodlive.co.uk Strong-SEO Stand Number 1036 The Strong SEO team are extremely professional and at the same time, very friendly. I now get 85% more business from my online marketing. I highly recommend them to anyone, except my own competitors. Show Offer Only: Free Consultation - Free Audit Free Website Design - SEO 199 offer 0203 761 4887 www.strong-seo.com Stuart Harris Associates Stand Number 1074 Friendly Accountants, easily contactable, explain things in plain English, good networkers (helping clients to grow their businesses and recommending goods and services) 020 3006 3929 www.sha1.co.uk
Sugar Cube Productions Stand Number 944 Sugar Cube Productions is a complete marketing design company, here to provide a one stop shop for all SME’s online and offline marketing needs. We have fully qualified web developers, graphical designers, and we are a full printing and promotion product agency. 020 7078 7623 www.sugarcubeproductions. co.uk Surrey Outdoor Learning & Development Stand Number 919 Surrey Outdoor Learning & Development is committed to achieving positive personal development through outdoor experiences that challenge the mind and body. Through these outdoor experiences, we guide participants to discover more about themselves by learning and developing personal, social, emotional, physical and key skills. www.surreyoutdoorlearning.uk Surrey Translation Bureau Stand Number G168 Surrey Translation Bureau is an independent family-owned business with over 30 years experience translating specialist texts into all world languages at competitive prices. Fields include: medical, legal, technical, automotive, IT, marketing, financial, science, EU, environment and sustainability. 01252 733 999 www.surreytranslation.co.uk Takeaway Innovation Expo Stand Number 1256 Takeaway Innovation Expo - The UK’s industry exhibition for the Takeaway and QSR sectors. Attracting over 6000 key decision makers from across the UK restaurant, takeaway and QSR sectors. Providing an unrivaled route to market for any business selling to this sector. 0117 930 4927 www.takeawayexpo.co.uk Talk Business Magazine Stand Number 1000 Taking an open and honest look at the fight that entrepreneurs face to reach success, Talk Business magazine is bursting with inspiration, tips and advice to assist those battling through the day-to-day struggles of the current climate. 0203 617 4680 www.talkbusinessmagazine. co.uk
Team B Partners LLP Stand Number 612 Not your average Accountants, Founder Richard, as an entrepreneur & tax specialist, brings his unique experience and Team to deliver exceptional value to his clients & their businesses. Team B routinely support other entrepreneurs, owners & finance functions to set up, optimise, grow & exit. 02030 86 85 86 www.teamb.eu Text Global Stand Number 1157 Text Global is one of the UK’s leading mobile messaging service providers. Our customers have sent millions of bulk messages using our easy to use self-serve platform. We are continuously developing our product offering to remain at the cutting edge of the mobile messaging industry. 01793 420424 www.textglobal.co.uk TGS Global Stand Number G160 TGS is a dynamic global accountancy network specialising in the provision of accounting, audit, tax and business advisory services. With 40 members worldwide and combined fee income exceeding $230m, TGS is ranked in the Top 20 networks by International Accounting Bulletin and Accountancy Age. 0333 2000 811 www.tgs-global.com The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce Stand Number G112 The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce is a membership organisation, founded in 1975, to promote economic activity and facilitate trade between the UK and the 22 member countries of the League of Arab States. We do this primarily by providing support services to member companies . 020 7659 4865 www.abcc.org.uk The Blondepreneur Ltd Stand Number 1257 Content without connection is like tea without cake.` - Carrie Eddins. I help Businesses bring `cake` to their marketing and selling with what I call the Return on Connection.™ I specialise in `female-friendly cake,` which comes in many varieties from chocolate, to lemon drizzle! 80% of all buying decisions are made by women, need help? That`s why I`m here! www.theblondepreneur.com The Business Incentives Group Stand Number 580 We provide users of branded merchandise, a range of products and services, that are excellently produced and offer a clear commercial benefit. 0845 450 8979 www.thebigroup.co.uk
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute Stand Number 1130 Unsure of the law on trading standards or whether the rules apply to you? The Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force on 1 October 2015 and free guidance is available through Business Companion to all businesses that sell goods and/or services to consumers. Visit us on stand 1032 to find out more 01268 582 221 www.tradingstandards.uk The Farm Business Innovation Show Stand Number 912 Farm Business Innovation is the UK`s largest, most diverse and fastest growing business event. 0117 9296087 www.farmbusinessshow.co.uk The Food Entrepreneur Show Stand Number 1256 The food and drink industry offers an incredible number of opportunities for any entrepreneur who is hungry for success. If you`re looking for the spark to light up your business empire, you`ve come to the right place. 01179 304 927 www.foodentrepreneurshow. co.uk The Forum of Private Business Stand Number 572 A proactive, not-for-profit membership organisation providing comprehensive support to small businesses. 0845 130 1722 www.fpb.org The Gazette Stand number 1202 The Gazette is the UK’s Official Public Record, published since 1665. 01603 696 981 www.thegazette.co.uk The Institute of Export Stand Number G222 The Institute of Export`s mission is to enhance the UK’s export performance by setting and maintaining professional standards in international trade management and export practice. This is principally achieved by the provision of education, training programmes and practical business support servic 01733 404400 www.export.org.uk The Marketing Queen Bee Stand Number 269 My name is Lorraine Tapper, and I am a local business online marketing consultant. I help SME`s and Micro Businesses to generate increased business from target customers in their chosen post code area. I focus mainly but not predominantly in the East London area 07486 363 852 www.themarketingqueenbee. co.uk
The Missing Link To Wealth Stand Number 112 The missing link to Wealth is YOUR link to the worlds biggest experts on Success, wealth and entrepreneurship. Visit us to get your free ticket to a life changing event with multi-millionaires revealing the secrets to create your entrepreneurial dreams faster and easier. 07973 558 831 www.missinglinktowealth.com The PDF Pen Co Ltd Stand Number 459 PDF to sign? Open Click Sign Save No Printing!No Scanning! 0207 030 3405 www.thedpfpen.co.uk The Pitch Stand Number 918 Founded in 2008, The Pitch is Britain’s biggest small business competition. Learn, network and improve your pitching skills! www.thepitch.uk The Problem Solver – Business Growth Creator Stand Number 651 Janice B Gordon is known as the Problem Solver. Her specialist business growth consultancy and mentoring service tailored for established companies with the potential and ambition for sustainable growth. We focus on helping business overcome the two biggest barriers to growth - profitable customer strategy and sustainable business growth strategy. 020 7175 0877 www.theproblem-solver.com The Quick Click Stand Number 602 The Quick Click is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of Refurbished products, We are a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher and specialize in computer hardware & software from Refurbished Laptops, Brand New Tablets and PC Compoents. Visit www. thequickclick.co.ukpages/about-us for more details. 0800 014 2901 www.thequickclick.co.uk The Rockstar Mentoring Group Stand Number 50 The Rockstar Mentoring Group is by far, the UK’s No.1 Mentoring and Investment organisation for Entrepreneurs. Exhibiting at their16th Business Show and Sponsoring the Midas Touch for the 8th time. Come down, say hi and learn from the best. 0845 652 2905 www.rockstargroup.co.uk
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The SMF Group Stand Number 40 The SMF Group is the top digital marketing company in Cambridge. We provide social media training and account management. We also offer web design and conversion consultancy to help businesses with all their online marketing needs 01223 969 054 www.thesmfgroup.co.uk The Virtual Business Centre Stand Number 1152 The Virtual Business Centre specialises in offering SMEs bespoke solutions through our Virtual Office/Assistant services: Telephone Answering, Virtual Personal Assistant, Sales Order Processing, Holiday Cover, Mail Handling, Mail Order Fulfilment, Pick & Pack, Telemarketing 0844 669 6000 www.virtualbusinesscentre.com The Zinc Group Ltd Stand Number 208 ZincInHouse.com is part of the Zinc Group Ltd, we specialise in B-2-B debt recovery and to date we have collected over £100 million for and on behalf of our clients on a No win No fee basis. As well as providing debt recovery services we also provide full back office services via Zinc BPO Ltd. 0330 100 0852 www.zincinhouse.com TheConsultants.biz Stand Number G184 Doing Business in Iran - We are a consultancy business based in London, UK. We help businesses setup, distribute or invest in Iran. We help find business partners, distributors, agents, storage facilities and factories. 020 3637 1245 www.theconsultants.biz/ middle-east-services Thefullworks Limited Stand Number G179 We assist your business in promoting and delivering product to international and national destinations. Our software solution automatically calculates duties and taxes at checkout, integrates payment solutions, offers full logistics trackability direct to your customer, “click & collect” services 07495 061 774 www.thefull.works ThinkHeadshot UK Stand Number 1160 ThinkHeadshot is a professional
headshot and business portrait service based in Shoreditch, London, UK. ThinkHeadshot is not just another portrait operation, we aim to provide LinkedIn headshots and business portraits showing your confidence and approachability. Startup supported by Virgin StartUp. 0203 3221531 www.thinkheadshot.co.uk TipTop Media Management Ltd Stand Number 257 TipTop Media are an established company providing tape & film storage, document storage, scanning as well as recycling and confidential destruction services for organisations in and around London. 020 3234 0090 www.tiptopmedia.co.uk Tony C Accounting Services Stand Number 261 Friendly and caring NE London based accounting practice offering a quality tailored package to suit individual client needs. Offers full range of services: Accounts, taxation, consultancy, planning, VAT, bookkeeping, payroll, auto enrollment and escrow Approachable, available, trustworthy 07742 976 766 www.tonycaccserv.uk Trade & Export Finance Stand Number G146 Trade & Export Finance Ltd is all about helping you finance your business at the lowest practicable cost so that profit goes to your bottom line rather than the institutions. We think out of the box to create optimal financial solutions and structures which meet the needs of our clients. 0121 794 0280 www.taefl.co.uk True Telecom Stand Number 1150 True Telecom is the UK’s fastest growing telecommunication and payment services provider. We offer to both business and residential customers a range of market leading products and services; from broadband and line rental, to SIM only mobile and payment services. 0800 840 40 60 www.truetelecom.com UK Carline Limited Stand Number 582 UK Carline works with leading financial institutions to offer impartial, expert advice on a variety of services including contract hire, finance lease, contract purchase and lease purchase. We currently lease 4,000 vehicles each year and can supply any make and model of car & commercial vehicle. 01995 642464 www.ukcarline.co.uk
UK India Business Council Stand Number G144 UKIBC is the premier membershipled organisation supporting the UK Government in the promotion of trade, business and investment between the two countries. 020 7592 3040 www.ukibc.com UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Stand Number 100 UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) works with UK-based businesses to ensure their success in international markets, and encourage the best overseas companies to look to the UK as their global partner of choice. 020 7215 5000 www.gov.uk/ukti UK2 Stand Number 710 UK2 has been helping start-ups and small businesses get started and grow online since 1998. From choosing your domain name to the design and hosting of your website, UK2 will be with you at every step. UK2 also offer cloud and dedicated hosting, and have their own London-based data centre. 0800 612 2142 www.uk2.net UK-ASEAN Business Council Stand Number G208 The UKABC provides UK business, looking to or already active in the region, with greater insights into ASEAN’s high growth and emerging markets. +44 20 72155714 www.ukabc.org.uk Ultimate Business Limited Stand Number 236 Donna Still, as The Diamond Detective, Exposes the Hidden Opportunities within your business using insights and information immediately available. She guides you through the 6 step Diamondology system to ensure your customers stay longer and spend more. 07967 200 372 Unlimited Success Ventures LLP Stand Number 254 Unlimited Success help people to transform their business or complete a personal transformation with the help of three of the UK’s leading professionals. 01733 898 557 www.unlimited-success.co.uk Vandercom Voice and Data Solutions Ltd Stand Number 1110 Vault IP Ltd Stand Number 1102 Vault IP is a specialist Intellectual Property firm offering patent,
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design and trade mark services. The company has been set up to assist SMEs secure protection for their intellectual property and being a small firm with low overheads, we can offer much lower professional fees than many IP firms. 01926 203055 www.vault-ip.com Verus360 Stand Number 446 UK alternative finance provider Verus360 was established in 2014, with a simple aim: to provide businesses with finance products that are easy to use, fast to access and fairly priced. Our business finance is delivered online, and you pay only for the money you use and the time that you use it. 0207 554 0700 www.verus360.com VICI Language Dynamics Stand Number 692 The VICI Language Academy is elite in its philosophy, programme structure, concept and resources. We are not just here to teach you a modern foreign language but to help you live an experience and benefit from our expertise of the many different languages and cultures we teach. Highly trained native speakers (passionate about what they do) make VICI an ideal environment for any individual, child or adult keen to explore new horizons and finally conquer that old impossible dream of becoming bilingual! www.thevici.com Virtual Staffing Stand number 702 Is the war on tech talent hurting you yet? Don’t be a victim! We can provide you with the web/software developers you need and save you up to 60% per annum! Zero up front costs Prices start from £8 per hour You get a UK based Account manager Monthly invoicing Monthly rolling contracts 0115 9866775 www.virtualstaffing.co.uk Virtuoso Legal Stand Number G126 We are specialist Intellectual Property advisors, our expertise and commercial acumen are second to none. Whether your question is about international trade mark filings, global IP strategy or cross border agreements, we are here to help. We pride ourselves in getting
great results for our clients. 0113 2379 900 www.virtuosolegal.com Vodafone UK Stand Number 1081 Vodafone is a British multinational telecommunications company. www.vodafone.co.uk We Brand It Stand Number 672 We are a promotional products distributor based in Maidenhead. With a combined experience of over 40 years we specialise in bespoke promotional products. 0800 022 6483 www.webrandit.co.uk Web Behaviour Specialists Stand Number 870 WBS is a London-based digital marketing agency, providing services including PPC, SEO, Social Media advertising and Web Analytics. 02033001637 www.web-behaviour.com Webcertain Group Stand Number G176 Webcertain specialises in international digital marketing, helping businesses of all sizes to expand into new markets. Webcertain`s in-house team of native digital specialists enables it to support projects in 44 languages and develop effective campaigns for audiences all around the world. 0330 330 9000 www.webcertain.com Webformed Ltd Stand Number 250 Not enough hours in the day? If you have a mobile or casual workforce, over 80% of the time you spend scheduling rosters and tracking appointments could be wasted. Visit the TrackIT team on stand 250 to find our more, and then start thinking what else you could be doing with all that time. 01626 798891 www.webformed.co.uk Westminster Kingsway College Stand Number 660 Westminster Kingsway deliver high quality training solutions to meet the needs of your business either in the workplace or one of our Centres in central London. As one of the largest providers of Apprenticeships, we can also help you recruit Apprentices and source funding, including grants of £1500. 020 7963 4181 www.westking.ac.uk/employers
book for up to 65% off! Whether you’re experiencing the early nags of entrepreneurship or you’re a fully-fledged business maverick, we have all the essentials to get you successful. 01243 770 613 www.wiley.comgo/bsubookshop World First Stand Number G183 No matter why you’re transferring money, we can help - so if you’re importing or exporting, paying salaries overseas or making supplier payments, we’ve got a solution that can help you get the most for your money. 020 3740 3925 www.worldfirst.com Worldwide Currencies Stand Number G218 Worldwide Currencies offer Bank beating Exchange Rates without any of the additional charges like transfer fees or commissions. We work with both businesses and individuals to provide enhanced service levels on overseas payment solutions. 0203 326 4444 www.worldwidecurrencies.com WOW Analytics Stand Number 400 WOW Analytics is a website and traffic analyzer with real time traffic statistics. This service provides live data feed, page scoring, lead assignment, company watch, daily reporting, accurate company Matching reports and much more. 0844 880 2899 www.wowanalytics.co.uk WPA Personal Health Insurance Stand Number 224 WPA is one of the UK’s most respected Healthcare insurers offering excellent value and quality of service the is second to none. When it comes to your Health you want the best, and that’s exactly what you get from WPA. You are also free to choose the Specialist or Consultant you want to see. 01372 438 062 www.wpa.org.uk Xcel Sales Ltd Stand Number 608 We are a new breed of agency; we live and breathe professional selling to accelerate your business growth. 01184 021440 www.xcelsales.co.uk XCommNet Ltd
Stand Number 264 XCommNet provides reliable resilient broadband, while at work, at home or on the move. Our vision is to provide Superfast broadband on land, at sea and in the air. 0203 773 5507 www.xcommnet.com
controllers, working `up close and personal` with ambitious business owners or FD`s. Efficient book keeping, insightful management information engagingly explained, focusing on cash and profit improvement. 01252 820002 www.yourrighthand.co.uk
YBC Insurance Services Stand Number 650 We provide specialist advice on all classes of insurance cover including employers liability, public and products liability, property, financial risks, motor and contracting. Our solutions are tailored to your industry sector and deliver the best cover and levels of protection.
YourSinglePageSite Stand Number 174 Build your own professional website in minutes with YourSinglePageSite. com the easy to use website builder. No technical knowledge or design skills are needed. Your Single Page Site provides everything you need, including a domain name and hosting for your site and you can update it yourself anytime 07977 073 649 www.yoursinglepagesite.com
Yingde Group Ltd Stand Number 406 We help British businesses thrive and deliver genuine value for our clients. 01612 093 811 www.yingdegroup.co.uk Younger In 90 Seconds Stand Number 106 Breakthroughs in Stem-cell technology and Anti-aging that literally reverses aging. Come and experience the miracle first hand that can make you look younger in 90 seconds. Start your own business and be part of a revolution with these breakthroughs. Includes PROVEN success system and training. 07973 558 831 www.youngerin90seconds.com Your Business Community Stand Number 454 The small business support community for the 21st Century. For all businesses that realise that they can’t be good at everything. Premium YBC membership gives you unlimited business support & advice, protection, offers, discounted networking and more. Join today for a special show discount 0333 358 3399 www.yourbusinesscommunity. co.uk Your Right Hand Finance Team Stand Number 1015 A team of professional, part time bookkeepers, management accountants and financial
Zenith Street Limited Stand Number 460 Zenith Street Limited is a London based rejuvenation consultancy for your established business. We provide business improvement & growth solutions for ambitious owners who want their business to be strategically fit. Leverage our clever solutions to boost your business and supercharge your profits. 020 8991 3374 www.zenithstreet.com ZigZag Systems Ltd Stand Number 306 Running your business can be hard work, you have all your data, customer information and purchase orders stored in different places, making it a difficult task to find what you need. All of these things are made simple and efficient, with ZigZag even integrate into your accounts package and website. 0115 870 0994 www.zigzagsystems.co.uk Zoho Corporation Stand Number 344 Zoho.com offers a comprehensive suite of award-winning online business, productivity & collaboration applications. Customers use Zoho Applications to run their business processes, manage their information and be more productive while at the office or on the go. 00 1 888 204 3539 www.zoho.com
Wiley Stand Number 156 Visit the Business Startup Bookshop at stand No.630 and grab a
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EXHIBITOR A-Z
.uk - Brought to you by Nominet 1-2-1 Accountants 1&1 Internet Ltd 3di Information Solutions 4Networking Ltd A.S.A.P Office Services Aaron Parker Franchises Academia for Business Accountex ActionCOACH ADAM Global Adia PR Admedia ADN Accountants AdTube Advanced Payment Solutions Advantage Business Partnerships AE in a Box AEI Saudi AET Global Albright IP Align Global Consulting Alliott Group Amanda C. Watts Andy Harrington Angels Den Anicca Digital Ltd Anke Anusic - ACN App Your Business App2Chat Appsme Atlantic Sales Partners ATPI AutoVu Solutions AVASK Accounting & Business Consultants Ltd AVPT LTD SHORT COURSES B2B Marketing Expo BACS Bells Bookkeeping & Accountancy Services Benefits Communication Limited Bibic Big Media House Bookingline Bradley Keenan Bradleys Accountants Brandlective Communications Ltd Breathe Creative Briscoe French PR British Library Business & IP Centre Broom Payroll & Pension Solutions BSI Bunting BUPA UK Business Junction Business Law Online Ltd. Business Scene BusinessesForSale.com Businessworx Ltd Cameroon International Business Consulting Ltd. (CIBC) Caring Sharing Homecare Caspian Media Century 21 UK CFH Docmail Ltd City Business Library Cleveland COMPANIES HOUSE ConventusUK Ltd Crown Agents Bank CSI Manufacturing Cyclr Systems Ltd Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) D Young & Co Intellectual Property Data8 Ltd Debt Chaser UK DekoRatio Branding & Design Studio Dephrisk Ltd Di Vita Private Assistants Digital Marketing Desk DIGITAL MARKETING LONDON DNS Accountants Franchise DNS Associates DOHR DowSocial
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324 570 324 G181 1021 830 170 842 922 160 G140 1034 1016 920 1236 540 259 269 G200 G192 1038 G196 661 924 1291 1250 152 1204 832 1156 G162 G194 914 300 650 1264 1082 642 906 1062 450 670 1114 380 172 1039 532 500 1084 982 206 430 1014 192 1184 220 1260 G220 462 461 104 1060 114 G186 100 760 G166 140 1058 G226 742 136 1158 750 431 226 902 1222 386 384 731 630
Duku Dynamix E-GOI Eco Camping & Leisure Edvance Consulting Eggcelerate ela8 limited Elstree Film Design EMP EntrepreneurAction.com Entrepreneurs Circle Entrevo Limited Epic Services eReceptionist eSeller Eurofast evolve Exact Market Promotions Experian Export Worldwide Export-net Exposure Ninja Express Sourcing Factum Partners Inc. Federation of Small Businesses First Names Group Foehn ForceManager Forest Economics Franchise Expo & The Franchise Show Fresh Consulting and Support Limited FundingKnight GAC WORLDWIDE LTD GB Energy Supply Genie Lending Ltd Georgina Dee Limited GetSet for Growth Give A Grad A Go Give As You Live Global Language Interpreting Ltd Global Trader Goldcrest Insurance Greenfield Insurance Services GSC Solicitors LLP Hamriyah Free Zone Authority Hartwell Smith Associates Ltd HEG Hodders Law Limited Holiday Park & Resort Innovation 2015 Hoobar Ltd HP Inc Human Brand Consultants Ltd. Hyve Managed Hosting ibd Business Advice Group Ltd ICAEW Business Advice Service Immaculette ImpulsePay Infinicloud Inspired Retail Institute of Recruiters IOR Intellectual Property Office Intermedia International Trade Magazine Internet Business School Invest in Denmark Invest in Warwickshire IP Genie Javita Europe Jeremy Jacobs Communications Limited Job Heaven JournoLink Just Cash Flow PLC K Display Kafoodle Limited Keybacker Klarity Vision KnowGlobal Ltd Kompass UK Kompass UK KPMG Krystal Hosting Laidback Life Ltd LEGALEX - The Business Behind Law
1038 256 840 180 314 1140 1132 389 134 984 810 1240 1078 942 1072 G122 780 210 432 G116 G188 1186 265 G114 138 G174 662 1170 980 176 263 1220 G170 470 948 574 620 730 711 G138 G104 940 610 1050 442 G198 242 452 912 744 421 640 770 130 700 1180 463 604 212 872 1054 550 G134 154 G124 440 904 1142 258 1085 453 900 240 451 1182 1270 G109 G202 G202 584 820 946 922
Life Media UK Lighthouse Workplace Solutions Liquid Finance Partners London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) London Entrepreneurs Network London Small Business Centre LuluLocal Marketing M2E Pro Made in Britain Mail Workshop Ltd Mak India Business Solutions Marks & Clerk Mauve MBL Solutions Ltd Media Orb Merchant’s Transaction Finance Mexican Chamber of Commerce Mi Ventures & FreeAgent Microsoft MOO MTA Business My Financepartner My Social Media PA mylearnadfriend Limited National Cyber Skills Centre Neopost Net-Recruit.co.uk Ltd Network Freelance Ltd NFON UK Ltd ng experts Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Nockolds Solicitors Nomisma Solution Nucleus IP Ltd Office in a Box On Time Business Setup One2create OneBizz Open Iran Group OpenIP Ltd Organo Gold Ovatu Parcelhub Limited Parker Software Limited Payment Gateway Physical Rehabilitation World Pink Lizard Promotions Platinum Trading Academy PMGC Technology Group Limited Polarisoft PPL Premier Property Education Prima Business Solutions Primo Contatto PrivacySolved Q2Q Ltd R.T.Page RAK Investment Authority Realise Partners RecruitmentGenius.com RelevantNow Rendering Solutions Restaurant Interiors RIFT Accounting Ltd Rocketspark Russo-British Chamber of Commerce S-B-N Limited Sales Innovation Expo SalesSeek SCHNEIDER GROUP SDL PLC Search Utopia Ltd Sendible Sentori Email Marketing Shaa.com Simply Business Simply Factoring Brokers Slater and Gordon Smart Recruit Online SME Insider SME IT Networks Limited SME Magazine & Mid Market Insight Standard Life
229 949 1210 680 330 516 1263 892 G172 880 G145 1049 G154 212 1076 G178 G128 804 420 562 1230 1224 910 1226 431 1059 110 606 404 1118 G130 520 388 860 632 G111 472 182 G106 1056 512 348 880 1266 720 1208 262 307 1200 800 850 762 302 230 237 1070 802 G152 1040 1030 1032 228 890 402 466 G108 304 1264 652 G150 G206 238 190 1232 382 600 806 530 812 522 222 1052 266
Starline Limo Bus Start Your Business Magazine Startup Direct Startup Overseas Step Forward Stone Cut Solutions Limited Stonewall Strategic Solutions Consultancy Street Food Live Strong-SEO Stuart Harris Associates Sugar Cube Productions Surrey Outdoor Learning & Development Surrey Translation Bureau Takeaway Innovation Expo Talk Business Magazine Team B Partners LLP Text Global TGS Global The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce The Blondepreneur Ltd The Business Incentives Group The Chartered Trading Standards Institute The Farm Business Innovation Show The Food Entrepreneur Show The Forum of Private Business The Gazette The Institute of Export The Marketing Queen Bee The Missing Link To Wealth The PDF Pen Co Ltd The Pitch The Problem Solver - Business Growth Creator The Quick Click The Rockstar Mentoring Group The SMF Group The Virtual Business Centre The Zinc Group Ltd TheConsultants.biz Thefullworks Limited ThinkHeadshot UK TipTop Media Management Ltd Tony C Accounting Services Trade & Export Finance True Telecom UK Carline Limited UK India Business Council UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) UK-ASEAN Business Council UK2 Ultimate Business Limited Unlimited Success Ventures LLP Vandercom Voice and Data Solutions Ltd Vault IP Ltd Verus360 VICI Language Dynamics Virtual Staffing Virtuoso Legal Vodafone UK We Brand It Wealth Training Company Web Behaviour Specialists Webcertain Group Webformed Ltd Westminster Kingsway College Wiley Wiley World First Worldwide Currencies WOW Analytics WPA Personal Health Insurance Xcel Sales Ltd XCommNet Ltd YBC Insurance Services Yingde Group Ltd Younger In 90 Seconds Your Business Community Your Right Hand Finance Team YourSinglePageSite Zenith Street Limited ZigZag Systems Ltd Zoho Corporation
30 120 514 G136 234 135 1064 G148 1256 1036 1074 944 919 G168 1256 1000 612 1157 G160 G112 1257 580 1130 912 1256 572 1202 G222 269 112 459 918 651 602 950 40 1152 208 G184 G179 1160 257 261 G146 1150 582 G144 100 G208 710 236 254 1110 1102 446 692 702 G126 1081 672 316 870 G176 250 660 156 150 G183 G218 400 224 608 264 650 406 106 454 1015 174 460 306 344
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FLOOR PLAN SEMINAR HALL 8
1266
BUSINESS STARTUP
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Unbeatable. Value from FSB. Essential Business Benefits for less. OST O EXTRA C N D E D U INCL
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Join the thousands of businesses who become members every month to take advantage of our essential business benefits.
