title: Aragon

paragraphs: Aragon is an autonomous community in the northeast of Spain. In the various dialects of Spain it is: in ; in ; in and Aragón Internacional (international TV channel).

paragraphs: Aragon covers the area of the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. It is named after the Aragón river, a tributary of the Ebro.

paragraphs: Aragon has three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza (sometimes called "Saragossa" in English).

paragraphs: Aragon is one of the 17 Spanish autonomous communities. It has a surface area of , 9.4 percent of the territory of Spain. By area, it is the fourth largest Spanish autonomous community after Castile and León, Andalusia and Castile-La Mancha.

paragraphs: Aragon is bordered to the north by France (Nouvelle-Aquitaine region). Within Spain, the community is bordered to the east by Catalonia (Lerida and Tarragona provinces), to the south by Valencian Community (Castellón and Valencia provinces) and Castile-La Mancha (Cuenca and Guadalajara provinces), and to the west by Castile and León (Soria province), La Rioja and Navarre.

paragraphs: Most of Aragon has an altitude of . The highest point is the Aneto peak with high; it is the highest mountain of the Pyrenees.

paragraphs: The lowest point in Aragon is on the Ebro river, close to Zaragoza, with an altitude of high.

paragraphs: The three main geographical regions of Aragon are:

paragraphs: Most of the Aragonese rivers are tributaries of the Ebro, Spain's largest river in volume and which divides Aragon into two. Some important tributaries on the left side of the river (rivers that come from the Pyrenees) are the Aragón, born in Huesca but flows into the community of Navarre, the Gállego and Cinca, which joins the Segre just before ending up in the Ebro. Right tributaries are the rivers Jalón, Huerva and Guadalupe.

paragraphs: On the Ebro, near the border with Catalonia, lies the Mequinenza Reservoir, with a length of about 110 km, and that is popularly known as the "Sea of Aragon".

paragraphs: Climatically, Aragon can be divided into three areas:

paragraphs: In the middle of Aragon, which is only above sea level, the annual average temperature is around . To the north and south of the Ebro valley, where the elevation rises to above sea level, the temperature drops by two degrees. In the mountains, between , the temperatures are between .

paragraphs: Aragon consists of three provinces named after their capitals: Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza. Each province is divided in "comarcas" (a "comarca" is a local administrative division) and these are divided in municipalities.

paragraphs: Aragon has a population, in 2013, of 1,347,150, for a population density of inhabitants/km, one of the lowest in Spain. The most densely populated areas are around the valley of the Ebro river, particularly around Zaragoza, and in the Pyrenean s (the hills at the base of the Pyrenees), while the areas with the fewest inhabitants tend to be those that are higher up in the Pyrenean mountains, and in most of the southern province of Teruel.

paragraphs: The province of Zaragoza is the one with more inhabitants, with 978,638 people living there, representing % of the population of Aragon.

paragraphs: The city with more people living in it is the capital, Zaragoza (620,419). The other provincial capitals Huesca and Teruel have, respectively, 47,923 and 31,506 inhabitants.

paragraphs: The 10 most important cities in the department are:

paragraphs: Spanish is the native language in most of Aragón. The only official language, it is understood and spoken by virtually everyone in the region.Also, Aragonese is still spoken, in several local varieties, in the mountainous northern counties of the Pyrenees, particularly in western Ribagorza, Sobrarbe, Jacetania and Somontano. In the easternmost areas of Aragón, along the border with Catalonia, varieties of Catalan are spoken, including the comarcas of eastern Ribagorza, La Litera, Bajo Cinca, Bajo Aragón-Caspe, Bajo Aragón and Matarraña.


title: Aragonese language

paragraphs: The Aragonese language is a Romance language spoken in the north of Aragon by 10,000 people.

paragraphs: It is similar to nearby languages: Spanish, Catalan and Occitan. Also, many Aragonese words are similar to Basque words.


title: Levi Eshkol

paragraphs: Levi Eshkol (born Levi Shkolnik, October 25, 1895 – February 26, 1969) was the 3rd Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death in 1969. He is buried in Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.


title: Sidney Sheldon

paragraphs: Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 - January 30, 2007) was an American screenwriter and novelist. He wrote the screenplays for twenty-three motion pictures including "Easter Parade" and "Annie Get Your Gun". He also created four long-running television series. He is also included in the "Guinness Book of Records" as, "The Most Translated Author".


title: Mackenzie Bowell

paragraphs: Sir Mackenzie Bowell, PC, KCMG (27 December 1823–10 December 1917) was the fifth Prime Minister of Canada from 21 December 1894 to 27 April 1896.

paragraphs: Bowell was born in Rickinghall, Suffolk, England to John Bowell and Elizabeth Marshall. In 1832 his family moved to Belleville, Ontario. He started work helping the printer at the town newspaper, "The Intelligencer". He became printer and editor with that newspaper, and later its owner. He was a Freemason and an Orangeman, becoming Grandmaster of the Orange Order of British North America, 1870 – 1878. In 1847 he married Harriet Moore (1829 – 1884). He had four sons and five daughters.

paragraphs: Bowell was elected to the House of Commons in 1867, as a Conservative, for North Hastings, Ontario. In 1878 he became Minister of Customs. In 1892 he became Minister of Militia and Defence. He was a skilled and hardworking administrator. He later became Minister of Trade and Commerce. He was elected to the Senate. His visit to Australia in 1893 led to the first meeting of British colonies and territories. It was held in Ottawa in 1894. He became Leader of the Government in the Senate on October 31 1893.

paragraphs: In December 1894 the Prime Minister Sir John Thompson died suddenly. Bowell was the most senior Cabinet minister and was appointed Prime Minister by the Governor General. Bowell was the second of two Canadian Prime Ministers to serve in the Senate rather than the House of Commons. (The first was John Abbott.)

paragraphs: As Prime Minister, Bowell faced the difficult Manitoba Schools Question. In 1890 Manitoba stopped giving money to Catholic schools. This was the opposite of an earlier law called in the Manitoba Act of 1870. Bowell other political leaders could not solve the problem. It had divided the country, the government, and even Bowell's own Cabinet. He could not make up his own mind on how to fix the problem. As a Senator he could not speak in the arguments in the House of Commons. Bowell supported a law that would have forced Manitoba to restore funding the Catholic schools. His Cabinet did not agree. Normal government activities stopped. His Cabinet decided he did not have the ability to be Prime Minister and he was forced to resign. Seven government ministers resigned and stopped new people from being appointed. Bowell called them "a nest of traitors". After ten days, the Governor General stepped in and the problem was solved. Six of the ministers went back to their jobs. Charles Tupper was the person who was seen as the real leader. Tupper had been Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He had been asked to come back and taker over from Bowell. Bowell resigned at the end of the parliamentary session.

paragraphs: Bowell was the Conservative leader until 1906. He stayed in the Senate until his death. He died of pneumonia in Bellville, just before he turned 94. He was buried in the Belleville Cemetery. His funeral was attended by a full group of the Orange Order.

paragraphs: Bowell's descendants live in Hertfordshire, England.


title: Rugby World Cup

paragraphs: The Rugby World Cup is the most important tournament in the sport of rugby union. The first one was in 1987. The cup happens every four years. The competition is one of the biggest sporting events in the world (along with the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics).

paragraphs: There are only 20 spots available in a Rugby World Cup, so teams must compete for them in a qualifying competition. Teams that reached the knockout stages of the previous tournament automatically qualify for the next tournament.

paragraphs: The 2011 match was held in New Zealand, and the 2015 England. The 2019 competition will be held in Japan.


title: 1996 U.S. campaign finance scandal

paragraphs: The 1996 United States campaign finance controversy was an alleged effort by the People's Republic of China to influence domestic United States politics during the 1996 federal elections. The Chinese government denied all accusations. Twenty-two people were eventually convicted of fraud or for funneling Asian funds into the United States elections, and others fled U.S. jurisdiction.

paragraphs: In late 1996, the Justice Department opened a task force to investigate allegations of illegal donations to the Clinton/Gore re-election campaign and to Clinton's legal defense fund. Ultimately, Justice Department prosecutors secured the conviction of several fund-raisers for various offenses. John Huang served 500 hours of community service and paid a $10,000 fine. Johnny Chung served 3000 hours of community service. Charlie Trie served four months of in-home detention. Maria Hsia served 90 days of home detention and paid a $5,300 fine. Indonesian billionaire James Riady was fined $8.6 million. Ernest Green served three months home detention. Michael Brown served 150 hours of community service and paid a $5000 fine. In all, the Justice Department task force secured criminal convictions against 22 people by 2001.


title: Kick

paragraphs: In hand-to-hand combat, in martial arts and sports, a kick is a blow with the foot, the knee or the leg. It is used in combat as an attack. Generally, the kicks are slower than the punches although stronger than the blows with hands.

paragraphs: The kicks are a fundamental part in many martial arts. The examples are: wushu, karate, kickboxing, tangsudo or taekwondo; whereas other arts do not use any kick, as it is in the case of judo or of boxing. Other martial arts can use kicks, although they limit them to attacks to the legs and to the lower parts of the body of the opponent.

paragraphs: There exists a great number of kicks, and a lot of them have typical names for each one. Frequently the same movement has different names in different martial arts. This is obvious especially when comparisons are done between western arts and oriental arts.

paragraphs: (1) The front kicks and side kicks, in "penetrating" form, on the lower member are entitled between the professionals especially for certain titles, but not in all the lands.

paragraphs: (2) There exist numerous hybrid kicks, such as the "side-front" que the "side kick" with the hips rather frontal what allows an instant connection of the techniques of fist much useful in active defense

paragraphs: Category of the straight-legged kicks, called stick kick:

paragraphs: (*) Certain techniques can be spinning and jumping at the same time.


title: Islam and clothing

paragraphs: Muslims have different dress codes for different contexts. Conservative ideas of "hijab" require people to dress modestly both for outside and religious contexts. Clothing for everyday wear, inside and outside the house is different, and very much depends on the family.

