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Comparative religion

Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of religion such as ethics, metaphysics and the nature and forms of salvation. It also considers and compares the origins and similarities shared between the various religions of the world. Studying such material facilitates a broadened and more sophisticated understanding of human beliefs and practices regarding the sacred, numinous, spiritual and divine.

In the field of comparative religion, a common geographical classification of the main world religions distinguishes groups such as Middle Eastern religions (including Abrahamic religions and Iranian religions), Indian religions, East Asian religions, African religions, American religions, Oceanic religions, and classical Hellenistic religions.

There also exist various sociological classifications of religious movements.

History
Al-Biruni (973 – c. 1050) and Ibn Hazm (994 – 1064), both of the Islamic Golden Age and considered as the "fathers of comparative religion", compared the study of religious pluralism and their works have been significant in the fields of theology and philosophy. The Persian Al-Biruni discussed his idea of history in The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries (c. 1000 AD) which was translated by Eduard Sachau in 19th century. It is a comparative study of calendars of different cultures and civilizations, interlaced with mathematical, astronomical, and historical information, exploring the customs and religions of different peoples.

In the seventeenth century, antiquarians such as Athanasius Kircher along with Sir Thomas Browne were pioneering scholars of comparative religion.

Social scientists in the 19th century took a strong interest in comparative and "primitive" religion through the work of Max Müller, Edward Burnett Tylor, William Robertson Smith, James George Frazer, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Rudolf Otto. Nicholas de Lange, Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at Cambridge University, says that

"The comparative study of religions is an academic discipline which has been developed within Christian theology faculties, and it has a tendency to force widely differing phenomena into a kind of strait-jacket cut to a Christian pattern. The problem is not only that other 'religions' may have little or nothing to say about questions which are of burning importance for Christianity, but that they may not even see themselves as religions in precisely the same way in which Christianity sees itself as a religion."Examples that demonstrate this point are Buddhism and Chinese Folk Religions. These belief systems have not historically been seen as mutually exclusive and have blended over time into different beliefs such as Pure Land Buddhism. This shows a marked difference from Western conceptions of religions which see adherence to one religion as precluding membership of another faith.

Hinduism and Buddhism provide another insight in the form of soteriology. Comparative study of religions may approach religions with a base idea of salvation with eternal life after death, but religions like Hinduism or Buddhism don't necessarily share this view. Instead, Hinduism and Theravada Buddhism both speak of a falling back into nonexistence and escaping the cycle of reincarnation, rather than eternal life after death.

Geographical classification
According to Charles Joseph Adams, in the field of comparative religion, a common geographical classification discerns the main world religions as follows:

 * 1) Middle Eastern religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, and a variety of ancient cults;
 * 2) East Asian religions, the religious communities of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam, and consisting of Confucianism, Daoism, the various schools of Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”) Buddhism, and Shintō;
 * 3) Indian religions, including early Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and sometimes also the Theravada (“Way of the Elders”) Buddhism and the Hindu- and Buddhist-inspired religions of South and Southeast Asia;
 * 4) African religions, the ancient belief systems of the various indigenous peoples of Africa, excluding ancient Egyptian religion, which is considered to belong to the ancient Middle East;
 * 5) American religions, the beliefs and practices of the various Indigenous peoples of the two American continents;
 * 6) Oceanic religions, the religious systems of the peoples of the Pacific islands, Australia, and New Zealand; and
 * 7) Religions of ancient Greece and Rome and their Hellenistic descendants.

Abrahamic or Western Asian religions
In the study of comparative religion, the category of Abrahamic religions consists of the three monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, which claim Abraham (Hebrew Avraham אַבְרָהָם; Arabic Ibrahim إبراهيم ) as a part of their sacred history. Smaller religions such as Baháʼí Faith that fit this description are sometimes included but are often omitted.

The original belief in the God of Abraham eventually became strictly monotheistic present-day Rabbinic Judaism. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the covenant that God established with the Children of Israel. Jews hold that the Torah is part of the larger text known as the Tanakh or the Hebrew Bible, they also believe in a supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash and the Talmud.