Claim your £30 discount off membership Visit us at Stand 138 quoting TBS1215 †
TAX PROTECTION
LEGAL ADVICE
FSB CARE
*The market value of £950 is arrived at by: FSB Legal Documents cost would be £275 to access with Abbey Legal; FSB Legal Advice at £150, average hourly cost of a solicitor; FSB Care at £250 is the cost to access the equivalent service; Legal Protection Scheme at £275, cost to cover a business with up to £100m turnover; All prices correct at May 2015. **Membership starts at £130 per annum with a £30 registration fee for the first year. This rate is applicable to businesses with no employees. † On the 3rd and 4th December 2015, the registration fee will be waived for all new full and associate members joining at Stand 138 and quoting the code TBS1215. In the event of any fault, mistake, misunderstanding or dispute concerning the operation of any part of the promotion the FSB’s decision shall be final. Federation of Small Businesses reserves the right to amend/withdraw this promotion at any time without prior notice. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. Registered Office: National Federation of Self Employed and Small Businesses Ltd., Sir Frank Whittle Way, Blackpool Business Park, Blackpool, FY4 2FE. Registered in England No. 1263540.
Set your business free! Take your office to the cloud and enjoy the freedom to focus on business Intermedia is a one-stop shop for cloud business applications. Our Office in the Cloud™ suite integrates the essential IT services that SMBs need to do business.
Intermedia’s Worry-Free ExperienceTM Customers and partners choose Intermedia because we allow them to outsource more of their IT burden. They take this time, money and energy and reinvest it in their business.
Reliability
Support
Onboarding and migration
Intermedia offers a 99.999% uptime service level agreement. This amounts to less than 26 seconds of downtime per month.
Intermedia offers 24/7 admin support. We typically answer the phone in less than 60 seconds.
Intermedia’s expert Cloud ConciergeTM team performs free setup and migration for hosted Exchange and many other services.
To start today contact us: CALL US
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Speak to a hosting expert now 0800 612 2524 [email protected] www.hyve.com
Reg No. 04239352 ISO 27001 Certified PCI DSS Certified
HM Government G-Cloud
STAND NUMBER 1064
STONEWALL: ACCEPTANCE WITHOUT EXCEPTION At Stonewall, we’re here to let all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people know they’re not alone. We’re excited to be creating the first ever Diversity Zone at the show, including supporting smaller charities such as the Adult Dyslexia Organisation to attend.
We have laid deep foundations across Britain - in some of our greatest institutions - so our communities can continue to find ways to flourish, and individuals can reach their full potential’. 89
We believe we’re stronger united, so we partner with organisations that help us create real change for the better. We have laid deep foundations across Britain - in some of our greatest institutions - so our communities can continue to find ways to flourish, and individuals can reach their full potential. We’re here to support those who cannot yet be themselves. But our work is not finished yet. Not until everyone feels free to be who they are, wherever they are.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.stonewall.org.uk 020 7593 3473 [email protected] [email protected]
YINGDE GROUP
Yingde Group proudly sponsor the Business Show 2015, visit us at stand No: 406.
Yingde Group has united countless Chinese investors and UK businesses since 2008. We provide efficient, professional solutions and boast an extensive base of prudent Chinese investors. Our goals are simple –We
help British businesses thrive and deliver genuine value for our clients.
Grow your business with Yingde Group Is your UK business looking for external funding? Would investment from a trustworthy, knowledgeable source help your business flourish? Look no further than Yingde Group. From marketing and advertising to road shows, our expert team will leverage every opportunity to extend our investor network and give your business the exposure needed to attract investment.
Yingde’s continuing success is a result of our core values – commitment, integrity and a rigorous pursuit of excellence. We provide efficient, professional solutions and boast an extensive base of prudent Chinese investors. Along with funding, you can also benefit from the wealth of business know-how that Yingde and an investor brings to the table. Not to mention a cross-cultural perspective of your business and the opportunity to explore Eastern mar kets to broaden your business’ reach.
To find out more information visit:
Facebook:www.facebook.com/yingdegroupuk
Tel:+44(0)1612093811
STAND NUMBER 1056
DATA BREACHES CAN HAPPEN TO ANY BUSINESS All companies rely on critical business data in order to succeed. Organisations may face overwhelming financial liabilities if they lose sensitive data and they need knowledge to protect and recover lost data, otherwise data breaches will continue to cause problems. How much does a data breach cost a business? Organisations may face insurmountable financial liabilities if they lose sensitive data. Data breaches can result in direct costs such as reimbursement to customers and data recovery costs but even worse is the damage to reputation, as most customers would stop dealing with an organisation in the event of a security breach. There are five reasons as to why an organisation, including SMBs, may be on the brink of a data breach. 1. Employee negligence Employees are a company’s biggest asset, but they are also a weakness. The top reasons for SMB data loss were employees opening attachments or clicking links, leaving systems unattended, not changing passwords and visiting restricted sites. This negligence puts business’ critical data at risk from cybercriminals and malicious insiders. 2. SMBs aren’t protected adequately The majority of SMBs can’t do enough to protect their data using the measures and technologies they currently implement. Most SMBs believe that they do not have enough protection in place especially as data breaches are normally detected accidentally. Not only are organisations at risk of hacking and compromises, but in fact in more danger of employee maliciousness or negligence. Around 60% of organisations believe they need to re-architect their security infrastructure by focusing on outside in and inside out protection as they do not encrypt or safeguard sensitive business data. 3. Employee mobility may cause a disaster Mobile devices enable employees to access data from virtually anywhere at any time, which allows greater flexibility and freedom to the workforce. The ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) age is here to stay. As more and more business data is being accessed by mobile devices not controlled by IT administrators, the likelihood of data loss incidents will continue to rise. 4. SMBs fail to routinely backup data Over 60% of SMBs routinely fail to backup data. Combined with BYOD and employee behaviour, lack of security protection and threats to data are putting organisations at
great risk of a breach. Without automated backups and recovery strategies in place, businesses are at great risk should a disaster strike. Around a third of businesses do not have backup and disaster recovery strategies in place. Due to lack of resource and budget, they would not be confident of avoiding substantial downtime. 5. No enforcement of security policies by SMBs SMBs should ensure that data protection policies are put in place and communicated to everyone. Managing and monitoring end-user privileges and entitlements is an extremely important security measure. Creating policies around social media usage and using personal email would be a huge benefit for organisations, as most attacks occur after falling for a social engineering lure.
What can you do to help your company against data breaches? Andrew Starr of OpenIP Ltd, believes following these steps can protect your assets and data: Install and use effective anti-malware solutions. Protect your network by creating policies via a firewall, such as a SonicWALL. Use secure mobile remote access with mobile device management for workers who use mobile devices, to ensure that data is secure when accessed away from the office network. Create complex passwords and change these regularly – the harder the key, the harder it is to get into the network. Speak with a trusted IT advisor, such as OpenIP, who can strengthen your IT security to develop and implement strategies.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.openip.co.uk 0808 178 3278 [email protected]
visit us visit onus stand on stand 780 780
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evolve evolve telecom telecom havehave been been supplying supplying communication communication services services for over for over 20 years. 20 years. > we>supply we supply everything everything fromfrom mobile mobile phones, phones, fixedfixed line systems, line systems, business business broadband broadband and unified and unified communications communications > unique > unique threethree year year device device guarantee guarantee > a multi > a multi award award winning winning industry industry specialist specialist > exceptional > exceptional customer customer care programme care programme > a service tailored to your individual > a service tailored to your individual needsneeds
Talk Talk to ustoon us0800 on 0800 036 036 63666366
www.evolve.co.uk www.evolve.co.uk | @evolvetelecom | @evolvetelecom
STAND NUMBER 130
BECOMING A CONSULTANT Are you at a crossroads in your career? Do you like the idea of running your own business, with the flexibility to strike the right work/life balance for you? Do you wonder what you could do with all your experience? We can explain how you can establish whether a portfolio of strategic part-time roles is right for you and crucially, where the work would come from and how to fund this new career. ibd Business Advice Group Ltd is an organisation of experienced business professionals that enables owners and managers of small to medium sized companies (SMEs) to achieve their business and personal goals. Our 200+ successful accredited business advisers have hands-on experience and, combined with the unique ibd approach to business development, have created a solid track record of delivering the support strategies that companies need to succeed.
We work with various business organisations such as Transmit Start up Loans,The IOEE, SFEDI, Manufacturing Advisory Service, (MAS) and the British Bankers Association (BBA) to provide business advisers and mentors to SME director/owners. You would work with MDs, directors and owners of small to medium companies throughout the UK to enable them to achieve their goals. Your own experience, combined with our training where necessary, our proven methodologies, and ongoing support could be the basis to build, or further expand, your own business capabilities.
CE ON O O DO TH F IB N’T UR D, M SD DE IS AY LI S K AT VER EV 12 HI IN .30 S S JA AN EM CKS D INA ON FR R ID IN , AY H AT ALL 11 3 .45
THE BENEFITS Becoming an ibd accredited adviser provides you with significant benefits in developing your business with ibd Business Advice Group Ltd. •
First class start-up training and support for advisers who are suitably qualified
•
Conversion training – from corporate operations to consultancy
•
Proven methodologies to deliver assignments and projects effectively
•
Accreditation as an ibd member – a quality benchmark that will prove invaluable in any new client engagement
•
A network of like-minded professionals that will supplement your personal skills and expertise. This will enable you to present a powerful allround offer to clients
•
Marketing support for your business through a strong brand and ready made marketing materials
•
The opportunity to share in high quality leads generated by other members and from the centre
If you’re interested in a challenging role as an Accredited ibd Adviser, please come and have a chat on stand 130.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
1
www.ibd-uk.com 01223 257777 [email protected]
You can also find out more about this exciting opportunity by visiting our careers page at ibd-uk.com/ index.php/careers/
YOU’RE THE WILD-EYED VISIONARIES, THE REBELS AND REVOLUTIONARIES WHO HAVE THE COURAGE TO WANT TO GO IT ALONE. So come and tell us your dreams, your hopes, your fears. We’ll arm you with the knowledge you need to conquer the world. We know. We’re not what you were expecting. Just think of the adventures we’ll have...
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“
Expert Positions In Rarely Awarded, it is Mainly CLAIMED
“
Daniel Wagner
PASSIVE RECURRING INCOME PARTNERING WITH AMAZON Expert Success, founded by Daniel Wagner and James Watson, are on a mission to empower people to make the income they really need to live the life they actually want. Arriving in the UK in 1995, Daniel worked his way up from delivering pizzas in Slough to founding and running Europe’s largest Amazon Business training and mentoring company. His businesses turn over millions a year at industry-leading profit margins and he has set out his vision for success in four books, including the Amazon bestseller: Wealth DNA.
‘Daniel and James’ own Amazon Business, which sells their own brand of supplements using existing high quality products, already makes more than $1 million in its second year’ Together with his business partner James Watson and a team of 12 mentors, he has delivered hundreds of events in the UK and abroad showing over 20,000 people in the last 18 months alone how to start and build a successful Amazon Business. These events range from short previews through two day
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‘Momentum’ booster workshops to the yearly Amazon Millionaire Summit. The first Summit, held this year in London, attracted over 1000 attendees from 13 countries. Daniel’s vision is to make his teachings and knowledge available worldwide using online training courses and mentoring. In 2016 he is planning to expand into the US market. The Amazon opportunity is, in Daniel’s own words, ‘the greatest of my lifetime. This is better than any job and better than any business model I’ve ever seen.’ Daniel and James’ own Amazon Business, which sells their own brand of supplements using existing high quality products, already makes more than $1 million in its second year. Daniel is an engaging and entertaining public speaker who currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest team speech. Expert Success’ vision to help others extends beyond their members and together they have raised over £150,000 this year for charity through various projects. Daniel says he wants ‘to empower people to make the income they really need to live the life they actually want.’ So far this has meant that hundreds of students from all backgrounds, teachers to tilers to stay-at-home mums, have raked in tens of thousands of pounds with their own Amazon Businesses using his fool-proof step-bystep method.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.expertsuccess.com 0333 444 0733 [email protected]
Visions got to be big, right? So when we sat together one late afternoon and asked ourselves what would be an outrageous success for this business, we came up with our 2020 vision. “By the year 2020 Expert Success has helped create 20,000,000 6-figure Experts – people who are recognised within their market as authorities.” We don’t expect to do this all by ourselves. Many of the Experts we are working with are running training and coaching businesses themselves, so it’ll be a joint effort! What we love about our vision is that it is ambitious but achievable and that it will help millions of people lead better lives, generating financial independence and wealth for millions.
CONTACT US Tel: Email:
+447967200372 [email protected]
The Diamondology Six-Step System Incorporates: Where to begin to design a total product experience that has the potential to disrupt your industry How to build your team for dynamic results How to speak so your customers will listen and come back for more What needs to be included in your plan for the best possible outcome
‘Diamondology is a proven six-step system for generating a steady stream of income producing assets for your business as easily as turning on a money tap’.
THE DIAMOND DETECTIVE EXPOSES HIDDEN OPPORTUNITIES “In my experience, independent business owners are not making the most of the opportunities available because they either can’t see them or believe it will be too hard to implement additional ways of generating automatic income.” Says Donna Still. Every business has within a rich stream of possibilities in terms of product and service development opportunities; combine that with immediately available insights that Donna helps them to expose and you have one of the most powerful income generating instruments accessible to the independent business owner. Diamondology is a proven six-step system for generating a steady stream of income producing assets for your business as easily as turning on a money tap. Some of the businesses Donna has successfully worked with have been accountants, coaches, consultants and retail outlets. With a design background, she is quickly able to work with you to map out opportunities, ensuring you, your team and your business are all operating from a place of trust, strength and adding value to your chosen market. One of the most important factors to understand is that working with Donna is not for the feint hearted, your business will not be the same after
your time together. Using disruptive technologies, both digital and analogue, you will develop new ways of working with and serving your ideal market. An expert in unpacking strategy and showing teams how to communicate their message more easily, Donna has been successful in helping teams tackle their communication challenges and turn their experience and expertise into profitable assets for the past five years, helping them extract the information that until now has been inaccessible by the people who needed it most. To find out how to put the Diamondology six-step system to work for your business, come and join Donna on Stand no 236 at The Business Show 2015 on 3rd/4th December at Olympia, London. She’ll be sharing these six-steps in an interactive workshop for you to begin implementing in your business immediately The author of two books and three published training programmes in a diverse range of industries, Donna has the breadth of experience and expertise to help you help your business.
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Pay-as-you-use business finance Borrow up to £250 k to help grow your business. All-inclusive rates from
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1270 Come and see us and our partners i.e. taxguard & King & Taylor are affiliated partners, they work in partnership to provide our clients with integrated business tax, personal tax, and financial service solutions. You can find additional financial calculators and information via our mobile/online apps, which will be on our stand during The Business Show. www.klarityvision.com
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SHOW OFFER Discounted Packaged Services ...plus the opportunity to win a tablet PC. Simply visit our stand, receive a quote on one of our services and you will be automatically entered into the draw to win.
Contact Klarity Vision on 0845 463 2205
@KlarityVision
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Business gas and electricity, from trusted experts
OUR
MATCH If you find a better energy deal anywhere else - we’ll match it*
PROMISE
And that’s not the only reason to join us ✓ We offer Fixed Price Energy Plans - Protecting you from energy price increases in the future ✓ We’re all things energy - You can rely on our expertise to help make your energy more affordable, and to make sure your business is both safe and compliant
✓ 6% Direct Debit discount - Set up a Direct Debit for a quick and easy way to pay and you’ll also get a 6% discount from your energy bills
Call us today
0800 316 2354†
* Offer only applies to new customers on a one year contract with an annual gas consumption of less than 73,200kWh and/or an annual electricity consumption of less than 60,000kWh, and is subject to our standard credit checks. We will price match both the unit rate(s) and standing charge if the annual bill value of the competitor quote is cheaper than our quote, and provided that the competitor’s quote is dated up to 5 days before or after the date of our quote. The competitor’s quote must be like for like with the same start date, duration, consumption, meter type and for the same meter as our quote. Gas meters have a unique meter point reference (MPR) and electricity meters have a unique meter point administration number (MPAN), if the meter number(s) in our quote and the competitor’s quote do not match, the offer will not be valid. You will need to provide reasonable proof of the competitor’s
quote (such as a URL of a quotation obtained online or a letter quotation from a competitor’s sales department) and British Gas retains sole discretion as to what constitutes reasonable proof. This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. The offer is available until 5 January 2016. ** Prices and boilers may change depending on existing system requirements. Excluding VAT. † We record and monitor calls to help improve our service to you. Calls to 0800 numbers are free. For more information about the mix of fuels used to generate our electricity, simply visit britishgas. co.uk/business/fuel-mix. You can find information about how to make a complaint at www.britishgas.co.uk/business/complaints
1184/11/15
britishgas.co.uk/business/gbb
STAND NUMBER 472
INCREASE THE #!?% OUT OF YOUR WEBSITE CONVERSIONS WITH WEB VIDEO One2create is a fresh thinking company focusing on business growth. With everything under one roof, from web design and content marketing strategies to video and animation, we’ve got it covered. We’re in an age where everyone is constantly on the go, where people want to know what things are and how to do them in a click of a finger. We don’t have time to be trawling through bucket loads of text and even if we do, we don’t want to. If only there was an easier way to explain services, products and processes… oh wait, there is! Websites with video have an 86% higher conversion rate, so with that, we say it’s time to give web video and animation a big warm welcome, open arms and all. Now don’t get us wrong, we love the good old traditional text to explain our services, but let’s face it, people don’t have time to hang around. You see, us humans are becoming lazy. Now before you get offended, answer this – would you rather read a page of text to get to what you need, or watch a web video? Web video, we hear you say? Great, we’re on the right page. Creating a video/animation is a straightforward way to get a complicated idea across to your customers. Yes your copy’s tone can say a lot about you as a company, but it doesn’t come close to how a web video can express your personality and values. With web video, you can connect with your target market in a way that no
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
109
www.one2create.co.uk 0844 8040 796 [email protected]
other media can. It’ll make your website stand out from your competitors, too. Search engines absolutely love video content, getting your website to where it needs to be and it also improves email marketing campaigns. What’s not to like? You can’t go wrong with web video and animation. It’s so much more memorable and if you’re on social media (which you should be), your followers will go crazy for them. Users are far more likely to click on your post and share it if it includes a visual.
‘With web video, you can connect with your target market in a way that no other media can’ An engaging web video will communicate your message across to your audience quickly and concisely. Did you know that brain of yours processes visuals over 60,000 times faster than text? Yep, you read that correctly, 60,000! That’s less time your customer spends reading and more time to talk business with you. Incorporating web video and animation takes a unique approach to your business and transforms how you communicate with your audience. Not only is it easy to implement, but it’s cost-effective too, saving you money and time. You can tailor it exactly to suit your company, so it reflects your values, as well as your personality, which is a big bonus for both you and your audience.
Incorporating web video and animation into your website will transform the way others view your products and services. Dedicate your time and money to a creative web video that your customers will love and watch the web conversions rocket. For more info, come and have a chat with us on stand 472. It’ll be the best #!?%ing thing you do all day!
