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Talk:Diatonic scale

Archiving, and Diatonic and chromatic now established
I have now added a lot of older, and also more recent material, to an archive (see above). A new article has been set up, partly to deal with issues of terminology that have arisen here. Discussion about application of the terms diatonic and chromatic, as applied to intervals or to anything else, is best conducted in the context of that article. I suggest that we now discontinue any such general debate here (and at Talk:Interval (music), Talk:Diminished seventh, etc.), and confine it to Talk:Diatonic and chromatic. –  Noetica ♬ Talk 02:30, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

Si?
It's Ti, wtf? Ti, a drink with jam and bread. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.72.21.221 (talk) 00:45, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

 * In the North American English I learned at my mother's knee, and other joints, the solfege of a Major scale is "Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do." I assume "Si" is used in other idioms. I believe the 5th scale degree is "Sol" everywhere, not "So" ...  attention needed here from someone who actually knows. __Just plain Bill 17:41, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

It's Sol. The names were created by Guido D'Arezzo when he wrote his gamut based on a hymn to St. John. Si was changed to Ti to avoid confusion with Sol. Check Wikipedia article Solfège. Here's the hymn: Ut queant laxis resonare fibris, Mira gestorum famuli tuorum, Solve polluti labi reatum, Sancte Iohannes. Ut was also changed to Do. The word "solfa" designates the set of syllables (do, re, mi, etc.) that are sung to the respectives tones of the scale. Solfaing is singing the sol–fa syllables as a tune. See Do-Re-Mi.[User:Lestrade|Lestrade]] (talk) 19:23, 15 August 2008 (UTC)Lestrade

Steps and half-steps
Could someone please add a simple explanation to the article of what steps and half-steps are? Apparently I'm missing something because I never knew stairs had anything to do with music! :) DBlomgren 02:38, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * That's like asking a physicist for a simple explanation of gravity. Okay, it makes things fall down. A half step is the interval between two adjacent keys on the piano; a whole step is two half steps. In neither case (gravity or half steps) would we put it in the article because it's not technically accurate, but if it helps, here you go. —Wahoofive (talk) 03:58, 31 May 2007 (UTC)
 * Could be the old "nations separated by a common tongue" thing. I believe the Queen's English uses " whole tone" and "semitone" where we say whole steps and half steps. __Just plain Bill (talk) 20:36, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

 * I don't think so; we say semitone in the US, too. This 1897 book Music discusses the terms on p.401 (It's a Chicago magazine, complaining about a Pennsylvania teacher using "tone" instead of "step", evidence of preferences for each in the US at the time). Dicklyon (talk) 04:02, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

 * The United States has not adopted an official language. Perhaps Just plain Bill was referring to the overall trend and not saying that no one in the US had never said the word "semitone". Hyacinth (talk) 07:20, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

 * Merriam-Webster lists "semitone" as dating from the 15th century and unhelpfully defines it as, "half step," while pointing to, "also: half step", but, surely incorrectly, dates "half step"  only to 1904 while more helpfully defining it as, "1/12 of an octave". Hyacinth (talk) 07:51, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

 * Lastly, the book you link to discusses preferred rather than actual usage. Hyacinth (talk) 23:45, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

 * Thanks, Dicklyon, for the interesting and persuasive link. It appears to be an American reviewing a book by a British author (Orlando A. Mansfield) but criticizing the American author (Prof. Hugh A. Clarke, Univ. of Penn.) of the introduction "for an inexcusable carelessness of terminology." BTW, Google books gives the text version of the preceding phrase in the same sentence as "… f urination in a small space …". --Jtir (talk) 20:42, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

 * Here is a fun one. Seems to be one American berating another, in 1853, because he "calls a tone a step, and a semitone a half step ; now, who ever heard of a step in music, or in sound?" Dicklyon (talk) 03:40, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

If you know what a whole tone and a semitone are pretending confusion at half step and whole step is most likely unnecessary, as something about the names seems to indicate their relative meaning... Hyacinth (talk) 07:15, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Both terminologies are widely understood. Perhaps on first occurrence, the other could be given in parentheses. Simple. Tony  (talk)  07:39, 16 August 2008 (UTC)
 * The violin teacher I live with says "half step" and "whole step" in the English she learned in 1950's Dorchester, Mass. I've never heard her say "semitone." Not saying no US speaker ever does, but the my inner linguistic anthropologist (il mio antropologo linguistico interno) notices a preponderance of "steps" in US vernacular. My inner linguistic missionary is also alive and well, but has little to say on this subject. "Both teminologies widely understood" pretty well sums it up. __Just plain Bill (talk) 15:23, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

 * Thanks, Hyacinth, for the links to m-w.com. Here is another: half tone (1621) -> "half step". (also)
 * So the phrase "half-tone step" that had been in the article is redundant.
 * And, Bill, both |Idiot's and Dummies prefer "half step" and "whole step". Whole tone doesn't appear to be used by anyone except WP as a separate entry in common dictionaries, although dictionary.com does give a def from The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition (edited by E. D. Hirsch, Jr.), and Idiot's says tone is another word for whole step. --Jtir (talk) 20:07, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

 * M-W reveals itself to be an unreliable source on this topic. Concluding that "whole tone" isn't used anywhere but Wikipedia seem hasty given your sample of three dictionaries. Hyacinth (talk) 23:37, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

 * One may presume Benward & Saker (2003), for example, don't use "whole tone", but for their use of "whole-tone scale". Hyacinth (talk) 22:12, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

OK, tone and semitone, whole step and half step. Do I notice an absence of UK speakers contributing to this tempestuous discussion? I'd go see about getting a cite for it in the major second article, but haven't the energy just now. __Just plain Bill (talk) 04:03, 18 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Done. Complaints, comments, corrections at Talk:Major second. --Jtir (talk) 20:01, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Please elaborate on the key question of why Ionian and Aeolian (C & A scales) were selected
Four others (ie all but Locrian) also have either major or minor opening triads. The circle of fifths arguments needs explicating; there's something extremely interesting and necessary about tonality that can't be dismissed with cultural relativity and needs illuminating technically as far as pos...

Sean McHugh 02 (talk) 11:38, 19 October 2008 (UTC)

Maximally separated half steps
It is important to make clear, in the introduction, the concept of "maximally separated" half steps, so that no layman could think (not even for a moment) that this means "separated by 5 whole steps".

This is what I tried to do in my last edit. Notice that the definition given in the first sentence of the previous version of the intro was strongly misleading. The concept was better (but not clearly enough, IMO) explained only in the next sentences.

I am not saying that my edit is perfect, but at least now everyone should be able to understand, and the first sentence is a perfect definition with no ambiguity. The concept of "maximum separation" of the half steps is tricky. Either we explain it clearly, or we just avoid it altogether. If you wish to further simplify the intro, you can safely delete the sentence referring to it, because in my edit this concept is not anymore presented as the definition of the diatonic scale, but as a consequence of it, in a separate sentence. Paolo.dL (talk) 20:41, 24 June 2010 (UTC)

Additional citations
Why, what, where, and how does this article need additional citations for verification? Hyacinth (talk) 13:48, 10 March 2011 (UTC)

 * Tag removed. Hyacinth (talk) 08:54, 10 December 2011 (UTC)

 * Why? Because Wikipedia articles need all assertions to be verifiable. The article currently has only two verifiable references and one incomplete one.
 * What? It needs full inline citations from published works on the subject (i.e. reputable sources).
 * Where? At the end of most of the sentences.
 * How? In the form of footnotes. See the WP:MOS for guidance and a selection of other articles for examples. Without additional citations the article will not be considered for a quality rating higher than C class.
 * Tag reinstated. 83.104.249.240 (talk) 02:16, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

 * Actually, you're right Hyacinth. Refimprove was the wrong tag. I've replaced it with More footnotes. 83.104.249.240 (talk) 02:28, 3 November 2012 (UTC)

When a tag is added to an article a reason must be given in within the tag or on the talk page (or both) or the tag is redundant (no one needs a tag to tell them that an article with two citations has very few citations). Many editors are surprised when a justification for a tag is requested, but most tags mention in their documentation that reasons and details need be provided, and editors should not use tags without consulting the documentation. Hyacinth (talk) 04:35, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

Three? major scales and three? minor scales?
The article mentions "the three major scales (Ionian, Lydian, and Mixolydian)" and "the three minor scales (Dorian, Phrygian, and Aeolian)" and Locrian scales. I don't see in the article or another article any explanation of this classification of the diatonic scales. I don't see that 'major' and 'minor' are applied to Lydian, Mixolydian, Dorian, or Phrygian elsewhere. If there is such a classification and it is mentioned here, it needs to be explained. Thank you.CountMacula (talk) 11:25, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

 * The Dorian (II), Phrygian (III), and Aeolian (VI) modes have a minor triad on the tonic in common, and the Ionian (I), Lydian (IV), and Mixolydian (V) have a major triad on the tonic in common. The Locrian mode (VII) is omitted because instead of a major or minor triad on the tonic it has a diminished triad. Hyacinth (talk) 04:58, 30 September 2019 (UTC)

 * Thank you, and I see that the article now reflects that.CountMacula (talk) 00:25, 1 October 2019 (UTC)

Score notation
Here is the scale on this page using the score tag. Perhaps more accessible than midi/png files. ColinKinloch (talk) 14:30, 12 November 2013 (UTC)

hi '''oppp ''' — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2002:182D:195D:1234:DC2F:8DF9:7E36:923F (talk) 02:13, 26 April 2014 (UTC)

Modes Table
Why the last column heading reads "Example"? In the context of this article, for each Mode, there is only one possibility of pitch class "sequencing".--Connection (talk) 20:08, 5 January 2015 (UTC)
 * These modes could be created on other notes by the use of accidentals. —Wahoofive (talk) 23:30, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

 * Most appreciated. What I want to clarify is that using accidentals will be a different "Tonic relative to major scale"? Considering first row, Major scale on C is unique, on D is unique, and so forth... Eventually on C# is also unique. Thank you in advance.--Connection (talk) 21:22, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Revisions of the article
I summarize here my revisions of today and my justifications. I am perfectly aware that my changes require references. I am not very good at doing this, because I don't usually read elementary textbooks on music theory, and I hope that others will add references – I am quite sure that they can be found. In addition, my revisions remain open to improvements.
 * Added (whole tone) and (semitone) after whole step and half step.
 * Removed the mention of the Pythagorean tuning in the lede: (a) Pythagorean tuning is a property neither of the diatonic scale, nor of the cycle of fifths (which could also be formed of tempered fifths); (b) until recently, musical instruments always were tuned by ear, in any tuning or temperament; (c) the diffusion of the diatonic scale certainly is not a consequence of its being in Pythagorean tuning.
 * Changed "piano keyboard" in "musical keyboard" and "white keys" in "lower (white) keys": they are not always white.
 * "Western music" instead of "Western harmony"; from the "Middle Ages" instead of "Renaissance".
 * Removed "diatonic functionality": this kind of functionality is not a property of the diatonic scale, but rather of tonality. See also Talk:Function_(music).
 * Moved the second paragraph of the section "History" to a subsection "Middle Ages".
 * Provided an explanation of the relation between the four medieval modes and the seven scales.
 * Added a subsection "Renaissance", with details of the reform by Glarean. I am aware that Glarean's twelve scales can be explained otherwise, but the explanation given here certainly is one of the correct explanations. I have no other reference than Glarean's treatise itself, but I understand that WP does not like first-hand sources.
 * Added a subsection "Modern" (which might not be the best term – it'll have to do for now). Details on the origin of common practice tonality really don't belong here: I kept this subsection minimal.
 * Simplified the "Theory" section on two essential points:
 * – Connecting the description of transpositions to Glarean's theory.
 * – Removing the somewhat puzzling idea that the keyboard arrangement could simplify the system of key signatures, and the even more puzzling statement that it "allows the adjacent positioning of most of the diatonic whole-steps" (?).