Christians believe that Christianity is the fulfillment and continuation of the Jewish Old Testament. Christians believe that Jesus (Hebrew Yeshua יֵשׁוּעַ) is the awaited Messiah (Christ) foretold in the Old Testament prophecies, and believe in subsequent New Testament scripture. Christians in general believe that Jesus is the incarnation or Son of God. Their creeds generally hold in common that the incarnation, ministry, suffering, death on the cross, and resurrection of Jesus was for the salvation of mankind.

Islam believes the present Christian and Jewish scriptures have been corrupted over time and are no longer the original divine revelations as given to the Jewish people and to Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. For Muslims, the Quran is the final, complete revelation from God (Arabic الله Allah), who believe it to have been revealed to Muhammad alone, who is believed by Muslims to be the final prophet of Islam, and the Khatam an-Nabiyyin, meaning the last of the prophets ever sent by Allah ("seal of the prophets").

Based on the Muslim figure of the Mahdī, the ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams, Ali Muhammad Shirazi, later known as Bab, created the Bábí movement out of the belief that he was the gate to the Twelfth Imām. This signaled a break with Islam and started a new religious system, Bábism. However, in the 1860s a split occurred after which the vast majority of Bábís who considered Mirza Husayn `Ali or Bahá'u'lláh to be Báb's spiritual successor founded the Baháʼí Movement, while the minority who followed Subh-i-Azal came to be called Azalis. The Baháʼí division eventually became a full-fledged religion of its own, the Baháʼí Faith. In comparison to the other Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the number of adherents for Baháʼí faith and other minor Abrahamic religions are not very significant.

Out of the three major Abrahamic faiths, Christianity and Judaism are the two religions that diverge the most in theology and practice.

The historical interaction of Islam and Judaism started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam. There are many common aspects between Islam and Judaism, and as Islam developed, it gradually became the major religion closest to Judaism. As opposed to Christianity, which originated from interaction between ancient Greek, Roman, and Hebrew cultures, Judaism is very similar to Islam in its fundamental religious outlook, structure, jurisprudence and practice. There are many traditions within Islam originating from traditions within the Hebrew Bible or from post-biblical Jewish traditions. These practices are known collectively as the Isra'iliyat.

The historical interaction between Christianity and Islam connects fundamental ideas in Christianity with similar ones in Islam. Islam accepts many aspects of Christianity as part of its faith – with some differences in interpretation – and rejects other aspects. Islam believes the Quran is the final revelation from God and a completion of all previous revelations, including the Bible.

Mandaeism, sometimes also known as Sabianism (after the mysterious Sabians mentioned in the Quran, a name historically claimed by several religious groups), is a Gnostic and monotheistic religion. John the Baptist is their chief prophet and frequent baptism is part of their core beliefs. According to most scholars, Mandaeism originated sometime in the first three centuries CE, in either southwestern Mesopotamia or the Syro-Palestinian area. However, some scholars take the view that Mandaeism is older and dates from pre-Christian times. Mandaeans assert that their religion predates Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as a monotheistic faith. Mandaeans believe that they descend directly from Shem, Noah's son, and also from John the Baptist's original disciples.

Iranian religions
Several important religions and religious movements originated in Greater Iran, that is, among speakers of various Iranian languages. They include Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, Ætsæg Din, Yazdanism, Ahl-e Haqq, Zurvanism, Manichaeism, and Mazdakism. Perhaps one of the most important religions to have come out of Iran was Zoroastrianism. While not, properly speaking, a world religion, it became widespread in the Iranian world, especially through the Achaemenid and Sasanian Empires. It went into decline alongside many Iranian religions with the rise of Islam and the Caliphates. The religion still survives today in small numbers, with a particularly notable example being the Parsis in India and Pakistan.

Scholars have often noted the similarities between Zoroastrianism and the Abrahamic religions, especially Christianity. They've particularly noted this due to the historic relationship between the Jews and the Zoroastrian Persian Empires, as well as the relationship between Greek philosophy, Persia, and Christianity. They've debated whether Zoroastrianism played an influencing role on these religions or not. Particular areas of concern are a shared sense of duality between the forces of good and evil, or light and darkness. In addition to this, there is a shared belief in the resurrection of the dead as well as an emphasis on free will and the moral responsibility of mankind. These are seen by some as having influenced the three major Abrahamic faiths as well as Gnosticism and the Baháʼí Faith.