paragraphs: Muslim men also have many rules about clothing, some of the most strict ones involve gold, there are over 160 rules

paragraphs: A mans clothing is modest and loose so as not to emphasize the shape of the body. It should cover at least the area from navel to knees.

paragraphs: They should wear a qamisi a knee covering religious clothing to prayer and many many more.

paragraphs: Islam says that women should dress in a very special way. This dress code applies to women and adolescent girls, but not to children. Usually, women who travel to Islamic countries should also wear such dress.

paragraphs: In the very least, the garment should cover the shoulders. Long-sleeved garments (and trousers) are preferred. Use a headscarf to cover the hair (especially when you enter a mosque or other place of worship).


title: Charles I of England

paragraphs: Charles I of England (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649), was the monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was a son of James I of England. He was married to Henrietta Maria of France.

paragraphs: Charles was born at Dunfermline Palace in Fife, Scotland, before his father came to the throne of England. He had an elder brother, Henry, who was clever, handsome, popular, and rich, and next in line for the throne. Henry died suddenly in 1612, and his brother Charles was made Prince of Wales in his place, showing that he was now the heir to the throne. Charles was less suited to be king than Henry had been, because he was small and weak and not as clever. After his brother died, the person he was closest to was George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who was also his father's best friend. The Duke of Buckingham was very powerful and rich, but was not popular with most common people. He took Charles to Spain in the hope of finding him a Spanish princess as a bride, but they had a lot of problems on the journey and could not persuade the Spanish king to give them his daughter as a wife for Charles. On the way home, they went to France, and there Charles met the French royal family. The youngest of the French princesses was Henrietta Maria of France, and Charles later chose her to be his wife.

paragraphs: His religious policies, and his marriage to a Roman Catholic, made him mistrusted by Reformed groups such as the English Puritans and Scottish Covenanters, who thought his views were too Catholic. He supported "high church" Anglican ecclesiastics, and failed to help Protestant forces enough in the Thirty Years' War. His attempts to force the Church of Scotland to adopt high Anglican practices strengthened the position of the English and Scottish parliaments and were a cause of his downfall.

paragraphs: When Charles became King, he needed money for a war with Spain, but Parliament wouldn't give it to him. Therefore, he dissolved parliament and did not call it again for eleven years, from 1629 to 1640. This made him very unpopular with the people, who did not like the different taxes they had to pay directly to the king, since Parliament could not vote to give him any budget. Many also did not like the King's closest adviser, William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was trying to force everyone in England to use the same Anglican Prayer Book and stop the many other Protestant denominations that were becoming popular at that time.

paragraphs: When the king and the Archbishop then tried to force a Prayer Book on Scotland, which was even more Protestant (Calvinist), armed rebellion broke out there. Now that the king was at war, he needed more money than ever, so he had no choice but to call Parliament again in 1640. The members of Parliament, angry at the things that had been going on for 11 years, did not want to give him money to fight his war. Instead, they spent the session complaining about what had been going on in the country for the last 11 years. So after only three weeks, Charles dissolved Parliament again. For this reason, it was known as the Short Parliament.

paragraphs: Without enough money, Charles lost the war badly, and had to pay the Scots even more money that he did not have. This meant that once again he had to call a Parliament, much as he hated to do so. One of the first things they did was vote that the King had to call Parliament, and could not shut them down again. Charles had no choice but to agree. This Parliament is known as the Long Parliament, because it ended up lasting for twenty years, until 1660.

paragraphs: The Parliament and the King then began to quarrel about who was in control of the army. Each side ended up with their own army, and this led to the English Civil War that started in 1642. The army of Parliament got the upper hand in this war, and Charles, after a crushing defeat in 1646, went to the Scots for protection. But they decided to turn him over to Parliament in 1647. Charles escaped at one point and went to the governor of the Isle of Wight for protection, but this was also a bad move because he too was on the side of Parliament and only captured the king again. While he was being held in the castle, Charles made an agreement with the Scots who joined his side, and the fighting started again in 1648. Because he was still making trouble for them even while he was captured, Parliament voted to put the king on trial. This had never been done to a king of England before.

paragraphs: At the trial he was found guilty and was finally put to death by beheading in January 1649. Some of the members of Parliament who were opposed to killing king Charles were purged, and from this time on, what was left of the Long Parliament became known as the Rump Parliament. This Parliament took complete power in England, and there was not a new king at all until 1660.


title: Pepin the Short

paragraphs: Pepin the Short or Pippin (714 – September 24, 768), often known as Pepin the Younger or Pepin III, was King of the Franks from 751 to 768.

paragraphs: Pepin was the son of Charles Martel and Chrotrud (690 - 720), and was born in Jupille, Belgium.

paragraphs: In 740 Pepin married Bertrada of Laon. She was the daughter of Caribert of Laon. They had two sons and a daughter who lived long enough to become adults:

paragraphs: Pepin died at Saint Denis and is buried in the basilica with his wife, Bertrada of Laon. His sons, Charlemagne and Carloman, were each King of half the Kingdom of the Franks after him.


title: Sense and Sensibility

paragraphs: Sense and Sensibility is a novel by Jane Austen. It was her first novel, and was published in 1811. The novel is mostly about two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, and their life and loves. The story takes place in southern England in the 1790s.

paragraphs: Austen paid to have the book published. The publisher got a commission on sales. She made a profit of £140 (almost £5,000 in 2008 currency) on the first edition, which sold all 750 printed copies by July 1813. A second edition was advertised in October 1813.


title: Pride and Prejudice

paragraphs: Pride and Prejudice is a book by Jane Austen. It was published in 1813. It was made into a movie in 1940 and again in 2005. There were two BBC television productions, in 1980 and 1995.

paragraphs: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife". (first line)

paragraphs: The story starts with Mr. Bingley, a wealthy, handsome young gentleman, who comes to town and rents a place near the Bennet family. He comes with quiet Mr. Darcy and his pretty sisters. Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley begin to spend a lot of time with each other, even though the sisters of Mr. Bingley try to cut the attraction. Mr. Bingley is loved and admired by almost every woman in the town. Mr. Darcy is disliked by everybody, because of his arrogant way of talking and his mean attitude. Elizabeth Bennet, the second daughter of Mrs. Bennet, seems to despise Mr. Darcy. She despises him even more after he refused to dance with her at the ball.

paragraphs: Elizabeth soon grows to admire an officer named Wickham. He seems to equally hate Mr. Darcy. He tells her a sad story about how Mr. Darcy was mean to him. This story makes Elizabeth hate Mr. Darcy even more. Meanwhile, Mr. Darcy begins to fall in love with Elizabeth.

paragraphs: Bingley slowly begins to declare his proposal of marriage to Jane, when he suddenly has to leave to Netherfield. Netherfield is the house he lives at most of the time. He did not plan to leave for a long time but his sisters use this chance to move Bingley and Jane away from each other. The sisters follow Bingley to London. Bingley's quick leave makes Jane sad and confused. Elizabeth finds out that it is because of his sisters.

paragraphs: Before Mr. Bingley leaves, Mr. Collins, the man who was supposed to inherit all of Longbourn (where the Bennet family lives), appears. The rich and pompous Lady Catherine de Bourgh had employed him as a clergyman. Collins wanted to find a good wife from the daughters of Mr. Bennet. He tries to take Jane as his wife, but after learning about the relationship between her and Mr. Bingley, he tries to marry Elizabeth. He proposes, but Elizabeth rejects him. Her mother is angry because Elizabeth could have lived in Longbourn if she married Mr. Collins. Then Mr. Collins turns his attention to Elizabeth's friend, Charlotte Lucas. He decides to marry Charlotte. They marry and Charlotte invites Elizabeth over to her house for a short visit.

paragraphs: Elizabeth goes to Charlotte's house in the Spring. It is quite close to Rose Park. Rose Park is Lady Catherine de Bourgh's land. Mr. Darcy's aunt is Lady Catherine de Bourgh. He is staying there when Elizabeth visits and they meet. Elizabeth finds out that Mr. Darcy was the one who put an end to Mr. Bingley and Jane's love. She later rejects Mr. Darcy's proposal. She says all the mean thoughts she had about his cruelness towards Wickham and Jane and Mr. Bingley's relationship.

paragraphs: Darcy writes an explanation to Elizabeth in a letter. Mr. Wickham almost eloped with Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgianna. Mr. Wickham had only wanted her money. Also, Darcy told Bingley not to propose marriage to Jane because he thought that she did not actually love him. Elizabeth returns home soon after and thinks about Darcy's explanations and all her misunderstandings about him.

paragraphs: A few months later, Elizabeth visits Pemberly during her tour with her aunt and uncle. Pemberly is Darcy's land. Mr. Darcy meets them there. and is very kind to them during their visit. Mr. Darcy's kindness makes Elizabeth even more attracted to him. She also becomes friends with his sister Georgianna. Later, Elizabeths receives a letter from Jane. It contains sad news that their younger sister Lydia, has run off with Wickham. They find out that Wickham does not want to marry Lydia, but this would cause a scandal. Elizabeth and her uncle and aunt hurriedly return home. Elizabeth thinks that now Mr. Darcy will never speak to her again because of her sister's behavior.

paragraphs: Then, Lydia and Wickham are found and are married. They later visit Longbourn. While describing her wedding to Elizabeth, Lydia talks about Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth sends an inquiry to her aunt because she is surprised. She learns that Mr. Darcy had paid for all the wedding expenses and paid Wickham to marry Lydia.

paragraphs: Bingley and Darcy come to Longbourn. Bingley proposes to Jane, and she accepts. Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, even though Lady Catherine does not like Elizabeth. Elizabeth accepts the proposal. Jane and Elizabeth marry their lovers on the same day.


title: Emma (novel)

paragraphs: Emma is a book by Jane Austen. It was first published in the year 1815. Jane Austen teased readers with the idea of a "heroine whom no one but myself will much like" when she began writing "Emma". It is a comedy about Emma Woodhouse, a rich young lady growing up in the fictional community of Hartfield, in 19th century England. The book is about the troubles Emma causes when she tries matchmaking.