TWO-PART SEMINAR Our MD David Harris will be taking to the stage for a twopart seminar on how the #!?% your website can generate sales and market your business. During part one, David will be covering everything you need to know to turn your website into a 24/7 sales tool for your business. In part two, he’ll be taking a look at the multiple wondrous ways you can market your business to generate more sales revenue. Sounds good, right? David has over 25 years’ industry experience, so trust us, you won’t want to miss this two-part seminar. See you there!
STAND NUMBER 1078
We are extremely impresed with the professional cleaning services that are being performed on a daily basis at our facility. I would reccomend Epic Services for ay of your cleaning/service needs” Mr N Chifamba
We take pride in delivering regular, flexible scheduling, high quality, tailor-made value for money cleaning services Our consultants are on hand 24/7, 365 days a year
E P I C
Exceed staffing expectations Provide competent & dedicated candidates Individual client care Commitment to service
The simple answer to your staffing needs...that’s epic
PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY CLEANING & CARE
Epic Services is dedicated to providing the finest, most responsive nursing and cleaning personnel to our clients. We take time to understand our clients’ preferences and match them with the needs of their facility. Epic Cleaning We have built up a reputation for excellent, consistent and exceptional cleaning services and are determined to work with our clients to create a custom cleaning plan, specifically with the needs of the client. We offer a range of routine and specialised commercial and residential cleaning services daily, weekly, fortnightly and monthly.
‘With our exceptionally high standards, we offer a service that is fast, flexible and deliver reliable candidates’.
Epic Care We are specialists in supplying registered nurses (RGNs) and health care assistants (HCAs) across the public and private healthcare sectors. With our exceptionally high standards, we offer a service that is fast, flexible and deliver reliable candidates. Our nurse led recruitment ensures that both clients and nursing staff seek advice from a qualified nurse on a day-to-day basis.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.epicservices.co.uk 02035323471/07852160617 [email protected]
STAND NUMBER 680
CONNECT. INFLUENCE. SUPPORT Business. It’s all about making the right connections.
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is the capital’s largest independent networking and business support organisation. Representing the interests of thousands of companies, we connect thousands of business people every year and offer our members a wide range of practical and professional service In addition to hosting over 200 B2B events each year, LCCI provides memberto-member marketing opportunities, unlimited access to legal and HR advice,
‘…we connect thousands of business people every year and offer our members a wide range of practical and professional service’. 111
access to our exclusive central London meeting space and the opportunity to be part of an extensive international trade mission programme. LCCI also represents the interests of its members to key business stakeholders and influencers in London and further afield across all business sectors. Unlike many other business membership organisations, membership of LCCI is corporate. This means that any employee of member companies can take advantage of our diverse range of benefits and services.
Find out more about... Events and Networking Policy and Public Affairs Export Documents and International Business Conference Facilities
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.londonchamber.co.uk +44 (0)20 7248 4444 [email protected]
Business Advice Marketing and Business Services New Business Opportunities
S
tuart Griffiths, CEO of True Telecom - the UK’s fastest growing broadband, mobile and telecoms service provider - offers insider tips for SMEs looking to save on their telecoms bills.
ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL
It can be far more cost and time efficient to keep your broadband, mobile and telecoms billing together –make sure your provider is offering telecoms bundles, along with capped rates and low recursive charges.
A UNIQUE AGREEMENT FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Businesses should consider opting for a provider who can construct a bespoke agreement based on its unique telecoms requirements, as this will ensure that no unnecessary charges are made and the business is getting the most use out of its agreement, as one size doesn’t necessarily fit all.
FOCUS ON THE PERKS
Often, telecoms providers will offer hidden perks to their agreements, which, if used correctly can save a significant amount. For example, free calls to frequently called numbers can be useful if your client base is concentrated, whilst free calls between landline and mobile numbers (if they are covered in a telecoms bundle) can also save in communicating with suppliers or field sales staff.
A SPECIALIST SERVICE
With a range of telecoms providers to choose from, ensure that any agree-
ment is tailored to your business size. For example, as True Telecom specialises in telecoms solutions for SMEs, they are well placed to offer advice based on practical experience – constructing a cost-effective strategy to suit your business type.
USE ALL YOUR TOOLS
When making short or internal calls, look to harness all the communication tools at your disposal, including instant messaging, email or free chat to get your information across. These alternative communication products will ultimately save your business money.
STAY SENSITIVE TO YOUR USAGE
Keeping a close eye on your business’ telecoms usage can save you a considerable amount long term, as too many active lines or unnecessary features in your office can result in inflated bills at the end of each month. A good provider should allow you to downgrade your agreement to suit your changing requirements.
ALWAYS LOOK FOR A PRICE GUARANTEE
SMEs want to take out a telecoms contract safe in the knowledge that there will be no nasty surprises down the line. Consider a provider that offers a price guarantee or a robust price rise policy, to protect your tariff for the duration of the contract.
FUTURE-PROOFING YOUR BUSINESS
It’s important to ensure that your telecoms provider is consistently providing
innovative solutions to drive your business forward. From low cost IP solutions to new technology or agreement types to suit your business, look for a provider with a proactive approach to upgrading your systems to stay at the forefront of changing telecoms technology.
THE REAL VALUE OF INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS
In choosing a provider with a wide product portfolio and ability to offer integrated solutions, small business can benefit from multiple discounts in one place, including cost savings on mobile, broadband and calling charges.
A SECRET WEAPON AGAINST PREMIUM NUMBERS
As SMEs can waste a lot of money calling customers or suppliers on expensive numbers, it is important to make savings where you can. Visit saynoto0870.com to find alternative numbers to help cut your calling costs dramatically (although as the site is crowd sourced, tread carefully with sensitive numbers). The True Telecom team is here to offer you advice on how to keep your costs at a minimum. For more information visit
www.truetelecom.com or call us today on
08008 40 40 60
Relax Switching your business current account is simple and stress-free
Thanks to the Current Account Switch Service, all your Direct Debits and standing orders automatically transfer to your new business current account.* To find out more, go to simplerworld.co.uk/business *This service is available to businesses with a turnover of up to ÂŁ6.5 million and fewer than 50 employees.
DON’T DON’T HIDE HIDE FROM FROM VITAL VITAL CHANGES CHANGES Internet Internetsecurity securityis ischanging changing and andititcould couldaffect affectyour your payment paymentsubmissions submissions
Get Getready readyfor forindustry-wide industry-widesecurity securityupdates updateshappening happeningininJune June2016. 2016.Unless Unlessyour yourIT ITisis compatible, compatible,you youwill willnot notbe beable ableto touse useBacs Bacsto tomake makeor orcollect collectpayments paymentslike likepayroll, payroll,paying paying suppliers suppliersor orDirect DirectDebits. Debits. Inform Informyour yourIT ITHelpdesk Helpdesknow nowthat that“Bacs “Bacsservices serviceshas hasTLS1.1 TLS1.1and andTLS1.2 TLS1.2connections connectionswith withaa SHA-256 SHA-256SSLcertificate”. SSLcertificate”.Then, Then,check checkwith withyour yourBacs BacsApproved ApprovedSoftware SoftwareSupplier Supplieror orBureau Bureau thatyour that yourcomputer, computer,browser browserand andsoftware softwareare areready. ready. Thecountdown The countdownhas hasbegun begun––don’t don’thide hidefrom fromvital vitalchanges changes
www.bacs.co.uk/sha-2 www.bacs.co.uk/sha-2
STAND NUMBER 540
CHOOSING THE RIGHT BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT Via our Cashplus brand, Advanced Payment Solutions issue multi-award winning business current accounts tailored for SME’s and start-up businesses. For anyone getting started in business, setting up a business account will be a crucial stage. Many start-ups leave decisions around this too late, unaware of potential complications and time delays this can involve, at a time when they want to concentrate on getting their businesses up and running. Costs A large number of banks offer introductory free periods however, it is important to check the tariff that you will be paying once this free period ends, as switching becomes increasingly more cumbersome as time goes on. Look out for itemised costs for depositing cash, using your card, sending bank transfers and setting up Direct Debits.
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Applying If you are applying with a High Street Bank, be aware that account setup times can often take a number of weeks, with the possibility of being declined depending on your credit history. Our High Street alternative Our multi award winning Cashplus Business Account allows customers to apply instantly online, with successfully verified applicants being provided with an Account Number and Sort Code within minutes of applying. What’s more, as we do not offer an overdraft on day one, you do not need to pass a credit check or attend an interview in order to open the account.
•
• • • • •
Join the over 30,000 businesses that we’ve helped with our low cost Business Current Account: Annual fee of £49 Free to pay in cash Free to receive bank transfers Free to set up Direct Debits Free UK card spend
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.mycashplus.co.uk/sme 0203 617 5768 [email protected]
STAND NUMBER 1257
7 KEYS TO SELL TO WOMEN Business is about relationships and men and women relate very differently; some would even suggest that they inhabit different planets! Here are my seven keys to selling women, helping you to sell to women like women not men!
Key One: Women have so much more verbal capacity than men. This is seen in business, when you keep having the same women asking and asking questions and reading as much as they can about you and what you have to offer and talking it through with you. Key Two: ALL THE DETAILS! The best way to illustrate this is through storytelling. You know that stories bypass the logical part of the brain and go straight to the heart, and that buying is
an emotional decision? The thing is, is that men just want you to get to the point, to the bottom line, whilst women want ALL the details! All the details is so much more than what men want, even when a lady is busy her ‘skinny version,’ of the story has way too much ‘fluff’ for a man. Key Three: SHE SHARES INSTINCTIVELY… (she’s all about we, we, we!) So, how this shows up when you are selling to women is that when you are selling to them, just understand and appreciate that you are selling not just to her but to her ‘team,’ or tribe of girlfriends, colleagues and family. As she is rarely just thinking about herself, it’s always in the back of her mind: ‘This would be so great for so and so, I must remember to tell them about it!’ Key Four: MORE TIME AT THE START. Typically, women need much more time at the start of a business relationship to go through the details and the benefits of your product or service. They need to know and understand pretty much everything and need to know
Women prefer to have the facts and figures about your business wrapped up in an emotional story, especially a transformational one, whereas men typically prefer cold-hard facts and figures with as little emotion as possible!’
much more than men that the support is there if and when required, how much and how often, too!!! Key Five: FACTS AND FEELINGS WRAPPED UP IN AN EMOTIONAL STORY. Women prefer to have the facts and figures about your business wrapped up in an emotional story, especially a transformational one, whereas men typically prefer cold-hard facts and figures with as little emotion as possible! Key Six: BUSINESS IS PERSONAL FOR WOMEN, i.e. relationship first, business second. This can be tricky for some to get. You see, women typically talking with others about their families, their animals, their diets, their exercise plans are all her way of building a relationship with you, to see if you are someone she actually likes and trust and wants to get to know, and do business with! Key Seven: SHE VALUES THE CHANCE TO GIVE YOU FEEDBACK Women just love the chance typically to give you suggestions and feedback on your products and services. Maybe it’s quite simply because when they start their long process of getting to know you and like you and trust you they talk about you to their tribe or team and so out of those chats come up with little bits of feedback, which for you and your business are like gold dust!!
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ANGEL-LED CROWDFUNDING: The professional approach to crowdfunding Find smart angel investors, either at one of our pitching events or through private introductions, who provide the expertise and introductions your business needs to succeed. After being matched with your lead investor, you can open the funding up to our network of 12,000 angel investors and the wider crowd using our online platform.
Talk to our team of experts about your funding strategy Chat to one of our experts, either on the phone or face-to-face at a business funding clinic. Here you will receive free advice on your business and any questions about the funding process will be answered. Find an experienced lead investor We’ll then match you with a lead investor, who will invest the first chunk of the round, carry out the relevant due diligence and will often take an active role in the company, utilising their experience and connections to help your business grow. You can then open the funding up to other angels and the crowd online You can then open the funding round up to our wider network of 12,000 angel investors and the crowd by posting your pitch on our crowdfunding platform.
Resulting in over 90% success rate As a result of our coaching and the ongoing support and direction our angels bring to the company, over 90% of our deals are still trading.
Get in touch 0203 318 0230 | [email protected]
www.angelsden.com Investing in any business involves risks, including illiquidity, lack of dividends, loss of investment and dilution, and it should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. This page has been approved as a financial promotion by Angels Den, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Investments can only be made on the basis of information provided in the pitches by the businesses concerned. Angels Den takes no responsibility for this information or for any recommendations or opinions made by the businesses. Angels Den Services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (no.599390). Angels Den Funding Ltd is an Appointed Representative of Angels Den Services Ltd (no.607203). Registered Company: 08384317 | Angels Den Funding Ltd Š Copyright 2015.
STAND NUMBER 574
www.georginadee.com [email protected]
Services offered:
Ready to wear garments Bespoke designs Made to measure Georgina Dee is growing from strength to strength, look out to see some of her designs showcase in some of America’s top TV shows next year as she will be working closely with top stylist Ivan Bitton.
‘Each garment has been individually designed by Georgina herself, who pays close attention to every stitch and detail to ensure the overall quality of the garment remains consistent’.
GEORGINA DEE SHOWCASING LATEST WORKWEAR COLLECTION Georgina Dee is a young British designer who launched her start-up business this year to bring catwalk designs to your front door. Georgina Dee is an independently owned British clothing label founded in London, UK. They specialise in unique ladies’ apparel made from luxurious fabrics sourced over Europe and Asia. Their designs are made for the confident woman who knows her style and is not afraid to stand out from among the crowd and set her own fashion trends. Each garment has been individually designed by Georgina herself, who pays close attention to every stitch and detail to ensure the overall quality of the garment remains consistent. Georgina Dee provide a wide variety of styles to meet your needs from day wear to black tie events. As well as a
ready-to-wear range, they offer a madeto-measure / bespoke service ensuring you look your best for that special occasion. Georgina Dee made her mark in the fashion industry by designing opulent silk scarves. Usual prints soon became her trade mark. In 2015, Georgina Dee launched her first collection at London Fashion Week off schedule showcase. Usual designs and tailoring was very evident in the collection. The collection was well received by fashion bloggers from around the world, and was later featured in May’s edition of Trend Prive and Fashion London magazines. Georgina Dee designs are now available in London’s high end boutiques and online.
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STAND NUMBER 919
STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT WITH A DIFFERENCE With the ever changing business landscape, investing in your staff will have a major impact in ensuring you get the best from your business. Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development (SOLD) are passionate about getting your staff into the outdoors to learn in new and exciting ways. SOLD offer bespoke corporate development programmes which recognise the challenges businesses face and work to ensure specific learning outcomes that are linked to your business needs and objectives. We understand you want your business to operate in the hands of a highly productive team of first-rate professionals. We also recognise that to succeed, your business should and can be represented by industry-leading executives at the top of their game. SOLD understand these demands and deliver effective training and development programmes to make a real difference by getting your staff to make new discoveries about themselves in the outdoors. These programmes are run by highly experienced instructors across our centres in Dorking, Guildford and Richmond, delivering measurable outcomes such as: Planning – Leadership – Communication – Motivation – Time-Management – SelfAwareness – Trust- Resilience – Initiative – Evaluation - Review
characteristics. Our clients’ experiences and feedback demonstrate that professional development in the outdoors delivers a real return on investment through increased productivity, motivation and staff retention. SOLD’s corporate training and development programmes are designed to promote self evaluation, thus enabling an employee to identify his or her own core strengths and potential limitations. Each employee uses these observations to formulate an action plan to be taken back into the workplace to continue the enhancement of their personal performance. How Can SOLD Help My Organisation? Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development offer bespoke corporate training and development programmes including: • • • • • •
Corporate days Graduate and apprentice training Induction programmes Recruitment days Employability programmes SOLD Management Academy
Surrey Outdoor Learning and Development can make a really big difference to your staff’s training and development and make a real impact to the success of your business. The SOLD team look forward to meeting you on Stand 919 at The Business Show
South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) recruit graduate paramedics. We identified a need to provide a bespoke programme of education before graduates took up a place as a leading clinician in an ambulance. It was agreed that some low level, but testing outdoor activity, associated with team building and leadership would be needed. As well as providing exactly what was needed, the most impressive and consistent feature was the willingness to be flexible and go out of the way to provide the best service possible. This and the facilities ensured that SECAmb will be using SOLD again! ‘
OUR APPROACH: Development Through Self-Evaluation Every employee is unique and should be supported, coached and managed in a way that effectively capitalises on their individual
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CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.surreyoutdoorlearning.uk 01372 378901 [email protected]
John Griffiths, Clinical Operations Lead, South East Coast Ambulance Service.
SET YOUR BUSINESS FREE Take your office to the cloud and enjoy the freedom to focus on business
+44(0)20 3384 2158 intermedia.co.uk
CREDIT ASSESSMENT: WHY PERSONAL IS BETTER Automated credit assessment tools are rapidly becoming commonplace in personal and commercial finance. The two main benefits are response speed – just minutes to allocate a score – and, by reducing staff numbers, a reduced overhead. Why would a modern, innovative company forsake technological progress?
The move to ‘computer says no’ assessment by the banking and finance world is something that many businesses wish had never happened. Our borrowers have told us how much they value the ability to talk directly to a human being throughout the process.
Crowdlending is at the forefront of modern financial technologies, bringing borrowers together with crowds of individual and institutional investors. FundingKnight’s business loan platform went live in 2012 and it is continually updated by our in-house tech team.
Our method requires more involvement at our end, and the borrower will need to give some reasoned thought to their position, but we believe the extra effort is worth it.
Instead of automated assessment, we rely on an experienced team of credit analysts to evaluate each potential borrower. As well as credit scores, they look at a variety of factors including the experience, depth and quality of the management, the way the business is capitalised, the general balance sheet structure and liquidity, trading performance, cash generation and cash management. So why don’t we just use automated methods? The data used to drive automated scoring is almost always retrospective. Some of the key constituent data can be really quite old. As such, this methodology gives a strong insight into where a business has been, not where it is now. Even this can be unreliable as there are many factors which it does not take into account. A company can easily appear much less creditworthy than it really is – or much more. We don’t think it’s surprising that a loan provider should be more interested in where a business currently is and where it’s going than where it was a year or two years ago. It’s the future cash generation that will see the loans repaid, after all. Our approach is designed to identify companies
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.one2create.co.uk 0844 8040 796 [email protected]
with a sound financial footing, the ability to deliver consistently and a strong management team. To do this, our credit team makes use of years of experience and a whole range of tools. Some of these are entirely human. For example, we personally speak to every company; this phone interview enables us to better understand the management’s attitudes, what their business ethos is, and how committed they are. These things are strong indicators of a company’s trustworthiness, but no computer assessment would ever be able to quantify them. All this together provides us with as complete a picture of the company as possible.
‘Crowdlending is at the forefront of modern financial technologies, bringing borrowers together with crowds of individual and institutional investors’. Responsivity Once a borrower has been approved, we have the agility to tailor our offering to suit. For example, we will lend amounts we think are realistic and affordable given our analysis, not simply a set proportion of turnover or profit. We can also be more flexible when it comes to repayment schedules.
FundingKnight’s aim is to fuse the latest developments in financial technology with a human approach to finance taking a holistic view of a business to get the best results for our customers.
We’ve seen many instances where a company’s credit score is completely different to its actual creditworthiness. In one case, a profitable, well-run company was astonished to find out how low their score was. It turned out the information held by the credit agencies was out of date and therefore misleading. By simply updating this, their score recovered almost overnight. Regardless, their loan application at FundingKnight was successful and the process was so simple they have subsequently returned for further finance.
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STAND NUMBER 432
STARTING UP A BUSINESS: HOW EXPERIAN CAN HELP YOU ON YOUR WAY People start their own business for all sorts of reasons. Perhaps they’re looking for more freedom, or want to get off the job treadmill, or maybe they just feel ready to take on the challenge of running their own company. Whether you’ve just had a great idea that you think might work, or whether you’ve got an established business, at each stage of the journey there are likely to be challenging times where you may need to look carefully at your finances and the way you manage them. This is where Experian can help not only you but also your business, and help you understand your customers’ financial profiles. Before you set up in business Before you set up on your own, it’s important to make sure that your finances are in shape. At this stage, your business doesn’t have a credit history, so lenders will judge you on how you’ve managed your own finances, in order to assess your creditworthiness and the risk factor. Checking your Experian credit report and score can give you an indication of what kind of loan you might get, in case you need to apply for credit at some point. Usually, a higher score means you’re seen as lower risk – meaning you’re more likely to get credit, and at better rates. Many people will be using their own money to get started and may have to live on a reduced wage while they get things going. No-one can be sure if your venture will turn out to be profitable enough to live on, so unless you’ve got a ready-made vast client
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base it’s worth planning to cover yourself in those early months. Once you’ve set it up So you’re in business now. Your first priorities are likely to be growing your customer base and protecting it from financial risk. Business contacts and simple word of mouth recommendation can be useful, and social media networking can be used as a great promotional tool. One way to find new customers and building up a client base is to buy marketing data lists. Another is to check other businesses, such as customers and suppliers, before you agree
‘Whether you’ve just had a great idea that you think might work, or whether you’ve got an established business, at each stage of the journey there are likely to be challenging times where you may need to look carefully at your finances and the way you manage them’.
CONTACT US Web:
www.experian.co.uk
to go into business with them. Making the right decisions at this stage is crucial, and the ability to assess the creditworthiness and risk factors of those you may be working with is important. Experian can help you with a number of products and subscriptions, depending on your needs, such as discounts on multiple business credit reports. Once it’s established Expanding your business once it has acquired a foothold in its market may require some investment, whether it’s more physical goods, more advertising or simply a more professional or larger working space. With options for increased finance ever widening for SMEs, it is in your interest to boost your business credit report, so that you can show your business in the best possible light to lenders and investors. To that end, Experian has developed MyBusinessProfile, an easy-to-understand tool for directors that enables you to see the same information your business lenders use when making a decision. And once the business has taken off further and needs to expand beyond its local base, Experian Business Express can help companies search for businesses that share characteristics with their current customer base, making marketing more targeted and helping to increase the chances of winning new contracts.
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STAND NUMBER 850 PPL is a not-for-profit company which licenses recorded music on behalf of 75,000 performers and record companies for use online, in broadcast and for those businesses that choose to play recorded music to their staff and / or customers as part of what is known as ‘public performance’ Peter Leathem is CEO of PPL. Previously he was a partner for eight years with law firm GSC Solicitors, where he was head of the Intellectual Property Department. Peter is also a director of VPL (the music video licensing company), UK Music and the British Copyright Council.
HOW RECORDED MUSIC CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS Peter Leathem, CEO of the not-for-profit music licensing company PPL, gives his views on how recorded music can bring numerous benefits to business. PPL is at the forefront of promoting the financial and emotional benefits recorded music brings businesses, through MusicWorks, the joint research initiative with PRS for Music.
Research shows that businesses choosing to place music at the heart of their customer experience are reaping numerous benefits. Music has the power to transform businesses and can add real value to any workplace, including a boost to the bottom line. In a recent study we undertook in conjunction with a leading travel brand, we found that 81% of customers agreed playing music helps increase customer dwell time. Over half (51%) of customers said they would spend more time browsing in a store playing music, while in the hospitality sector, 69% of consumers said they would spend more time in the public areas of a hotel if music was played – increasing the potential for making those all-important sales. In another previous study, 76% of businesses also agreed that music could help to positively influence the behaviour and purchasing decisions of customers. Background music has grown to become an integral part of the customer experience, helping to reflect a range of emotions and needs for both staff and customers – two completely distinct audiences. Taking into
consideration the needs of staff as well as customers when playing music can help boost employee productivity and retention rate: 75% of businesses agreed that allowing staff to listen to music helps team working and bonding while 61% say staff are more productive when music is played. In the pubs and bars sector, 80% of managers believe staff would complain if the music was switched off. In fact, 98% of staff stated that playing music would make them feel more motivated while working, and the same number agree that playing music improves staff mood.