In addition to the above,
 * Suppressed the "Analysis" section and moved its (modified) content to "Theory": this had nothing to do with analysis.
 * I changed the "mode" subsection in accordance with my conviction that it is improper to call "mode" what is merely a scale.
 * What is described as "properties" of diatonic scales often derive from the fact that our theory is conceived for them; I tried to show that without changing too much...
 * I drastically reduced the mentions of theories by David Rothenberg, Balzano and Erv Wilson, and Diatonic set theory, which do not really concern diatonic scales properly speaking. Links to the specific articles are all that is needed. For the same reason I removed the infobox in the lede, which concerned properties that do not belong to diatonic scales properly speaking.
 * The mention of "syntonic commas" in the caption of the second figure (and the corresponding "+" in the notation) remains unclear. The syntonic commas describe the difference between Pythagoran tuning and just intonation, but the caption does not suggest this comparison. Both examples could be moved to the section on tuning – where I added a comment on the notes differing by a syntonic comma.
 * I am not sure that the denominations of the degrees in the major scale (tonic, supertonic, mediant, etc.) belongs here: it does not describe properties of the diatonic scales, but of tonality itself.
 * The reference to "tetrachords" should be emended. The notion, in Diatonic_and_chromatic, that medieval theorists described diatonic scales in terms of Greek tetrachords is merely wrong. Correcting that will have to remain for later.

— Hucbald.SaintAmand (talk) 11:13, 18 February 2017 (UTC)

Tuning of the diatonic scale
User:Anthony_Appleyard must certainly be thanked for his attempts at improving the section on Tuning. It seems to me, however, that this section has major problems and should probably be rewritten entirely. The problem actually begins in the preceeding section, with a paragraph that used (years ago) to belong to the "Tuning" section: "'David Rothenberg conceived of a property of scales he called propriety, and around the same time Gerald Balzano independently came up with the same definition in the more limited context of equal temperaments, calling it coherence. These properties may be considered to generalize properties of the diatonic scale to other scales. The generation of the diatonic scale by iterations of a single generator, the fifth, has also been generalized by Erv Wilson, in what is sometimes called a MOS scale. See also Diatonic set theory for a discussion of other properties that transcend the diatonic scale properly speaking.'" Unless one would explain what these "properties" called "propriety" or "coherence" are, I find the first phrases of this paragraph perplexing – especially in view of the mention of "equal temperament", a temperament conceived for the chromatic scale. The links provided don't make the matter more understandable. As to the generation by fifths, it is not a specific property of the diatonic scale (not all diatonic scale are generated by fifths, while many non diatonic scales are), and "MOS scales" have little to do here. I don't see why it is necessary to mention here properties that "transcend" (???) the diatonic scale properly speaking. It seems to me that the paragraph could be replaced by a few "See also" links.

It the Tuning section itself, I am once again perplexed by the following statement: "'In many diatonic scales, after starting at a note, jumping upwards by a perfect fifth 12 times ends up a little higher than 7 octaves above the starting point. In the Pythagorean tuning and in Ptolemy's intense diatonic scale, the 'little higher' is an interval called the Pythagorean comma (about 1.01364, about 0.2 of a semitone).'" First of all, since the lede (rightly) states that the diatonic scale can be obtained "using a chain of six perfect fifths", I don't see how one may jump twelve fifths in any diatonic scale. Jumping 12 fifths produces a chromatic scale. If the fifths are "perfect" (corresponding to 3:2), the resulting scale is in Pythagorean tuning and its end point indeed is a Pythagorean comma (and 7 octaves) higher than its starting point. On the other hand, 12 fifths obviously cannot produce Ptolemy's "intense diatonic scale", which has been described two lines above as made of 6 fifths, of which one is not perfect (there are other ways to describe it). There would be various ways to extend Prolemy's diatonic scale to 12 degrees but, considering that its tritone already is a syntonic comma wider than the Pythagorean tritone, one might surmise that two such tritones may be lead to an end point two syntonic commas higher than the Pythagorean one – which already is a Pythagorean comma higher than its starting point.

The rest of the Tuning section concerns chromatic scales and equal temperament, and I don't see the reason to include this in an article about diatonic scales. On the other hand, Murray Barbour's Temperament and Tuning describes at least 10 different Greek tunings of the diatonic scale, including Ptolemy's "intense diatonic" under the name of "syntonic diatonic" which indeed makes more sense. A section on the tuning of diatonic scales might probably discuss some of these, instead of digressing to matters that do not concern the diatonic scale.

I would hate to destroy the work of other wikipedians who probably wrote these paragraphs with some specific purpose in mind. This therefore should be considered an appeal to these authors: if there is something that I should have understood better, I would be delighted to know. If not, I may decide to rewrite the section. — Hucbald.SaintAmand (talk) 08:50, 17 April 2018 (UTC)
 * " I don't see how one may jump twelve fifths" :: this can happen when the music changes key by a fifth upwards, 12 times. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 22:32, 20 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Of course. But even after even only one of these modulations a fifth upwards, the music is no more "in the diatonic scale". The statement " In many diatonic scales, after starting at a note, jumping upwards by a perfect fifth 12 times..." is therefore contradictory. (And why many diatonic scales? It makes no sense.) — Hucbald.SaintAmand (talk) 06:24, 21 April 2018 (UTC)
 * I just saw your editions of Diatonic scale of today. To say that an interval is more "harmonious" if the denominator of the fraction expressing it (after reduction to the highest divider) is lower is wishful thinking. It ressembles what Euler had written on the subject, but only superficially so (Euler did not speak of low figures, but of the factorization of prime numbers), and since Euler the matter has been demonstrated to be quite more complex (e.g. Helmholtz, Stumpf, Terhardt, etc.; see Consonance and dissonance). In addition, the jump from the harmoniousness of intervals to that of chords is unjustifiable.
 * It is not true that Circle of fifths gives an example of "stepping through the keys from G♭ round the circle to F♯", it merely describes how the circle allows to find the signature for these keys. Musical works stepping through a circle of twelve keys are extremely rare. And they certainly never were meant for the Pythagorean tuning, precisely because the Pythagorean circle does not close on itself. Diatonic scale is misleading on this point – which, in addition, does not concern it.
 * It is also not true that Ptolemy's intense diatonic scale, if extended to twelve fifth (i.e. to become a chromatic scale), would end with a Pythagorean comma. There would be several ways to extend it (or, better, to extend just intonation, as was frequently done in the 18th century), but none of these extensions could possibly end on a Pythagorean comma, and all of them contain several wolf fifths.
 * The values given in a table that follows the statement "If x = 12√2 ..." are ridiculous. In this statement, x obviously is the value of the semitone in equal temperament, and it really does not require a table to explain that the tone is equal to two semitones, i.e. to x2 – nor that the values of the diatonic scale are 0, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 12 semitones. It does appear "scientific" to say things in this manner, but it is mock science.
 * I find it unfortunate that such statements in the article turn something that should be simple, the diatonic scale, into something not only unduly complex, but also blatantly false. — Hucbald.SaintAmand (talk) 14:11, 21 April 2018 (UTC)

 * OK, OK, if it is wrong, then correct it. Sorry. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 15:20, 21 April 2018 (UTC)
 * I realize what you are saying. But most people play diatonic-scale music on instruments that can also make all 5 of the usually known sharp and flat notes (= the black keys on a piano), both as needs to change keys and also as accidentals used as special-effects. For example, Wagner once describes a calm forest scene with music which is completely diatonic, except that it has one sharp note to represent a brief wind disturbing the quiet. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 15:36, 21 April 2018 (UTC)
 * To be more exact, the sung words there included (in German) words like "the wind scarcely disturbed the quiet of the forest", and the German word kaum (= "scarcely") was on a stray accidental sharp note. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 21:20, 21 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Similar matter seems to be described in the page Just intonation. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 21:35, 21 April 2018 (UTC)
 * But you do not answer my questions: where does this accidental sharp occur? In what score, and if possible where in that score? Also, how does it occur? Does it result from an additional step in the cycle of fifths (which I doubt), or from a change in the mode of a third (more probable)? If you tell me where, I'll find the answers myself. And does it not in any case mean that the music merely leaves the diatonic scale? I don't think that Just intonation describes anything similar, because the cases quoted there are not from tonal music. But that is another matter anyway.
 * Somewhere in Wagner. I read about it a long time ago. An expert in Wagner should tell you. Call search through Wagner's works (in German) for the word "kaum". Anthony Appleyard (talk) 06:58, 22 April 2018 (UTC)
 * Your addition to Tuning, in Diatonic scale, "Six of its "fifth" chords (C-G, D-A, E-B; F-C'; G-D'; A-E') are all x7 = about .4983" makes things even worse: (1) these are not chords, but intervals; (2) these are not "six of its fifth chords", they are all of its fifths, the diatonic scale indeed counts only six (and an augmented 4th or a diminished 5th, called the "wolf fifth"); and that they are "x7" (I think "x7 would be more understandable) merely means that these fifths are made of 7 semitones (the wolf fifth being made of only 6). And all this should better figure in Equal temperament (it figures there already). — Hucbald.SaintAmand (talk) 06:42, 22 April 2018 (UTC)
 * :: "chords" to "intervals" :: I have changed the word here. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 07:03, 22 April 2018 (UTC)