paragraphs: Emma Woodhouse is a rich and beautiful young woman. The book starts by introducing her, and with her governess, Miss Taylor's wedding with Mr. Weston, a cheerful neighbor. Emma quickly becomes friends with Harriet Smith, a "natural daughter".


title: Chris Martin

paragraphs: Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer and pianist for the band Coldplay. He also plays the guitar. He was born in Exeter, Devon, England. He married Gwyneth Paltrow in 2003. They have two children, a daughter, Apple (born 2004) and a son, Moses (born 2006). The couple separated in 2014.

paragraphs: His band members are called Jonny Buckland (lead guitarist), Guy Berryman (bassist) and Will Champion (drummer). They met while studying at University College London. In January 1998, they formed the rock band Coldplay. They were influenced by the Scottish rock band Travis. U2 was another important influence on Martin both musically and politically.

paragraphs: Martin does not smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol. PETA said he was the World's Sexiest Vegetarian in 2005!


title: Joseph Fiennes

paragraphs: Joseph Alberic Fiennes is an English actor. He was born on 27 May 1970 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. His parents were Jennifer Lash and Mark Fiennes. Joseph is the youngest of six children. His brothers and sisters are Ralph Fiennes, Sophie Fiennes, Martha Fiennes, Magnus Fiennes and his twin brother, Jacob Fiennes. He is best known for acting in the movie "Shakespeare in Love".


title: Wikibooks

paragraphs: Wikibooks (previously called Wikimedia Free Textbook Project and Wikimedia-Textbooks) is a collection of free books. It is one of many projects that are run by the Wikimedia Foundation. It is a wiki, which makes it possible for anyone to edit.

paragraphs: Some books are original, but others have started as text copied from other sources of free-content textbooks found on the Internet.

paragraphs: The CC-BY-SA license covers all the content that is in Wikibooks.

paragraphs: In February 2010, the Simple English Wikibooks was closed and locked due to anti-Simple-English users on Meta-Wiki misleading the Wikimedia Language Committee

paragraphs: Wikijunior is a subproject of Wikibooks that has books for children. The project consists of both a magazine and a website, and is currently being developed in English, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. It is funded by a grant from the Beck Foundation.

paragraphs: Pages in Wikijunior will have the Wikijunior: prefix in front of the page's name.


title: Charles IX of France

paragraphs: Charles IX of France (June 27, 1550 – May 30, 1574) was a King of France and a member of the house of Valois.

paragraphs: Charles was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, on June 27, 1550. His parents were Henry II of France and Catherine of Medici.

paragraphs: Charles was married to Elizabeth of Austria on November 26, 1570. They had one child, Mary Elizabeth of France (October 27, 1572 – April 9, 1578), who died young.

paragraphs: Charles died in Vincennes, France, on May 30, 1574. He is buried in the Saint Denis Basilica. The next King was Henry III of France.


title: Henry III of France

paragraphs: Henry III of France (September 19, 1551 – August 2, 1589) was a King of France and a member of the House of Valois. He was also a King of Poland.

paragraphs: Henry was born in Fontainbleau, France, on September 19, 1551. His parents were Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici. He was Catherine de Medici's favourite son.

paragraphs: Henry was married to Louise of Lorraine on February 13, 1575. They had no children.

paragraphs: Henry died in Saint-Cloud, France, on August 2, 1589, after being stabbed by a knife. He is buried in the Saint Denis Basilica. Henry was the last King of the Valois Dynasty. The next King was Henry IV of France, who was a member of the Bourbon Dynasty.


title: Constance of Arles

paragraphs: Constance of Arles (973 - July 25, 1034) was the third wife of Robert II of France. They were married in 1003 after Robert had divorced his second wife, Bertha. She was buried in the Saint Denis Basilica with Robert II of France.


title: Matilda of Boulogne

paragraphs: Queen Matilda of Boulogne (1105 – May 3, 1152) was the wife of Stephen of England. She also became the Countess of Boulogne when her father died in 1125.

paragraphs: Matilda was born in Boulogne, France. She was the daughter of Eustace III of Boulogne and Mary of Scotland. Matilda's mother, Mary, was the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland and Saint Margaret of Scotland.

paragraphs: Matilda married Stephen I of England in 1125. They were deeply in love until two of their children died Baldwin and Matilda.

paragraphs: Matilda died at Hedingham Castle, Essex, England. She was buried in Faversham Abbey.


title: Marie of Boulogne

paragraphs: Marie of Boulogne was the Countess of Boulogne from 1159 until 1170.

paragraphs: Marie was the daughter of Stephen of England and Matilda of Boulogne. She was placed in a convent when she was young so that she could become a nun. When her brother, William of Blois, died, she became the heir of the Count of Boulogne. She had to leave the convent and was married to Matthew of Alsace. Marie and Matthew ruled Boulogne together, but their marriage was not happy and they got a divorce in 1170.

paragraphs: After Marie died, Matthew continued to be the Count of Boulogne until 1173. After this Marie and Matthew's daughter, Ida of Boulogne, became Countess of Boulogne. Marie and Matthew's other daughter, Maud of Boulogne, became the wife of Henry I of Brabant.


title: Marie of France

paragraphs: Marie of France was the eldest daughter of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine. In 1164 she was married to Henry I of Champagne. Their children included:


title: Alix of France

paragraphs: Alix of France was the youngest daughter of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was married to Theobald V of Blois in 1164. Their children included:


title: Margaret of Blois

paragraphs: Margaret of Blois was Countess of Blois from 1218 until 1230. She was the daughter of Theobald V of Blois and Alix of France. Her mother was the daughter of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

paragraphs: Margaret was married to Otto I of Burgundy.


title: Flemish Region

paragraphs: Flemish Region (Dutch: "Vlaams Gewest") is a region in the north of Belgium. The official language is Dutch, sometimes called Flemish. Flanders has 5 provinces. About 7 million people live there. Its capital is Brussels.

paragraphs: Flanders is one of three regions in Belgium. The other two regions are Wallonia (or Walloon Region) and Brussels-Capital Region.


title: Feta cheese

paragraphs: Feta cheese (, feminine gender; pronounced ), or simply Feta is a kind of cheese. Usually it is made from the milk of sheep or goats. Feta cheese originally is from the Greek mainland, or from Lesbos in the Aegean Sea.

paragraphs: Turkish version of Feta is called Beyaz Peynir.

paragraphs: Other cheese (which is usually not from Greece and is usually made from cow milk) must not be called "Feta" from 2007. The European Court said so in its decisions C-465/02 and C-466/02 (from October 25, 2005).

paragraphs: This ruling is only valid for the European Union, and other countries in Europe. Several member state of the WTO still think that the term "feta" is generic. European Member states wanted to ddefend this protected designation of origin at the WTO talks in Doha.

paragraphs: What is now called "feta cheese" was known to Ancient Greeks. Homer must have known about it. There were several references to the cheese in the "Odyssey". According to the myth, the cyclops Polyphemos was the first cheese manufacturer. He carried the milk in animal-skin bags. He had collected the milk from his sheep. He was very surprised to see that days later the milk had become solid. When Polyphemus tried to eat it, it tasted well. He also found that as such a solid, it would go bad later than with milk.

paragraphs: The name "Feta" has an Italian origin. It is derived from "fetta" (slice), and dates back to the 17th century. Very likely this referred to the method of cutting the cheese in slices to put it in barrels.


title: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

paragraphs: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is an album released by The Beatles. It was the 9th Beatles album to be released in the United Kingdom. It was released on 1 June 1967, and stayed at the top of the charts for twenty-seven weeks. It has lots of well-known songs such as McCartney's "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "A Day in the Life", which Lennon and McCartney worked on together. For a while before this album came out, The Beatles had been trying new things when they made records, but this album made a much bigger change in the way they sounded.

paragraphs: The album title was used later for a 1978 Universal Pictures movie. Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees played Sgt. Pepper's band, while Billy Preston was the Sergeant. George Burns played Mr. Kite (the mayor), Steve Martin (in his first film) played Maxwell Edison, and Aerosmith was the Future Villain Band. It consistently holds the top spot on critics' lists of the greatest albums of all time.


title: Winter Palace

paragraphs: The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, is one of the greatest and largest palaces. It was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian Tsars. It was built on the shores of the Neva River between 1754 and 1762.

paragraphs: Tsar Nicholas I, in the 19th century, was responsible for the palace's present appearance and layout. He made many changes to the interior of the palace, and was responsible for its complete rebuilding after the fire of 1837.

paragraphs: On 30 October 1917, the palace was declared to be part of the Hermitage Museum. Today, the palace, as part one of the world's most famous museums, attracts an annual 3.5 million visitors.


title: Standing's day gecko

paragraphs: The Standing's day gecko (Phelsuma standingi Methuen & Hewitt, 1913) is a type of gecko. It is diurnal, which means that it sleeps during the night and is awake during the day. It lives in southwest Madagascar and usually is found on trees. Standing's day gecko eats insects and nectar (a type of drink created by flowers).


title: Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor

paragraphs: Charles VI (1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor from 12 October 1711 to 20 October 1740. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I. His daughter, Maria Theresa of Austria, inherited the throne after he died.


title: Pierre Trudeau

paragraphs: Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 in Montreal, Canada – September 28, 2000 in Montreal, Canada) was the 15th Canadian Prime Minister during the 1970s (1968 - 1979), and then again from 1980 - 1984. He is thought by many Canadian citizens today as having been the greatest Canadian Prime Minister ever. His son is the 23rd and current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

paragraphs: He had many challenges during the 1970s, including the October Crisis, and in 1980 held the country together by defeating the referendum on Quebec sovereignty (the province of Quebec wanted to leave Canada and become its own country), and keeping Quebec a member of the Canadian state. Another popular event associated with Pierre Trudeau is Trudeaumania, which referred to how much he was liked by the Canadian people. As a relatively young man, he was very close to the youth of the time, as well as funny, and he appealed to everyone by being so understanding and just like a normal person. This kind of Prime Minister had never been seen before, and it made people feel like he was a good, friendly person.