Background music has grown to become an integral part of the customer experience, helping to reflect a range of emotions and needs for both staff and customers – two completely distinct audiences’.
Music is also imperative to creating the right atmosphere and help to build a loyal base of returning customers. Research shows 91% of managers / business owners either agreed or agreed strongly that playing music make customers happier. A resounding 72% of respondents think no music would make the atmosphere less welcoming. Playing music also helps give a brand an advantage in a competitive marketplace. Research shows that in retail, businesses that play music are perceived as modern and appealing places to shop. In fact, it can be argued that in an age where even more shoppers are turning to the Internet, you need to create a bit of ‘retail theatre’ to inspire those all-important purchases. The genre of music played is also a key consideration - 88% of respondents stated they would prefer to listen to music by recognisable performers rather than sound-alikes, highlighting the value and appreciation for original artist music. Over the years we have seen there is a growing understanding of music’s value within the business community, which in turn helps us explain the role music licensing plays in supporting the wider creative economy. Given the wide reaching benefits it can bring, music is an important consideration for any business. All we ask is that any business using music is legally compliant by obtaining a PPL licence, ensuring that all those who invest their time and talent in making recorded music are paid fairly for their work.
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CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.1-2-1accountants.com 0333 444 0733 [email protected]
CHARTERED CERTIFIED ACCOUNTANTS, PAYROLL & TAX CONSULTANTS We are a professional, approachable and forward thinking firm of Chartered Certified Accountants. We specialise in accountancy, payroll and tax services for start-ups, professionals, small businesses, property investors and charities. We provide a personal and professional service at a reasonable cost.
We can save you time and money by looking after your accountancy and compliance. We help you nurture the seeds of your business to grow strong. As a visitor to this business exhibition, you are offered a FREE CONSULTATION where you can find out about the range of accountancy services offered at 1-2-1 Accountants, a professional, approachable and forward thinking firm of Chartered Certified Accountants. As a new business it is essential to get expert financial advice early on so you can be sure you have made the right decisions for your business, right from the start. As local experts in financial & business matters, we could offer you valuable advice, save you a lot of hassle and time and help you achieve your goals.
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10% DISCOUNT FOR CLIENTS FROM THIS BUSINESS EXHIBITION FREE 10 MINUTE CONSULTATION (preferably booked in advance) Our range of ACCOUNTANCY & BUSINESS SERVICES include: Company Formation & Charity Registration
The principal is a Chartered Certified Accountant; he has an MBA degree and has experience teaching accountancy, finance and many business subjects as an associate professor at a university in London.
Payroll From £12 Per Month - Monthly Online Real Time
Clients range from:
Cash Flow Projections
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Small businesses from various sectors Professionals like dentists, surveyors and trainers Charities (at 33% discounts) Property landlords – buy to let and limited companies Tax return clients
To take advantage of our FREE TEN MINUTE CONSULTATION, please make an appointment here or call us within two weeks on 07787147362, or email us at: [email protected]
Information Filing
Management Accounts Financial Analysis Taxation & Tax Returns. Business Development Marketing Budget Plans
STAND NUMBER 762
PREMIER PROPERTY EDUCATION
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Discover How to Fast-track your property success by avoiding these pitfalls so you save £10,000’s Learn the proven 3 step formula to successfully invest in property with peace of mind and confidence. How to replace your income so you no longer need to work and you can spend that time doing what you love.
Take the first step and download this E-Book, usually priced £47, for absolutely free. Go to this link: www.premierpropertyeducation.co.uk
Do you want to be your own boss and run your own business? Are you struggling to find that magic idea or innovative product? Is a lack of funds stopping you taking the next step? A property business is your answer. Property is a tried and tested business that has created extreme wealth for so many people. Just look at the Entrepreneurs in the Rich list. Richard Branson, Alan Sugar, Sir James Dyson, what do they all have in common? They all have significant investment in Property.
around the highest price asset we purchase in our lifetime.
Kam Dovedi is the Founder of Premier Property Education and has been investing in property for over 26 years.
If you do have the knowledge and use the tried and tested step by step processes then rewards in Property are only limited by your imagination.
Kam’s multimillion pound property portfolio has been created by using a number of different strategies which you can learn too. Kam now shares his knowledge and experience with new investors and experienced investors who need to take it to the next level.
Knowledge is Key. If you don’t have the correct knowledge then mistakes in property can cost you significant amounts of money.
F EBOREE OK! Download this free report now www.premierpropertyeducation.co.uk
Do you think you don’t have the time? You can learn how to start in property in your spare time. Do you think you need funds? We can show you strategies that need little of no funds.
You may not consider Property as a business, but at Premier Property Education that is exactly how we teach it. At Premier Property Education we provide a range of interactive workshops, trainings and private mentorship programmes to open your eyes up to the possibility in Property and how you can create your own business in Property. We have a step by step process that allows you to use the relevant strategies working in the market right now to build a business
CONTACT US Web:
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So many features. So easy to use.
With the NFON Cloud Telephone System you are getting a world class service at a great price. A cloud solution “Made in Germany” – German engineering where your business needs it most High savings potential – Save up to 50% on traditional fixed line systems No long term fixed contracts – 30 day rolling contract terms for your convenience Unlimited capacity – Scalable solution from 2 to 249,000 extensions Over 150 built-in intelligent functions – And many more Value Added Services Skype for Business integration – Use MS Lync just as you would your regular desk phone Easy to use – 10,000+ customers can’t be wrong For more information call 0203 740 6740, or email [email protected]
The next-generation telephone system.
STAND NUMBER 404 CONTACT US Tel: Email:
0203 740 6740 [email protected]
NO TWO CLOUDS ARE THE SAME! We all know hosted telephony, of a kind, has been around forever. BT Centrex in the 1980s was hosted telephony. Mobile phone services, you could argue, are hosted telephony. And ‘hosted telephony’ services enabled by IP telephony kit vendors are, of course, hosted telephony.
The UK is experiencing huge market demand for cloud telephony and with NFON you can be assured of a world class service. NFON is one of Europe’s leading cloud telephony providers and always puts its customer first. Our standardsbased technology was developed with customer service in mind. We have over 150 built-in functions as well as a wide range of value added service, and we offer “real-time” live technical support, all for a great price. Now’s the time to make the switch to the cloud, and the NFON Cloud Telephone System makes it painless to do so. Find out more. Visit us on stand 404 at The Business Show on the 3rd and 4th December 2015 at Olympia London for live demonstrations and to meet the NFON team. NFON The next-generation telephone system.
There are contentions and parallels between all of those kinds of hosted telephony. Firstly, they’re all as cumbersome as each other, in terms of service flexibility and complexity. Secondly, their pricing can be pretty steep and hard to decipher for the buyer - try adding in the bonus features you’ll need and you’ll get the point. Third, they tie users into long-term contracts and commitments. Finally, they’re usually closed and proprietary systems, making it expensive and complex to integrate with the wider world of personal communications of the sort that smart phone users take for granted. It appears on the surface the only difference between the traditional PBX solution and hosted telephony is the location of the hardware! In short, until pretty recently, these traditionally accepted hosted services made it easy for PBX vendors to compete, and that’s reflected in the early market stats. However, in the context of the modern communications environment, both PBX solutions and old-style hosted telephony systems are competing not just with each other, but with a new breed of cloud telephony. Real cloud telephony services are disrupting similar, if not the same, offerings. For example, flat end user pricing, which delivers simple and sophisticated features, plus desktop and mobile options within a single, affordable license. All services and updates are immediately accessible at the point of activation across all customer bases, and the end of the extended contract can also
be seen! For example, NFON’s customers benefit from being able to renew their licenses on a month-by-month basis, scaling up and down effortlessly. Could you refer to cloud telephony as just another app on the network? Yes, on reflection you could because to the end user that’s exactly how it feels. However, if you’re selling a PBX solution, then you can sell cloud telephony stand-alone (i.e. without having to also sell other cloud or hosting solutions). It just becomes your IPT or UC app, enhancing your portfolio of telephony services. And if you are a data solution reseller, then you can sell it standalone as your telephony solution which nests very nicely with your other cloud and hosted services. While cloud telephony does pretty well stand-alone, it’s also brilliant at integrating. For instance, NFON’s system integrates effortlessly with Skype for business (formally Microsoft Lync). This means the business users’ favourite communication client uses NFON’s cloud telephone system for calls with the outside world, using full PBX functions and features, and the Skype for business cloud to reach other Skype users. And is there enough choice of base platform? Maybe that’s a question better suited to the traditional hosted vendor. The beauty of cloud telephony is that you don’t need to invest in any kind of platform. Ongoing costs are significantly reduced too - no outlay on expensive hardware, very competitive calling costs, and the ability to grow with your business are just some of the main reasons why cloud telephony is taking the march over traditional PBX.
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STAND NUMBER 306 CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.zigzagsystems.co.uk 0115 87 00 994 [email protected]
CONTROL YOUR BUSINESS & DATA – ANYWHERE! ZigZag have created a cloudbased system that can control all the day to day aspects of your retail, wholesale or manufacturing business from your customers, through to your purchase orders, and all from just £49 per month. Using the power of the cloud and their experience in a number of industries, the latest version of ZigZag is an ideal ‘off the shelf’ system for small to medium sized businesses, easy to use and with no setup costs. Whether you are a new business or an established company, it makes sense to transfer to the cloud. ZigZag brings together everything you need to sell your products or services. Starting with your customers, the simple customer input, or for initial set up, the import tool allows you to monitor your customer sales, credit account and all your customer contact details. Each module can be linked through ZigZag’s easy to use diary system and share information with your colleagues. Once you have your customers, you need to have a product to sell to them. That can be as easy or as complex as you need with
ZigZag. A simple product can be set up in a few clicks and you can get placing orders in minutes. If your product has options, that’s not a problem for ZigZag and if they have different prices, the system has that covered as well. The ordering on ZigZag brings together your customers and orders, and then links to the stock control system so you can allocate your stock to your orders. If the item isn’t in stock, you can allocate it to your stock that’s due in, or if you haven’t any on order, it can create that purchase order for you. Once the order is ready, create your delivery notes and put onto a delivery run with your other orders. ZigZag will even give you a map that has route guidance and estimated times for deliveries. When you have all your data on ZigZag, use the report builder to create tabular reports or colourful charts to show you the information and even have ZigZag schedule
‘ZigZag brings together everything you need to sell your products or services’.
the emails to be sent to you daily, weekly or monthly. For the more important reports, save them to your ZigZag desktop and they are in front of you instantly no matter what device you log in on. For presentation purposes, ZigZag can be used on a tablet with a very clean and easy to use interface that can be used as an image slide show, through to placing orders from the comfort of your showroom or customer’s house. ZigZag have partnered with Go Media, specialists in creating e-commerce websites so all your ZigZag data can be displayed beautifully on your interactive e-commerce store without having to enter data twice, and if your customer buys online, ZigZag gets that order so it’s already for your office to despatch. Unlike other systems, ZigZag allows you to have five users on their pro system that is only £99 a month (extra users can be added at £75 a month for each block of 5 users), or for the smaller business, just £49 a month for two users on the ZigZag lite version. For the bigger project, you can use ZigZag’s experience designing intuitive systems to create your very own bespoke package.
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STAND NUMBER 1102
MICHELLE BISHTON AND PHIL SANGER
THE IP SME FOR SMES Vault IP is a specialist intellectual property firm which has been set up to assist SMEs to secure protection for their intellectual property. Being a small firm with low overheads, Vault IP is able to offer lower professional fees than many IP firms. Vault IP was set up in 2014 by Phil Sanger, offering patent and design services. Phil has now been joined by a co-director, Michelle Bishton, enabling the firm to extend its services to include trade marks. Vault IP is the antidote to the traditional law firm. The core values of the business are based on the needs of clients. Our approach is totally flexible- your commercial objectives are our priority and we promise never to use sleep-inducing boilerplate letters. Every piece of advice is tailored to you. Our professional fees are much lower than other law firms because of the tools we use- secure cloud computing and a fully paperless office mean that our overheads are rock bottom. This doesn’t mean we compromise on quality (our deadline monitoring systems and client file storage are secure and reliable) - it just means that we’re working smarter. We proudly fly the flag for SMEs in the UK and we are in a unique position to understand the challenges of forming
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and growing a company because that is exactly what we are doing. We, therefore, have a real insight into how small businesses are run and the challenges they face. For example, we understand that bills of unpredictable size and frequency are unhelpful. We offer flexible pricing structures. We appreciate that many companies are fed up with the sound of the clock running every time they pick up the phone to their lawyer. As such, our fees can be agreed in advance and we have fixed fees, rather than vague estimates, for many stages of the patent, design and trade mark process, which makes it easier to forecast your IP spend.
CONTACT US Web:
www.vault-ip.com
Services offered by Vault IP include: Patents We specialise in securing protection for your inventions. We will work with you to identify the inventions in your new products, undertake prior art searches, draft and file patent applications and manage them through to grant in the UK, Europe and overseas. For larger portfolios we offer full management, including regular reviews and detailed cost projections Trade marks Every business has a company name, logo etc. which it uses to build goodwill and enable consumers to identify its goods or services. Anything which enables consumers to differentiate goods and services of one company from those of another is known as a trade mark. To protect your company adequately it is recommended that registration is sought. We can conduct searches for prior rights, prepare suitable specifications, file applications and deal with objections or oppositions on your behalf, as well as offering ongoing maintenance services in relation to your trade mark portfolio. Designs The caped crusader of IP designs are an inexpensive and fast way to protect the appearance of your products. The Community Design provides five years’ registered protection across the entire EU, with no examination process. Registered designs can, therefore, be secured in a matter of weeks with no long-winded prosecution process. What’s not to like?
MAKING YOUR MARK IS IMPORTANT
You’ve carefully cultivated a unique identity for your young business, so why not express it? At printed.com, we offer one of the largest ranges of papers and finishes so you can express yourself, your way. You’ll find a little business-growing gift from us in your show goody bag, from one young business to another. In the meantime, why not pop by the site at printed.com and say hi?
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CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
SPEED NETWORKING: WHY? HOW?
www.salesseek.net 0203 514 2513 [email protected]
SalesSeek - Bringing together essential sales and marketing tools for growth-focused businesses. Our design-led platform provides contact & deal management, email marketing & automation, forecasting, task management, web analytics, and social monitoring in a fresh and visual web application.
SalesSeek is helping organisations scale their revenue generation by providing context to relationships and the tools needed to attract, and engage with a growing customer base. Meet us at The Business show this December. Get a live demo at Stand 652.
In today’s world of digital marketing, search engine optimisation, and pay-per-click advertising, it’s easy to discount face-to-face encounters such as speed networking, events and networking groups. One thing we’ve found is people are more willing to trust a product if they’ve met the people behind it.
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In our experience, the strongest leads are through our personal connections, customer referrals and those we meet at the various events we attend. So why do we like speed networking so much? Practising your pitch – There’s nothing quite like doing it live to 20+ people to refine and perfect your value proposition.
How Can You be Most Effective? Exchange business cards before each conversation. This’ll save time and allow you to move to the next person quickly when prompted. Bring 40+ cards with you; there’s nothing worse than running out of cards at a networking event! Always keep your last card with you so others can take a photo of it.
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Meeting Prospects We regularly meet people who would like to try and buy our product through speed networking sessions.
Speak Clearly. Take Your Time If you have the right pitch, 60 seconds is plenty of time so you shouldn’t need to rush.
Create Advocates Even if your product isn’t right for them, if you solve a problem they’ll refer others to you.
You must have a clear message for them to easily identify the value your company provides. Then you can usually continue the conversation after the session ends, or follow up by email and phone post event on how your business could help them specifically.
Continue networking, stay in touch with the people you met via email and connect across social media.
RELATE! If you’re speaking second, relate your company to the business of the person that you’ve learned about. They then know you were listening, making your value proposition easier to understand and more likely to pique their interest.
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Gain Feedback Some of the most honest feedback we’ve had comes from people we’ve only spoken to for one minute - they don’t feel bad about hurting your feelings.
‘…the strongest leads are through our personal connections, customer referrals and those we meet at the various events we attend’.
Prepare a 60-Secs Elevator Pitch You only have one minute to talk about your product. Make it count.
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Introduce yourself What? Describe your proposition in 15 seconds. Who is it for? Who’s your target audience? Why should people buy from you? Which problems are you solving? What value do you offer? Is there a particular service you would like to focus?
You may also want to allow some time for the other person to ask a couple of quick questions. Keep a Record Post event, use a CRM tool like SalesSeek to help with the follow up. If you’re doing a lot of networking it’s essential keep a record of who you’re meeting and what you’ve learned about them. Follow up after the event
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Scan all business cards using the World Card mobile app. Export them from the app to a CSV file and send to your email. Use SalesSeek’s upload tool to import them into your visual CRM, including the lead source. Send a bulk but tailored email to them the day after the event. Last but not least: keep momentum.
Start calling those who’ve opened the email and clicked through the links. They are showing real engagement with your proposition.
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STAND NUMBER 570
GET SMART WITH YOUR PENSION. SMART PENSION: FAST, SECURE, FREE! By law, UK companies created before April 2012 must set up an auto enrolment pension scheme for eligible workers. The initiative represents the most substantial change to workplace pensions for 60 years… and for the 1.8 million small businesses it’ll affect in the next few years. A recent study showed that a staggering two thirds of small and micro employers don’t know the exact date they need to comply with the new pension rules. This could mean that these businesses risk some very considerable fines imposed by The Pensions Regulator...from £400 up to £50,000 or even a two-year prison sentence for failing to comply with the legislation. A solid workplace pension makes good commercial sense – a survey by The Pensions Regulator showed that a good pension scheme is the second most valued benefit to employees. But setting up a workplace pension scheme can be confusing, complicated, costly and time consuming…but it’s not with Smart Pension. At Smart Pension, we blend expertise in investment management, technology and regulation to create the fastest and most efficient option, purpose built for UK auto enrolment. We offer a one-stop shop, end-to-end solution that includes: • • • • •
Scheme set up Assessment Communications Ongoing fund investment All at no charge at all for the employer!
“Smart Pension is a fantastic company which helps small businesses with their employee pensions. The Smart Pension team has done a brilliant job in building a successful platform which makes
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other businesses’ lives easier.” - Matthew Hancock, Minister of State for Business, Energy and Enterprise, 2015 Pension auto enrolment for UK companies is all we do at Smart Pension. And with a board of independent professional trustees, the world’s largest independent fund administrator, and our highly experienced investment team all bringing their expertise to bear for you and your company, you can trust us to do it exceptionally well. Our tech team has helped grow some of the world’s biggest online names like eBay and Secret Escapes. Cutting edge technology makes us quite simply the fastest, easiest to use and most secure platform for workplace pension auto enrolment in the UK. Before you get started you can use our market-leading tools to research, understand and plan your company’s auto enrolment. After that you can be signed up and compliant in only a few minutes, and managing your scheme is easy, quick and simple. Our solution is completely free for companies and great value for employees. We get the job done with minimal fuss, doing all the hard work for you. Smart Pension gives you the peace of mind to get on with running your business, knowing that everything is in hand, you are complying with your legal duties and your employees are being well looked after. Come and visit us at Stand 922, or go to www.AutoEnrolment.co.uk to sign up now for free, in just a few minutes.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.autoenrolment.co.uk 0333 444 0733 [email protected]
“Small businesses need an auto enrolment solution that is fast, nimble and reliable. Smart Pension enters the market with that solution and a track record of success. For small businesses complying with the new laws, you make a smart choice with Smart Pension.” Emma Jones, Founder, Enterprise Nation
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The Complete Recruiter Course Increase Your Potential 1hr per day at your desk for 28 days Online with full tutor support The 28 Units will cover:
RESOURCING & RESEARCHING CLIENT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS MANAGEMENT PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
Book Now 0871 288 2108 [email protected] www.studycourse.org
FlamePost Social Media Content Management
Business Made Easier Get more clicks, follows & more customers by using FlamePost and it’s FREE! at FlamePost.com
The Professional Body for Recruiters & HR
STAND NUMBER 512 STAND NUMBER 652
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.salesseek.net 0203 514 2513 [email protected]
WHAT MAKES ORGANO GOLD PRODUCTS SO SPECIAL? Organo Gold is a member of the Organic Trade Association, who promote organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the global economy; and Ecocert, who inspect and advise companies on ecologically responsible, environmentally sustainable and global compliance in the organic sector. What makes Organo Gold products so special? It’s a little known ingredient called Ganoderma lucidum, a fungus used extensively in Asian medicine. These mushrooms are unique in that they grow on wood, mostly out of large trees (living or dead, the mushroom doesn’t mind) in forests in the more tropical regions of Asia. With long brown stems and orange-coloured caps, they are a spectacular sight, but they can be hard to see in the wild because they grow in such heavily forested areas. Organo Gold sources only the finest quality Ganoderma, grown on undisturbed logs high in the Wuyi Mountains of China’s Fuzhou region. For thousands of years, Ganoderma lucidum has been recognised by Asian medicine as the highest ranked of all herbs. The Chinese name for it is Lingzhi, which means “spiritual potency.” The Japanes name, Reishi, can be translated as the “King of
‘For thousands of years, Ganoderma lucidum has been recognised by Asian medicine as the highest ranked of all herbs’.
Herbs.” The most renowned doctor of the Ming Dynasty, Dr Shi-Jean Lee, wrote in his famous book Great Pharmacopoeia (Ban Chao Gang Moo) that “Long-term taking of Ganoderma will build a strong healthy body and assure a long life.” Organo Gold is the only North American company who has partnered with the largest certified organic Ganoderma plantations in the world to bring this “treasure of life” to the Western world. In 2009, Organo Gold and its partners celebrated the groundbreaking of their $240 million Gano Herb Industrial Park, the largest of its kind in the world. Our agricultural and food scientists start off with only organically grown Ganoderma. Employing the latest technologies, they gently dry, sterilise and process the mushrooms from a tough, wood-like cap into a fine powder using only natural processes. Once the Ganoderma mushrooms have been transformed, they are added to the Organo Gold family of products, including: • • • •
Gourmet Black Coffee Gourmet Cafe Latte Gourmet Cafe Mocha Organic Green Tea
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.organogold.com 1 (604) 638-6840 [email protected]
Organo Gold, along with its supply chain partners, has voluntarily undergone certification by Ecocert. All of our products are manufactured using the finest organically harvested Ganoderma lucidum, certified independently be Ecocert. Many of Organo Gold’s products have been certified organic by Ecocert, including our King of Coffee and Organic Green Tea. Visit Organic Trade Association and Ecocert to learn more. As well as our r etail products, Organo Gold offers a fantastic business opportunity. Visit out stand at the show to learn more.
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STAND NUMBER 1170
CEO AND CO-FOUNDER OF FORCEMANAGER CEO and co-founder of ForceManager, Oscar Maciá, founded his company from his experience in sales management. ForceManager has achieved great success and is now a leading competitor in mobile sales management with well-known clients such as Vauxhall, Pirelli and BASF. Oscar is an experienced, sales-orientated manager and entrepreneur. With his wealth of knowledge in managing technology startups and sales teams, he was able to develop a software that helps companies fast-track their sales. Working as a sales manager, Oscar needed more transparency through his sales team so everyone could understand exactly what was happening and how they were performing. Since there was no such software available, he first set up a tool that asked his sales force to directly report all their activity. However, all the reporting took them away from actually selling. Not long after that, with the support of Oscar’s colleague Xavier Bisbal (co-founder), ForceManager was launched. They took their passion for delivering the best, most user-friendly experience to develop a unique mobile CRM.