Manichaeism is another Iranian faith that shares many similarities to Zoroastrianism. In fact, Manichaeism shares a belief in the prophethood of Zoroaster while also maintaining the prophethood of Gautama Buddha and Jesus Christ. It shares a dualist cosmology that pits good and light against evil and darkness, with an adversary to oppose the benevolent God. Manichaeism and Mandaeism also share a common belief in many of the figures and stories of the Abrahamic faiths, which has raised questions of influences and origins.

Indian religions

In comparative religion, Indian religions are all the religions that originated in South Asia. It is thought that "the kinship of the religions of India stems from the fact that Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs look back to Hinduism as their common mother."

Al-Biruni deeply studied the Vedic religions and through his works essential details about pre-11th century India's religions and cultures were found. Adi Shankaracharya was an early 8th century philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. Gautama Buddha is mentioned as an Avatar of Vishnu in the Puranic texts of Hinduism. Most Hindus believe the Buddha accepted and incorporated many tenets of Hinduism in his doctrine. Prominent modern Hindu reformers such as Mahatma Gandhi and Vivekananda acknowledge Buddhist influence. Like Hindus, Gandhi himself did not believe Buddha established a non-Hindu tradition. He writes, "I do not regard Jainism or Buddhism as separate from Hinduism."

East Asian or Taoic religions

A Taoic religion is a religion, or religious philosophy, that focuses on the East Asian concept of Tao ("The Way"). This forms a large group of eastern religions including Taoism, Confucianism, Jeung San Do, Shintoism, I-Kuan Tao, Chondogyo, and Chen Tao. In large parts of East Asia, Buddhism has taken on some taoic features.

Tao can be roughly stated to be the flow of the universe, or the force behind the natural order. It is believed to be the influence that keeps the universe balanced and ordered and is associated with nature, due to a belief that nature demonstrates the Tao. The flow of qi, as the essential energy of action and existence, is compared to the universal order of Tao. Following the Tao is also associated with a "proper" attitude, morality and lifestyle. This is intimately tied to the complex concept of De, or literally "virtue" or "power." De is the active expression of Tao.

Taoism and Chan Buddhism for centuries had a mutual influence on each other in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. These influences were inherited by Zen Buddhism when Chan Buddhism arrived in Japan and adapted as Zen Buddhism.

Despite being too far from each other to have had any influence, some have historically noted similarities between traditional Chinese religious beliefs and Christianity. This was noted by Jesuit missionaries who became known as figurists. Figurists promoted the idea that the ancient Chinese knew the truth of Christian revelation and that many of the figures described in Chinese texts are actually figures and concepts from Christianity. Noted parallels include shared flood myths, similarities between Fuxi and Enoch, as well as parallels between Christ and the sages. There is also a noted similarity between the Tao being "the Way" as well as Christ claiming to be "the Way."

While scholarship rejects this view today, it was a notable view in the history of comparative religion. These beliefs were ultimately opposed and disavowed by the Catholic Church in the 18th century.

The introduction of Nestorian Christianity to China under the Tang dynasty also led to increasing similarities between Chinese Buddhism and Nestorian Christianity. Christians began using Buddhist and Taoist concepts to explain their faith. During this time the Jingjiao documents were created, sometimes called sutras, that demonstrated the blending of Christianity with Buddhism. The two also formed a monastic tradition that furthered the similarities. This fusion became so heavy that when Emperor Wuzong of the Tang dynasty began persecuting Buddhists in the 9th century, he claimed that Christianity was merely a heresy of Buddhism rather than its own religion. This equation of the two led to the collapse of Nestorian Christianity in China alongside the persecution of Buddhism.

Comparing traditions
Religious ideologies can be systematically understood to have formed many major groups with tens of thousands of subbranches. It is a form of cultural evolution that can be intuitively illustrated with trees showing historical relationships and the diversification over time of the various traditions. Some of the most successful have been those religions that paired up with empires, kingdoms, or caliphates early in their history (e.g., Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism). A few major groups of religion are given below.