paragraphs: Trudeau retired from being the Prime Minister in 1984, after which he did not speak to the public very much. He died of prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease in Montreal on September 28, 2000. After he died, his son, Justin Trudeau, spoke at his funeral, which was shown all over the country. He said "je t'aime" (French for "I love you") and cried on his father's coffin. After this moving eulogy (a speech at a funeral about the dead person), many Canadian people thought Justin would have a future in politics; Justin is the 23 Prime Minister of Canada, elected in 2015.


title: Jennifer Lopez

paragraphs: Jennifer Lynn Lopez (also known as J. Lo) is a Grammy-nominated American singer, dancer, fashion designer and actress. She was born July 24, 1969. She's most known for her performances in "Selena", "Maid in Manhattan", "Out of Sight" (co-starring George Clooney), "Monster-in-Law", "The Cell", and "An Unfinished Life" (with Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman). She also was a judge for the talent reality series "American Idol" in 2011 and from 2014 until the show's series finale in 2016..

paragraphs: She began her career as a "Fly Girl" dancer on the 1990s TV series, "In Living Color". Her first album "On the 6" was released in 1999. It contains the hit singles "If You Had My Love", "No Me Ames", "Waiting for Tonight", "Feelin' So Good" and "Let's Get Loud". She released "J.Lo" in 2001, her most successful album to date. "J to tha L-O! The Remixes" and "This Is Me...Then" were released in 2002. The album "Brave" was released in 2007, followed by "Love?" in 2011. She has released one greatest hits album, "Dance Again... The Hits", in 2012. Her most recent album is "A.K.A.", which was released in 2014.

paragraphs: She has many records, including record for having a movie and album ("The Wedding Planner", and "J.Lo") both #1 on the same week.

paragraphs: All of Lopez' three marriages ended in divorce.

paragraphs: From February 1997 until January 1998 Lopez was married to Ojani Noa.

paragraphs: From September 2001 until June 2002 she was married to Cris Judd.

paragraphs: On June 5, 2004, she married Marc Anthony. They have twin children, son Maximillian David Muñiz and daughter Emme Maribel Muñiz (born on February 22, 2008). The couple separated in July 2011 and divorced in June 2014.


title: Anne of Brittany

paragraphs: Anne of Brittany (January 25, 1477 - January 9, 1514) was a Duchess of Brittany.

paragraphs: Anne was the daughter of Francis II of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. She was born in Nantes (then in Brittany, now officially outside that Région) on January 25, 1477.

paragraphs: Anne was married to Charles VIII of France on December 6, 1491. They had four children, but all of them died young.

paragraphs: After Charles died, Anne married Louis XII of France on January 8, 1499. They had two daughters:

paragraphs: Anne died in the Chateau of Blois on January 9, 1514.


title: Ritual

paragraphs: A ritual (or a rite) is a set of actions people do. In a ritual, the actions are important because every action stands for a particular thing. Rituals are always done in very similar ways. Many rituals have a religious significance and are prescribed by a religion or traditions of a community. Danger might be involved in carrying out the ritual. When the ritual has been performed successfully, it is usually followed by a celebration.

paragraphs: Rituals can mark a personal change. For example, a rite of passage may show that a child has reached the age of majority.

paragraphs: A ritual can also be linked to obsessive compulsive disorder, when a person believes that performing the ritual again and again is necessary.


title: Maria Theresa

paragraphs: Maria Theresa of Austria (13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the only female head of the Habsburg Dynasty. She was the Holy Roman Empress, queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and archduchess of Austria.

paragraphs: During her rule she changed the royal palace outside Vienna (the Austrian capital) to look much like Versailles. Vienna itself became an important center for the arts, especially music. Maria Theresa added support to her absolute power by tightening her hold on the government. She also improved conditions for the peasants. She is generally known to history as the Empress Maria Theresa.

paragraphs: Maria Theresa was born in Vienna, Austria, on 13 May 1717. Her parents were Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Her father had made the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, a decree which allowed a female ruler despite the Salic law prohibition.

paragraphs: Maria Theresa married Duke Francis Stephan I of Lorraine for love. They had sixteen children who are named here:

paragraphs: Maria Theresa died in Vienna, Austria, on 29 November 1780.


title: Marie Antoinette

paragraphs: Marie Antoinette (2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last Queen of France, as the wife of King Louis XVI, before the monarchy was abolished in the French Revolution. She was born as Maria Antonia as an Archduchess of Austria.

paragraphs: She married Louis in 1770, when she was 14 years old and four years before he became the king. They were not close at first, and at first it was difficult for them to have children. After seven years of marriage, she gave birth to a daughter, and later to three more children. She was the mother of Louis XVII of France, who never actually became king.

paragraphs: Although she was not unpopular at first, many people in France did not want the country to have an Austrian queen. France's alliance with Austria was unpopular; the two countries had been enemies until 1756, and their alliance had led to France's defeat in the Seven Years' War. It was not until during the French Revolution that she became an unpopular symbol of the old French monarchy ("Ancien Régime"). There were rumours that she spent too much money, had lovers and supported France's enemies. There was a rumour that when she learned that peasants were starving, she said "Let them eat cake," but there is no evidence she said this. Many of these rumours were started by other people at the court, where Marie Antoinette had few friends. It is not clear what caused the French Revolution, but there were far bigger causes than her spending.

paragraphs: She helped plan the royal family's failed escape from Paris in 1791. This caused many people to think that the royal family, especially Marie Antoinette, were plotting with foreign governments to overthrow the elected government. The royal family were arrested in 1792 and the monarchy was abolished. She was executed by guillotine in 1793, nine months after her husband was executed.

paragraphs: On the morning of 2 November 1755, Maria Teresa, Queen of Hungary and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, gave birth to Marie Antoinette, her fifteenth child and last daughter. The Empress quickly became well again after giving birth, and was reported to have looked happy and healthy. Marie Antoinette was taken care of by Constance Weber, a wet-nurse. When Marie Antoinette was a child, she often gave gifts to Constance Weber and her son, Joseph. According to Joseph, Marie Antoinette once said to Constance, "Good Weber, have a care for your son."

paragraphs: Joseph Weber added that the Archdukes and Archduchesses were allowed to make friends with "ordinary" (common) children. Except on formal celebrations, people who did not have a very high birth or title were still liked and allowed into the court. Marie Antoinette was known as "Antoine" when she was young. The Austrian court young Madame Antoine grew up in was already beginning to become much less formal. Antoine was taught by Countess Brandeis, who loved Marie Antoinette and treated her very kindly. Antoine's first recorded letter, written when she was 11 or 12, was to "dearest Brandeis" from "your faithful pupil (student) who loves you dearly, Antoine". However, though the countess taught Antoine about morality and religion, she did not educate her on many other subjects, and Antoine did not like to concentrate. Later, one of her friends said that when she talked, her words were not connected, "like a grasshopper". In fact, when Antoine was 12 she could not write or even speak French and German properly, though she spoke Italian well. She greatly loved music, though. In 1759, shortly before she became four years old, Antoine sang a French song at a party for her father, while her brothers and sisters sang Italian songs. She listened to and met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was playing "marvellously" once, too. Mozart tried to propose to Antoinette. She would eventually be a fan of Mozart’s music. She was also famous for her beautiful dancing and the graceful way she carried her head. She had been officially taught by the famous French ballet master Jean-Georges Noverre. She was much less skilled at reading.

paragraphs: Still, she loved her childhood home in Vienna and later missed it very much. She once said about her mother, "I love the Empress but I'm frightened (afraid) of her, even at a distance; when I'm writing to her, I never feel completely at ease (comfortable)." She disliked her sister, the Archduchess Marie "Mimi" Christine, who her mother seemed to love most. But her relationship with her sister Maria "Charlotte" Carolina was quite different: they loved each other warmly. They were very close, and a painter later said that they "resembled (looked like) each other greatly". Charlotte was more forceful, and Antoine was usually thought to be prettier.

paragraphs: At the beginning of 1767 the Empress had five daughters with her. Marie Christine was already married to Prince Albert of Saxony. Elizabeth, who was very pretty, was 23, Amalia almost 21, Josepha was 16, Charlotte was 14, and Antoine was now 12. The Empress wanted Josepha, who was gentle and pretty, to marry Charles III of Spain. But then bad things started to happen. Her son Joseph's second wife died because of smallpox and was buried. After that Maria Teresa caught the smallpox and almost died.

paragraphs: Then Maria Teresa took her daughter Josepha, who was about to begin her bridal journey to Naples, to go to the tomb of Joseph's wife to pray. But the tomb had not been closed tightly enough. Probably because of this, Josepha suddenly caught smallpox and died. Elizabeth also caught the disease. She lived, but her beauty was gone. Antonia, who had caught smallpox when she was two years old and become healthy again, did not catch the disease.

paragraphs: But a bride was still needed for King Ferdinand of Naples. Maria Teresa quickly wrote a letter explaining what had happened to Charles III of Spain a month after Josepha died. "I grant of my daughters to make good the loss," she wrote. "I do currently (right now) have two who could fit, one is the Archduchess Amalia who is said to have a pretty face and whose health should other is the Archduchess Charlotte who is also very healthy and a year and seven months younger than the King of Naples." Soon, the King of Naples married Charlotte and Amalia was married to Louis XV's grandson, Don Ferdinand of Parma. Amalia was not happy with her mother's decision.

paragraphs: The only daughter left was now Marie Antoinette. Empress Maria Theresa decided to use Antonia to make Austria become friendly with France. After long discussions, Antonia was engaged to Louis-Auguste, Dauphin of France. The duc de Choiseul from France and the Prince of Starhemberg from Austria helped arrange the wedding.

paragraphs: They immediately began preparing Marie Antoinette for her marriage. Her teeth were crooked, but a French dentist came to fix it. After a painful three months, Marie Antoinette had a smile that was "very beautiful and straight". Her thick "mountain of curls" were dressed by Larsenneur, a famous hairdresser who powdered and softened her hair. Marie Antoinette also had a high forehead which was thought unfashionable at that time. though she had a long, graceful neck.