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ForceManager facilitates and improves the performance of sales teams by instantly measuring and analysing all sales activity. It is a smart solution for sales reps who work out of the office, allowing them to focus on selling through automatic reporting, on or offline, anytime, anywhere. The app is available across multiple platforms and devices, including smartwatches. ForceManager has transformed from small startup to leading competitor in sales management in just a short space of time. This rapid growth has seen ForceManager’s impact spread globally to over 15 countries, with offices already open in
CONTACT US Web: Tel:
www.forcemanager.net/ +34 931 173 886
London and Latin America. Oscar’s goal is now focussed on expanding the company even further.
‘ForceManager facilitates and improves the performance of sales teams by instantly measuring and analysing all sales activity’
What motivates your sales team? Join Oscar for his tips on managing and building a high-performance sales team. He will give his insight by sharing his experience in the field as a sales rep and manager, having helped hundreds of companies become high performance sales organizations. Oscar will then be happy to answer any questions from the audience in a short Q&A session that will be held at the end of the seminar.
Brand protection for start-ups It is not uncommon for patent and trade mark issues to be pushed to the bottom of your priority list when forming a new business. Protecting our personal possessions from theft is second nature, so why would you not protect your business’s most valuable asset in the same way? At Marks & Clerk, we take time to understand your business, whatever your size, and we tailor our advice to ensure you get maximum value, protection and benefit from your innovations. Get in touch to find out how we can help.
www.marks-clerk.com
We Make Recruitment Easier And recruiters more efficient
Call us to arrange your 6 month FREE trial 0800 634 1818
Advertise your job across the largest UK advertising network Post jobs directly to your career page and across social media Manage recruitment from a single dashboard (Virtually no training required) Mobile and tablet friendly No IT integrations or lengthy contracts Pre-screen candidates with behavioural assessments, video interviewing and more Generate intelligent reports World class customer support
What do our customers say?
“Smart Recruit Online has added real value to our recruitment processes and has increased our ability to recruit quickly & efficiently, and without the use of agencies”
“Smart Recruit Online has provided us with volumes of good quality candidates for our current open roles and also a talent pool that we can revisit at any time in the future. I would recommend Smart Recruit Online as a fantastic platform to any HR team, or in house recruitment function”
www.smartrecruitonline.com
“We have to date filled 100% of the roles we have advertised, saving tens of thousands of pounds in the process. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Smart Recruit Online’s system to my peers and in fact already have!”
STAND NUMBER 1040
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A MISSION STATEMENT? “Profit is not the legitimate purpose of business. The legitimate purpose of business is to provide a product or service that people need and do it so well that it’s profitable.” - James Rouse Why is a business purpose or mission important? Is a business purpose just as important for a small business as it is for a large corporation? This brief article will address both these questions. Clarifying your business purpose is essential whether big or small. A powerful business purpose gives you and your team clarity, direction and focus, a reason for being. The purpose or mission is the ‘compass’ of the organization, keeping it focused and heading in the right direction.
Dell’s mission is to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve
The difference between the mission statement and a vision statement is that a mission statement focuses on a company’s present state while a vision statement focuses on a company’s future. Here are some examples:
Here are some coaching questions to help you clarify your business purpose:
Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.
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Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. What’s interesting about all these leading organizations’ mission/purpose statements is that they are all focused on meeting customer needs.
1. 2.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.realisepartners.com 0207-813-1346 [email protected]
What products / services does your business offer / provide? Who are your target markets and what are their needs? What customer needs does your business meet? Why does your business exist? A business purpose can never be fully realised; it has the ability to last forever, even if products and services change, the business purpose stays the same. Define your business purpose taking these questions into account.
The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.”― Peter F. Drucker
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STAND NUMBER 400
WOW ANALYTICS ARE REVOLUTIONISING WEBSITE’S ROI WOW Analytics have been taking the technology world by storm with their lead generation software. Their forward-thinking web solutions have strengthened both B2B sales and marketing, and they’re set to show exactly what they can do for businesses at The Business Show. t With online sales and marketing going from strength to strength, WOW Analytics is offering companies the ability to find out exactly who is on their website. With their own IP lookup technology and a private database that has access to millions of data IDs, WOW guarantees a higher match rate than any of their competitors. After spending years in the industry, WOW has seen exactly how effective form fills and contact pages are, with only 2% of leads identifying themselves on websites. But around 50% of visitors are potential leads; so WOW designed technology that show you who your leads are so you can get in contact with them. With their own tracking codes, WOW can track who has come to your website and then show you the company name and details. While there are lots of companies that offer this service, no one does it quite like WOW. Why is that? Because WOW won’t just give you company details, they’ll also give you individuals. Within WOW’s technology, you’ll be able to see individual employees from the company and their job titles. This gives your sales team a direct line to key decision makers, so
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they are not blocked in the sales process. But WOW doesn’t just stop there. They also rank your leads, so you can see which leads on your website are ready to buy. This saves your sales team time and gives you the opportunity to maximise ROI. They do this by ranking web pages and judging not just the time spent on your website but by where the visitor has gone on your website. That’s just the start of what they offer. From PPC tracking and social media integration to one-to-one email tracking, WOW has the broadest range of online products designed to help you achieve the largest ROI possible from your website. WOW’s software has revolutionised how businesses can tailor their sales pitch, manage their marketing budgets and
‘WOW’s software has revolutionised how businesses can tailor their sales pitch, manage their marketing budgets and identify the exact audience they’re targeting’.
identify the exact audience they’re targeting. The results have been astounding. Businesses across the world have increased their ROI anywhere from 10-1000%. Many have also halved their marketing budgets by gaining access to more leads with WOW. Those coming to The Business Show will be able to get a chance to see for themselves exactly how WOW’s technology can impact their sales and services. With interactive free demos and staff who can advise on best practices in the online industry, WOW will show businesses exactly how they can now maximise their ROI and make money from their website. They’ll also get a chance to talk to the Managing Director of WOW Analytics, Lee Chadwick, and pick his brain about best practices in the ever-changing online world. Lee will also be presenting a seminar on how to make your website a profit engine with WOW’s lead generation tools at hand. With best practice tips, you can expect to see first-hand how to revolutionise your own website’s ROI.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.wowanalytics.co.uk 0844 880 2899info@ wowanalytics.co.uk
The IPO at Stand 1054 The Business Show Protecting
Products Brands Business
Patents Registered Designs Trade marks Tools Events
If you are starting a business your name will be an essential asset, find out how to protect your brand. If you are designing products, the way they work or look could be unique, find out how to exploit these points. Intellectual Property is a key business asset that can be bought, sold and licensed.
Starting a business?
Own or buying a business?
IPEquip
Learn more about the different types of IP with our free online tool.
Use our free Healthcheck service to identify if you have IP in your business.
www.ipo.gov.uk/blogs/equip/
ipogovuk
uk-ipo
You can contact one of our IP advisors who can answer your questions Call them on 0300 300 2000*, or email them at: [email protected]
*Calls to 0300 numbers are charged at your network provider’s standard national rate. Office hours are 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays.
Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office
QUICK AND AFFORDABLE SOLUTIONS FOR CAMPING AND LEISURE We offer a unique selection of fully designed and furnished luxury tents, lodges and residential homes for camping, leisure and residential parks. We also supply an unfurnished turnkey solution if you prefer to purchase your own furniture and make your own decorations. If you dream about… • Letting a piece of land in the countryside? • Getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city? • Retiring in a sunny, quiet and private refuge? • Living in a park with other similar ages and “like minded” people? • Having your fully furnished residential caravan, park home or leisure home ready to move in at an affordable price and virtually maintenance free? • Having your customised pre-fabricated home and also lots of space for your garden, BBQ area and hot tub? We have the answer for you. There are small, medium and large plot sizes available with panoramic views, some overlooking a lake, to serve your taste and budget. Please check out our caravan & mobile home park in the north of Portugal in our website and Facebook page below. There is also a presentation video in our website homepage.
With a portfolio range of products that you can find in our website, we can also design, customize and build your dream holidaying space at an affordable price and ready to move in a few weeks.
“All of our products are made of natural resources and gives you and your family a natural home to live in and enjoy” All of our products are made of natural resources and gives you and your family a natural home to live in and enjoy. We have launched this year an inflatable ladybird tent suitable for play, rest or fun! It has been designed for children to play and comes with a continuous air fan but we can also make it suitable for camping purposes. Please make us an enquiry about the details and get 5% offer if you decide to make a purchase (please use BUSSHOW offer code).
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
10 Things You Can Do With the Inflatable Ladybird Playground Tent
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A great place to read Ladybird stories;
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You can enjoy the fresh air outside with your playground inside the dome, no matter what the weather;
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You can go camping inside it for a day in the school garden, family garden or outside. Schools may also use it to introduce camping to children as some may not have the opportunity to do it with their families;
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You can use it to spend a day outside with your family and friends. The carrying bag fits a standard family car. Depending on the car space it may only take one car seat space;
INSPIRING RURAL ENTREPRENEURS
You can use it to have a picnic in any type of garden.
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Use it as the main attraction at ladybird-themed children’s parties. Check our Amazon page where you can find other products with the ladybird theme that you can bring to the party: http://ecocampingandleisure. idealsolutionsmall.com
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Add it to other parties with different themes. Our next versions are: Ninja Turtle, Bee, Mini Mouse, etc;
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Ideal as a sleeping tent for an afternoon nap, it’s also useful when you go outside with babies, toddlers or older children and with your family and friends.
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You can use it together with the climbing steel frame. It will allow children to play inside and outside the tent.
www.ecocampingandleisure.co.uk +44 (0)7981147460 [email protected]
Trade Marks | Registered Designs | Copyright | Domain Names
Your brand is your business; your business is your brand. Your brand is hugely valuable, so you must be certain your brand assets (trade marks, designs, copyright and domain names) are properly registered, watched and protected. Having safeguarded clients’ trade marks since 1886, Nucleus IP can help you protect and grow your most valuable asset, worldwide.
For more information contact Ken Sewell: [email protected] +44 (0)20 3102 9000
Visit us at The Great British Business Show stand no. 860
www.nucleus-ip.com
Visit us on YBC Street
YOU FOCUS ON RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS. WE FOCUS ON PROTECTING AND SUPPORTING YOU. Unlimited Professional Advice Professional guidance & support is only a call away Legal -Tax - VAT - PAYE - Health & Safety - HR
Financial Protection
Insured professional fee cover for unexpected actions
Tax Investigation - Employment Disputes - License Protection DPA Defence - H&S Prosecution Defence - Court Attendance Allowance Landlord Diputes - Property Protection - Director & Employee Defence
Document Library
Several hundred at your fingertips
Commercial Contracts & Document Templates HR Guides & Handbook - Health & Safety Guides & Manuals
Save Money & Time
On essential products and services including
Insurance - Card Merchant Account - Banking Account -Telecoms Merchant Cash Advance - Auto Enrolment & Pensions - Receptionist Business Address - Energy - Print & Post - Debt Collection - Office Financial Advice - Foreign Exchange - Print - Websites and more...
Networking & Events
Meet new clients, suppliers and friends
Breakfast & Evening Networking - Fairs & Expos - Training - Seminars Free Exhibition Space At Many Popular YBC Events
Your Business Community
www.yourbusinesscommunity.co.uk Phone - 0333 358 3399 ybcuk
STAND NUMBER 1240
AWARD-WINNING ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY
people, and so we interview more than 300+ people a year. We tend to look for those who:
The award winning Entrevo, are worldwide leaders in strategy and technology for entrepreneurial businesses. A lean global business, with offices in the UK, USA, Singapore and Australia, we have worked directly with 1500+ businesses to help them become more visible, valuable and scalable. Each year in London, we take 150 business leaders on a journey. Some of these leaders have described their experience as the best thing that’s happened to their business. It’s been a life changing experience for others. Let us briefly share with you what this journey entails. The perfect pitch Key People of Influence have a compelling answer to the question ‘What do you do?” If you can’t pitch your value with clarity and credibility it’s game-over.
‘Key People of Influence create opportunities with other high performers so that everyone can achieve more’.
Publish content Key People of Influence create blogs, articles, reports and books for getting their message out to the world. Product ecosystems Key People of Influence turn their skills, talent and ideas into products that people love to buy. Rather than purely trading time for money, Key People of Influence surround themselves with a ‘product ecosystem’ that makes money anytime/anywheare. Raise your profile Being good at what you do is no longer enough. If you want to be a Key Person of Influence you must stand out and be recognised - you are who Google says you are. Partner with performers Nothing great was ever achieved in isolation. Key People of Influence create opportunities with other high performers so that everyone can achieve more. We don’t take just any business or leader onto the programme. At z we look to find the right
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.keypersonofinfluence.com 0207 898 3991 [email protected]
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Have an interesting story and relevant experiences Are already running a viable business or have a start-up funded by investors Are willing to stretch, get resourceful and be held accountable to achieving key outcomes
The complementary interview sessions are held in London with 4-8 business owners around three times a week, and are designed to quickly gauge chemistry between your business and us. During the session we will delve into your business, identify where you are on the entrepreneur journey, explore your current inhibitors for growth, help you develop a 36-month plan to get what you want, and unpack key frameworks that underpin the implementation of our five step method. If you’re interested in finding out more, visit us on stand 1240 or attend one of our masterclasses. Not ready to book straight into a session? Take our complimentary scorecard online at our stand. It’s a series of questions which will benchmark your ability to influence in a business or leadership context. You will be given a report which will identify your opportunities for leveraged growth. And as a gift, you’ll also receive a copy of Daniel Priestley’s best-selling book – Key Person of Influence (Revised Edition).
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At stand
1270 Come and see us and our partners i.e. taxguard & King & Taylor are affiliated partners, they work in partnership to provide our clients with integrated business tax, personal tax, and financial service solutions. You can find additional financial calculators and information via our mobile/online apps, which will be on our stand during The Business Show. www.klarityvision.com
www.ietaxguard.co.uk
www.kingandtaylor.co.uk
SHOW OFFER Discounted Packaged Services ...plus the opportunity to win a tablet PC. Simply visit our stand, receive a quote on one of our services and you will be automatically entered into the draw to win.
Contact Klarity Vision on 0845 463 2205
@KlarityVision
STAND NUMBER 608
THE SCIENCE BEHIND SALES “Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman – not the attitude of the prospect.” W. Clement Stone In today’s economic climate, delivering a strategic sales campaign is essential for any company looking to tower above tough competition in the business world. For Nicola Hartland, founder and CEO of Xcel Sales, the key to securing new clients in a tight market place is having the correct team of skilled professionals to deliver a first-class marketing strategy. Telemarketing conjures up thoughts of unwelcoming sales calls in the middle of an evening meal, or the endless messages for PPI claims or personal injury awards. “Sales are the lifeline of any business. Lead generation is often seen as being grubby, but it is essential part of keeping the sales pipeline flowing. “At the heart of any business is its brand and identity, but often this isn’t identified, causing companies to lose out
…Xcel Sales works with high profile clients based in the UK and across the globe in a range of industries including oil and gas, financial, IT, and legal sectors’.
in the bid to become a success,” she explains. “The one thing that all businesses need is customers. Without them you simply don’t have a business and it’s the sales function that is responsible for delivering this.” Ms Hartland, who has 15 years’ key industry experience, started her career in IT sales, quickly rising to lead a sales team generating over £2.5million a year for her employer. In 2012, taking inspiration from a magazine article about sales, she set to work to create her own bus iness, establishing Xcel Sales in 2013. “The stories in the magazine took me back to the world of professional selling. I thrived on the buzz and excitement of securing multimillion pound contracts in my previous role as head of business development, and the articles truly inspired me to establish my own business.” Xcel Sales works with high profile clients based in the UK and across the globe in a range of industries including oil and gas, financial, IT, and legal sectors, using the four
key areas of planning and strategy; social media; data management; lead generation and telemarketing to get the best results for clients. The business, which employs a team of highly skilled agents, is fast becoming one of the UK’s leading new B2B business acquisition agencies, thanks to its close working relationship with clients. “Preparation is key to representing our customers in a professional manner and allows us to be equipped with all the right information to answer any question or objections. At Xcel Sales our process starts with building a clear picture of a business. We call this our ‘discovery phase’ and we use it to plan sales strategies and set clear expectations on both sides,” she explains. In the last 12 months, Ms Hartland’s hard work and determination to change the perception of telesales has seen her double the size of her company and generate over £10million of pipeline opportunities for her clients. “For me it is about delivering ROI for clients, not just about sales, which is why it is so important to deliver a quality service.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.xcelsales.co.uk 07710 583 736 [email protected]
“Since setting up my business I have helped some of the most successful businesses in the country talk to potential clients and we are slowly but surely changing people’s view of the telemarketing industry.”
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CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.wowanalytics.co.uk 0844 880 2899info@ wowanalytics.co.uk
BUILD YOUR OWN FREE PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE YourSinglePageSite.com is a simple-to-use website builder that enables you to create your own professional website completely free of charge. With YourSinglePageSite.com anyone can create a beautiful professional website in minutes. No technical knowledge or design skills are needed and we provide everything you need, including a domain name and hosting. Once you have built your site, you can update it yourself whenever you like as often as you like. Our websites really are free. There’s no catch. You can build your site and publish it to the Internet without paying a penny and you will never pay anything. We give everyone the opportunity to have their own professional website completely free of charge (although you can add premium features for a small fee, but only if you want them). Our simple to use website builder wizard gives you the flexibility you need to get the web presence you need for your company or organisation. Use your logo and set your colour scheme to reflect your identity. Add loads of great features to your site such as; text, images, videos, maps, contact forms, links, news, social media and much more. You can also sell products and services directly through your website using our payment buttons facility.
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We optimise all our websites for search engines to help you increase your visitors and grow your business and we give you monthly statistics so you can see how your website is performing. Our websites are mobile ready as standard. In today’s world many of your website’s visitors will be using a mobile device, so you need to make sure their experience is as good on a mobile device as it is on a computer. We’ve got you covered. Your site will look great on all devices. Our websites are ideal for everyone, including; start-up businesses, SMEs, shops, auction sellers, clubs and societies, groups, bands, local events and anything else that requires a web presence... Simply go to www.YourSinglePageSite.com to build a website today.
‘With YourSinglePageSite.com anyone can create a beautiful professional website in minutes’.
YourSinglePageSite.com at a glance: Create a FREE fully functioning website with loads of great features Get a domain name of your choice or use a domain name you already own Your site is fully hosted by us Update your site yourself whenever you like All websites are mobile device ready and search engine optimised Get monthly performance statistics
BE TANGLE FREE!
Visit us on stand 946
[email protected]
WWW.D-TANGLED.COM
@DTangledd /DTangled
A COMPLETE LIMITED COMPANY FOR £5?? PO Boxes.com are offering limited companies for £5, and it’s being launched at this show. But is it possible? Start-up costs appear to constantly go up and up, but POBoxes.com claims to be able to reduce at least one of these costs significantly. But how? Well it really is very simple and down to a very clever cross selling opportunity developed by the brains behind the rapidly growing mail service business. You see, as part of your business start-up costs you will need to factor in company set-up, address management and mail handling – all timeconsuming but essential jobs and if we are completely honest they are the tedious part of a start-up! However, POBoxes.com seems to have come up with a user friendly solution which could actually work in startups’ favour.
‘POBoxes.com seems to have come up with a user friendly solution which could actually work in start-ups’ favour’. When a new start-up, or in fact any business, sign up for one of the mail handling packages on offer with POBoxes. com for a minimum of 6 months, you will be invited to form a fully-fledged limited company of your choice for only £5. Yes, that’s right, £5 and not the usual ‘deal’ from other companies of around £30! Well let’s consider this – looking at POBoxes. com’s website, a Darlington Light User scanning account is £66 for 6 months; for this outlay you will get a mail handling service at a street based address with real people looking after your post. Your new address is personalised to you and if you choose to form a company for £5 you can use the address as your company’s registered office address. This is a huge advantage as it keeps your home address and in some circumstances your trading address out of the public domain. Your post will be scanned and uploaded to POBoxes. com’s secure server, leaving you free to deal with it whenever and more importantly wherever you are! POBoxes.com seems to offer the most competitive mail handling services currently
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available in the UK today. The Darlington address is an incredible deal for this type of service especially as you can use this as a registered office, and they also offer a London address too. Once signed up you have access to their free mobile & tablet friendly app which really does give you complete control over your post. If, however, the thought of someone else opening your post is a concern and in this day and age of identify fraud – who wouldn’t be concerned? POBoxes.com has invested heavily in their Internet and webbased security, all scans are encrypted, your mail is discreetly handled in their Darlington office, and in fact they are so proud of their systems they openly invite their clients to visit the mail handling office if reassurance is required. So yes, it would appear that it is possible to reduce the cost of your start-up and increase your business efficiency allowing you to handle your business matters where and when you want. So what are you waiting for? Take advantage of this opportunity before POBoxes.com realise they are actually offering too good a deal!
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.poboxes.com 020 8819 1601 [email protected]
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• • • •
•
Fast Formation Easy Online Detail Submission A Printed Copy of the company’s Certificate of Incorporation Access to a Massive Range of Where to Get Guides, Products and Services (Business Hub) Registered Office in County Durham Optional Extras (current): The Seal Pack: Go pro with a pro version of company register, seal and stamp. £64.99 Go pro with a corporate pack (logo, letter heads and compliment slips design service). £149.99
UK Businesses Owed £35.3bn! Call us today, get paid tomorrow
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Outstanding debts to the UK’s small businesses have reached £35.3bn the highest total ever recorded. This is a staggering amount of money which is owed to companies like yours. Its not all bad news though as so far this year the Zinc Group has recovered over £10 Million pounds worth of overdue payments on behalf of its growing list of clients, and all of it has been done on a simple No win, No Fee basis. We can speed up the time it takes to get you paid, often payment is made as soon as a debtor realises we are acting on behalf of a client. This means you don’t pay one single penny for our service until we have recovered what you are owed.
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Call us today on 0330 100 0852
or email [email protected]
STAND NUMBER 1032
Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions? • • • • • •
HOW CAN I GET THE PR I NEED FOR FREE? Everyone always says ‘I should do PR’ - but what does this really mean? RelevantNow is spearheading a movement to open up PR to everyone and offers a website where anyone can do it for free. You don’t always have the time or resources to devote to marketing and PR, but what’s the point of doing what you’re doing if no one knows about it? This was the issue that Laura Lomer and Gaby Riley, two PR professionals, set out to solve with the creation of RelevantNow. Recognising the media landscape has changed dramatically and journalists prefer to hear directly from source, they wanted to find a way to match clients with a story to interested media. They soon realised that many people faced the same hurdles; a lack of contacts, a fear of writing and very little time. In addition, some people were paying large amounts of money to
“RelevantNow is already creating excitement. Many early users are getting national coverage for free.”
agencies and were unable to justify the expense. “And yet,” says Laura, a former journalist, who has also worked for top-10 PR agencies and as Head of Communications at the Science Museum, “PR is not a difficult thing to do. How could we develop something that could benefit journalists and businesses alike?” Bringing in Carolyn Wharton, a data expert, they formed their comprehensive media contacts into a customised database which now covers a broad range of sectors including hospitality, technology, arts, fashion, sport and more. They created a website where anyone without experience could do their own PR. “Our process couldn’t be intimidating,” explains Gaby, who had previously run her own PR agency working with individuals and small businesses. “The website would need to include lots of guidance as many people will be approaching PR for the very first time, so they would need reassurance, as well as plenty of examples.”