Tuning of the diatonic scale (part 2)

 * I am thinking of moving some or most of this new matter to some other page, perhaps Just intonation. (My "x7" for "x7" was likeliest an old typo which I had already seen and corrected.) Anthony Appleyard (talk) 10:45, 22 April 2018 (UTC)
 * See the start of Modulation (music) for a play link to a piece of music that goes round the circle of fifths in sequential modulation through the circle of fifths in Quartet Op. 3, No. 3, IV, Hob. III:15. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 11:36, 22 April 2018 (UTC)
 * This passage of the quartet op. 3 No 3, which is by Roman Hoffstetter, does not go "round the circle of fifths", despite what the caption might be taken to mean: it only goes through five fifths of the cycle, B−E−A−D−G−C. Such cases are not uncommon, but I repeat that those modulating through the twelve fifths of the circle are extremely rare ; they pose a technical problem because in any regular temperament other than equal the circle does not close on itself.
 * I went through the thirteen operas by Wagner (more than a cycle of fifths, as you can see ;−)) without finding the word kaum in the context that you mention. [I did not actually read these 13 operas, be reassured; I merely visited Richard Wagner Text-Datenbank.] The passage that you mention must come from a Lied, i.e. from a text that is not by Wagner himself. Cases of accidentals outside the local diatonic scale are extremely common, of course. As a matter of fact, this is a point that should probably figure in the article: in common-practice tonal music, keys usually are expressed by being in their own diatonic scale and modulations can be seen as a change of diatonic scale.
 * Among things that might have to move to other articles, I see the following:
 * The names of the degrees, in the section on the Major scale are names of the degrees in the tonal scale; most of them would apply to the minor scale as well (as noted in the following section), but not to the Ionian scale or the other diatonic scales that correspond to the diatonic modes. They are already given in Degree (music), but that article also fails to stress that these names belong to tonal scales.
 * It is not always true that "properties [of the diatonic scale] arise from the fact that Western musical theory and notation were conceived with the diatonic scale in mind": it often is the other way around, it is because of these properties that Western music (and its theory and notation) was conceived with the diatonic scale in mind.
 * The paragraph concerning David Rothenperg's propriety should easily be replaced by a link to Rothenberg propriety, which itself links to Diatonic set theory, where one reads that "The name is something of a misnomer". I find it a bit strange that an Encyclopedia article must begin by recognizing that its name is a misnomer. At any rate, we should avoid importing the misnomer to Diatonic scale.
 * Considerations of consonance should be moved to the article Consonance and dissonance (or should be removed altogether).
 * I don't understand the reason for "some" in the sentence "The seven pitches of some diatonic scales can be found from a chain of six perfect fifths." It would be better to start saying that diatonic scales can be tuned variously and add that if they are tuned from a chain of perfect fifths, they will be in Pythagorean tuning.
 * If this discussion of the tuning of the diatonic scale is kept here (it could also be moved to Musical tuning and link from there to more specialized articles), I would consider it necessary to discuss the main Greek diatonic tunings (Murray Barbour, pp. 19-21, mentions ten of them. I'd be prepared to write this (sub-)section.
 * The paragraph concerning the cycle of 12 fifths and the Pythagorean comma really belongs to Pythagorean tuning, where it probably already can be found, in one way or another.
 * I think that the mention of "x = $\sqrt{2|12}$" and what follows should go to Equal temperament.
 * There are IMO major problems in most of the articles quoted above. See also my comments in Talk:Meantone_temperament. But if we could solve those of Diatonic scale, it would be a good first step. — Hucbald.SaintAmand (talk) 13:38, 22 April 2018 (UTC)

Tuning chart of Fifths
I don't get the same results as the chart. My math says to go from E to F, is to multiply by 256/243, making that an imperfect interval. From A to B I get a perfect 9/8 interval. I am really confused, can't do math, or the chart is incorrect. I will let smarter people fix this, in case I am confused.

2601:281:CB00:2A0:6CAB:B482:7826:FF12 (talk) 01:11, 27 February 2019 (UTC)
 * The chart is indeed misleading in that it describes "pitches" in terms of ratios and that it gives the ratios under the degrees (instead of between them). What is meant in the lines marked "pitch" is the interval from the initial note (C), i.e. the cumulation of the intervals between notes.
 * You are perfectly right and the semitone E–F should be the same as B–C, 256/243, the Pythagorean limma (i.e. diatonic semitone). On the other hand, A–B is correctly identified in the chart as 9/8.
 * The presentation of the chart could be improved. I'll change the captions and the figures without waiting. If anyone is familiar with the construction of WP charts, she/he might arrange that the ratios appear between the degrees. Otherwise I'll try to get information on how to do that, and I'll change it myself. — Hucbald.SaintAmand (talk) 08:55, 27 February 2019 (UTC)

January 2022
What is the correct pattern of diatonic scale? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.93.219.248 (talk) 02:38, 1 January 2022 (UTC)
 * A. WS-WS-HS-WS-WS-WS-HS
 * B. WS-WS-HS-HS-WS-WS-HS
 * C. WS-WS-WH-WH-WS-WS-WH
 * D. WS-WH-WS-WH-WS-WH-WS
 * Could you explain what you mean by "WS", "HS" and "WH"? Supposing that WS is a tone (2 semitones) and HS is a semitone, your list becomes:
 * A. 2–2–1–2–2–2–1 = 12 semitones
 * B. 2–2–1–1–2–2–1 = 11 semitones
 * C. 2–2–?–?–2–2–? = ? semitones
 * D. 2–?–2–?–2–?–2 = ? semitones
 * As you see, I don't know what WS means, so that I cannot compute the number of semitones.
 * Scale A. is one diatonic scale among several. The main definition of a diatonic scale is that it has five tones and two semitones, the latter being maximally distant (i.e. distant by either two or three tones); there are seven ways to built such scales, which could also be defined as rotations of your scale A. The total in each case is 12 semitones.
 * Scale B. is not diatonic (if my translations of WS and HS are correct) because it includes three semitones, of which two following each other. Also, with only 11 semitones, it does not reach the octave. (Reaching the octave might be the definition of a scale, in this context at least.)
 * Again, I don't figure what WH means; it might be 1½ semitone (or any other interval), but a diatonic scale should include only two types of intervals, tones and semitones.
 * Hucbald.SaintAmand (talk) 09:59, 1 January 2022 (UTC)

Music
How to use a musical scale on Bass 41.190.2.209 (talk) 08:42, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

White notes?
In the third paragraph, the phrase “the white notes” bothers me. I would think a better phrasing would be “the notes on the white keys,” but I don’t feel confident enough to make the change myself. MozzieM (talk) 11:42, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

 * I changed this into "white-key notes", in the hope that it makes better sense. Some might argue that the white keys ain't always white, but I leave it to them to do better. — Hucbald.SaintAmand (talk) 14:13, 4 January 2023 (UTC)

First known use of the word "diatonic"
Webster's says the first known use of the word "diatonic" is in 1694. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diatonic I was curious to know that first use. Then I come to this article and its history is way older than 1694. Anybody know that first use Websters refers to? If Webster's thinks that's the first use, what was it called before? WithGLEE (talk) 14:05, 31 December 2023 (UTC)
 * Webster must be thinking of the English term. The date 1694 might refer to John Playford, Breefe Introduction to the Skill of Musick, but this is the 12th edition of a treatise that is much older (1654), and I don't find the word in the 12th edition. Or it may refer to William Holder,  A treatise on the natural grounds and principles of harmony, of which I have only a later edition (1731), which does use the word.
 * The Online Etimology Dictionary gives an earlier date for diatonic, c.1600, but gives no precise reference, and I can't think of a music treatise in English by that time. Etymonline merely adds "in ancient Greek music" and gives the same origin as Webster does, in French, Latin, and Greek. It goes without saying that if words in Greek, Latin or French were to be considered, the date would be much earlier, back to Pythagoras' time in the 6th century BC and perhaps earlier. — Hucbald.SaintAmand (talk) 15:45, 31 December 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Diatonic scale


text:
Dál Riata

Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now Argyll ("Coast of the Gaels") in Scotland and part of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. After a period of expansion, Dál Riata eventually became associated with the Gaelic Kingdom of Alba.

In Argyll, it consisted of four main kindreds or tribes, each with their own chief: the Cenél nGabráin (based in Kintyre), the Cenél nÓengusa (based on Islay), the Cenél Loairn (who gave their name to the district of Lorn) and the Cenél Comgaill (who gave their name to Cowal). The hillfort of Dunadd is believed to have been its capital. Other royal forts included Dunollie, Dunaverty and Dunseverick. Within Dál Riata was the important monastery of Iona, which played a key role in the spread of Celtic Christianity throughout northern Britain, and in the development of insular art. Iona was a centre of learning and produced many important manuscripts. Dál Riata had a strong seafaring culture and a large naval fleet.

Dál Riata is said to have been founded by the legendary king Fergus Mór (Fergus the Great) in the 5th century. The kingdom reached its height under Áedán mac Gabráin ((r. undefined – undefined) 574–608). During his reign Dál Riata's power and influence grew; it carried out naval expeditions to Orkney and the Isle of Man, and assaults on the Brittonic kingdom of Strathclyde and Anglian kingdom of Bernicia. However, King Æthelfrith of Bernicia checked its growth at the Battle of Degsastan in 603. Serious defeats in Ireland and Scotland during the reign of Domnall Brecc (died 642) ended Dál Riata's "golden age", and the kingdom became a client of Northumbria for a time. In the 730s the Pictish king Óengus I led campaigns against Dál Riata and brought it under Pictish overlordship by 741. There is disagreement over the fate of the kingdom from the late 8th century onwards. Some scholars have seen no revival of Dál Riatan power after the long period of foreign domination (c. 637 to c.  750–760), while others have seen a revival under Áed Find (736–778). Some even claim that the Dál Riata usurped the kingship of Fortriu. From 795 onward there were sporadic Viking raids in Dál Riata. In the following century, there may have been a merger of the Dál Riatan and Pictish crowns. Some sources say Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) was king of Dál Riata before becoming king of the Picts in 843, following a disastrous defeat of the Picts by Vikings. The kingdom's independence ended sometime after, as it merged with Pictland to form the Kingdom of Alba.