paragraphs: Her education was also changed. In November 1768, the Abbe Jacques-Mathieu de Vermond went to Vienna to teach Antonia. She was clever, but without the knowledge a future queen should have. She was also lazy and unable to concentrate. She could not read or write properly in French or German, but a year after Vermond had arrived, she could speak it well enough. By the time she left Austria, she was speaking French easily and well, even if it had a small German accent. The Abbe also found that Marie Antoinette did not know much about French history, which they studied carefully together. In the end, Marie received a fairly good education.

paragraphs: Marie Antoinette was publicly executed by guillotine for treason in Paris, France, on 16 October 1793, months after the death of her husband. Her youngest son Louis-Charles, later died of tuberculosis and malnutrition during the revolution. She was buried in the Saint Denis Basilica. Her eldest daughter, Marie Therese, was the only one of their family to survive the revolution.


title: Montesquieu

paragraphs: Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 1689 – 10 February 1755), was commonly known as Montesquieu. He was a French political thinker who lived during the Age Of Enlightenment. He is famous for his theory of the separation of powers in government. Many constitutions all over the world use it. He helped make the terms "feudalism" and "Byzantine Empire" popular.

paragraphs: Before Montesquieu, the standard feudal system was called "the three estates":

paragraphs: Montesquieu's radical work divided French people into three classes, or groups: three classes (or trias politica, a term he coined):

paragraphs: These should be balanced, so that no one power would be able to overcome the other two, either singly or in combination. This was a radical idea because it eliminated the three estates structure. Montesquieu's ideas are important because they ended the feudalistic structure. They also helped inspire the constitution of many countries, including the United States.

paragraphs: Some of Montesquieu's ideas are still controversial. He believed that women could be leaders in government. But he thought women could not lead a family. He supported a hereditary aristocracy and primogeniture. Hereditary means that the title passes from the parents to the children.

paragraphs: Montesquieu describes an unusual idea in his essays "The Spirit of the Laws" and "Persian Letters". This idea is the climate theory. It says that climate, the weather of a place, influences the nature of man and his society. Montesquieu thought that some climates were better than others. He believed the mild climate of France is the best. He believed people from hot countries are "too hot-tempered". People in cold, northern countries are "icy" or "stiff." The climate in middle Europe therefore breeds the best people. (This view is possibly influenced by similar statements in "Germania" by Tacitus, one of Montesquieu's favourite authors.)

paragraphs: Montesquieu's philosophy that "government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another" prompted the creators of the Constitution to divide the U.S. government into three separate branches.


title: Aristocracy

paragraphs: Aristocracy is a kind of government that puts power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class. In Ancient Greek, the word aristocracy means "the rule of the best", but it has come to be linked with rule by Nobility.

paragraphs: There are different kinds of aristocracy with different ways the government is set up. In history, most aristocracies are hereditary. Members of the ruling group have passed on power to their eldest surviving son, and sometimes to their eldest daughter. Aristocracy can be combined with other kinds of government. There were small groups of people that run a country. The people were called aristocrats and often had titles such as duke, duchess, baron and baroness.


title: Poseidon

paragraphs: Poseidon () is the god of the sea, earthquakes, storms and horses in ancient Greek religion and myth. He was one of the Twelve Olympians. His parents were Kronos and Rhea. He was the older brother of Zeus yet not by much.

paragraphs: Poseidon was generally regarded as an ill-tempered being. His mood was a reflection of the state of his realm. He was thought to conjure up violent storms at sea when angered. While he was married to the goddess Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, like his brother Zeus, Poseidon had a number of affairs with other goddesses and mortal woman, siring such heroes as Theseus and Bellerophon. Lord of the waters, Poseidon was both patron and protector of both sailors and seafarers, who would pray to him for safe passage across the sea. Poseidon was often regarded as the “Father of Horses,” as they were thought to be his creations. He was additionally the chief deity and patron of the city of Corinth, whereupon the Isthmian Games were held every other four years in his honor. Otherwise known as the Earth-Shaker (), Poseidon was thought to be the cause of such disasters, striking the Earth with his trident (a three-pronged spear) whenever he was particularly enraged. The god's symbol was his trident and the bull, horse and dolphin were his sacred animals. The god Neptune is his Roman equivalent. Neptune was a more war-like figure. Some have theorized this god is in fact Owen's hair coming from the popular belief that it summoned a storm.


title: Object-oriented programming

paragraphs: Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a way of writing computer programs using "objects" to stand for data and methods. Computer programs that are not object-oriented are a list of instructions for the computer, telling it to do certain things in a certain way, which is called procedural programming. However, in object-oriented programming, computer programs use objects that talk to one another to change the data in those objects and to work in a way that the user wants. Because of the way object-oriented programming is designed, it helps the developer by allowing for code to be easily reused by other parts of the program or even by other people.

paragraphs: Most programming languages are a mix of different ways of writing computer programs. For example, Python allows for computer programs to be written both in object-oriented programming and in procedural programming. There are many programming languages that allow you to write computer programs in object-oriented programming. Some of these programming languages are: C++, Java, Ruby, Perl, Emarald, Sapphire, PHP, Python, etc.

paragraphs: The main idea of object-oriented programming is that everything is an object. However, the object can be of different types:

paragraphs: Objects is a term used to refer to instances of classes.

paragraphs: In the examples below, we create a class called codice_1. This class contains the attributes codice_2 (for the name of the person) and codice_3 (for the name of the friend). Each of the methods in the codice_1 class contains a list of instructions that makes use of both the codice_2 and codice_3 attributes.

paragraphs: stephen.say_name() # Shows 'My name is Stephen'

paragraphs: stephen.say_goodnight() # Shows 'Good night nobody.'

paragraphs: joe.say_goodnight() # Shows 'Good night Stephen'

paragraphs: Even though object-oriented programming is popular, some people think that it is bad and criticize it.


title: Message (computer science)

paragraphs: In computer science, a message is a bit of data, which is sent by a sender, to a recipient. This is usually done by copying the data around. In an event-driven model, the recipient will then act in a certain way to the message.


title: Handball

paragraphs: Handball (also known as team handball, field handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport similar to football (soccer). Two teams of 7 players each (six players and a goalkeeper) pass and bounce a ball using the hands, trying to throw it into the goal of the other team. Games are an hour of playing time, divided into 30-minute halves, with 15 minutes break at halftime. The size of the court is a little bigger than a basketball court, 40 meters by 20 meters, which is the same court as indoor soccer. It has a six-meter line which no one but the goalie is allowed to have possession of the ball and touching the ground. If this happens, a foul is called and the player committing the foul gets ejected, (sitting out of the game for two minutes, five minutes, or the rest of the game). There are seven players total on a handball team, six players and a goalie. Most historians agree that handball predates soccer, (football) but that is not for certain

paragraphs: "Team handball." World Book Advanced. World Book, 2012


Oscar


title: Twelve Olympians

paragraphs: The Twelve Olympians are the most important gods of Greek mythology, who lived atop Mount Olympus. Seventeen gods have been said to have been Olympians, but there were never more than twelve at the same time.

paragraphs: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, and Artemis are always considered to be Olympians. Hestia, Dionysus, Hades, and Persephone are the gods who have sometimes been Olympians. Thus, Hestia gave up her place to Dionysus because she wanted to live amongst humans.

paragraphs: The Olympians became the most important gods when Zeus and his brothers and sisters won a war against the Titans. Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, and Hades are all brothers and sisters. All the other gods are Zeus's children and have different mothers.


title: Sandro Botticelli

paragraphs: Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli ("little barrel") (March 1, 1445 – May 17, 1510) was an Italian painter. He went to the Florentine school during the Early Renaissance (Quattrocento).

paragraphs: Less than a hundred years later, Giorgio Vasari saw this movement as a "golden age". The patron of the movement was Lorenzo de' Medici. Giogio Vasari expressed this thought at the head of his "Vita" of Botticelli.

paragraphs: Botticelli was born in Florence in the working-class "rione" of "Ognissanti". At first he did an apprenticeship to become a goldsmith. Following the boy's wishes, his doting father sent him to Fra Filippo Lippi. Lippi was working on frescoing the Convent of the Carmine. Lippi's synthesis of the new control of three-dimensional forms, tender expressiveness in face and gesture, and decorative details inherited from the late Gothic style were the strongest influences on Botticelli. Another influence were the Pollaiuolo brothers.They were doing a series of Virtues for the Tribunale or meeting hall of the Mercanzia. This hall was a cloth-merchants' confraternity.Botticelli contributed to this the "Fortitude", dated 1470 in the Uffizi Gallery.

paragraphs: He was an apprentice too of Andrea del Verrocchio, where Leonardo da Vinci worked beside him, but he made his name in his local Church of Ognissanti, with a "St. Augustine" that successfully competed as a pendant with Domenico Ghirlandaio's "Jerome" on the other side "the head of the saint being expressive of profound thought and quick subtlety" (Vasari). In 1470 he opened his own independent "studio".At what age did he start art?

paragraphs: Lorenzo de' Medici was quick to employ his talent. Botticelli made consistent use of the circular "tondo" form and did many beautiful female nudes, according to Vasari. The "Birth of Venus" was at the Medici villa of Castello.

paragraphs: Sandro was intensely religious. In later life, he was one of Savonarola's followers. Botticelli burned his own paintings on pagan themes in the notorious "Bonfire of the Vanities". Earlier, Botticelli had painted an "Assumption of the Virgin" for Matteo Palmieri in a chapel at San Pietro Maggiore. In this painting, it was rumored, both the patron who dictated the iconic scheme and the painter who painted it, were guilty of heresy. People did not say what kind of heresy it was. The ideas that could be seen as heresy seem to be gnostic in character:

paragraphs: This is a common misunderstanding. It is based on a mistake by Vasari. The painting referred to here, now in the National Gallery in London, is by the artist Botticini. Vasari confused their similar sounding names.

paragraphs: The "Adoration of the Magi" for Santa Maria Novella, ca1476, contains portraits of Cosimo de' Medici ("the finest of all that are now extant for its life and vigour"), his grandson Giuliano de' Medici, and Cosimo's son Giovanni, were effusively described by Vasari:

paragraphs: In 1481, Pope Sixtus IV summoned him and prominent Florentine and Umbrian artists who had been summoned to fresco the walls of the Sistine Chapel. The iconological program was the supremacy of the Papacy. Sandro's contribution was moderately successful.