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.relevantnow.com 02032867288 [email protected]
How do I start doing my own PR? How do I get the media coverage my business deserves? I’d love to be featured in that magazine, how can I make it happen? How do I find media contacts and what’s the best way of reaching them? What should I say to the media to get them interested? When should I send information to the media for the best chance of inclusion?
If yes, then RelevantNow can help. It’s a website where anyone can do their own PR. It helps you communicate with hundreds of targeted press contacts. It’s simple, fast – and it’s free.
RelevantNow’s process meets this brief. You can create tailored press materials and media lists. Stories are sent directly to targeted media contacts, including traditional, online and social media. Interested media will respond directly to you. RelevantNow is already creating excitement. Many early users are getting national coverage for free. “We generated numerous immediate sales”, says Andrea Cohen, CEO of Number35, “and in future RelevantNow will be our first port of call for all PR activities.” Clients’ stories have appeared across the media including the Daily Telegraph, Independent, Guardian, Mail on Sunday, Metro, InStyle, Huffington Post and the BBC. There are also products that enable you to plan a PR programme across the year. “PR is a marathon not a sprint, but it doesn’t have to hurt! We have designed it so you get reminders on when to send info at the right time. Additionally, you can get creative ideas on what to publicise, or attend our PR workshops and meet experts,” says Laura. Sending out stories on RelevantNow is free. “We have developed a product that really works and will change the face of PR and marketing for everyone,” says Gaby. “ We just want as many people as possible to use it as often as they have something to say.” Do come and visit us at stand number 1032 where you will also have the chance to win free 1:1 PR for the year.
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STAND NUMBER 1074
FRIENDLY ACCOUNTANTS We are Stuart Harris Associates, a firm of Chartered Certified Accountants based in Woodside Park (Finchley’s tree-spotted little brother) in North London. We’re run by our founder and owner, Stuart Harris, himself a Chartered Certified Accountant. There are three strands to ‘friendly accounting’:• Being easily contactable • Explaining things in plain English • Networking (to help clients to grow their businesses, and/or to acquire goods and services)
In order to achieve the above objectives, we use state of the art technology. We love our gadgets, but not just for the sake of them – they all genuinely assist us in providing a friendly, efficient and professional service. And we are also keen to help and advise clients with cloud-based services for bookkeeping, backups, documents, paperless office etc. And on the technical and professional side, we believe in modern accounting for your hectic world. No jargon, no unnecessary paperwork, just clear advice and e-reminders of deadlines so you can stay on top of things.
DEDICATE REMOTE DEVELOPERS FOR COMPANIES VirtualStaffing, a UK-based firm, assists entrepreneurial setups and other tech-based business ventures across Europe by catering to their needs of dedicated offshore web and application developers. Some perks include: no upfront investment, unbelievably low rates and convenient live onsite supervision. VirtualStaffing, a UK-based firm, vows to assist entrepreneurial setups and other tech-based business ventures across Europe by catering to their needs of dedicated offshore web and application developers. What gives “VS” a unique edge over its contemporaries is a series of first-hand offshoring nightmares at the hands of some (supposedly) big names of the industry, ultimately leading to its own entrepreneurial inception many years ago. In fact, this is what compels us to help
159
‘…we believe in modern accounting for your hectic world. No jargon, no unnecessary paperwork, just clear advice and e-reminders of deadlines so you can stay on top of things’.
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
•
• •
other entrepreneurs and business owners in nurturing their business from ground-up for much less and without losing something significant in the process. Despite all their enthusiasm and planning, many would-be entrepreneurs often hit a road-block when it comes to coping with the challenges of software development, application development or web development, whether it’s about managing the nitty-gritty of the trade or finances involved.
•
So, VirtualStaffing offer a win-win solution for European entrepreneurs and businesses in tackling any such issues with perks like no upfront investment, unbelievably low rates and convenient live onsite supervision. Huge sums of money thus saved could be used by businesses in other areas of business development like hiring technical, marketing and other essential resources.
•
Our stringent vetting procedures followed by comprehensive training and fully modernised, well equipped premises backed up with precise supervision guarantees the highest level of services. We serve as your offshore station abroad and offer you to:
•
•
www.sha1.co.uk 020 3006 3929 [email protected]
Hire a highly skilled developer to work specifically for you on your terms and instructions with zero recruitment fees You may even hire a complete team of dedicated developers Enjoy the flexibility of month-to-month contracts to suit your changing needs You are in charge of your dedicated developers who work as an extension of your own team, reporting to you directly on a daily basis You get your offshore office with no setup costs at all You can choose from our extensive pool of highly talented developers best suited to your needs. If our existing human resource pool lacks your desired skill set, we hire your desired developers on an immediate basis Our stringent vetting process not only ensures the technical soundness of your developers, but also focuses on enhanced communication skills with high proficiency in English After we recommend you the best potential developers based on your needs, you also get to scrutinise your potential virtual developer(s) before the final selection If you don’t feel satisfied with your developer(s) for any reason, we immediately offer you an alternate resource This is how we bring entrepreneurs a step closer to success and prosperity.
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STAND NUMBER 1260
THE AGE OF THE STARTUP: CLOUD STAFFING With so many businesses taking to the cloud for IT infrastructure solutions, isn`t it time you used the cloud to its full potential for staffing solutions too? Forget about traditional methodologies: this is the age of the start-up. Want to start your own business? No problem: today’s global virtual landscape gives you the power you need to succeed with minimal start-up and extremely lowcost overheads. Now anyone with a great idea can start a business and get the solid backing of a professional workforce without any long-term commitment or concerns about salaries, pensions, offices or other traditional business hang-ups. Having the right foundation for your business is essential when you’re starting out, but that doesn’t mean that you have to spend thousands on letting an office, buying office equipment for staff, and getting the latest software and other traditional essentials in place. Not to mention, the cost of consultants or hiring full-time staff members can make an enormous dent in your new business’s bank account if you’re able to secure the funds in the first place. Instead, embrace the latest trend in global businesses both big and small by turning to the cloud. Working virtually with e-commerce or other online solutions allows you to work from anywhere, at any time. You can now run your business with
a 24/7 presence, and can grow your customer base to reach all over the globe. Additionally, you can make significant cost savings by taking advantage of access to high-end professionals who work remotely and come with their own equipment on a per-hour cost basis thanks to contemporary hiring trends. With more than 4.2 million professionals working virtually, more and more of the nation’s skilled workforce is taking to the cloud to offer professional virtual services at an affordable rate. That means that you can get access to designers, developers, administration experts, copywriters, event planners, bookkeepers, operations professionals … and more, all on a per-hour and as-needed basis. This makes a significant impact on your business plan, cost projections and expected business
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.businessworx.co.uk 0208 504 1317 [email protected]
longevity; it also provides many businesses with the boost they need to get through their financial year without operating at a loss. This isn’t a new way of doing business. Some of the world’s largest and most successful businesses started out just like this: using virtual services wherever possible, working out of a garage, and holding meetings in local stores or coffee shops like many contemporary businesses. Amazon, Mattel, Hewlett-Packard and Apple are just some of the big names that have completely transformed the business landscape. It’s time to take your big idea and turn it into a huge success by transforming the way you do business and taking advantage of the many cloud solutions available. Gone are the days of outdated and outmoded business models; this is the age of the start-up and you are in the driving seat.
Running a business is really hard work without worrying about the everyday business administration tasks like accounting, sales, web development, social media, research, graphic design and event management. We call this the `businessworx,` and these are the tasks we`re really good at. •
•
•
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Businessworx offers virtual professional services on a per-hour basis so you only pay for what you need Get access to experienced professionals who can help boost your business Turn your BIG idea into a HUGE success with the right backing and intelligent support
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www.ngexperts.net 0203 640 6670 [email protected]
A LA CARTE IT SERVICES Flexible and Customised Services Your technology needs to be as flexible as your business, so we developed our a la carte IT support program. The a la carte program allows you to customize your support and service needs directly related to your critical business services, all at a cost effective price.
‘Simply work with us to determine what services make sense for you, and we’ll ensure that you have a solution tailored to your needs’.
This offering allows you to select individual services that meet specific needs within your business. You may not need a fully outsourced IT department, but everyone needs a telephone line and to avoid viruses, backup failures, and wasted time on emails you should have never received. Simply work with us to determine what services make sense for you, and we’ll ensure that you have a solution tailored to your needs. You know your business better than anyone, so we put the decision and purchasing power in your hands!
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020 7377 8821 [email protected] www.smallbusinesscentre.org.uk
INNOVATE / CREATE / CULTIVATE
STAND NUMBER 1084
ARE YOU READY FOR AUTO ENROLMENT? The government has recently made it compulsory for you to start a pension for your employees. At BPPS Ltd, we can provide everything you need to know and do to set up an auto-enrolment scheme. The regulator will have the power to issue a fixed penalty of £400 to an employer, as well as escalating penalties at a daily rate. With this in mind, Brooms Payroll and Pension Solutions Ltd are offering advice on auto-enrolment, from the initial consultation, to the implementation, payroll and more. Complexity removed with our auto-enrolment process There are five stages to the financial planning process, each of which is separately costed, although the initial consultation is at our expense: • • • • •
Initial consultation Gathering financial data Pre assessment Implementation Ongoing service
Contact Brooms Payroll and Pension Solutions Ltd to discuss your specific needs and how we can help you to meet your autoenrolment obligations.
‘Brooms Payroll and Pension Solutions Ltd are offering advice on auto-enrolment, from the initial consultation, to the implementation, payroll and more’.
STAND NUMBER 1158
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR OVERDUE DEBTS WITH DEBT CHASER LIMITED Debt Chaser Limited is run by seasoned debt collection professionals in conjunction with experienced accountants and law firms. We collect your problem debts while you concentrate on running your business – leaving the problem of chasing your cash flow to us! Using recently introduced powerful legislations brought in across Europe, we can now leverage your debtors to pay quickly using our polite but firm credit control techniques. The only cost to your company will be agreed and fixed in advance of us taking on the task recovering your undisputed debt on a no win, no fee basis. We can offer you support, training and advice on all
‘We are so confident that if a debt is collectable, we will collect it without upfront fees, letter writing fees, call charges or yearly contracts – so when we say no fee – we mean exactly that’.
matters for effective credit management, helping you reduce your ‘debtor days’. Two regular questions we ask are; are you struggling to keep your debtor days under control and are your accounts team spending too much time chasing unpaid invoices? If you answer yes to either question, you can consider outsourcing these tasks to Debt Chaser Limited. NO WIN NO FEE We are working hard to change the perception and experiences you may have had with other debt recovery companies. We are so confident that if a debt is collectable, we will collect it without upfront fees, letter writing fees, call charges or yearly contracts – so when we say no fee – we mean exactly that. On this basis, we collect the vast majority of all debts that are assigned to us without the need for costly legal process. 01634 650048
CONTACT US Web: Tel: Email:
www.broompayrollpensionsolution.com 0333 366 0006 [email protected]
CONTACT US Web:
Response Handling
Internet Consultancy
Bespoke solutions for your business I can fully endorse The Virtual Business Centre. They are very professional and it’s such a relief to know our clients are being looked after.” – Claire Crockett, Crockett’s Gates Ltd
Let’s talk 08080 510866
parcelhub.co.uk
mailworkshop.co.uk
maximum service, minimum cost.
The UK’s Leading eCommerce Fulfilment and Delivery Experts • eCommerce Fulfilment • POS Distribution • Pick and Pack • Catalogue and Magazine Distribution • Direct Mail • Warehousing and Storage • International Mail • High Volume Parcel Distribution
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STAND 800
IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH AUTOMATION AND TRANSPARENCY Our research and customer feedback shows us that many organisations struggle to keep costs down as they grow their business. Automation of key business processes creates a back bone for a scalable and transparent business. Our knowledge and expertise in digitising business helps organisations achieve more with less.
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• Use maturity analytics to identify how changes in process and resources can improve financial outcomes. • Spend less time managing spreadsheets. • Get information anywhere on mobile and tablet. It’s easy to overcome your challenges when you can see exactly where they are. Come and see us on stand 800 for a demo.
Improve performance
VISIT US AT WWW.POLARISOFT.COM +44 207 692 5697
Business technology partners
ATTENTION: ALL BUSINESS ShOw aTTendEeS!
IS THIS THE BUSINESS WORLD’S BEST KEPT SECRET?
Hundreds of UK businesses have seen their sales and profits soar this year as a direct result of training they’ve received at the UK’s leading business training centre based in Birmingham. Over 13,500 delegates have experienced the training which covers all aspects of business growth.
“It seems crazy that our training is making such a difference to businesses owners and their bottom line, yet so many businesses don’t even know about it”, says Hannah Chalkley who heads up the Entrepreneurs Circle Training Academy. To help put that right, the Academy has introduced a Match Funding programme for attendees at The Business Show.
“There are 300 Match Funding places available”, explains founder Nigel Botterill, “and the impact on those 300 businesses next year will be stellar. They’ll be able to get the business owner and/or the staff skilled up in all the areas that will make the biggest difference to their growth and our unique Annual Pass combined with the Match Funding makes it a tiny investment.” The UK’s Best Business Training The Entrepreneurs Circle Training Academy is based in Birmingham near the NEC, and delivers nearly 90 different courses on pretty much any business subject you can think of. There are courses specifically for business owners, but also courses for your staff to make sure your team are skilled so your business achieves its goals. The courses are all delivered by genuine experts in their field and are 100% practical. As one delegate said last week, “This is world class training of the highest quality”.
Unique Unlimited Annual Pass In 2015, the EC Academy pioneered the TEAP Training Event Annual Pass - whereby business owners could invest in a ‘season ticket’ for unlimited training for them and their staff. With a TEAP you can attend unlimited courses for 12 months and save £££’s on your training investment.
Visit us at stand 810 To find out more or request a free Prospectus
EC Training Academy founder Nigel Botterill discussing plans for the EC Academy over lunch with Sir Richard Branson in the Caribbean. Botterill has launched eight separate £1m+ business brands right here in the UK.
Match Funding Available There is still Match Funding available for just 156 Business Show Attendees (at time of print) who meet the following criteria: Employ between 2-25 staff Attended The Business Show Have a turnover of less than £2 million per year Are serious about growing their business in 2016 If you can tick all 4 of these boxes, then you qualify for Match Funding and can get your Training Event Annual Pass (TEAP) for half price making this even more of a no-brainer.
visit www.ECTrainingAcademy.org or call 0121 765 3404 84 Available Courses Including: Setting Up Your Google AdWords • Pricing for Profit • Selling to Consumers • Time Management • Writing Good Marketing Copy • Setting up Facebook Ads • How to Run Webinars • Dealing with Problem Staff • Negotiation Skills • Effective Decision Making • Basic Video Editing • Graphic Design • Writing and Publishing a Bestselling Book • How to Build Your Database • How to Sell Your Business • Become a Better Leader • Goal Setting
The EC Training Academy, 2635 Kings Court, Birmingham Business Park, Birmingham, B37 7YE
“
Superb!
I love the EC Training Academy and it’s helped us so much. The team are incredibly helpful. The range of topics is huge - like nothing I have ever seen in any organisation before. There is always a friendly, welcoming face and they look after us brilliantly. Superb!
“
We’re much more capable
”
The Training Academy has been great for me - and my team. I’ve sent some of my staff on a couple of courses and they’ve got lots from them. We’re now so much more capable as a result. You’d be mad not to try it!
“
Amy Somerville Tutts of Dorking
”
The Most Amazing Content
I booked onto a course each month and I’ve experienced the most amazing content, delivered by people who are as excited about helping me to succeed as I am, surrounded by hungry business owners keen to learn and share.
Danielle Proctor PST Ltd
Reward for innovation and development
Professional, expert and bespoke service SME and large company claims
Techpreneur Stand 1132 www.ela8.co.uk
Is Data the driver for your Business Decisions? Validate
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Stand 140
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ARE YOU STRUGGLING TO FIND THAT NEXT STEP FOR YOUR BUSINESS? GetSet for Growth offers fully funded support to help ‘ambitious but stuck’ East London businesses achieve their growth potential. When you first start your business, that start-up phase is said to be the most difficult. However, there is always something to do and there seems to be plenty of help to hand. But what next? How do you take your business to the next level? Every year, hundreds of businesses, just like yours, hit this growth ceiling. They don’t know what to do next. It may be that they don’t know how to find more customers or that they need to take on more staff before they can look for more customers. It may be that they need finance to move into new premises, create new products, buy new equipment or just help to manage cashflow as they grapple with the financial pains associated with growing a business. Through a flexible and tailored programme, including workshops, masterclasses, 1:1 advice and mentoring, we work to build your knowledge, skills and confidence. Our team of experienced marketing and finance professionals, many of whom have run their own businesses, help you develop robust business growth plans,
Come and visit us on stand 620
build effective marketing and business strategies, and identify and secure finance for your business to help you achieve your growth ambitions.
The GetSet for Growth team have really helped us clarify our business vision and what we needed to do to take things to the next level; from developing the business plan and marketing strategy to unlocking finance and even pointing us in the right direction with regards to our day to day bookkeeping! We’re now looking to take on new staff and are in a much stronger position to move the business forward. Dan Stanley, Managing Director, Small Axe Communications, London You're not alone - these are the challenges faced by East London businesses
LONDON
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Contact us on: Website: www.virtualstaffing.co.uk Email: info@virtualstaffing.co.uk Phone: 0115 9866775
Here for you every step of the way
Stand 520
Join us at Online Businesses Legal MOT – Don’t Get Caught Out Friday 4th December @ 12.30pm - Seminar Hall 13
Bishop’s Stortford
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Tailor Made Invoice Factoring for Your Business
Simply Factoring Brokers are one of the UK’s largest Invoice Finance Brokers, our breadth of knowledge is second to none. We know that each enquiry is unique and no two businesses are the same. Each business has different requirements and we realise this. We can tailor the funding package to each individual prospective client getting it to fit perfectly.
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If you have looked at Invoice Factoring before, but were put off by the costs, let us show you how much invoice factoring has changed. Our friendly team of experienced brokers are waiting to take your call.
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YOUR BUSINESS with James Caan
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Guest edited by former Dragons’ Den investor and business guru, James Caan CBE, Your Business magazine gives you all the advice you need if you are starting and running your own business. From finance, to e-commerce and accountancy to marketing, Your Business is an expert-led publication that gives you the inside track on how to build and run a successful business.
www.yourbusinessmagazine.co.uk
| i don't know |
"Who was the winner of the U.K.'s 2010 ""Apprentice"" series, who recently lost a claim of constructive dismissal against Alan Sugar, after resigning and saying she had been treated like an ""overpaid lackey"" ?" | Apprentice winner Stella English loses case against Lord Sugar | UK news | The Guardian
Alan Sugar
Apprentice winner Stella English loses case against Lord Sugar
Labour peer says he feels vindicated as there was never a case to answer, after tribunal rejects claim of constructive dismissal
Lord Sugar and Stella English, who complained she was treated like an ‘overpaid lackey’ while working for the Labour peer. Photograph: Ian West/PA
Press Association
Friday 12 April 2013 07.48 EDT
First published on Friday 12 April 2013 07.48 EDT
Close
This article is 3 years old
Stella English, a former winner of The Apprentice , has lost her claim of constructive dismissal against the millionaire businessman Lord Sugar.
English, 34, sued the Labour peer after resigning from the £100,000-a-year job that was her prize for winning series six of the BBC1 show in 2010, complaining that she was treated like an "overpaid lackey".
The case was heard at the east London employment tribunal service last month.
In a written judgment on Friday, the tribunal said: "There was no dismissal of the claimant – the claimant resigned. Therefore the complaint of unfair constructive dismissal contrary to section 95 Employment Rights Act 1996 fails and is dismissed."
Sugar tweeted : "The Tribunal case brought by Stella English against me and my company has been dismissed. A victory for the law against the claim culture."
He accused English of attempting to blackmail him when he gave evidence to the tribunal, saying he had no case to answer and the Apprentice winner was after his money.
English was given a role with Sugar's IT division, Viglen, as her prize but resigned in May 2011. She claimed the job was "a sham" and a "PR construct".
The mother of two, from Whitstable in Kent, said she then felt pressured into taking a new position at Lord Sugar's internet set-top box company, You View.
The peer said he was trying to help her as she had complained of being "desperate for money".
English claimed to the tribunal that during an unscheduled meeting on 28 September 2011, Sugar told her he would not be renewing her contract and that he did not "give a shit".
But rather than his comment being aimed at English, Sugar said he was expressing his disregard at how the matter might play out in the media.
He told the tribunal he was being repaid for his kindness by "having to come here and humiliate myself in front of the national media", adding: "I'm here because I have principles and I'm not just going to pay off people. When her instructing solicitor heard my name, it must have been 'Ding, ding, ding – jackpot'."
Sugar admitted it made him angry to have "derisory actions" brought against him by English, describing it as tantamount to blackmail.
He accused his former apprentice of being a serial liar during the tribunal and said that, with hindsight, he would have neither hired her nor offered her a second position when she initially resigned.
In a statement he said: "I am pleased that the tribunal has returned this verdict and feel vindicated in the judgment that myself, my companies, the BBC , the TV production company and my staff acted properly throughout Ms English's employment.
"There was never a case for us to answer but her need for money and fame meant that the whole system was subjected to this charade. I have been cleared of a derisory attempt to smear my name and extract money from me. The allegations were without substance, and I believe this case was brought with one intention in mind – the presumption that I would not attend the tribunal, that I would not testify and that I would settle out of court, sending Ms English on her way with a tidy settlement.
He said English had underestimated him and her "reputation is now in tatters". "I have principles and I am not going to be forced to compromise them, no matter how much time and money they might cost me," he added. "This case was a sham and a total abuse of a tribunal system, which is there to protect employees who have been mistreated. It is not there to aid those chancing their arm at landing a big payday. I hope that other companies will learn from this example and also fight off derisory claims.
"What has happened here is representative of a new wave of claim culture where some employees file spurious actions regardless of whose reputation it may smear in the process. I have spoken about this subject in the House of Lords and will continue to campaign to put an end to this practice, which has developed in recent years and is seemingly spiralling out of control. This has to be stopped."
| List of The Apprentice candidates (UK series six) |
In which classic T.V. crime series did Chief Superintendant Lockhart appear ? | Apprentice winner Stella English tells tribunal that she was told there was no job on her first day of £100,000-a-year role - Daily Record
Lord Alan Sugar and Stella English (Photo: Ian West/PA Wire)
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A WINNER of TV show The Apprentice said today she had thought of leaving the show starring Lord Sugar but felt she had invested too much time in it to drop out.
Stella English, 34, also gave up a high flying career in the City when she was named as a semi-finalist on series six of the hit BBC1 show.
Ms English, who is suing Lord Sugar for constructive dismissal, had to carry out a four-month probationary period before she was eventually named the winner in December 2010.
She has told an employment tribunal that despite being paid £100,000 she had no clear role and only had basic administrative tasks to do when she worked in Lord Sugar's Viglen division.
Ms English, of Whitstable, Kent, yesterday told the hearing at East London Employment Tribunal Service that on her first day at Viglen its chief executive, Bordan Tkachuk, told her: "There is no job."
During cross-examination today she was asked by Seamus Sweeney, representing Lord Sugar, why she did not complain to the millionaire business mogul about how she was treated.