Christianity

 * Christianity and other religions
 * Buddhism and Christianity
 * Comparison of Buddhism and Christianity
 * Christianity and Islam
 * Christianity and Judaism
 * Christianity and Neopaganism
 * Christianity and Paganism
 * Christianity and Vodou
 * Christianity and Mormonism
 * Christianity and Theosophy

 * Mormonism
 * Mormonism and Christianity
 * Mormonism and Islam
 * Mormonism and Judaism

Judaism

 * Christianity and Judaism
 * Islamic–Jewish relations
 * Hinduism and Judaism

Islam

 * Islam and other religions
 * Christianity and Islam
 * Hindu–Islamic relations
 * Islam and Jainism
 * Islamic–Jewish relations
 * Islam and Sikhism
 * Mormonism and Islam

Sikhism

 * Hinduism and Sikhism
 * Islam and Sikhism
 * Jainism and Sikhism

Hinduism

 * Hinduism and other religions
 * Baháʼí Faith and Hinduism
 * Buddhism and Hinduism
 * Hindu–Islamic relations
 * Jainism and Hinduism
 * Hinduism and Sikhism
 * Hinduism and Judaism

Buddhism

 * Buddhism and Christianity
 * Buddhism and Eastern religions
 * Buddhism and Gnosticism
 * Buddhism and Hinduism
 * Buddhism and Jainism
 * Buddhism and Theosophy
 * Buddhism and Islam
 * Comparison of Buddhism and Christianity

Jainism

 * Buddhism and Jainism
 * Islam and Jainism
 * Jainism and Sikhism

Paganism and Neopaganism

 * Christianity and Paganism
 * Christianity and Neopaganism

Confucianism

 * Confucianism and eastern religions
 * Confucianism and western religions

Taoism

 * Taoism and other religions

Baháʼí Faith

 * Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion
 * Baháʼí Faith and Buddhism
 * Baháʼí Faith and Hinduism
 * Baháʼí Faith and Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism

 * Zoroastrianism and other religions
 * Zoroastrianism and Baháʼí Faith

title: Comparative religion


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Holy Island, Anglesey

Holy Island (Ynys Gybi, 'the island of (Saint) Cybi') is an island on the western side of the larger Isle of Anglesey, Wales, from which it is separated by the Cymyran Strait. It is called "Holy" because of the high concentration of standing stones, burial chambers and other religious sites on the small island. The alternative English name of the island is Holyhead Island. According to the 2011 UK Census, the population was 13,659, of whom 11,431 (84%) lived in the largest town, Holyhead.

Pre-history of Holy Island
The settlement of Holy Island, Anglesey is dated to c. 4,000 BC with the discovery of an original Neolithic long house. The long house is similar to those found in Scotland and elsewhere in the British Isles. Also near the Neolithic site on the middle of Holy island is the Bronze Age Ty Mawr standing stone (Menhir), which is a Monolith measuring 2.67m high (8 feet).

Permanent settlement on Anglesey was established in different forms for thousands of years from after the Bronze Age. Many of these sites were used from Neolithic times. This was proven by pottery discoveries. There are ancient hillforts that were in use for nearly a millennium until the Roman invasion of Wales.

A well-preserved hut settlement on Anglesey was adjacent to the Holyhead Mountain hillfort. The Holyhead Mountain Hut Circles (Tŷ Mawr / Cytiau'r Gwyddelod, Big house / "Irishmen's Huts") on Holy Island were inhabited before the Iron Ages, as of c. 1,000 BC. A stone wall built in the enclosure was found with limpet shells dating to 200 BC. Also at the huts was Roman-era ancient pottery proving the hut group habitation from the 3rd to 4th centuries AD. The Ty Mawr Hut Circles archaeological excavations were carried out by William Owen Stanley (son of Baron Stanley of Alderley) of Penrhos, in 1862.

Irish settlers invaded Anglesey following the end of Roman rule in Britannia. Cunedda first began warfare against the Irish but ultimately Cadwallon Lawhir defeated the Irish on Holy Island.

Natural features
There are a variety of natural habitats on the island including mudflats, dunes, marshes and beaches. Practically nothing is left of the oak forest that covered almost all of the island before the arrival of Neolithic farmers. The western side of the island is taken up mainly by Holyhead Mountain, an area of maritime heather moor, which is the highest peak in the county at 722 ft. North Stack and South Stack are two islands just off the coast by Holyhead Mountain. South Stack is joined to Holy Island by steep steps and a suspension bridge which provides access to the South Stack Lighthouse.