paragraphs: He returned to Florence, and "being of a sophistical turn of mind, he there wrote a commentary on a portion of Dante and illustrated the Inferno which he printed, spending much time over it, and this abstension from work led to serious disorders in his living." Thus Vasari characterized the first printed Dante (1481) with Botticelli's decorations; he could not imagine that the new art of printing might occupy an artist. As for the subject, when Fra Girolamo Savonarola began to preach hellfire and damnation, the susceptible Sandro Botticelli became one of his adherents, a "piagnone" left painting as a worldly vanity, burned much of his own early work, fell into poverty as a result, and would have starved but for the tender support of his former patrons.


title: Hermes

paragraphs: Hermes is the "messenger of the gods". He is the god of travellers and shepherds in Greek mythology. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and is often shown with his caduceus.

paragraphs: Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia. He was born on Mount Cyllene. The story of his birth was told in the Homeric Hymn, which means "Hymn to Hermes". It said that Maia was a nymph.

paragraphs: Hermes was very clever and on his first day invented the lyre, by using the shell of a tortoise. He carries a golden sword. One of the myths about Hermes is that he once stole his brother's oxes, and burned them as a sacrifice.


title: Maia

paragraphs: Maia is the goddess of the fields in Greek mythology. She is the oldest of the Pleiades. She is also the most beautiful and the shyest.

paragraphs: The Pleiades were the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Maia and her sisters were all born on Mount Cyllene, which is in Arcadia.

paragraphs: Maia was the mother of Hermes by Zeus, who is another god. She gave birth to Hermes in a cave in Arcadia. After Maia gave birth to Hermes she wrapped him in blankets and then went to sleep. When she woke up, Hermes had crawled away to Thessaly and had invented the lyre and stole some of Apollo's cattle.

paragraphs: Maia also looked after Arkas when Hera had turned his mother, Kallisto, into a bear.


title: Pleiades (mythology)

paragraphs: The Pleiades are seven nymphs in Greek mythology, and companions of Artemis. They were the seven daughters of Atlas and the nymph Pleione. They were all born on Mount Cyllene, which is in Arcadia.


title: Medieval commune

paragraphs: Medieval townspeople in western Europe during the period of the High Middle Ages needed protection from lawless nobles and bandits. The walled city was protection from direct assault, but once a townsperson left the city walls, he or she was at the mercy of often violent and lawless nobles in the countryside. Because much of medieval Europe lacked central authority to provide protection, such as a police force (to use a modern analogy), each city had to provide its own protection for citizens both inside the city walls, and outside. In order to do this towns formed what are called communes.

paragraphs: Every town had its own commune and no two communes were alike, but at the heart, communes "were sworn alliegences of mutual defense". When a commune was formed, all particpitating members gathered and swore an oath together, in public, they would defend each other in time of trouble. In addition they would swear to maintain the peace within the city proper.

paragraphs: What did it mean for a commune member to defend another? Obviously if a commune member was attacked outside the city it was too late to call for help as it would be unlikely anyone would be around in time. Instead the commune would promise to exact revenge on the attacker, the promise of revenge being a form of defense. However, what would happen if the attacker was a noble who had a castle, too strong for the townspeople? This was often the case and certainly the town commune could not muster the forces to attack a castle. Instead they might attack the nobles family, or burn his crops, or kill his serfs, or destroy his orchards. It was eye for eye violent revenge.

paragraphs: The commune movement started in the 11th century in northern Italy which had the most urbanized population of Europe at the time, and in what is now Belgium which was also relatively urban at the time. It then spread in the early 12th century to France, Germany, and Spain and elsewhere. England never saw much of the commune movement because it was by comparison a pretty well run kingdom and did not need local protection forces. Although in most cases the development of communes was connected with that of the cities, there were rural communes, notably in France and England, that were formed to protect the common interests of villagers.

paragraphs: The Church and King both had mixed reactions to communes. On the one hand they agreed safety and protection from lawless nobles was in everyones best interest. The communes intention was to keep the peace through the threat of revenge, and the Church was sympathetic to the end result of peace. However the Church had their own ways to enforce the peace such as the Peace and Truce of God movement, for example. On the other hand, communes disrupted the order of medieval society. The methods the commune used, eye for an eye, violence begets violence, were generally not acceptable to Church or King. Normally only the noble lords are allowed to fight and the merchant townspeople were the workers, not fighters. There was a sense the communes were a threat to the medieval 3-tiered social order: Those who work, those who pray, those who fight. Communes crossed the line between working and fighting. As such communes were sometimes accepted, and other times not by the Church and King. One of the most famous cases of a commune being suppressed and the resulting defiant urban revolt occurred in the French town of Laon in 1112.


title: Imperialism

paragraphs: Imperialism is a policy (way of governing) in which large or powerful countries seek to extend their authority beyond their own borders. The policy of imperialism aims at the creation of an empire.

paragraphs: Imperialist countries take control of other countries. They may use military force to do this. However, they may also avoid using military force. They may simply establish economic and/or political control over the other country.

paragraphs: Imperialist policies of countries or kingdoms have goals of taking over more land to create bigger empires.

paragraphs: The ruler of an empire gains natural resources such as agricultural and mining products. Human resources are also gained. Conquered peoples may be forced into slavery or into low-wage work. They may also be called into military service on behalf of the empire. Trade markets are also gained. The people under an imperial government may be forced to buy products from that government or from that government's industries.

paragraphs: Thus, a policy of imperialism can vastly enrich the imperialist country. This benefit can extend over a long period of time.

paragraphs: Imperialism has been practiced throughout recorded history. However, there is one historical period that is specifically known as the Age of Imperialism. This period extends from the early 18th century to the mid-20th century.

paragraphs: During the Age of Imperialism, modern and industrialised countries competed for control of pre-industrial parts of the world. In pre-industrial areas, natural and human resources were widely and cheaply available. The imperialist countries that acquired the largest empires during the Age of Imperialism are The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States.

paragraphs: Some writers use the term "imperialism" informally. They use the term to mean any type of domination of one country over another part of the world. Domination especially happened in Asia and Africa.


title: Heresy

paragraphs: Heresy is a word used by different religious groups, used to describe someone who has ideas that are different from what the religion or law teaches. Such a person is known as heretic.

paragraphs: In the Middle Ages it was not uncommon to accuse someone of heresy. If the accusations could be proven, the culprit would go through a ritual. Since torture could be used, the accusations were often proven. The ritual was done to save the soul of the convicted criminal. It involved being burnt while tied to a post.

paragraphs: Still in the 21st century Muslims who apostatize are often treated very harshly and frequently killed.

paragraphs: Jesus Christ himself was regarded as a heretic by the Jewish leaders at the time- see Gospel of Matthew 26:57-67

paragraphs: The Roman Catholic Church in early times had great trouble with heretical christological doctrines, such as Monophysitism and Arianism. The Church sees several heresies in Protestantism:

paragraphs: As a result of the Protestant Reformation, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was created in the Roman Catholic Church which protects the Church against heresies. It is the last instance to decide what constitutes a heresy, and how to deal with it.


title: Cossacks

paragraphs: Cossacks () (from Cuman "cosac", meaning "free man") are a group of people in the southern land of Ukraine and Russia. They are famous for their sense of being free. They are also well known for their military skill, mostly the way they ride horses.

paragraphs: The name Cossack means "free man". The term was first used in the year 1395. The most well known Cossacks are the Ukrainian Cossacks from Zaporizhie and the Russian Cossacks from Don, Terek, Kuban and Ural areas. They started after the Mongols attacked Kievan Rus. Eventually Russian Cossacks guarded land for the Russian government. Cossacks were in the Russian army in some wars throughout the 1800s and 1900s. In the Russian Civil War most fought against the Red Army but some were "Red Cossacks". In Soviet times, the Cossacks' life was subject to a lot of Bolshevik attacks and Cossack lands survived several famines. Cossack armies fought on both sides in the Second World War. In Russia today, Cossacks are ethnic descendants or are in the Cossack army and often both.


title: American Sign Language

paragraphs: American Sign Language (old names: Amslan, Ameslan ) is the most popular sign language for the Deaf in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in parts of Mexico. Although the United Kingdom and the United States share English as a spoken and written language, British Sign Language (BSL) is different from American Sign Language. ASL actually comes from French Sign Language, as Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet went to England for help learning sign language to teach to his deaf neighbors. He could not find anyone willing to teach him the British Sign Language, but did find some French people who were willing to help, he convinced one of them to travel back to the United States with him to set up the first deaf school in the U.S.

paragraphs: ASL is also used (sometimes with other sign languages) in the Philippines, Singapore, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Mauritania, Kenya, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe. Like other sign languages, its grammar is different from any spoken language.

paragraphs: ASL includes fingerspelling. Fingerspelling is a way to show the written letter. ASL uses one hand to show the English alphabet, although there are ways to show alphabets from other languages. Names of people and places can be fingerspelled. Fingerspelling is also used for words that have no sign, or for when people are confused about what a used sign means.

paragraphs: Counting the number of ASL speakers is difficult because ASL users have never been counted by the American census. ASL use in the general American population has not been directly measured. The ultimate source for current estimates of the number of ASL users in the United States is a report for the National Census of the Deaf Population (NCDP) by Schein and Delk (1974). Based on a 1972 survey of the NCDP, Schein and Delk provided estimates consistent with a signing population between 250,000 and 500,000. The survey did not distinguish between ASL and other forms of signing.

paragraphs: Incorrect figures are sometimes cited for the population of ASL speakers in the United States based on misunderstandings of statistics. Demographics of the deaf population have been confused with those of ASL use. This accounts for cited estimations which are greater than 500,000. Such mistaken estimations can reach as high as 15,000,000.

paragraphs: ASL is sometimes incorrectly cited as the third- or fourth-most-spoken language in the United States. These figures misquote Schein and Delk (1974), who said ASL speakers constituted the third-largest population "requiring an interpreter in court".