She said: "I was in a trial period to win The Apprentice.
"What value is there in me going into a company I don't know - whether I knew (she was going to win) or not - and then go and complain about people who have been working there a long time?
"I didn't know at the time, within one month, how things were going to pan out."
Asked by Mr Sweeney why she did not drop out of the process if she was so unhappy, she said: "That's a very good question. It did cross my mind."
But she added: "I had still hoped that by not making complaints and not being difficult with these people that in time I could maybe win them over.
"I didn't feel to go through that process and then at the last minute to drop out was a real option.
"As I said it wouldn't have made any sense for me to do that."
Questioned about her relationship with Mr Tkachuk, she told the tribunal: "It was clear that he didn't think much of The Apprentice.
"He didn't have any real interest in me. He didn't really particularly want to speak to me.
"He did not acknowledge my existence at all and the fact of the matter is he didn't want me there."
The tribunal previously heard that when Ms English emailed Lord Sugar to ask for a meeting with him a few months later, she was disappointed to find that Mr Tkachuk and two other members of senior staff were also going to be in attendance.
When Lord Sugar asked his colleague what he thought of her during the conference, Mr Tkachuk replied: "Nice girl. Don't do a lot."
Dressed smartly in a black jacket and trousers and a coral shirt, Ms English told the tribunal that before they went in, Mr Tkachuk threatened her: "Don't make me embarrass you."
Asked by Mr Sweeney what she thought it meant, she said: "I believe that it meant don't raise any issues with Lord Sugar - any issues that he's not going to be happy about.
"The reality is that I had to work at this company with this person.
"Basically I was just toeing the line. I didn't say anything, I just kept my mouth shut.
"I just hoped that eventually he'd realise that I'm not running off saying different things."
Ms English acknowledged that when she got married in March 2011 Lord Sugar sent her a "big bunch of flowers" and also gave a "very generous" donation when she ran a marathon for charity.
Ms English said she requested a meeting with Lord Sugar in May 2011 so she could tell him she was resigning from Viglen as she had realised by this point that things were not going to improve.
"All I wanted to do was leave. I was happy to just go and move on with my life," she said.
She added that when they met on May 16, 2011 she reassured Lord Sugar that she wanted to leave amicably.
The tribunal heard yesterday that she described her role at Viglen as that of an "overpaid lackey".
Ms English said today: "When I left there was no way that I was going to come out and say anything negative about anybody. I meant that and that was my intention and that's what I did.
"I had every intention to say nothing other than 'it's been a good experience' because what value is it for me? I decided to walk and that's it."
She said she did not want to go into details with Lord Sugar about why she was unhappy at Viglen as she thought there was no point.
The tribunal heard that Ms English later asked him about how to get media advice on doing some public speaking or writing a book as she needed to make some money as she was in debt.
Ms English, who took home £82,500 a year in her previous job working for a Japanese investment bank, said Lord Sugar told her it would be "better all round that you didn't walk out".
He then offered her a role in another company - internet set-top box company YouView - which she started in June 2011.
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Rugby union - for which club team do England internationals Care, Easter and Robshaw play ? | Lancaster on England, Robshaw and the autumn internationals | talkSPORT
Lancaster on England, Robshaw and the autumn internationals
England coach Stuart Lancaster
By Mark Coughlan - @coffers83
Thursday, October 31, 2013
This feature appears in the current edition of Sport magazine. Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand, and follow on Twitter @Sportmaguk
Ahead of the Autumn Internationals, we asked the England coach to talk us through his journey so far – and explain the challenges to come with the Six Nations and beyond.
THE EARLY DAYS IN THE JOB...
“Obviously there was a bit of pressure to do well when I took the role. But, because it was an interim job, and because I understood the culture and knew a lot of the players coming through – I’d been involved coaching the Saxons, worked with the academies and the players, and I’d been involved with the senior team – I had a good understanding of what I felt needed to change and what direction we needed to go to build towards 2015. I guess the ‘interim’ title gave me a freedom to put my mark on it the way that I felt it should have been done. What really motivates me?
“Winning the World Cup is a huge motivation, obviously, but so is building that long-term sustained success for England – one that runs right the way through the clubs, the academies, the international age grade teams and through to the senior team. If we can have that, and emerge as a highly respected and feared international team, I think that will be the ultimate success.”
THE STUART LANCASTER BLUEPRINT…
“All coaches have their own philosophy about the way they want to build the game. Ultimately, when I look at the top end of the club or international game, there are a lot of different ways of playing the game to win – the Lions showed that you can play one way and win, and New Zealand play a different way to achieve success.
“What’s really important in teams is that you have a clear philosophy, and people buy into it. So I was very clear on that. The first two games after I took charge, we spent a lot of time talking about what playing for England means and remembering the reason why. We did okay in the first year. But there’s no doubt about it – if you look at the way we were playing the game then, and the way we played in Argentina, for example, it is different. And we’ve shown that in patches – New Zealand and Scotland [this past year] in particular, where we’ve really moved the ball and played some attacking rugby.
“There are occasions when you have to win a different way, like in Dublin [in February], but there’s definitely been a development in the way we’ve played the game, which is pleasing. When you lose a game, particularly when you’re an international coach, I can assure you it is very disappointing because you feel like you’ve let the country down.
"When I look back on it, though, even going to South Africa and losing two Tests [17-22 and 27-36] by less than a score and drawing the third Test – I’m disappointed to have lost those. But, in the context of where we were, it was a pretty successful tour, and it really helped us to develop into the team we are now.”
THE ARGENTINA TOUR…
“After the Six Nations, Argentina became a big focus and we had three objectives from that tour. One was to win both Tests. I wanted to finish the season with a record of winning seven of the last eight games, which we achieved. The second was to develop a greater pool of talent in certain positions, so there are more options to choose from. It’s hard sometimes to put inexperienced players into an inexperienced team. I’m constantly wrestling with that in the Six Nations, but now some lads have had more experience training and playing with us because you can’t just bring players into the squad to train. Players like Christian Wade, Marland Yarde and Kyle Eastmond hadn’t really been training with us because of the nature of the Elite Player Squad agreement, so to then put them in the team is a big step.
“Now they’ve had that experience, it gives us a great opportunity to create that strength in depth. The third area was to rest key players who were disappointed to not make the Lions, or tired after a long season. This was the last break they’d get before the World Cup, and I’m sure people like Chris Ashton , Chris Robshaw , Danny Care and Toby Flood will come back fitter and fresher.”
THE CAPTAIN…
“In terms of picking Chris Robshaw to lead the team when I first took over, it wasn’t a hard decision at all. I didn’t make it until the end of the Leeds camp. The reason was that I didn’t know all the players, so I wanted to look at one or two and spend some time with them. Chris had captained Harlequins, obviously, and also England Saxons when I was in charge there. So, from that point of view, it wasn’t that hard.
“With the job comes profile, and you realise when you’re in that role that it isn’t just about captaining the team – there’s a whole load of other stuff. He’s managed it really well, and it was the right decision at the end of the season – having not made the Lions – to give him a break. When he looks back, the pros far outweigh the cons for Chris having not made the World Cup in 2011, and I’m sure he’ll become a better player again this season having not made the Lions. I will always back him.”
THE AUTUMN AND BEYOND…
“We’re definitely a lot closer to the ‘ultimate goal’ than we’ve ever been before. Argentina showed that, but the proof will be in the pudding, in the Autumn Internationals and the Six Nations. The players have an understanding of how we want to play, and I hope they’ll fit seamlessly back into it now we’re 18 months in. There’s still a long way to go to the World Cup, and we have to maximise the time we have together.
“Maximising home advantage is a key thing for us. We’re looking to create a playing style the crowd can connect with, and play in a way that they associate with that makes them proud to see the team. We’ve only got two home games in the Six Nations, then three games away in New Zealand next summer, then it’s suddenly one year out from the World Cup. Starting tomorrow, we have five games at home this season. Every one of them is of crucial importance.”
BMW is offering fans the chance to win a lift home from the QBE Internationals in a BMW Sweet Chariot. For more information, visit rfu.com/BMWSweetchariots
| Harlequin (disambiguation) |
Which large insect, with transparent wings held roof-like over its back, and noted for the loud shrill chirping of the males, has a life-cycle of 13 to 17 years ? | Rugby union: Martin Johnson swells the Wasps swarm with recall of James Haskell | Sport | The Guardian
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Not long ago it was Leicester who monopolised the England squad while others struggled to get a look-in. That may still be true among the management - even the Australian-reared attack coach, Brian Smith, used to play for the Tigers -but the recall of James Haskell to the starting XV against South Africa this Saturday in the only change from the side beaten by Australia means London Wasps supply seven members of England's line-up with one more, Simon Shaw, on the bench.
Given Martin Johnson's club loyalties, it says much for the all-for-one ethos of the manager's remodelled England. As Lawrence Dallaglio recalled the other day, it is only relatively recently that the two tribes were so instinctively separate that they sat at different dining tables during Test weeks. These days they spend more time together as a national squad and domestic allegiances are less ostentatious, though the huge swarm of Wasps is still significant.
If Shaw gets on, the domestic title-holders will be one short of the England record set in August 1999 when nine Leicester players were capped against Canada at Twickenham.
With the world champions bearing down, it would be slightly more reassuring if Wasps were higher up this season's Premiership table than 11th but Haskell, in particular, cannot afford to be distracted against a high-quality Springbok back row. For two weeks he has sat frustrated on the bench, playing only a minor role as a replacement.
"There has been disappointment and anger that I haven't played," admitted the 23-year-old, preferred to Tom Croft and keen to make up for lost time against his formidable opposite number Schalk Burger. "I've not been angry about people's selections, more the fact that I let myself down in my first few games for Wasps this season."
"It will be exciting to play against Schalk because he's one of the guys I've tried to model my game on. He combines physicality and abrasiveness with a large amount of skill. That's the mould of a top international player and something to try and emulate. If I didn't think I was up for the challenge, I'd be hiding in my room or jumping in my car and driving out of here."
Johnson is clearly banking on Haskell to combat the confrontational threat heading England's way and to help reverse the outcome of the last meeting between the two countries 13 months ago. There are only four English starting survivors from the 2007 World Cup final in Paris and Johnson does not expect anything less than a bruising reunion. "It's not optional. We have to be out there hitting them as hard as they hit us, if not harder. If you're not up to it, they'll keep coming at you."
The manager has also warned his squad to ignore South African protestations of weariness, preferring to focus on the need to concede fewer kickable penalties. "It's very difficult to win if you're giving them 21 points," he said, referring to Australia's seven penalties from eight attempts in their 28-14 victory last Saturday. "It still rankles. We need to cut out mistakes and put ourselves in a position in the last 20 minutes to win the game. Guys have to be aware that, when you play South Africa, three points is a big deal. The World Cup final was a classic example."
The only uncapped presence will be Leicester's muscular young No8 Jordan Crane - there are no Tigers in the team but four are lurking in reserve - who has sneaked in ahead of Bath's Michael Lipman. Any squad member who continues to stray "off the script", to use one of Johnson's recurring phrases, will have some explaining to do but there has been no loss of faith in Danny Cipriani's playmaking potential or Steve Borthwick's captaincy. While Borthwick was one of four England players not to train yesterday, along with Phil Vickery, Riki Flutey and Delon Armitage, he continues to enjoy Johnson's full support: "It's an easy finger to point. He's a fantastic leader."
Borthwick, even so, could do with a commanding performance, particularly with his team hovering outside the top four of the world rankings on the eve of the 2011 World Cup draw next month. England will also be temporarily moving accommodation to Richmond this week, their Bagshot base having been hired by a banking corporation. The bankers have since pulled out but England were unable to cancel their revised booking, hence the change of scenery. If it brings a change of luck, Johnson will not be remotely bothered.
England (v South Africa, Saturday) D Armitage (London Irish); Sackey (Wasps), Noon (Newcastle), Flutey (Wasps), Monye (Harlequins); Cipriani (Wasps), Care (Harlequins); Sheridan (Sale), Mears (Bath), Vickery (Wasps), Borthwick (Saracens, capt), Palmer (Wasps), Haskell (Wasps), Rees (Wasps), Easter (Harlequins). Replacements Hartley (Northampton), Stevens (Bath), Shaw (Wasps), Croft, Crane, Ellis, Flood (all Leicester).
Habana fit for England
Bryan Habana, the misfiring Springboks wing, will line up against England on Saturday despite taking a blow to his thigh against Scotland. South Africa's backline coach, Dick Muir, said. "I'm sure Bryan will start." Habana the current IRB player of the year, has scored only once in his last eight appearances for the world champions despite racking up 39 tries in 45 Tests.
South Africa will not confirm their team until tomorrow as they give the scrum-half Fourie du Preez and the prop Brian Mujati time to recover from injuries. "We haven't got a final assessment on some of the players, so we're just going to wait and see," said Muir. The hooker Bismarck du Plessis and prop Gurthro Steenkamp are both out so the prop Jannie du Plessis has been called from South Africa, where Muir said he was, "on standby on the farm". South Africa will be allowed to continue to use the Springbok emblem for the foreseeable future despite some claims it is divisive. Mikey Stafford
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James Stewart played the character Elwood P. Dowd in which classic 1950 film ? | Harvey (1950) - IMDb
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Due to his insistence that he has an invisible six foot-tall rabbit for a best friend, a whimsical middle-aged man is thought by his family to be insane - but he may be wiser than anyone knows.
Director:
Mary Chase (from the Pulitzer Prize Play by), Mary Chase (screenplay) | 1 more credit »
Stars:
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Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations. See more awards »
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James Stewart stars as Elwood P. Dowd, whose constant companion is Harvey, a six-foot tall invisible rabbit. To his sister, his obsession with Harvey has been a thorn in her plans to marry ... See full summary »
Director: Fielder Cook
A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family.
Director: Frank Capra
When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.
Director: George Cukor
A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't back down.
Director: Frank Capra
In a murder trial, the defendant says he suffered temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?
Director: Otto Preminger
Two employees at a gift shop can barely stand each other, without realizing that they are falling in love through the post as each other's anonymous pen pal.
Director: Ernst Lubitsch
A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
Director: Howard Hawks
A man from a family of rich snobs becomes engaged to a woman from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family.
Director: Frank Capra
A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed.
Director: John Ford
When two escaping American World War II prisoners are killed, the German POW camp barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
Director: Billy Wilder
Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
In Africa during World War I, a gin-swilling riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced missionary to use his boat to attack an enemy warship.
Director: John Huston
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Storyline
The classic stage hit gets the Hollywood treatment in the story of Elwood P. Dowd who makes friends with a spirit taking the form of a human-sized rabbit named Harvey that only he sees (and a few privileged others on occasion also.) After his sister tries to commit him to a mental institution, a comedy of errors ensues. Elwood and Harvey become the catalysts for a family mending its wounds and for romance blossoming in unexpected places. Written by Dale Roloff
The Wonderful Pulitzer Prize Play... becomes one of the Great Motion Pictures of our Time!
Genres:
13 October 1950 (USA) See more »
Also Known As:
Mein Freund Harvey See more »
Filming Locations:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)| Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)
Color:
Universal-International paid $750,000 for the film rights. See more »
Goofs
Books on the second shelf up from the bottom in Elwood's library change position throughout the movie. See more »
Quotes
See more »
Crazy Credits
At the very end Harvey opens a door and the words at the bottom of the screen say "Harvey as Himself." See more »
Connections
(Vancouver, B.C.) – See all my reviews
For about the first thirty minutes, I was thinking of some way to politely inform those who recommended this film that it wasn't my cup of tea, but the more I stayed, the more captivated I became. Based on a stage play that opened six years earlier, Harvey, the 1950 film directed by Henry Koster, is a delight. If this Jimmy Stewart classic doesn't make you feel good, you must be related to Mr. Henry F. Potter of Bedford Falls. Harvey is a 6' 3'' Pooka who has befriended a certain Mr. Elwood P. Dowd and this causes all sorts of complications for those around him. In case you didn't know, in Celtic mythology a Pooka is a fearsome spirit that usually takes the form of a sleek dark horse that roams the countryside at night, creating harm and mischief. Well, Harvey is not like that at all.
In fact, Harvey is a very gentle spirit who is always helping people out and can make everybody around him feel relaxed and in a good mood. Now Dowd needs all the help he can get. He likes to take a nip once in a while and is always talking to that danged rabbit to the chagrin of his sister Veta Louise (Josephine Hull) whose social life takes a nosedive when brother Elwood is around. Elwood's shenanigans also interfere with her plans to marry off her daughter Myrtle Mae (Victoria Home). When Veta decides that she has had enough and tries to commit Elwood to a psychiatric institution, the tables are turned and she ends up being committed in a hilarious case of mistaken identity. When Elwood leaves the hospital after being released, the medical staff in the hospital (a bit eccentric themselves) realize their mistake and all try to find him.
The madcap beginning soon turns into a gentle and moving drama. Jimmy Stewart is flawless as the decent man who never loses his temper and always has a smile on his face, giving everyone his card and inviting strangers home for dinner. The supporting cast is top notch as well including the unpleasant Dr. Chumley (Cecil Kellaway), the egotistical psychiatrist Dr. Sanderson (Charles Drake), his love struck assistant Miss Kelley (Peggy Dow) and the overwrought orderly (Jesse White, later known as the Maytag repairman).
Eventually some that ridiculed Elwood and his rabbit privately admit that they could see Harvey themselves and by the end we are gradually convinced that the so-called normal people may be stranger than Mr. Dowd. Harvey is considered a classic and with good reason. It works because of its good-natured humor and its gentle slap at those who automatically condemn ideas that are outside socially acceptable norms without thinking for themselves.
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| Harvey |
In 1862, the Guinness company adopted the harp as its' advertising logo. From 1935 till 1982 what creature was adopted as the main Guinness advertising symbol, becoming as synonymous with Guinness as the harp? | 1000+ images about Elwood P. Dowd on Pinterest | Mothers, Playwright and Donnie darko
Forward
From the movie Harvey: "Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this world, Elwood, you must be" - she always called me Elwood - "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant." Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."
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What surname is shared by a member of the cabinet and of the shadow cabinet ? | Labour shadow cabinet and ministers resignations - the letters in full
Labour shadow cabinet and ministers resignations - the letters in full
Watch | Who has left the Labour Shadow Cabinet?
01:32
Telegraph Reporters
30 June 2016 • 7:14am
The revolt against Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party continue following the sacking of Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn.
Here are their resignation letters in full.
Pat Glass, Shadow Education Secretary
It is with a heavy heart that I have today resigned as Shadow SoS Education. My dream job but the situation is untenable
— Pat Glass (@PatGlassMP) June 29, 2016
I have informed my CLP Chair that whenever the next General Election takes place, I will not be Labour's candidate. pic.twitter.com/g3DADx57KF
— Pat Glass (@PatGlassMP) June 28, 2016
Luciana Berger , Shadow Mental Health Minister
I have spoken to Jeremy today and it is with great sadness that I have stood down from his Shadow Cabinet. pic.twitter.com/YRYiu7HRd0
— Luciana Berger (@lucianaberger) June 27, 2016
Seema Malhotra, Shadow Chief Secretary
It is with regret that I confirm I have resigned from the Shadow Cabinet. Here is my resignation letter. pic.twitter.com/sUqB4Cby0R
— Seema Malhotra (@SeemaMalhotra1) June 26, 2016
Heidi Alexander, Shadow Health Secretary
It is with a heavy heart that I have this morning resigned from the Shadow Cabinet. pic.twitter.com/amBRk30RtR
— Heidi Alexander (@heidi_mp) June 26, 2016
Lucy Powell, Shadow Education Secretary
I've just spoken to Jeremy Corbyn to tell him that with regret I'm resigning from the Shadow Cabinet. pic.twitter.com/deLbWYaczd
— Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) June 26, 2016
Lord Falconer, Shadow Justice Secretary
Not available
Lilian Greenwood, Shadow Transport Secretary
Not available
Vernon Coaker, Shadow Northern Ireland
Not available
Ian Murray, Shadow Scotland Secretary
This has been one of the most difficult political decisions I have taken, but we need to focus on the future of the country. (1/2)
— Ian Murray (@IanMurrayMP) June 26, 2016
UK Labour needs new leadership to take the country forward. Today I have resigned from the Shadow Cabinet. (2/2) pic.twitter.com/7eoLtF5bmC
— Ian Murray (@IanMurrayMP) June 26, 2016
Chris Bryant, Shadow Commons Leader
I have just spoken to Jeremy Corbyn. Here is my resignation letter. pic.twitter.com/n0Tbya06is
— Chris Bryant MP (@RhonddaBryant) June 26, 2016
Kerry McCarthy, Shadow Environment Secretary
My letter to Jeremy Corbyn setting out some of the challenges facing us following Thursday's vote. pic.twitter.com/EBbSnOlbaF
— Kerry McCarthy (@KerryMP) June 26, 2016
Gloria De Piero, Shadow Young People Secretary
Not available
Karl Turner, Shadow Attorney General
Resignation letter in full. Will be making no further comment to the press. pic.twitter.com/9C9nhiLD5E
— Karl Turner MP (@KarlTurnerMP) June 26, 2016
Lisa Nandy, Shadow Energy Secretary
Not available
Owen Smith, Shadow Secretary for Work & Pensions
With deepest regret I resign from the Shadow Cabinet. I will continue to fight for Labour and those we represent pic.twitter.com/fGnku5jUeV
— Owen Smith (@OwenSmith_MP) June 27, 2016
Angela Eagle, Shadow Business Secretary
With deep regret, and after nine months of trying to make it work, I have today resigned from the Shadow Cabinet pic.twitter.com/tX7SPDyTIZ
— Angela Eagle (@angelaeagle) June 27, 2016
Kate Green, Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
My letter to Jeremy advising my resignation from the shadow cabinet today pic.twitter.com/hkifPr101Y
— Kate Green (@KateGreenSU) June 27, 2016
Maria Eagle, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Not available
John Healey, Shadow Housing Minister
I have just hand-delivered Jeremy Corbyn my resignation letter. pic.twitter.com/ntnHFzeaXN
— John Healey MP (@JohnHealey_MP) June 27, 2016
Nia Griffith, Shadow Welsh Secretary
With great sadness I have resigned as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. pic.twitter.com/g38Ks2BPaK
— Nia Griffith (@NiaGriffithMP) June 27, 2016
Emma Lewell-Buck, Communities and Local Government Shadow Minister
My letter to Jeremy: pic.twitter.com/mRAB85H1w0
— Emma Lewell-Buck (@EmmaLewellBuck) June 29, 2016
Nic Dakin, Shadow Schools Minister
Not available
Richard Burden, Shadow Transport Minister
With a heavy heart I have sent my letter of resignation to Jeremy: https://t.co/sYEGlSalgB pic.twitter.com/QdZzbU9bGT
— Richard Burden MP (@RichardBurdenMP) June 27, 2016
Jack dromey, Shadow Police Minister
Jack Dromey's resignation letter to Corbyn. "We cannot fight back and win with you as leader https://t.co/7bjIaVsjOr pic.twitter.com/uUhyKRb66w
— Jonathan Walker (@jonwalker121) June 27, 2016
Keir Starmer, Shadow Home Office Minister
With sadness & regret, I have resigned as shadow home office minister: Brexit has changed the challenge ahead. pic.twitter.com/l9NWXCh9zN
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 27, 2016
Anna Turley, Shadow Minister for Civil Society
It is with great sadness that I just sent my resignation as Shadow Minister for Civil Society to Jeremy Corbyn. pic.twitter.com/DDUgtff70Q
— Anna Turley MP (@annaturley) June 27, 2016
Diana Johnson, Shadow Foreign Minister
This is the text of my resignation letter sent to Jeremy Corbyn. pic.twitter.com/NoEyBywinA
— Diana Johnson (@DianaJohnsonMP) June 27, 2016
Toby Perkins, Shadow Armed Forces Minister
I have informed Jeremy Corbyn that I am resigning from my post of Shadow Armed Forces Minister. My letter attached. pic.twitter.com/8ui8lGHVUP
— Toby Perkins (@tobyperkinsmp) June 27, 2016
Steve Reed, Shadow Minister for Local Government
I have resigned as Shadow Minister for Local Government. Here is my letter of resignation pic.twitter.com/WcMZp757xE
— Steve Reed (@SteveReedMP) June 27, 2016
Yvonne Fovargue, Shadow Consumer Affairs Minister
I have today resigned from the frontbench as Shadow Minister - Consumer Affairs & Science pic.twitter.com/PYpjwOiIKU
— Yvonne Fovargue (@Y_FovargueMP) June 27, 2016
Alex Cunningham, Shadow Minister for Natural Environment
My letter of resignation from the post of Shadow Minister for the Natural environment pic.twitter.com/wPUWbfXkdO
— Alex Cunningham (@ACunninghamMP) June 27, 2016
Wayne David, Shadow Minister for Cabinet Office, Scotland & Justice
This is my letter of resignation from Labour's Frontbench pic.twitter.com/N2Varu8sHF
— Wayne David (@WayneDavid_MP) June 27, 2016
Roberta Blackman-Woods, Shadow Housing Minister
I have just resigned my position on the frontbench for the reasons as set out below in my letter to Jeremy pic.twitter.com/wtYq5lgt9D
— R. Blackman-Woods (@robertabwMP) June 27, 2016
Jenny Chapman, Shadow Education Minister
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Shadow Employment Minister
It is with enormous regret that I have resigned as Shadow Employment Minister. pic.twitter.com/KWe52wgVQc
— Nick Thomas-Symonds (@NickTorfaenMP) June 27, 2016
Susan Elan Jones, Shadow Deputy Wales Minister
Thursday’s EU Referendum result was a disaster for our country and for the UK Labour Party. That is why today, with a very heavy heart, I have resigned as Shadow Wales Office Minister.