Latin sources often referred to the inhabitants of Dál Riata as Scots (Scoti), a name originally used by Roman and Greek writers for the Irish Gaels who raided and colonised Roman Britain. Later, it came to refer to Gaels, whether from Ireland or elsewhere. They are referred to herein as Gaels or as Dál Riatans.

Name
The name Dál Riata comes from Old Irish and means "the portion of Riata". Dál is part of the names of other Irish territories, such as Dál Fiatach and Dál gCais. Riata is the genitive of a tribal name or deity name. Bede wrote that the kingdom was named after its founder, a man called Reuda. Some Old Gaelic texts say that the kingdom was named after the Corcu Réti, descendants of Domangart Réti. Another legend says that it was named after one Cairbre Riata.

The Dalradian geological series, a term coined by Archibald Geikie in 1891, was named after Dál Riata because its outcrop has a similar geographical reach to that of the former kingdom.

People, land and sea
Dál Riata spanned the North Channel and included parts of western Scotland and north-eastern Ireland. In Scotland, it corresponded roughly to Argyll (from Airer Goídel, "coast of the Gaels") and later grew to include Skye. In Ireland, it took in the north-east of County Antrim, roughly corresponding to the baronies of Cary and Glenarm.

The modern human landscape of Dál Riata differs a great deal from that of the first millennium. Most people today live in settlements far larger than anything known in early times, while some areas, such as Kilmartin, and many of the islands, such as Islay and Tiree, may well have had as many inhabitants as they do today. Many of the small settlements have now disappeared so that the countryside is far emptier than was formerly the case, and many areas that were formerly farmed are now abandoned. Even the physical landscape is not entirely as it was: sea levels have changed, and the combination of erosion and silting will have considerably altered the shape of the coast in some places, while the natural accumulation of peat and human-made changes from peat-cutting have altered inland landscapes.

As was normal at the time, subsistence farming was the occupation of most people. Oats and barley were the main cereal crops. Pastoralism was especially important, and transhumance (the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures) was the practice in many places. Some areas, most notably Islay, were especially fertile, and good grazing would have been available all year round, just as it was in Ireland. Tiree was famed in later times for its oats and barley, while smaller, uninhabited islands were used to keep sheep. The area, until lately, was notable for its inshore fisheries, and for plentiful shellfish, therefore seafood is likely to have been an important part of the diet.

The Senchus fer n-Alban lists three main kin groups in Dál Riata in Scotland, with a fourth being added later:

 * The Cenél nGabráin (kindred of Gabrán) in Kintyre, who claimed descent from Gabrán mac Domangairt
 * The Cenél nÓengusa (kindred of Óengus) in Islay and Jura, who claimed descent from Óengus Mór mac Eirc
 * The Cenél Loairn (kindred of Loarn) in Lorne, perhaps also Mull and Ardnamurchan, who claimed descent from Loarn mac Eirc
 * The Cenél Comgaill (kindred of Comgall) in Cowal and Bute, a later addition, who claimed descent from Comgall mac Domangairt. They may have expanded eastwards into Strathearn during the 8th century.

The Senchus does not list any kindreds in Ireland, but does list an apparently very minor kindred called Cenél Chonchride in Islay descended from another son of Erc, Fergus Becc. Another kindred, Cenél Báetáin of Morvern (later Clan MacInnes), branched off from Cenél Loairn about the same time that Cenél Comgaill separated from its parent kindred. The Morvern district was formerly known as Kinelvadon, after the Cenél Báetáin. The Cenél Loairn may have been the largest of the "three kindreds", as the Senchus reports it being divided further into Cenél Shalaig, Cenél Cathbath, Cenél nEchdach, Cenél Murerdaig. Among the Cenél Loairn it also lists the Airgíalla, although whether this should be understood as being Irish settlers or simply another tribe to whom the label was applied is unclear. Bannerman proposes a tie to the Uí Macc Uais. The meaning of Airgíalla 'hostage givers' adds to the uncertainty, although it must be observed that only one grouping in Ireland was apparently given this name and it is therefore very rare, perhaps supporting the Ui Macc Uais hypothesis. There is no reason to suppose that this is a complete or accurate list.

Four sites in Dál Riata may have had royal associations: Dunadd, Dunollie, Dunaverty and Tarbert. Among them, Dunadd appears to have been the most important. It has been partly excavated, and weapons, quern-stones and many moulds for the manufacture of jewellery were found in addition to fortifications. Other high-status materials included glassware and wine amphorae from Gaul, and in larger quantities than found elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. Lesser centres included Dun Ollaigh, seat of the Cenél Loairn kings, and Dunaverty, at the southern end of Kintyre, in the lands of the Cenél nGabráin. The main royal centre in Ireland appears to have been at Dunseverick (Dún Sebuirge).

Dál Riata had a strong seafaring culture, which was tribal and piratic. It was an archipelago with many islands and peninsulas. This, and the difficulty of overland travel, meant that travel by sea was the easiest means of moving any distance. As well as long-distance trade, local trade must also have been significant. Currachs were probably the most common seagoing craft, and on inland waters dugouts and coracles were used. Large timber ships, called "long ships", perhaps similar to the Viking ships of the same name, are attested to in a variety of sources. Dál Riata had a large war fleet manned by skilled sailors, capable of undertaking far-reaching expeditions. It had an organised system for manning the fleet. Houses were grouped into twenties for the purpose of naval recruitment, with each group having to provide a quota of 28 oarsmen.

Religion and art
No written accounts exist for pre-Christian Dál Riata, and the earliest-known records come from the chroniclers of Iona and Irish monasteries. During the time of Saint Patrick, Dál Riata kings thought they were descended from Celtic gods, and pagans in the region viewed certain springs and "spirit-inhabited groves of trees" as sacred groves.

Adomnán's Life of St Columba implies a Christian Dál Riata. Whether this is true cannot be known. The figure of Columba looms large in any history of Christianity in Dál Riata. Adomnán's Life, although useful as a record, was not intended to serve as history, but rather as hagiography. Because the writing of the lives of the saints in Adomnán's day had not reached the stylised formulas of the High Middle Ages, the Life contains a great deal of historically valuable information. It is also a vital linguistic source indicating the distribution of Gaelic and P-Celtic placenames in northern Scotland by the end of the 7th century. It famously notes Columba's need for a translator when conversing with an individual on Skye. This evidence of a non-Gaelic language is supported by a sprinkling of P-Celtic placenames on the remote mainland opposite the island.

Columba's founding Iona within the bounds of Dál Riata ensured that the kingdom would be of great importance in the spread of Christianity in northern Britain, not only to Pictland, but also to Northumbria, via Lindisfarne, to Mercia, and beyond. Although the monastery of Iona belonged to the Cenél Conaill of the Northern Uí Néill, and not to Dál Riata, it had close ties to the Cenél nGabráin, ties which may make the annals less than entirely impartial.

If Iona was the greatest religious centre in Dál Riata, it was far from unique. Lismore, in the territory of the Cenél Loairn, was sufficiently important for the death of its abbots to be recorded with some frequency. Applecross, probably in Pictish territory for most of the period, and Kingarth on Bute are also known to have been monastic sites, and many smaller sites, such as on Eigg and Tiree, are known from the annals. In Ireland, Armoy was the main ecclesiastical centre in early times, associated with Saint Patrick and with Saint Olcán, said to have been the first bishop at Armoy. An important early centre, Armoy later declined, overshadowed by the monasteries at Movilla (Newtownards) and Bangor.

As well as their primary spiritual importance, the political significance of religious centres cannot be dismissed. The prestige of being associated with the saintly founder was of no small importance. Monasteries represented a source of wealth as well as prestige. Additionally, the learning and literacy found in monasteries served as useful tools for ambitious kings.

The illuminated manuscript Book of Kells was probably at least begun at Iona, although not by Columba as legend has it, as it dates from about 800 A.D. (It may have been commissioned to mark the bicentennial of Columba's death in 597). Whether it was or not, Iona was certainly important in the formation of Insular art, which combined Mediterranean, Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Pictish elements into a style of which the book of Kells is a late example.

For other arts, a number of sculptures remain to give an impression of Dál Riatan work. The St. Martin's Cross on Iona is the well-preserved high cross, probably inspired by Northumbrian free-standing crosses, such as the Ruthwell Cross, although a similar cross exists in Ireland (Ahenny, County Tipperary). The Kildalton Cross on Islay is similar. A sculpted slab at Ardchattan appears to show strong Pictish influences, while the Dupplin Cross, it has been argued, shows that influences also moved in the opposite direction. Fine Hiberno-Saxon metalwork such as penannular brooches is believed to have been created at Dunadd.

In addition to the monastic sites, a considerable number of churches are attested, not only from archaeological evidence, but also from the evidence of place names. The element "kil", from Gaelic cill, can be shown in many cases to be associated with early churches, such as at Kilmartin by Dunadd.

Origins
The 11th-century Duan Albanach (Song of the Scots) tells that the three sons of Erc—Fergus Mór, Loarn and Óengus—conquered Alba (Scotland) in around 500 AD. The 8th-century writer Bede offers another, and probably older, account wherein Dál Riata was conquered by Irish Gaels led by a certain Reuda. Old Irish dál means 'portion' or 'share', and is usually followed by the name of an eponymous founder. Bede's tale may come from the same root as the Irish tales of Cairpre Riata and his brothers, the Síl Conairi (sons/descendants of Conaire Cóem and Conaire Mór). The story of Dál Riata moves from foundation myth to something nearer to history with the reports of the death of Comgall mac Domangairt around 540 and of his brother Gabrán around 560.

The version of history in the Duan Albanach was long accepted, although it is preceded by the fictional tale of Albanus and Brutus conquering Britain. Traditionally, the presence of Gaelic in Scotland has been seen as the result of either a migration from Ireland, or a takeover by Irish Gaelic elites. However, in his academic paper Were the Scots Irish?, archaeologist Dr Ewan Campbell says that there is no archaeological or placename evidence of a migration or takeover. This lack of archaeological evidence was previously noted by Professor Leslie Alcock. Campbell suggests that Argyll and Antrim formed a "maritime province", united by the sea and isolated from the rest of Scotland by the mountains of the Highlands, historically called the Druim Alban. This hypothetical separation allowed a shared language to be maintained through the centuries; Argyll remained Gaelic-speaking while the rest of Scotland spoke either Pictish or another Brittonic language. Campbell suggests that the medieval accounts were a kind of dynastic propaganda, constructed to bolster a dynasty's claim to the throne and to bolster Dál Riata claims to territory in Antrim. Although this view of the medieval accounts is shared by other historians, his theory has been challenged.