Whilst most of the coastline is rocky, there are sandy beaches at Trearddur Bay and Penrhos Country Park. Due to its rocky nature the island has seen many shipwrecks through the years. The coastal zone between the island and the mainland of Anglesey is a large site of special scientific interest: Beddmanarch–Cymyran.

Transport
Holy Island is connected to Anglesey by two road links. The first, the Stanley Embankment, is made up of causeways carrying the A5 and A55. The second is the much older original link, Four Mile Bridge. The Stanley Embankment also carries the North Wales Coast Line which terminates at the island's only railway station, in Holyhead. The Port of Holyhead has passenger and freight ferries which travel to Dublin Port, Ireland. Buses from the island run to Amlwch, Llangefni and Bangor, amongst other places.

Around 30 mi of the 125 mi Anglesey Coastal Path is on Holy Island. National Cycle Route 5 and National Cycle Route 8 traverse the island. The nearest airport is Anglesey Airport a few miles away on the Anglesey mainland and provides daily flights to Cardiff. The nearest major airport is Liverpool John Lennon Airport, 100 mi away.

Sport and tourism
There are three association football teams in the Welsh football league system on the island: Holyhead Hotspur, Caergybi and Trearddur Bay. The New Oval ground is home to the Ynys Môn football team and hosted the finals of the 2019 Inter Games Football Tournament. There is also a rugby union side and a golf course. Holyhead Park contains lawn bowling greens, three public tennis courts and a skate park. Like the rest of Anglesey, owing to its exposed location in the Irish Sea, surfing is popular.

Many people staying on Holy Island do so short term whilst waiting for the ferries to Dublin Port. As such the largest hotels (Travelodge and Premier Inn) are located close to the A5/A55 roads. Centred in Holyhead but dotted around the island (especially Trearddur Bay and Rhoscolyn) are quite a number of smaller bed and breakfast hotels and caravan parks for people who may wish to stay longer. Attractions in the area include South Stack Lighthouse and the RSPB reserve close by, the Breakwater Country Park, the RNLI museum and walks up Holyhead Mountain.

Schools and governance
There are six primary schools and one secondary school, Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi, which lays claim to being the first Comprehensive school in England and Wales. Tertiary education can be found at Bangor University, some 20 mi away on the Welsh mainland.

Along with the rest of Anglesey, Holy Island is part of the Ynys Môn UK Parliament constituency and the Ynys Môn Senedd constituency. At a local level it is run by Isle of Anglesey County Council. Holy Island returns six of the 30 councillors to the county council, three for Caergybi (Holyhead town centre and surrounds) and three for Ynys Gybi (the southern extremes of Holyhead town and the more rural south). Holyhead Town Council is made up of seven electoral wards who return 16 councillors and appoint a mayor and deputy mayor annually.

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

title: Holy Island, Anglesey


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Primitive root modulo n

In modular arithmetic, a number $n$ is a primitive root modulo $g$ if every number $n$ coprime to $a$ is congruent to a power of $n$ modulo $g$. That is, $n$ is a primitive root modulo $g$ if for every integer $n$ coprime to $a$, there is some integer $n$ for which $k$$g$ ≡ $k$ (mod $a$). Such a value $n$ is called the index or discrete logarithm of $k$ to the base $a$ modulo $g$. So $n$ is a primitive root modulo $g$ if and only if $n$ is a generator of the multiplicative group of integers modulo $g$.

Gauss defined primitive roots in Article 57 of the Disquisitiones Arithmeticae (1801), where he credited Euler with coining the term. In Article 56 he stated that Lambert and Euler knew of them, but he was the first to rigorously demonstrate that primitive roots exist for a prime $n$. In fact, the Disquisitiones contains two proofs: The one in Article 54 is a nonconstructive existence proof, while the proof in Article 55 is constructive.

A primitive root exists if and only if n is 1, 2, 4, pk or 2pk, where p is an odd prime and k > 0. For all other values of n the multiplicative group of integers modulo n is not cyclic. This was first proved by Gauss.