title: Sign language

paragraphs: A sign language is a way of communicating by using the hands and other parts of the body. It should not be confused with body language. Sign languages are an important way for deaf people to communicate. Deaf people often use them instead of spoken languages. Spoken languages use sounds from the mouth and are understood with the ears. Sign languages use hands and are understood with the eyes. Deaf people can use sign languages more easily than spoken languages.

paragraphs: Deaf people sometimes learn a sign language from their family, especially if their parents are deaf. But, most deaf children have hearing parents, so they learn a sign language from other deaf people. They may meet other deaf people at school or in the streets. Hearing people may learn to sign directly from deaf people. Or, they may learn a sign language by going to signing classes or by studying a sign language workbook, which can come with an interactive DVD.

paragraphs: Sometimes deaf people do use a spoken language, especially when talking with hearing people. Sometimes hearing people use a sign language with each other, rather than speaking. But, deaf people tend to use sign languages, and hearing people tend to use spoken languages.

paragraphs: Some deaf people can also understand spoken words by looking at a speaker's lips. This is known as lip-reading. It is hard to learn, and few people do it well. Sometimes signing and lip-reading are combined, especially when deaf and hearing people are talking to each other.

paragraphs: Sign languages have always existed in deaf communities. In ancient texts we see authors commenting about deaf people and sign language. In the western world, the first studies dedicated to sign languages date from the 17th century. In 1620, in Spain, the priest Juan Pablo Bonnet published a text about teaching deaf people to speak, using gestures as a tool. The language of signs created by Bonet was used by Abbé Charles-Michel de l-Épée, to create a fingerspelling alphabet in the 18th century. This alphabet has changed very little since then, and is used with sign languages in many countries.

paragraphs: The sign alphabet created by l-Épée, however, is not the origin of French Sign Language, the sign language that has influenced many other sign languages around the world. Even before l-Épée started teaching deaf people, they already used Old French Sign Language, and could read and write in French. This was a great advance, because it proved that deaf people could be educated and didn’t needed speech to think and learn.

paragraphs: Sign languages are not universal. That means there is not one single sign language for all deaf people around the world. There are many different sign languages. Each deaf community can develop its own sign language. Usually there is a different sign language in each country. Linguists have identified at least 137 different sign languages.

paragraphs: Here are some well-known sign languages:

paragraphs: However, sign languages are not totally independent from each other. Sign languages can develop from the same source. For example, ASL, LSM, and LSQ all developed from Old French Sign Language. They are part of the same language family. Sign languages can be similar to each other. BSL, Auslan, and NZSL are very much alike. Linguists sometimes talk about them as if they are one language. They call it "BANZSL" (an acronym for "British Australian New Zealand Sign Language"). Sign languages can influence each other. They sometimes copy signs from other sign languages, the same way spoken languages copy loanwords.

paragraphs: According to the "American Heritage Dictionary", signing is "a language that uses a system of manual, facial, and other body movements as the means of communication, especially among deaf people." Sign languages have their own grammar rules: syntax, morphology, phonology and semantics. Sign languages are not simply mime. They are not gestures strung together without any rules. Sign languages are real languages.

paragraphs: A sign language is not a copy of a spoken language. For example, American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL) are not copies of English. They are different from each other, even though they are both used in countries that speak English. Sometimes sign languages may copy a few elements from a spoken language, but usually they are very different. For example, sign languages often use different locations in space around the signer to represent people or objects that are being talked about. These locations are used like pronouns in spoken languages.

paragraphs: The main difference between sign languages and spoken languages is that sign languages use hand and body movements to form signs while spoken languages use sounds to form words. Really, each sign in a sign language is like a word in a spoken language. Both types of languages use grammar rules to combine words/signs into sentences. That's what makes them languages, and why both types of languages are different from mime or simple gestures.

paragraphs: Spoken words are made up of smaller pieces: individual sounds like "p" or "o". In the same way, signs are made up of smaller pieces: handshapes, movements and locations of the hands, facial expressions and other body movements. These pieces are used in different combinations to make the signs in the language Some signs are made with only one hand, and others are made with both hands. Some signs include movements of the mouth or other parts of the body; without those other movements, the sign is not correct. Other body movements are also important in the grammar. For example, in many sign languages, raised eyebrows indicate a question that has a "yes" or "no" answer.

paragraphs: The grammar rules of different sign languages are similar to each other, but they aren't the same. There is not a universal grammar for sign languages; each sign language has its own grammar. For example, sign languages use different handshapes to form signs; each sign language has its own set of handshapes.

paragraphs: Sometimes a sign looks like the object or action it represents, but this is not always true. For many signs, a person just has to learn the meaning, like words in a spoken language. It's not easy to guess the meaning from what the sign looks like. This is another thing that makes sign languages different from mime; in mime, the meaning of a gesture is obvious, it doesn't have to be learned. However, signs aren't totally arbitrary either. Once a person knows the meaning of a sign, the form of the sign can often help remember the meaning.

paragraphs: Besides normal signs, many sign languages use fingerspelling. Fingerspelling is also known as a "hand alphabet" or "dactylology". In fingerspelling, each letter in the alphabet of a spoken language has its own sign. Fingerspelling is a tool. People use it to spell names, acronyms and other words from spoken languages. Sometimes people do this when there is not a sign yet. Sometimes people use a fingerspelled word even when there is a normal sign for the same meaning. For example, when talking about a person, a signer might spell their name using fingerspelling. Or, they may use a "name-sign"—a special sign for that person.

paragraphs: Fingerspelling is not universal. It is different in different sign languages. Two sign languages may have a similar fingerspelling system. Or, their fingerspelling systems may be very different. Some fingerspelling systems use only one hand. ASL uses a one-handed system. Other sign languages use both hands for fingerspelling. The BANZSL languages use a two-handed system. There are different fingerspelling systems for different writing systems. Japanese is written with different letters than English. This means fingerspelling in Japanese Sign Language is different from fingerspelling in ASL or BANZSL. ASL uses a lot of fingerspelling. Most sign languages use less fingerspelling than ASL. Some sign languages don't use fingerspelling at all.

paragraphs: There is not any official way of writing signs. Some deaf and hearing people think there should be. Some have invented different ways of writing sign languages. Here are some of them.

paragraphs: Other users of sign language don’t think writing signs is something useful. Usually, deaf people just write the spoken language in their country. They don't try to write the sign language.

paragraphs: Deaf people have their own culture. It is similar to the culture of hearing people around them, but there are important differences. Deaf people have different experiences from hearing people. This makes their culture different.

paragraphs: Sign language is the most important part of deaf culture. Through a sign language deaf people can create a social and cultural identity for themselves. They can communicate naturally with each other. The shared sign language helps hold their deaf community together. Hearing people use spoken languages to do the same things.

paragraphs: Some children are born deaf. Others lose their hearing because of illness when they are very young. These children often learn how to sign and become a part of the deaf community and deaf culture.

paragraphs: However, some people who are physically deaf do not participate in deaf community and deaf culture. Some people lose their hearing later in life. These people usually continue to interact with hearing people using a spoken language. They do not learn to sign. They do not make friends with deaf people who sign. They depend on hearing aids, lip-reading, or writing notes to communicate with their hearing friends.

paragraphs: Some deaf children learn to speak and lip-read a spoken language. This is a difficult skill, but some children succeed. Also, some may have surgery to get a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant helps some deaf children hear better. It is not the same as normal hearing, but it can help them learn to speak. These deaf people can interact with hearing people using a spoken language.

paragraphs: The term "deaf culture" usually refers only to the culture of deaf people who sign.


title: Saint-Dié-des-Vosges

paragraphs: Saint-Dié-des-Vosges is a city in the northeast of France, in Lorraine.

paragraphs: Surrounded by the Vosges mountains, it is a popular resort for tourists.

paragraphs: The city is famous for the International Festival of Geography, which takes place every autumn.

paragraphs: Electronics, computer science, graphic design and communication are studied at the University Institute of Technology.

paragraphs: In French it is called "IUT" (Institut universitaire de technologie).


title: Rhodesian Ridgeback

paragraphs: It has a red-brown coat of fur on its body and a line of hair down its back which is different from the rest of hair on its body. They are sometimes called "The African Lion Dog", because they were used by hunters in Africa to find and confuse lions while the hunter shot the lion.


title: Glove

paragraphs: A glove is a piece of clothing that covers a hand. There are many different kinds of gloves. Gloves are made of many different fabrics and materials, and gloves are used in many ways.

paragraphs: People wear thick gloves, usually made of wool or fabric, to keep their hands warm in cold weather. They wear thin gloves (usually made of rubber or plastic) to keep their hands clean. People also wear thin gloves made of rubber or plastic to keep things they touch clean. Some workers wear gloves made of heavy rubber to protect their hands from chemicals. A mitten is a glove which has a separate place for the thumb, but the other four fingers are together. There are also mittens, which are very similar to gloves. Gloves and mittens are usually used to protect people from cold, and chemicals. People use latex gloves during Earth day to clean up.

paragraphs: There are also gloves that are worn for fashion, because they look good. These type of gloves are made from leather, fur, or different fabrics.

paragraphs: Gloves are worn in sports, the most common reason being for extra grip for the competitors hands. Like in golf, baseball and goalkeepers in soccer.

paragraphs: The word is used for certain kinds of usually knitted gloves. Some don't have separate finger pieces, and are made for children. Others have separate finger pieces without tips, so the wearer can use his fingers for delicate work, and keep his hands warm at the same time.


title: Sky High (2005 movie)

paragraphs: Sky High is a 2005 movie from Walt Disney Pictures, starring Kurt Russell.

paragraphs: This movie is about superheroes. Will Stronghold has two superhero parents. His dad, Steve, is The Commander, who is very strong. His mother, Josie, is Jetstream, who can fly. Will is expected to have great powers of his own, but he finds that he does not have any. He enters his school, Sky High, where the students are sorted into "hero" and "sidekick." Will is given the position of a sidekick and takes different classes than the hero track. He later tells his dad about this, who is not happy that his son will not be like him.