Irish scholar Eoin MacNeill postulated that Scottish Dál Riata came about in two stages. He conjectured that Irish settlements were founded in Argyll at the time of Irish raids on Britain, during the end of Roman rule. Later, as these settlements became economically and politically more significant than the home territory, its rulers moved from Ireland to Argyll.

The time in which Dál Riata arose was one of great instability in Ulster, following the Ulaid's loss of territory (including the ancient centre of Emain Macha) to the Airgíalla and the Uí Néill. "The thriving of Dalriada", pp. 47–50, notes a later conquest of Irish Dál Riata from Scotland, in the period after the fall of Emain Macha.

Linguistic and genealogical evidence associates ancestors of the Dál Riata with the prehistoric Iverni and Darini, suggesting kinship with the Ulaid and a number of shadowy kingdoms in distant Munster. The Robogdii have also been suggested as ancestral. Ultimately, the Dál Riata, according to the earliest genealogies, are descendants of Deda mac Sin, a prehistoric king or deity of the Érainn.

Druim Cett to Mag Rath
By the mid-6th century, the Dál Riata in Scotland came under serious threat from Bridei I, king of the Picts, whilst the Irish portion faced hostility from the Dál nAraidi of Ulaid, resulting in their seeking the aid of the Irish Northern Uí Néill. Dál Riata reached its greatest extent in the reign of Áedán mac Gabráin, who was said to have been consecrated by Columba, to whom Áedán granted the island of Iona off the coast of Scotland. Columba, who was also a Cenél Conaill prince, negotiated an alliance between Dál Riata and the Cenél Conaill, who were the ruling dynasty of the Northern Uí Néill, in 575 at the Convention of Druim Cett near Limavady. In attendance were Columba, Áedán mac Gabráin, and Áed mac Ainmuirech, king of the Northern Uí Néill and High King of Ireland.

What was actually discussed at Druim Cett is a matter of debate, with various suggestions that it was: to determine the constitutional status of both parts of Dál Riata; to determine the status of Irish Dál Riata only with it having its own king; that Dál Riata was to become independent of the High King of Ireland; that the Irish part of Dál Riata would pay tribute to the High King and support him with land forces, and that the Scottish part would be independent but support the High King with its fleet when needed; the removal of Dál Riata from Ulaid's overlordship, allowing it to concentrate on extending its Scottish domain. What is certain is that both parties had the Dál nAraidi as a common foe.

This pact between the Dál Riata and Cenél Conaill was successful, first in defeating Báetan mac Cairill, king of the Dál nAraidi, then in allowing Áedán to campaign widely against his neighbours, as far afield as Orkney and lands of the Maeatae, on the River Forth. Áedán appears to have been very successful in extending his power, until he faced the Bernician king Æthelfrith at Degsastan c. 603. Æthelfrith's brother was among the dead, but Áedán was defeated, and the Bernician kings continued their advances in southern Scotland. Áedán died c. 608 aged about 70. Dál Riata did expand to include Skye, possibly conquered by Áedán's son Gartnait.

It has been suggested that Fiachnae mac Báetáin (died 626), Dál nAraidi over-king of Ulaid, was overlord of both parts of Dál Riata. Fiachnae campaigned against the Northumbrians, and besieged Bamburgh, and the Dál Riatans are thought to have fought in this campaign.

In 629, the Dál Riata suffered significant losses at the battle of Fid Euin where the Dál nAraidi, led by Congal Cáech mac Scandláin, killed the Dál Riata king as well as three grandsons of Áedán mac Gabráin. It is suggested to have been an achievement that Dál Riata itself survived this battle. That same year the Cenél Conaill defeated Congal Cáech at the battle of Dún Ceithirn.

Dál Riata remained allied with the Northern Uí Néill until the reign of Domnall Brecc, who was persuaded by the king of Dál nAraidi, Congal Cáech, to renounce this alliance. In an attempt to have himself installed as High King of Ireland, Congal made alliances with Dál Riata and Strathclyde, which resulted in the disastrous Battle of Magh Rath in 637, which saw Congal slain by High King Domnall mac Áedo of the Northern Uí Néill and resulted in Irish Dál Riata losing possession of its Scottish lands. A battle had also taken place at sea at Sailtír, off Kintyre, in 637. This defeat was then attributed as divine retribution for Domnall Brecc turning his back on his prior alliance. Domnall Brecc's policy appears to have died with him in 642, at his final, and fatal, defeat by Eugein map Beli of Strathclyde at Strathcarron, for as late as the 730s, armies and fleets from Dál Riata fought alongside the Uí Néill.

This defeat shattered the power of Dál Riata as well as that of Dál nAraidi, allowing the Northern Uí Néill to become the dominant force in the north of Ireland. By the 10th century, the Irish lands of Dál Riata were under the control of the Uí Tuirtri, and their clients, the Fir Lí.

Mag Rath to the Pictish conquest
It has been proposed that some of the more obscure kings of Dál Riata mentioned in the Annals of Ulster, such as Fiannamail ua Dúnchado and Donncoirce, may have been kings of Irish Dál Riata.

The after-effect of the Battle of Moira (Mag Rath) in regards to Scottish Dál Riata appears to have resulted in its becoming tributary to Northumbrian kings, which lasted until the Pictish king Bruide mac Bili defeated Ecgfrith of Northumbria at Dun Nechtain in 685. It is not certain that this subjection ended in 685, although this is usually assumed to be the case. However, it appears that Eadberht Eating made some effort to stop the Picts under Óengus mac Fergusa crushing Dál Riata in 740. Whether this means that the tributary relationship had not ended in 685, or if Eadberht sought only to prevent the growth of Pictish power, is unclear.

Since it has been thought that Dál Riata swallowed Pictland to create the Kingdom of Alba, the later history of Dál Riata has tended to be seen as a prelude to future triumphs. The annals make it clear that the Cenél Gabraín lost any earlier monopoly of royal power in the late 7th century and in the 8th, when Cenél Loairn kings such as Ferchar Fota, his son Selbach, and grandsons Dúngal and Muiredach are found contesting for the kingship of Dál Riata. The long period of instability in Dál Riata was only ended by the conquest of the kingdom by Óengus mac Fergusa, king of the Picts, in the 730s. After the third campaign by Óengus in 741, Dál Riata then disappears from the Irish records for a generation.

The last century
Áed Find may appear in 768, fighting against the Pictish king of Fortriu. At his death in 778, Áed Find is called "king of Dál Riata", as is his brother Fergus mac Echdach in 781. The Annals of Ulster say that a certain Donncoirche, "king of Dál Riata" died in 792, and there the record ends. Any number of theories have been advanced to fill the missing generations, none of which are founded on any very solid evidence. A number of kings are named in the Duan Albanach, and in royal genealogies, but these are rather less reliable than we might wish. The obvious conclusion is that whoever ruled the petty kingdom of Dál Riata after its defeat and conquest in the 730s, only Áed Find and his brother Fergus drew the least attention of the chroniclers in Iona and Ireland. This argues very strongly for Alex Woolf's conclusion that Óengus mac Fergusa "effectively destroyed the kingdom".

It is unlikely that Dál Riata was ruled directly by Pictish kings, but it is argued that Domnall, son of Caustantín mac Fergusa, was king of Dál Riata from 811 to 835. He was apparently followed by the last named king of Dál Riata Áed mac Boanta, who was killed in the great Pictish defeat of 839 at the hands of the Vikings.

In the 9th century, the Picts were becoming Gaelicised, and it is suggested that there was a merger of the Dál Riatan and Pictish kingships. Traditionally, this is attributed to Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin), who became king of the Picts in about 843. Some sources say that Cináed was king of Dál Riata for two years before this. Under the House of Alpin, Dál Riata and Pictland merged to form the Kingdom of Alba or Scotland.

From Dál Riata to the Innse Gall
If the Vikings had a great impact on Pictland and in Ireland, in Dál Riata, as in Northumbria, they appear to have entirely replaced the existing kingdom with a new entity. In the case of Dál Riata, this was to be known as the kingdom of the Sudreys, traditionally founded by Ketill Flatnose (Caitill Find in Gaelic) in the middle of the 9th century. The Frankish Annales Bertiniani may record the conquest of the Inner Hebrides, the seaward part of Dál Riata, by Vikings in 847.

Alex Woolf has suggested that there occurred a formal division of Dál Riata between the Norse–Gaelic Uí Ímair and the natives, like those divisions that took place elsewhere in Ireland and Britain, with the Norse controlling most of the islands, and the Gaels controlling the Scottish coast and the more southerly islands. In turn, Woolf suggests that this gave rise to the terms Airer Gaedel and Innse Gall, respectively, "the coast of the Gaels" and the "Islands of the foreigners".

Under the House of Alpin
Woolf has further demonstrated that, by the time of Malcolm II, the leading cenela of Dál Riata had moved from the south-west of the region (north of the Firths) to the north, east and north-east, with Cenel Loairn moving up the Great Glen to occupy Moray, the former and sometimes still Fortriu, one branch of Cenel nGabhrain occupying the district known as Gowrie and another the district of Fife, Cenel nOengusa giving its name to Circinn as Angus, Cenel Comgaill occupying Strathearn, and another lesser-known kindred, Cenel Conaing, probably moving to Mar.

In fiction
In Rosemary Sutcliff's 1965 novel The Mark of the Horse Lord, the Dál Riada undergo an internal struggle for control of royal succession, and an external conflict to defend their frontiers against the Caledones.

In Rosemary Sutcliff's historical adventure novel The Eagle of the Ninth (1954), a young Roman officer searches to recover the lost Roman eagle standard of his father's legion in the northern part of Great Britain. The story is based on the Ninth Spanish Legion's supposed disappearance in the Scottish Highlands near the end of the Roman occupation. The novel was adapted by Jeremy Brock into the film The Eagle (2011).

In the Kushiel novels (a series, beginning with Kushiel's Dart, 2001), by Jacqueline Carey, the Dalriada of the Kingdom of Alba figure prominently in a Royal marriage and subsequent alliance with France (known in the series as "Terre d'Ange").

In Julian May's Saga of Pliocene Exile series, the non-born Aiken Drum's homeworld is an ethnic Scottish planet called Dalriada.