In common with Shadow Welsh Secretary Nia Griffith, I call on Jeremy Corbyn to stand down as Leader of the Labour Party. I have shared my decision with my Welsh Assembly colleague Ken Skates and he totally supports my course of action.
Over the last couple of days, I have received many messages from Clwyd South Labour members and supporters. The bulk of these have called for Jeremy Corbyn to resign for the good of our Party, our constituency and our countries of Wales and Britain. Our neighbouring constituency Labour Party of Wrexham has also passed a resolution of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn.
Neither Clwyd South Labour Party nor I nominated Jeremy Corbyn to be UK Labour Party Leader last summer. However, I recognise that there are members in our constituency who voted for him.
Although some of these have now contacted me asking that I urge his resignation, a minority of members who have been in touch take a different view.
I must respectfully disagree with them. One reason I agreed to serve as a Shadow Minister under Jeremy Corbyn’s Leadership was that I felt his promise to reach out to people who never voted was worthy of great support.
I also hoped that he would help deliver a ‘Remain’ vote from those on the British Left who had always been Eurosceptic. He failed on both counts and seemed totally unable to grasp the issues in the debate on immigration as it relates to our heartland Labour areas.
After Thursday’s Referendum result it is abundantly clear that Jeremy Corbyn could never become Prime Minister. It is also clear that he does not command any real electoral support outside the M25.
When I was re-elected as MP for Clwyd South in May 2015, I made a plea that we should never forget those in our society who are less fortunate, especially people on zero hours contracts. I also emphasised the need for our Party to remember that it exists first and foremost to support the lives and life chances of ordinary working people across our country. Neither of these goals are achievable with an unelectable Party Leader.
Some within the political bubble are debating whether Jeremy Corbyn has done his best. That, to me, is irrelevant. An unelectable best is not good enough for my constituency or my Party in the face of a right-wing Tory Government.
Finally, although I shall no longer be a Shadow Minister, I will of course continue to be totally committed to my work in Parliament and my constituency, as well as to the Party of which I have been a member for nearly 31 years.
Thangam Debbonaire, Shadow Culture Minister
Not available
| Alexander |
Which is the most Northerly, and largest, island of the Phillipines, on which stands the capital, Manila ? | Jeremy Corbyn unveils 'unifying' shadow cabinet team - BBC News
BBC News
Jeremy Corbyn unveils 'unifying' shadow cabinet team
14 September 2015
Close share panel
Media captionJeremy Corbyn announced that he wants PMQs to feature "less theatre and more facts"
Jeremy Corbyn has unveiled what he called a "unifying" new shadow cabinet, naming his left-wing ally John McDonnell as shadow chancellor.
Defeated leadership rival Andy Burnham is shadow home secretary, while Hilary Benn remains shadow foreign secretary.
The most senior roles on the Labour front bench are taken by men but half of the posts went to women.
Meanwhile, in his first interview, Mr McDonnell said capitalism was "failing" and he wanted to "transform it".
Angela Eagle, the new shadow business secretary, was also named shadow first secretary of state and will stand in on occasions for Mr Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions.
Her twin sister, Maria Eagle, has been made shadow defence secretary.
'Change and continuity'
Addressing Labour MPs for the first time as leader, Mr Corbyn said 28,000 new members had joined the party since his election.
He outlined his immediate priorities - including housing, next year's elections in Scotland and Wales and winning the general election in 2020.
Image copyright PA
Image caption Jeremy Corbyn has chaired his first shadow cabinet meeting
Mr Corbyn said his new line-up was a "strong combination of change and continuity" but the appointment of Mr McDonnell, a close friend who managed his campaign, is proving controversial.
The Hayes and Harlington MP has previously faced criticism for telling a union event he would "like to go back to the 1980s and assassinate Thatcher" and in 2003 said IRA terrorists should be "honoured" for taking part in their "armed struggle".
He previously said a Corbyn government would pledge to clear the budget deficit, "but not by hitting the poor".
'Serious endeavour'
Mr McDonnell told Channel 4 News he believed the role of shadow chancellor was "to put forward an alternative to what's happening at the moment".
He said he was "not particularly interested in tax on income" and instead wanted to focus on those who were "literally laughing all the way to the bank" and "not paying their fair share".
Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption John McDonnell's appointment as shadow chancellor proved most controversial
Responding to criticism of his IRA comments, Mr McDonnell said he "might not have chosen the right words" but had made his comments at a time when the peace process was "extremely fragile".
He also said he could see the new Labour Party campaigning to stay in Europe "but what we're asking for is significant reform… we want our own our reform agenda".
Asked if he really wanted to be chancellor, he said he did, adding: "This is a serious endeavour to get back into government."
Other appointments include:
Lisa Nandy - shadow energy secretary
Lucy Powell, Ed Miliband's general election co-ordinator - shadow education secretary
Lewisham MP Heidi Alexander - shadow health secretary
Lord Falconer - continues as shadow justice secretary
Seema Malhotra - shadow chief secretary to the Treasury
Diane Abbott - shadow international development secretary
Shadow Northern Ireland secretary - Vernon Coaker
Rosie Winterton - continues as chief whip
Ian Murray - continues as shadow Scottish secretary
Chris Bryant, the new shadow Commons leader, said he had been offered the job of shadow defence secretary but turned it down because he disagreed with Mr Corbyn "about a lot of defence issues".
He predicted Mr Corbyn's reign as Labour leader would be a "bumpy ride", with many Labour MPs at odds.
But Mr Benn defended Mr Corbyn, who he said had won a "thumping" victory in the leadership election, but declined to say he backed the appointment of Mr McDonnell. Mr Benn and Mr Bryant both played down reports Mr Corbyn could back leaving the EU in the referendum promised by 2017.
The Labour leader has said he is not content with the EU as it stands, but wants to stay to fight for a "better Europe".
Speaking on Monday, he said David Cameron must not be given a "blank cheque" to renegotiate whatever he liked and the changes he agreed - which will be put to a referendum by the end of 2017 - must be the "right ones".
Analysis
Image copyright PA
Analysis by Laura Kuenssberg, BBC political editor
Where are the new shadow ministers swearing loyalty for ever more? Where are the full-throated cries of support from the whole team for the leader?
Nowhere, because Jeremy Corbyn will never be able to persuade the members of all of his team to support all of his positions publicly, let alone in 24 hours. But also, because he says he wants full and frank discussions about what to do.
So by accident or design, or probably both, today new shadow ministers have been free to pick and choose which bits of Project Corbyn they like - even turning down one job in favour of another because of their beliefs.
For the world in Westminster, where the wheels are greased with loyalty, discipline and ambition, this is a departure.
Ahmed: What will business make of McDonnell?
Several Labour politicians also criticised the new party leader for failing to give leading jobs to women.
Labour MP Diana Johnson tweeted the appointments were "so very disappointing", while former shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran tweeted that it needed "an urgent rethink".
Mr McDonnell said the health and education portfolios were more important than the traditional "great offices of state", adding: "He has broken with that tradition and I'm really pleased."
Media captionJohn McDonnell: "The cabinet and the whole administration looks as if it will be gender-balanced"
But conversations among Mr Corbyn's close advisers, overheard by a BBC reporter , suggest the decision to give Angela Eagle the additional role of first secretary of state was taken soon after after one aide said the party was the subject of criticism "out there about women".
Former home secretary Charles Clarke said Mr Corbyn had choices about his appointments, but "the choice he made was to go down the most hardline position there was".
Labour needed to develop a coherent alternative economic strategy and Mr McDonnell "will simply not be able to do that", he added.
Image copyright EPA
Image caption Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall were among about a dozen shadow ministers who said they would not serve
Image copyright PA
Image caption Tom Watson, pictured behind Mr Corbyn, said there was no chance of a coup
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson has urged MPs to back Mr Corbyn. while Frances O'Grady, the TUC's general secretary, has called on the opposition to "look sharp, pull together...and get stuck in".
But the other leadership candidates Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall, as well as Chuka Umunna, Mary Creagh, Tristram Hunt, Rachel Reeves, Chris Leslie, Jamie Reed, Emma Reynolds, Shabana Mahmood and Caroline Flint said they would not serve in Mr Corbyn's shadow cabinet.
| i don't know |
Geology - what word is used to describe rocks formed from volcanoes or from magma within the earth's crust ? | Eno Geologic Principles
Igneous Rocks - Introduction
Igneous rocks, born from molten rock called magma, dominate the western portions of the Eno River. All igneous rocks originate deep in the Earth as magma that rises toward the Earth’s surface at temperatures ranging from 1,800 to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) (1,000 to 1,200 degrees Celsius (°C)). Igneous rocks are separated into two main categories: intrusive and volcanic rocks. Intrusive rocks form when magma solidifies within the Earth’s crust. Volcanic rocks form when magma solidifies on top of the Earth’s crust on land or in water.
Intrusive Igneous Rocks
Magma that cools and solidifies before reaching the surface of the Earth forms intrusive igneous rocks. Intrusive rocks are also commonly known as plutonic rocks. The word plutonic comes from Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld. Plutonic rocks form bodies known as plutons. Intrusive rocks cool slowly since they are insulated by the surrounding earth. This slow cooling allows the chemical elements within the magma to organize themselves into individual crystals that are visible with the naked eye. Figure 5 shows an example of a circa 630 million-year-old intrusive rock from the Eno River area. East of Roxboro Road, in the Triassic basin, a relatively young intrusive rock called diabase is present. The diabase is around 200 million years old and is present as tabular-shaped bodies that either intruded the surrounding sedimentary rocks parallel to the existing layering as sills or cut across the existing layering as dikes (fig. 6).
Figure 5 - Example of a 630 million year old igneous intrusive rock of the Carolina terrane. The rock is a granodiorite (granite-like rock)
Figure 6 – Sample of diabase from the Eno River area.
Photograph shows typical typical rust-colored weathering rind.
Volcanic Igneous Rocks (AKA - Extrusive Igneous Rocks)
Volcanic rocks, also born from molten magma, form when hot magma erupts out of a volcanic vent or when magma explodes from volcanoes. The word volcanic comes from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. Geologists studying ancient volcanic regions, like the Eno River area, use modern volcanoes and their deposits as a guide to help them unravel the geologic history. Modern volcanic terranes are dominated by four basic volcanic deposits: a) lava flows, b) pyroclastic flows, c) tephra, and d) lahars ( fig. 7 ). The Eno River area has evidence of all four types of these deposits.
Lava flows, pyroclastic flows and tephra deposits are also known as extrusive volcanic rocks. Extrusive refers to the magma being extruded onto the surface of the Earth. As magma is extruded on the surface, it cools very quickly and individual chemical elements do not have time to grow into minerals visible to the naked eye and produce a fine-grained or aphanitic rock. This is in contrast to the intrusive rocks, that cool slowly, and typically have mineral grains that are visible with the naked eye.
Lava flows
When hot magma is erupted onto the surface of the Earth, it is called lava. The word lava is used to describe both moving melted rock, and cooled and hardened rock that originated as lava. Lava flows are streams of molten rock that pour or ooze from an erupting volcanic vent. Lava comes in many types defined by the range of minerals in the rock.
Millions of years ago, lava flowed in the Eno River area. One type of rock common in the Eno River area formed from solidified lava is called dacitic lava (fig. 8a). When molten, dacitic lava is viscous (thick and sticky) and does not flow very far from the volcanic vent. It forms steep-sided mounds of lava called domes. Lava domes grow by the extrusion of many individual flows over time. The lava domes within the crater of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State are examples of recent dome formation (fig 8b).
Figure 8a – Example of ancient dacitic lava from the Eno River area.
Figure 8b – Modern day example of a dacitic lava dome in the crater of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State. Note people for scale indicated by red circle. Photograph from USGS.
Another type of rock in the Eno River area of solidified lava is basaltic lava (fig. 8c). Basaltic lava, or basalt, is typical of the Hawaiian Islands (fig. 8d). Basaltic lava differs from dacitic lava (dacite) in that it is less viscous (able to flow easier and faster) and tends to spread out from the vent forming thin sheets of lava. This results in thinner geologic deposits when compared to the larger dome-like deposits of dacitic lava.
Figure 8c –Example of basaltic lava exposed in the Eno River area.
Figure 8d –Example of basaltic lava erupting from a vent on Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii. Photograph from USGS taken by C. Heliker, September 12, 2003.
Pyroclastic flows
Pyroclastic flows are formed from explosive volcanic eruptions and are fast-moving clouds of hot gas, rock fragments and ash. The rock fragments can range in size from ash to boulders and can travel across the ground hurricane-force speeds often more than 60 miles per hour (100 km per hour). Pyroclastic flows are violent and will knock down, shatter, bury or carry away nearly all objects in their path. These flows are also very hot, generally between 400°F and 1,300°F (200°C and 700°C) and will virtually incinerate anything in their path. Pyroclastic flows typically form during the collapse of lava domes or after the collapse of dense eruption clouds. Rocks interpreted to have been deposited via pyroclastic flows are common in the Eno River area interlayered with dacitic lavas (fig. 9).
Figure 9a – Example of ancient pyroclastic flow deposits from the Eno River area.
Outcrop of welded lithic tuff with flattened pumice (fiamme) from the Eno River area.
Figure 9b – Example of ancient pyroclastic flow deposits from the Eno River area. Reddish-colored welded tuff from the Eno River area.
Figure 9c – Example of a modern day pyroclastic flow eruption at Mount St. Helens on July 22, 1980 (USGS).
Figure 9d - Collapse of lava dome generates pyroclastic flow on Unzen Volcano, Japan, on March 23, 1993 (USGS)
Tephra
Tephra is the general name for fragments of volcanic rock that are blasted into the air by volcanic explosions or carried upward by hot gases in eruption clouds above volcanic vents. Tephra can range in size from less than 1/32 inch (2 millimeters) to more than 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter.
Tephra less than 2 millimeters diameter is called volcanic ash. Tephra consists of a wide range of rock particles, including combinations of pumice, glass shards, crystals from different types of minerals, and shattered rocks of all types (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic). The largest-sized tephra (rocks several meters in diameter) typically is deposited close to the erupting volcanic vent. The fine-grained ash may be blown by the wind hundreds to thousands of miles away. A single eruption can rain down tephra and blanket the landscape close to the volcanic vent with hundreds of feet of ash and volcanic debris. Farther from the volcanic vent, the tephra that falls to the ground is smaller in size and forms only a thin layer of ash a few centimeters thick. When the tephra is buried and hardens into rock it become a rock named tuff. The tuffs exposed today in the vicinity of the Eno River (fig. 10) record hundreds, possibly thousands, of ancient eruptions.
Figure 10a – Example of tuff with white-colored weathering rind from the Eno River area. Scale bar is in centimeters.
Figure 10b – Example of lithic tuff with black clasts of dacitic lava in a green ash matrix from the Eno River area.
Figure 10c – Example of an ash cloud from an eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano on the Caribbean island of Mountserrat. Photograph by Heather Hanna 2002.
Figure 10d – Example of layered ash deposits from 1990 eruption of Redout volcano in Alaska. Photograph from USGS.
Lahars
Lahar is an Indonesian word used by geologists to describe a mudflow associated with volcanic activity. Lahars are very powerful and are capable of moving great quantities of debris (as large as house-sized boulders) long distances in a short amount of time. Modern lahars look and behave like flowing wet concrete and destroy virtually everything in their path – including houses, cars, trees, etc. (fig. 11a and 11b). Volcanic eruptions may initiate lahars when snow or glacial ice is rapidly melted and travels down the mountain. Lahars may also be initiated during steam explosions or the collapse of a volcano from earthquakes. Intense rainfall, years after a volcanic eruption, may destabilize volcanic debris and initiate a lahar. Lahars typically follow the topography and flow into, and fill in, valleys on the flanks and base of a volcano. Lahars are one of the most dangerous features of modern volcanoes. An example of an ancient lahar deposit is visible at Few’s Ford in Eno River State Park (Allen and Wilson, 1968 and Rochester, 1978) (fig. 11c). The lahar deposits at Few’s Ford are described as part of the field trip guides of this publication.
Figure 11a - Lahar deposit from 1995 on southwest flank of Unzen volcano, Japan. Photograph by Tom Pierson - USGS.
Figure 11b - Lahar deposit from eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano - Town of Plymouth, Mountserrat. Photograph shows war memorial buried in approximately 18 feet of ash and lahar deposits. Photograph by Heather Hanna 2002.
Figure 11c - Ancient lahar deposit at Few's Ford Eno River State Park
Special Note About the Igneous Rocks of the Eno River Area
The majority of the igneous rocks associated with the Carolina terrane have been subjected to low-grade metamorphism; subsequently, the prefix “meta” is commonly added to the rock name. The metamorphosed igneous rocks should technically be called meta-intrusive rocks (e.g., metagranodiorite, metagranite) and metavolcanic rocks (e.g., metatuff and metabasalt). Since many of the rocks exposed along the Eno River retain the original intrusive and volcanic textures present in the rock at formation, geologists often leave off the “meta” prefix. The low-grade metamorphosed examples of the above igneous rocks from the Eno River area are still excellent examples of igneous rocks for in hand sample they show all the same textures as a pristine un-metamorphosed rock.
| Igneous rock |
"What songwriting partnership, wrote more than 20 hit records, with several of their songs becoming number 1 hits on both sides of the Atlantic, including ""Hound Dog"" , ""Jailhouse Rock"" and Stand by Me ?" | Igneous Rocks
Igneous rock is in the making as lava pours down a well-developed lava channel near a series of erupting vents on the northeast rift zone of Mauna Loa Volcano.
Igneous rocks
The term igneous comes from the Latin ignis, meaning "fire". Igneous is used to describe rocks that crystallize out of hot molten material in the Earth called magma. When magma pushes up through Earth's crust to the surface, it is called lava. Both magma and lava cool and harden to form igneous rocks.
Intrusive vs. Extrusive
Igneous rocks can be classified into two main categories: intrusive and extrusive. A trick to help kids remember intrusive and extrusive is to think of intrusive -- inside and extrusive -- exit.
Granite.
Intrusive rocks come from magma. They cool slowly deep in Earth's crust. When magma cools underground, the crust acts like a blanket, insulating it, keeping it warm longer. Because the magma cools slowly, crystals of different minerals have time to grow. The molecules in the magma have time to arrange themselves into crystal formations before the magma hardens. Intrusive rocks have large crystals that can be seen with the naked eye. A common example of an intrusive igneous rock is granite.
Pahoehoe Lava Field, Hawaii.
Extrusive igneous rocks come from lava. Lava, at the surface, is exposed to air and water which causes the molten rock to cool rapidly. Solidifying rocks at the surface cool too quickly for large crystals to form. Molecules in the lava do not have time to arrange themselves to form large crystals. Extrusive rocks have crystals that are too small to see without magnification. A common example of an extrusive igneous rock is basalt. Some extrusive rocks, such as obsidian and pumice, cool so rapidly that they completely lack crystal structure and are considered a volcanic glass. Pumice is just like obsidian except it is tiny shards of glass.
Texture
Within the two main categories of intrusive and extrusive, rock can be classified even further using texture and chemical composition. The word "texture" has nothing to do with how the rock feels. Texture, in geology, is used to describe how the rock looks. The most noticeable textural feature of igneous rocks is grain size. Grain size refers to the size of the individual mineral crystals. As mentioned above, intrusive igneous rocks, such as granite have large, individual crystals visible to the naked eye. The textural term used to describe a rock with large crystals is coarse-grained. In contrast, fine-grained rocks, such as basalt, are igneous rocks that have crystals too fine to see with the naked eye. Under magnification they are still very small but easily identifiable with a few optic tests. Quickly-cooled lavas can contain trapped bubbles of gas, which are called vesicles. The resulting texture is described as vesicular.
Chemical Composition
Chemical composition of igneous rock can often be estimated just from looking at the rock. Geologists look at the proportions of light-colored and dark-colored minerals in an igneous rock to estimate the chemical makeup of rock. Light-colored or felsic, minerals have more silica in them. Silica is one of the most abundant elements on Earth and is the chief component of quartz. Felsic minerals are most often colorless, white, gray or pink but can be any number of colors. The dark, or mafic, minerals are richer in iron and magnesium. Mafic minerals are chiefly black, brown, dark gray and sometimes green.
The mineral proportions of the rock are what allows geologists to classify rocks chemically. Depending on the proportion of light minerals to dark minerals, igneous rocks can be broken into four main types: felsic, intermediate, mafic and ultramafic. The following list gives more information about igneous chemical categories.
Felsic rocks are high in silica (65% +). They are usually light-colored. Some examples are: Rhyolite (extrusive) and granite (intrusive).
Intermediate rocks have lower silica content (55-65%). They are darker than felsic rocks but lighter than mafic rocks. Some examples are: Andesite/dacite (extrusive) and diorite/granodiorite (intrusive).
Mafic rocks have low silica content (45-55%). They are usually dark-colored and contain iron and magnesium. Some examples are: Basalt (extrusive) and gabbro (intrusive). Basalt is the rock that is produced at spreading ridges and makes up the sea floor.
Ultramafic rocks have extremely low silica content (less than 45%) and contain large amounts of iron and magnesium. They are usually dark-colored, but high olivine content can lend green shades to the rock. Other rare colors can be found. An example of ultramafic rock is Peridotite (intrusive).
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