paragraphs: At school, Will also has an enemy named Warren Peace. The Commander put Warren's father away for three life terms. During a lunch, Warren gets very mad at Will and starts throwing fireballs, which is his superpower. Will dives under a bench. It is here his power comes to him; super strength, like his dad. He manages to defeat Warren and both are put in a time out room where their powers do not work. His mother is not happy, but his dad is very happy that Will has powers. Steve shows Will the hiding place where the Stronghold family does all of their activities.

paragraphs: Will's new powers put him up in the hero track, where he is partnered with a girl named Gwen Grayson. Will soon falls for Gwen and does not keep up with the friends he made as a sidekick. Will has an old friend named Layla, whose power is to grow plants. Will gets more popular. Gwen gets him to invite all the popular kids for a party. When Layla comes over to tell Will that she loves him, Gwen stops her and tells her that Will has new friends. Layla is upset. When Will learns about it, he breaks off the date. He was going to go to the prom with Gwen, but now decides to stay home.

paragraphs: His parents go to the prom instead. There was going to be a ceremony to honor the best superhero of all time. During the prom, however, it is revealed that Gwen is really a villain named Royal Pain. The Commander thought he killed her off, but when he zapped her, she simply became a baby instead. The years passed and she grew into another teenager. Royal Pain puts on her suit and uses her weapon to make everyone become babies.

paragraphs: Will comes on down to the school. He is very sorry for how he acted as a hero and tells his sidekick friends that he needs all of their help to beat Royal Pain. Lash and Speed, two bullies on Royal Pain's side, are knocked out. Ethan tricks Lash and stuffs his head down the toliet. Then he becomes a puddle of ooze, which causes Speed to slip. Warren, now on Will's side, throws fireballs to knock Speed down.

paragraphs: Magenta, whose power is to become a rat, climbs into the system and tries to disable it, otherwise the school will fall from orbit and everyone will die. Penny, a cheerleader who can make multiple copies of herself, surrounds Layla. Layla does not want to fight, but when they hit her, she uses her power to make all the plants come out and bind the cheerleaders down.

paragraphs: Will finds Royal Pain outside. She has loaded all the babies onto the bus and will retrain them to be bad people. He tells her to put his father down. They fight. Will is winning when Layla bursts in, distracting Will. Royal Pain manages to throw Will out of the window. All seems lost when Will appears in the window – he too has Josie's power of flying. He then kicks Royal Pain out of the window. The school begins to fall down. Will goes outside and uses his power to try to keep the school from hitting the ground. Magneta cuts the wire in time and saves the school from crashing into the ground.

paragraphs: Steve and Josie give their award to all of the sidekicks that helped out. All of the villainsa re put into the time-out room.


title: Tales of Symphonia

paragraphs: Tales of Symphonia is a role-playing video game released in 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube. It is a fantasy RPG.

paragraphs: The main character Lloyd Irving and his friends, Genis Sage and Colette Brunel, are sent away from the town where Lloyd lived. Genis' sister Raine and the mercenary Kratos join them. While traveling, Colette begins to change into an angel. Lloyd learns that she is in charge of saving the world. Two groups of people want her to stop. They are the Desians, bad guys that enslave humans, and Sheena, a woman that wants to kill Colette. Sheena and Colette save each other from the Desians and become friends. Eventually, they get ready to save the world. Kratos betrays Colette and the others to Cruxis, the angels who control the Desians. Lloyd and the others manage to escape. They go to a different world called Tethe'alla. There, they make three new friends called Zelos, Presea, and Regal. Kratos still wants to find them and the Cruxis leader, Mithos, is very angry. Lloyd's group learns that if they want to save the world, they need to have Sheena gain the power of the eight "Summon Spirits". The spirits are magical creatures. After using the power of the summon spirits, the problem gets worse. Lloyd and Kratos need to work together to save the world from being destroyed by the Giant Kharlan Tree. Yuan uses a drug where it puts people to sleep on everyone. After this, Lloyd wakes up in the middle of the night. Kratos is with Yuan and two of Yuan's henchman. Lloyd learns that Kratos is his father. Kratos dives in front of Lloyd to stop him from being hurt. Kratos then tells Lloyd that there is a ninth Summon Spirit by the name of Origin. Lloyd has to fight Kratos to get its help because Origin was sealed by Kratos himself. The Summon Spirit helps Lloyd use the eternal sword. After this, they go to Derris Kharlan and there is one last battle with Mithos.


title: Protestant Reformation

paragraphs: The Protestant Reformation was a series of events that happened in the 16th century in the Christian Church. Because of corruption in the Catholic Church, some people saw that the way it worked needed to change. People like Erasmus, Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Luther and John Calvin saw the corruption and tried to stop it. This led to a split in the church, into Catholics and various Protestant churches. "The Protestant reformation triggered the Catholic Counter-Reformation."

paragraphs: Martin Luther's posting of The Ninety-Five theses at Wittenberg is seen as the start of the Protestant Reformation. This happened in the year 1517. John Knox brought Luther's ideas to Scotland and founded the Presbyterian Church. As various countries adopted Protestant ideas, wars broke out between Catholic and Protestant factions and countries. Many people died in these wars, which included the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. These wars were not just about religion. Since most countries has a recognized (state) religion, many of the disputes were political. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 recognized Protestants when the signers agreed not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries. This included their chosen religion.

paragraphs: The recent invention of the printing press helped spread awareness of the Church's abuses. A start was made in translating the Bible into various local languages. For example, John Wycliffe and William Tyndale worked on translating it into the English language. Much of Tyndale's translation was used in the King James version of the Bible. Luther translated the Bible into German.

paragraphs: The start of the 16th century, many events led to the Protestant reformation. Clergy abuse caused people to begin criticizing the Catholic Church. The greed and scandalous lives of the clergy had created a split between them and the peasants. Furthermore, the clergy did not respond to the population's needs, often because they did not speak the local language, or live in their own diocese. The papacy lost prestige.

paragraphs: However, the split was more over doctrine than corruption. The main points of criticism were:

paragraphs: In 1515, the Pope started a new indulgence campaign to raise money for the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica, a church in Rome. Preachers came to Germany to sell the indulgences, promising that money could release souls from purgatory. Martin Luther, a German Catholic monk thought this went too far. On October 31, 1517, he sent his 95 theses to the local archbishop in protest. It is said he nailed a copy to the door of a church in Wittenberg. These theses, written in Latin, were points that Luther wanted to debate. Most of them related to the problems caused by the sale of indulgences. Luther said that the idea the money could buy forgiveness prevented people from turning away from sins. He said that it also made people give less money to the poor. Luther did not attack the Pope. He blamed the abuses on others. Nevertheless, his ideas implied that the pope was corrupt also. Without Luther's permission, the 95 Theses were translated into German and sent to many places. Many people agreed with Luther. The Catholic Church tried to stop these new ideas, but without much result. Luther was considered an enemy of the Pope, and when he refused to change his ideas he was excommunicated (put out of the church). In the beginning, Luther had not planned to separate from the Catholic Church or to create a new religion; he wanted to reform the Catholic Church.

paragraphs: In many countries, Christians put the needed reforms listed by Luther into practice. People began to read the Bible in their own language, and many could see for themselves how the Catholic Church had let the Christian faith become corrupted. Many who stayed in the Catholic Church adopted some of Luther's ideas. The Pope reestablished the Inquisition to combat heresy. The Catholic Church responded to the Protestant reformation with the counter-reformation. Between 1545 and 1563 the Council of Trent met to decide what to do. Some of the worst abuses were eliminated but many of the old teachings were kept. The Inquisition tried to force people to keep those ideas. Finding force not very successful, the Pope created new religious orders like the Jesuits. These new religious orders were told to combat Protestantism by educating the population to Catholicism. The Pope made the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, a list of banned books. It had a big influence in its first centuries and was not ended until the 1960s. The Catholic Church used baroque art to touch the religious feeling of the faithful and bring them to the Catholic religion.

paragraphs: In addition to the conflict in the churches, there were political consequences. Common people were made more open to questioning their leaders. In 1524-1525, millions of peasants rebelled against the nobles in the name of equality of humanity in front of God. Many countries in Europe choose Protestantism as the state religion and so Europe was divided by religion. This brought religious wars such as the French Wars of Religion. For a short time, Protestant and Catholic had managed to live with one another and with the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. This Peace recognized the confessional division of the German states and gave the right to Protestants to practice their religion.

paragraphs: Catholic countries such as Spain and Italy for a long time didn't allow Protestants to live there, and Protestant countries kept out Catholics. With the American Revolution the idea of freedom of religion began to expand. Protestants are influential in the United States and the English Canada. Quebec was a (formerly French) Catholic province of Canada. After the Seven Years War the British imposed the Quebec Act granting freedom of religion in Quebec, while including in Quebec some of the present day United States, for example Ohio and Michigan. Catholics were granted religious freedom in those areas. Protestant colonists saw this as one of the Intolerable Acts. In later centuries, many Protestant churches were established in the province of Quebec. Many Catholic churches began in Ohio and Michigan. Eventually most Christian countries allowed some religious freedom.

paragraphs: Churches based on Reformation ideas have multiplied into different forms, especially in historically Protestant countries. Even in much of Latin America, which is historically Catholic, Evangelical churches, which follow many of the Protestant ideas have greatly expanded. In the 20th century, some countries still had state churches, but also allowed full freedom of religion. In these countries, conflict between Protestant and Catholic Christians have become less important. They have to work together to confront a more secular society. In 2016 Pope Francis praised Luther in a prayer service commerating the 500th anniversary of the Refomatiom. . In turn, some Protestant churches have embraced some Catholic worship traditions, , and others have praised them for their stand on social issues.


title: Sermon

paragraphs: A sermon is a speech that a priest or other speaker gives during church service. The speech has a theological, religious or moral content. The purpose of a sermon is to give hope to the people who hear it, or to encourage them to do right things in their lives. The speaker may also talk about the current problems of the community, and offer ways to solve them.Very often, sermons given by priests or other clergy are based on passages from the Bible.