In the Lost Girl television series, the pub where the Light Fae and the Dark Fae mingle is called the Dal Riata, named after the ancient kingdom.

In Jules Watson's Dalriada Trilogy (2006–2008), three centuries are chronicled during the time of the Roman Invasion of Britain.

A feature-length fantasy film previously named Dalriata's King, later named The Gaelic King was made in Scotland, with a story based loosely on the first king of the Scots. It was released to home media in 2017.

Dál Riata is a playable nation in Paradox Interactive's 4X video game Crusader Kings II. At the earliest start date, 769 with the Charlemagne DLC, they are an Irish Catholic independent petty kingdom ruled by Áed Find, comprising the Hebrides and Argyll. The game will also use Dál Riata to refer to the Duchy of the Isles whenever the realm's top liege is Irish

Dalriada is the name of a Hungarian folk metal band, Dalriada.

The Dalriada is the name of a raid introduced in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Dál Riata


text:
188

Year 188 (CLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Fuscianus and Silanus (or, less frequently, year 941 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 188 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Publius Helvius Pertinax becomes pro-consul of Africa from 188 to 189.

Japan

 * Queen Himiko (or Shingi Waō) begins her reign in Japan (until 248).

Births

 * April 4 – Caracalla (or Antoninus), Roman emperor (d. 217)
 * Lu Ji (or Gongji), Chinese official and politician (d. 219)
 * Sun Shao, Chinese general of the Eastern Wu state (d. 241)

Deaths

 * March 17 – Julian, pope and patriarch of Alexandria
 * Fa Zhen (or Gaoqing), Chinese scholar (b. AD 100)
 * Lucius Antistius Burrus, Roman politician (executed)
 * Ma Xiang, Chinese rebel leader (approximate date)
 * Publius Atilius Aebutianus, Roman prefect (executed)
 * Shusun Tong, Chinese official and ritual specialist
 * Qiangqui, Chinese ruler of the southern Xiongnu

title: 188


text:
187

Year 187 (CLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Quintius and Aelianus (or, less frequently, year 940 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 187 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Septimius Severus marries Julia Domna (age 17), a Syrian princess, at Lugdunum (modern-day Lyon). She is the youngest daughter of high-priest Julius Bassianus – a descendant of the Royal House of Emesa. Her elder sister is Julia Maesa.
 * Clodius Albinus defeats the Chatti, a highly organized German tribe that controlled the area that includes the Black Forest.

Religion

 * Olympianus succeeds Pertinax as bishop of Byzantium (until 198).

Births

 * Cao Pi, Chinese emperor of the Cao Wei state (d. 226)
 * Gu Shao, Chinese official and politician (d. 218)

Deaths

 * Chen Shi, Chinese official and politician (b. 104)
 * Maternus, Gaulish rebel leader (approximate date)
 * Pertinax, bishop of Byzantium

title: 187


text:
186

Year 186 (CLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 939 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 186 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Peasants in Gaul stage an anti-tax uprising under Maternus.
 * Roman governor Pertinax escapes an assassination attempt, by British usurpers.

New Zealand

 * The Hatepe volcanic eruption extends Lake Taupō and makes skies red across the world. However, recent radiocarbon dating by R. Sparks has put the date at 233 AD ± 13 (95% confidence).

Births

 * Ma Liang, Chinese official of the Shu Han state (d. 222)

Deaths

 * April 21 – Apollonius the Apologist, Christian martyr
 * Bian Zhang, Chinese official and general (b. 133)
 * Paccia Marciana, Roman noblewoman (approximate date)
 * Sohaemus, Roman client king of Armenia

title: 186


text:
184

Year 184 (CLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Eggius and Aelianus (or, less frequently, year 937 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 184 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

China

 * The Yellow Turban Rebellion and Liang Province Rebellion break out in China.
 * The Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions ends.
 * Zhang Jue leads the peasant revolt against Emperor Ling of Han of the Eastern Han dynasty. Heading for the capital of Luoyang, his massive and undisciplined army (360,000 men), burns and destroys government offices and outposts.
 * June – Ling of Han places his brother-in-law, He Jin, in command of the imperial army and sends them to attack the Yellow Turban rebels.
 * Winter – Zhang Jue dies of illness while his brothers Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang are killed in battles against Han imperial forces. The Yellow Turban rebels become scattered.
 * Last (6th) year of Guanghe era and the start of Zhongping era of the Eastern Han dynasty.

Korea

 * King Gogukcheon (Gaonanwu) of Goguryeo (Gaogouli) pushes Chinese armies back to Liaodong.
 * Beolhyu becomes king of Silla.

Births

 * Guo Nüwang, Chinese empress of the Cao Wei state (d. 235)
 * Origen, Christian scholar and theologian (approximate date)
 * Sun Yi, Chinese general (d. 204)
 * Wang Xiang, Chinese official and politician (d. 268)

Deaths

 * June 6 – Qiao Xuan (or Gongzu), Chinese official (b. 110)
 * Adalla of Silla, Korean ruler (House of Park)
 * Zhang Jue, Chinese leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion

title: 184


text:
183

Year 183 (CLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 936 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 183 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Births

 * January 26 – Lady Zhen, wife of the Cao Wei state Emperor Cao Pi (d. 221)
 * Hu Zong, Chinese general, official and poet of the Eastern Wu state (d. 242)
 * Liu Zan (Zhengming), Chinese general of the Eastern Wu state (d. 255)
 * Lu Xun, Chinese general and politician of the Eastern Wu state (d. 245)

title: 183


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182

Year 182 (CLXXXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sura and Rufus (or, less frequently, year 935 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 182 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Commodus escapes death at the hands of assassins, who have attacked him at the instigation of his sister Lucilla and a large group of senators. He puts many distinguished Romans to death on charges of being implicated in the conspiracy; Lucilla is exiled to Capri.

Births

 * July 5 – Sun Quan, Chinese emperor of the Eastern Wu state (d. 252)
 * Zhu Ran, Chinese general of the Eastern Wu state (d. 249)

Deaths

 * Lucilla, Roman empress and daughter of Marcus Aurelius
 * Marcus Ummidius Quadratus, Roman politician (b. 138)
 * Saoterus, Bithynian Greek freedman and chamberlain
 * Ummidia Cornificia Faustina, Roman noblewoman (b. 141)

title: 182


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181

Year 181 (CLXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Burrus (or, less frequently, year 934 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 181 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Imperator Lucius Aurelius Commodus and Lucius Antistius Burrus become Roman Consuls.
 * The Antonine Wall is overrun by the Picts in Britannia (approximate date).

Oceania

 * The volcano associated with Lake Taupō in New Zealand erupts, one of the largest on Earth in the last 5,000 years. The effects of this eruption are seen as far away as Rome and China.

Births

 * April 2 – Xian of Han, Chinese emperor (d. 234)
 * Zhuge Liang, Chinese chancellor and regent (d. 234)

Deaths

 * Aelius Aristides, Greek orator and writer (b. 117)
 * Cao Jie, Chinese court eunuch and official

title: 181


text:
180

Year 180 (CLXXX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rusticus and Condianus (or, less frequently, year 933 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 180 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * The Quadi are chased westwards, deeper into Germania. The Praetorian prefect, Tarutenius Paternus, achieves a decisive victory against the Germanic tribes.
 * March 17 – Emperor Marcus Aurelius dies after a week's illness at his camp in Vindobona (modern Vienna). He is succeeded by his son Commodus (age 18).
 * The Era of the Five Good Emperors ends.
 * Rome creates a 4-mile wide buffer zone by the Danube.
 * Work begins in Rome on the building of the Column of Marcus Aurelius.
 * 180–395 – Late Empire in Rome.
 * Northern British from beyond Hadrian's Wall invade the North of modern-day England, causing Emperor Commodus to allow swathes of Northern cities to establish city walls.
 * Cassius Dio arrives in Rome and becomes a Senator

Europe

 * The Goths reach the banks of the Black Sea.

Oceania

 * Lake Taupō in New Zealand erupts, forming ash clouds as far as China and Europe.

Arts and sciences

 * In his Methodus Medendo, Greek physician Galen describes the connection between paralysis and the severing of the spinal cord.
 * Galen's popular work on hygiene is published.

Religion

 * July 17 – Twelve Christian inhabitants of Scillium in Numidia are executed in Carthage (also in North Africa) (known as the Scillitan Martyrs) – they had refused to swear an oath to the Emperor.
 * Commodus creates an official cult of the Zoroastrian god Mithra.

Births

 * Ardashir I, founder of the Sasanian Empire (d. 242)
 * Johanan bar Nappaha, Jewish rabbi (d. 279)
 * Julia Soaemias, mother of Elagabalus (d. 222)
 * Sima Fu, Chinese prince and statesman (d. 272)

Deaths

 * March 17 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (b. 121)
 * Aulus Gellius, Roman author and grammarian (b. 125 AD)
 * Gaius, Roman jurist and writer (approximate date)
 * Hegesippus, Christian chronicler and writer (b. 110)
 * Lucian of Samosata, Syrian rhetorician (b. 125 AD)
 * Melito of Sardis, bishop of Sardis (approximate date)
 * Pinytus, bishop of Knossos (approximate date)

title: 180


text:
204

Year 204 (CCIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cilo and Flavius (or, less frequently, year 957 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 204 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Lucius Fabius Cilo and Marcus Annius Flavius Libo become Roman Consuls.
 * The Daysan River floods Edessa.

China

 * Gongsun Kang, Chinese warlord of Liaodong, establishes the Daifang Commandery in northern Korea.
 * Battle of Ye: Warlord Cao Cao lays siege to and captures the military headquarter of Yuan Shao in Ye.

Commerce

 * A trade recession in the Leptis Magna region (Africa) is alleviated by Emperor Septimius Severus, who buys up the country's olive oil for free distribution in Rome.

Births

 * Cao Rui, Chinese emperor of Cao Wei (d. 239)
 * Dong Jue, Chinese official and general
 * Elagabalus, Roman emperor (d. 222)
 * Philip the Arab, Roman emperor (d. 249)
 * Wei Zhao, Chinese historian (d. 273)
 * Zhuge Qiao, Chinese official and general (d. 228)

Deaths

 * Gongsun Du, Chinese general and warlord (b. 150)
 * Ren Jun, Chinese general under Cao Cao
 * Shen Pei, Chinese official and minister
 * Xin Ping, Chinese official and minister
 * Xu You, Chinese adviser and strategist

title: 204


text:
231

Year 231 (CCXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Claudius and Sallustus (or, less frequently, year 984 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 231 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Alexander Severus accompanies his mother Julia Mamaea to Syria, and campaigns against the Persians. Military command rests in the hands of his generals, but his presence gives additional weight to the empire's policy.

China

 * March–August – Battle of Mount Qi: The Chinese state of Shu Han gains a tactical victory, and the state of Cao Wei a strategic victory.

Religion

 * Origen, disciple of Ammonius Saccas, founder of Neoplatonism, is exiled in Caesarea.

Births

 * Cao Xun, Chinese prince of the Cao Wei state (d. 244)

Deaths

 * Cao Zhen, Chinese general of the Cao Wei state
 * Li Hui (or De'ang), Chinese official and politician
 * Zhang He, Chinese general of the Cao Wei state

title: 231


text:
373

Year 373 (CCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens (or, less frequently, year 1126 Ab urbe condita). The denomination 373 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Roman Empire

 * Emperor Valens is converted to Arianism, and orders the persecution of Trinitarian Christians in the Roman East.
 * Quintus Aurelius Symmachus becomes proconsul of Africa, and is made a member of the pontifical college.
 * Count Theodosius is appointed commander of an expedition to suppress the rebellion of Firmus in Mauretania.
 * Valens Aqueduct is inaugurated near Constantinople (modern Istanbul); the aqueduct has a length of 971 meters.

Europe

 * Battle of the Tanais River: The Huns defeat the Alans near the Don, sending the remnants fleeing westward.

Persia

 * King Shapur II declares war as a result of Valens' support of Armenia. Emperor Valens makes Antioch his military base for the campaign against Persia.

Religion

 * Saint Martin of Tours undertakes the Christianization of Gaul.

Births

 * Murong Hui, Chinese general and prince of the Later Yan Dynasty (d. 397)
 * Murong Sheng (or Daoyun), Chinese emperor of the Later Yan Dynasty (d. 401)
 * Synesius of Cyrene, Christian bishop (approximate date)

Deaths

 * May 2 – Athanasius of Alexandria, Egyptian Coptic Orthodox bishop (b. 296)
 * June 9 – Ephrem the Syrian, Syrian Orthodox priest and saint (b. 306)
 * Huan Wen (or Yuanzi), Chinese general and regent (b. 312)
 * Nerses I (the Great), Armenian catholicos (or patriarch)
 * Sun Sheng, Chinese historian and politician (b. 302)

title: 373


text:
Partitions of Poland

The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years. The partitions were conducted by the Habsburg monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire, which divided up the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively in the process of territorial seizures and annexations.

The First Partition was decided on August 5, 1772, after the Bar Confederation lost the war with Russia. The Second Partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 and the Targowica Confederation of 1792 when Russian and Prussian troops entered the Commonwealth and the partition treaty was signed during the Grodno Sejm on January 23, 1793 (without Austria). The Third Partition took place on October 24, 1795, in reaction to the unsuccessful Polish Kościuszko Uprising the previous year. With this partition, the Commonwealth ceased to exist.

In English, the term "Partitions of Poland" is sometimes used geographically as toponymy, to mean the three parts that the partitioning powers divided the Commonwealth into, namely: the Austrian Partition, the Prussian Partition and the Russian Partition. In Polish, there are two separate words for the two meanings. The consecutive acts of dividing and annexation of Poland are referred to as rozbiór (plural: rozbiory), while the term zabór (plural: zabory) refers to parts of the Commonwealth that were annexed in 1772–1795 and which became part of Imperial Russia, Prussia, or Austria. Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the borders of the three partitioned sectors were redrawn; the Austrians established Galicia in the Austrian partition, whereas the Russians gained Warsaw from Prussia and formed an autonomous polity of Congress Poland in the Russian partition.

In Polish historiography, the term "Fourth Partition of Poland" has also been used, in reference to any subsequent annexation of Polish lands by foreign invaders. Depending on source and historical period, this could mean the events of 1815, or 1832 and 1846, or 1939. The term "Fourth Partition" in a temporal sense can also mean the diaspora communities that played an important political role in re-establishing the Polish sovereign state after 1918.

History

During the reign of Władysław IV (1632–1648), the liberum veto was developed, a policy of parliamentary procedure based on the assumption of the political equality of every "gentleman/Polish nobleman", with the corollary that unanimous consent was needed for all measures. A single member of parliament's belief that a measure was injurious to his own constituency (usually simply his own estate), even after the act had been approved, became enough to strike the act. Thus it became increasingly difficult to undertake action. The liberum veto also provided openings for foreign diplomats to get their ways, through bribing nobles to exercise it. Thus, one could characterise Poland–Lithuania in its final period (mid-18th century) before the partitions as already in a state of disorder and not a completely sovereign state, and almost as a vassal state, with Polish kings effectively chosen in diplomatic maneuvers between the great powers Prussia, Austria, Russia, and France. This applies particularly to the last Commonwealth King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who for some time had been a lover of Russian Empress Catherine the Great.

In 1730, the neighbors of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Rzeczpospolita), namely Prussia, Austria and Russia, signed a secret agreement to maintain the status quo: specifically, to ensure that the Commonwealth laws would not change. Their alliance later became known in Poland as the "Alliance of the Three Black Eagles" (or Löwenwolde's Treaty), because all three states used a black eagle as a state symbol (in contrast to the white eagle, a symbol of Poland). The Commonwealth had been forced to rely on Russia for protection against the rising Kingdom of Prussia, which demanded a slice of the northwest in order to unite its Western and Eastern portions; this would leave the Commonwealth with a Baltic coast only in Latvia and Lithuania. Catherine had to use diplomacy to win Austria to her side.

The Commonwealth had remained neutral in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), yet it sympathized with the alliance of France, Austria, and Russia, and allowed Russian troops access to its western lands as bases against Prussia. Frederick II retaliated by ordering enough Polish currency counterfeited to severely affect the Polish economy. Through the Polish nobles whom Russia controlled and the Russian Minister to Warsaw, ambassador and Prince Nicholas Repnin, Empress Catherine the Great forced a constitution on the Commonwealth at the so-called Repnin Sejm of 1767, named after ambassador Repnin, who effectively dictated the terms of that Sejm (and ordered the capture and exile to Kaluga of some vocal opponents of his policies, including bishop Józef Andrzej Załuski and others). This new constitution undid the reforms made in 1764 under Stanisław II. The liberum veto and all the old abuses of the last one and a half centuries were guaranteed as unalterable parts of this new constitution (in the so-called Cardinal Laws ). Repnin also demanded the Russian protection of the rights of peasants in private estates of Polish and Lithuanian noblemen, religious freedom for the Protestant and Orthodox Christians and the political freedoms for Protestants, Orthodox Christians and Eastern Catholics (Uniates), including their right to occupy all state positions, including a royal one. The next king could be a member of the Russian ruling dynasty now. The Sejm approved this. Resulting reaction among some of Poland's Roman Catholics, as well as the deep resentment of Russian intervention in the Commonwealth's domestic affairs including the exile to Russia of the top Roman Catholic bishops, the members of the Polish Senate, led to the War of the Confederation of Bar of 1768–1772, formed in Bar, where the Poles tried to expel Russian forces from Commonwealth territory. The irregular and poorly commanded Polish forces had little chance in the face of the regular Russian army and suffered a major defeat. Adding to the chaos was a Ukrainian Cossack and peasant rebellion in the east (Koliyivshchyna), which erupted in 1768 and resulted in massacres of Polish noblemen (szlachta), Jews, Uniates, ethnic minorities and Catholic priests, before it was put down by Russian and governmental Polish troops. This uprising led to the intervention of the Ottoman Empire, supported by Roman Catholic France and Austria. Bar confederation and France promised Podolia and Volhynia and the protectorate over the Commonwealth to the Ottoman Empire for armed support.

In 1769, the Habsburg monarchy annexed a small territory of Spisz and in 1770 it annexed Nowy Sącz and Nowy Targ. These territories had been a bone of contention between Poland and Hungary, which was a part of the Monarchy. Nevertheless, the Ottoman Empire, the Bar confederation and its French and European volunteers were defeated by Russian forces and Polish governmental ones with the aid of Great Britain. As Russia moved into the Crimea and the Danubian Principalities (which the Habsburg monarchy long coveted), King Frederick II of Prussia and Maria Theresa were worried that the defeat of the Ottoman Empire would severely upset the balance of power in Eastern Europe. Frederick II began to construct the partition to rebalance the power in Eastern Europe.

First Partition

In February 1772, the agreement of partition was signed in Vienna. Early in August, Russian, Prussian and Austrian troops occupied the provinces agreed upon among themselves. However, fighting continued as Bar confederation troops and French volunteers refused to lay down their arms (most notably, in Tyniec, Częstochowa and Kraków). On August 5, 1772, the occupation manifesto was issued, to the dismay of the weak and exhausted Polish state; the partition treaty was ratified by its signatories on September 22, 1772.

Frederick II of Prussia was elated with his success; Prussia took most of Royal Prussia (except Gdańsk) that stood between its possessions in Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, as well as Ermland (Warmia), northern areas of Greater Poland along the Noteć River (the Netze District), and parts of Kuyavia (but not the city of Toruń).

Despite token criticism of the partition from Empress Maria Theresa, Austrian statesman Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg, was proud of wresting as large a share as he did, with the rich salt mines of Bochnia and Wieliczka. To Austria fell Zator and Auschwitz (Oświęcim), part of Lesser Poland embracing parts of the counties of Kraków and Sandomir and the whole of Galicia, less the city of Kraków.

Empress Catherine II of Russia was also satisfied despite the loss of Galicia to the Habsburg monarchy. By this "diplomatic document" Russia gained Polish Livonia, and lands in eastern Belarus embracing the counties of Vitebsk, Polotsk and Mstislavl.

By this partition, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lost about 30% of its territory and half of its population (four million people), of which a large portion had not been ethnically Polish. By seizing northwestern Poland, Prussia instantly gained control over 80% of the Commonwealth's total foreign trade. Through levying enormous customs duties, Prussia accelerated the collapse of the Commonwealth.

After having occupied their respective territories, the three partitioning powers demanded that King Stanisław and the Sejm approve their action. When no help was forthcoming and the armies of the combined nations occupied Warsaw to compel by force of arms the calling of the assembly, the only alternative was passive submission to their will. The so-called Partition Sejm, with Russian military forces threatening the opposition, on September 18, 1773, signed the treaty of cession, renouncing all claims of the Commonwealth to the occupied territories.

In 1772, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was invited to present recommendations for a new constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the Considerations on the Government of Poland (1782), which was to be his last major political work.

Second Partition
By 1790, the Commonwealth had been weakened to such a degree that it was forced into an unnatural and terminal alliance with its enemy, Prussia. The Polish–Prussian Pact of 1790 was signed. The conditions of the Pact contributed to the subsequent final two partitions of Poland–Lithuania.

The May Constitution of 1791 enfranchised the bourgeoisie, established the separation of the three branches of government, and eliminated the abuses of the Repnin Sejm. Those reforms prompted aggressive actions on the part of its neighbours, wary of the potential renaissance of the Commonwealth. Arguing that Poland had fallen prey to the radical Jacobinism then at high tide in France, Russian forces invaded the Commonwealth in 1792.

In the War in Defense of the Constitution, pro-Russian conservative Polish magnates, the Confederation of Targowica, fought against Polish forces supporting the constitution, believing that Russians would help them restore the Golden Liberty. Abandoned by their Prussian allies, Polish pro-constitution forces, faced with Targowica units and the regular Russian army, were defeated. Prussia signed a treaty with Russia, agreeing that Polish reforms would be revoked, and both countries would receive chunks of Commonwealth territory. In 1793, deputies to the Grodno Sejm, last Sejm of the Commonwealth, in the presence of the Russian forces, agreed to Russian territorial demands. In the Second Partition, Russia and Prussia helped themselves to enough land so that only one-third of the 1772 population remained in Poland. Prussia named its newly gained province South Prussia, with Poznań (and later Warsaw) as the capital of the new province.

Targowica confederates, who did not expect another partition, and the king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who joined them near the end, both lost much prestige and support. The reformers, on the other hand, were attracting increasing support, and in 1794 the Kościuszko Uprising began.

Third Partition
Kosciuszko's ragtag insurgent armies won some initial successes, but they eventually fell before the superior forces of the Russian Empire. The partitioning powers, seeing the increasing unrest in the remaining Commonwealth, decided to solve the problem by erasing any independent Polish state from the map. On October 24, 1795, their representatives signed a treaty, dividing the remaining territories of the Commonwealth between their three countries. One of Russia's chief foreign policy authors, Alexander Bezborodko, advised Catherine II on the Second and Third Partitions of Poland.

The Russian part included 120000 km2 and 1.2 million people with Vilnius, the Prussian part (new provinces of New East Prussia and New Silesia) 55000 km2 and 1 million people with Warsaw, and the Austrian 47000 km2 with 1.2 million and Lublin and Kraków.

Aftermath
The King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, under Russian military escort left for Grodno where he abdicated on November 25, 1795; next he left for Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he would spend his remaining days. This act ensured that Russia would be seen as the most important of the partitioning powers.

With regard to population, in the First Partition, Poland lost over four to five million citizens (about a third of its population of 14 million before the partitions). Only about 4 million people remained in Poland after the Second Partition which makes for a loss of another third of its original population, about a half of the remaining population. By the Third Partition, Prussia ended up with about 23% of the Commonwealth's population, Austria with 32%, and Russia with 45%.

(Wandycz also offers slightly different total annexed territory estimates, with 18% for Austria, 20% for Prussia and 62% for Russia.) During the Napoleonic Wars and in their immediate aftermath the borders between partitioning powers shifted several times, changing the numbers seen in the preceding table. Ultimately, Russia ended up with most of the Polish core at the expense of Prussia and Austria. Following the Congress of Vienna, Russia controlled 82% of the pre-1772 Commonwealth's territory (this includes its puppet state of Congress Poland), Austria 11%, and Prussia 7%.

As a result of the Partitions, Poles were forced to seek a change of status quo in Europe. Polish poets, politicians, noblemen, writers, artists, many of whom were forced to emigrate (thus the term Great Emigration), became the revolutionaries of the 19th century, as desire for freedom became one of the defining parts of Polish romanticism. Polish revolutionaries participated in uprisings in Prussia, the Austrian Empire and Imperial Russia. Polish legions fought alongside Napoleon and, under the slogan of For our freedom and yours, participated widely in the Spring of Nations (particularly the Hungarian Revolution of 1848).

Poland would be briefly resurrected—if in a smaller frame—in 1807, when Napoleon set up the Duchy of Warsaw. After his defeat and the implementation of the Congress of Vienna treaty in 1815, the Russian-dominated Congress Kingdom of Poland was created in its place. After the Congress, Russia gained a larger share of Poland (with Warsaw) and, after crushing an insurrection in 1831, the Congress Kingdom's autonomy was abolished and Poles faced confiscation of property, deportation, forced military service, and the closure of their own universities. After the uprising of 1863, Russification of Polish secondary schools was imposed and the literacy rate dropped dramatically. In the Austrian sector which now was called Galicia, Poles fared better and were allowed to have representation in Parliament and to form their own universities, and Kraków with Lemberg (Lwów/Lviv) became centers of Polish culture and education. Meanwhile, Prussia Germanized the entire school system of its Polish subjects, and had no more respect for Polish culture and institutions than the Russian Empire. In 1915 a client state of the German Empire and Austria-Hungary was proposed and accepted by the Central Powers of World War I: the Regency Kingdom of Poland. After the end of World War I, the Central Powers' surrender to the Western Allies, the chaos of the Russian Revolution and the Treaty of Versailles finally allowed and helped the restoration of Poland's full independence after 123 years.

Fourth Partition
The term "Fourth Partition of Poland" may refer to any subsequent division of Polish lands, including: If one accepts more than one of those events as partitions, fifth, sixth, and even seventh partitions can be counted, but these terms are very rare. (For example, Norman Davies in God's Playground refers to the 1807 creation of the Duchy of Warsaw as the fourth partition, the 1815 Treaty of Vienna as the fifth, the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as the sixth, and the 1939 division of Poland between Nazi Germany and the USSR as the seventh.) However, in recent times, the 1815 division of the Duchy of Warsaw at the Congress of Vienna and the 1939 division of Poland have been sometimes called the fourth and fifth partitions, respectively.
 * after the Napoleonic era, the 1815 division of the Duchy of Warsaw at the Congress of Vienna;
 * the 1832 incorporation of the "Congress Kingdom" into Russia, the 1846 incorporation of the Republic of Kraków into Austria, and the 1848 incorporation of the Grand Duchy of Posen into Prussia; and
 * the 1939 division of Poland between Germany and Russia pursuant to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.

The term "Fourth Partition" was also used in the 19th and 20th centuries to refer to diaspora communities who maintained a close interest in the project of regaining Polish independence. Sometimes termed Polonia, these expatriate communities often contributed funding and military support to the project of regaining the Polish nation-state. Diaspora politics were deeply affected by developments in and around the homeland, and vice versa, for many decades.

Reasons, legality and justifications
More recent studies claim that partitions happened when the Commonwealth had been showing the beginning signs of a slow recovery and see the last two partitions as an answer to strengthening reforms in the Commonwealth and the potential threat they represented to its power-hungry neighbours.

As historian Norman Davies stated, because the balance of power equilibrium was observed, many contemporary observers accepted explanations of the "enlightened apologists" of the partitioning state. 19th-century historians from countries that carried out the partitions, such as 19th-century Russian scholar Sergey Solovyov, and their 20th century followers, argued that partitions were justified, as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had degenerated to the point of being partitioned because the counterproductive principle of liberum veto made decision-making on divisive issues, such as a wide-scale social reform, virtually impossible. Solovyov specified the cultural, language and religious break between the supreme and lowest layers of the society in the east regions of the Commonwealth, where the Belarusian and Ukrainian serf peasantry was Orthodox. Russian authors emphasized the historical connections between Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, as former parts of the medieval old Russian state where dynasty of Rurikids reigned (Kievan Rus'). Thus, Nikolay Karamzin wrote: "Let the foreigners denounce the partition of Poland: we took what was ours." Russian historians often stressed that Russia annexed primarily Ukrainian and Belarusian provinces with Eastern Slavic inhabitants, although many Ruthenians were no more enthusiastic about Russia than about Poland, and ignoring ethnically Polish and Lithuanian territories also being annexed later. A new justification for partitions arose with the Russian Enlightenment, as Russian writers such as Gavrila Derzhavin, Denis Fonvizin, and Alexander Pushkin stressed degeneration of Catholic Poland and the need to "civilize" it by its neighbors.

Nonetheless, other 19th century contemporaries were much more skeptical; for example, British jurist Sir Robert Phillimore discussed the partition as a violation of international law; German jurist Heinrich Bernhard Oppenheim presented similar views. Other older historians who challenged such justifications for the Partitions included French historian Jules Michelet, British historian and politician Thomas Babington Macaulay, and Edmund Burke, who criticized the immorality of the partitions. Nonetheless, most governments accepted the event as a fait acompli. The Ottoman Empire was either the only, or one of only two countries in the world that refused to accept the partitions, (the other being the Persian Empire), and reserved a place in its diplomatic corps for an Ambassador of Lehistan (Poland).

Several scholars focused on the economic motivations of the partitioning powers. Hajo Holborn noted that Prussia aimed to take control of the lucrative Baltic grain trade through Gdańsk. In the 18th century the Russian peasants were escaping from Russia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (where the once dire conditions had improved, unlike in Russia ) in significant enough numbers to become a major concern for the Russian Government sufficient to play a role in its decision to partition the Commonwealth (one of the reasons Catherine II gave for the partition of Poland was that thousands of peasants escaped from Russia to Poland to seek a better fate"). Jerzy Czajewski and Piotr Kimla assert that in the 18th century until the partitions solved this problem, Russian armies increasingly raided territories of the Commonwealth, officially to recover the escapees, but in fact kidnapping many locals; Piotr Kimla noted that the Russian government spread international propaganda, mainly in France, which falsely exaggerated serfdom conditions in Poland, while ignoring worse conditions in Russia, as one of the justification for the partitions.

Legacy
Il Canto degli Italiani, the Italian national anthem, contains a reference to the partition.

The ongoing partitions of Poland were a major topic of discourse in The Federalist Papers, where the structure of the government of Poland, and of foreign influence over it, is used in several papers (Federalist No. 14, Federalist No. 19, Federalist No. 22, Federalist No. 39 for examples) as a cautionary tale for the writers of the U.S. Constitution.

title: Partitions of Poland