Elementary example
The number 3 is a primitive root modulo 7 because $$ \begin{array}{rcrcrcrcrcr} 3^1 &=& 3^0 \times 3 &\equiv& 1 \times 3 &=& 3 &\equiv& 3 \pmod 7 \\ 3^2 &=& 3^1 \times 3 &\equiv& 3 \times 3 &=& 9 &\equiv& 2 \pmod 7 \\ 3^3 &=& 3^2 \times 3 &\equiv& 2 \times 3 &=& 6 &\equiv& 6 \pmod 7 \\ 3^4 &=& 3^3 \times 3 &\equiv& 6 \times 3 &=& 18 &\equiv& 4 \pmod 7 \\ 3^5 &=& 3^4 \times 3 &\equiv& 4 \times 3 &=& 12 &\equiv& 5 \pmod 7 \\ 3^6 &=& 3^5 \times 3 &\equiv& 5 \times 3 &=& 15 &\equiv& 1 \pmod 7 \end{array} $$

Here we see that the period of 3$n$ modulo 7 is 6. The remainders in the period, which are 3, 2, 6, 4, 5, 1, form a rearrangement of all nonzero remainders modulo 7, implying that 3 is indeed a primitive root modulo 7. This derives from the fact that a sequence ($k$$g$ modulo $k$) always repeats after some value of $n$, since modulo $k$ produces a finite number of values. If $n$ is a primitive root modulo $g$ and $n$ is prime, then the period of repetition is $n$ − 1. Permutations created in this way (and their circular shifts) have been shown to be Costas arrays.

Definition
If $n$ is a positive integer, the integers from 1 to $n$ − 1 that are coprime to $n$ (or equivalently, the congruence classes coprime to $n$) form a group, with multiplication modulo $n$ as the operation; it is denoted by $\mathbb{Z}$$n$, and is called the group of units modulo $× n$, or the group of primitive classes modulo $n$. As explained in the article multiplicative group of integers modulo $n$, this multiplicative group ($$\mathbb{Z}$$$n$) is cyclic if and only if $× n$ is equal to 2, 4, $n$, or 2$pk$ where $pk$ is a power of an odd prime number. When (and only when) this group $$\mathbb{Z}$$$pk$ is cyclic, a generator of this cyclic group is called a primitive root modulo $× n$ (or in fuller language primitive root of unity modulo $n$, emphasizing its role as a fundamental solution of the roots of unity polynomial equations X$n$ − 1 in the ring $$\mathbb{Z}$$$m$), or simply a primitive element of $$\mathbb{Z}$$$n$.

When $$\mathbb{Z}$$$× n$ is non-cyclic, such primitive elements mod $× n$ do not exist. Instead, each prime component of $n$ has its own sub-primitive roots (see $15$ in the examples below).

For any $n$ (whether or not $$\mathbb{Z}$$$n$ is cyclic), the order of $$\mathbb{Z}$$$× n$ is given by Euler's totient function $× n$($φ$). And then, Euler's theorem says that $n$$a$($φ$) ≡ 1 (mod $n$) for every $n$ coprime to $a$; the lowest power of $n$ that is congruent to 1 modulo $a$ is called the multiplicative order of $n$ modulo $a$. In particular, for $n$ to be a primitive root modulo $a$, $n$$a$($φ$) has to be the smallest power of $n$ that is congruent to 1 modulo $a$.

Examples
For example, if $n$ = 14 then the elements of $$\mathbb{Z}$$$n$ are the congruence classes {1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13}; there are $× n$(14) = 6 of them. Here is a table of their powers modulo 14:

x    x, x2, x3, ... (mod 14) 1 :  1  3 :   3,  9, 13, 11,  5,  1   5 :   5, 11, 13,  9,  3,  1  9 :   9, 11,  1 11 :  11,  9,  1 13 :  13,  1

The order of 1 is 1, the orders of 3 and 5 are 6, the orders of 9 and 11 are 3, and the order of 13 is 2. Thus, 3 and 5 are the primitive roots modulo 14.

For a second example let $φ$ = 15. The elements of $$\mathbb{Z}$$$n$ are the congruence classes {1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14}; there are $× 15$(15) = 8 of them.

x    x, x2, x3, ... (mod 15) 1 :  1  2 :   2,  4,  8, 1   4 :   4,  1  7 :   7,  4, 13, 1  8 :   8,  4,  2, 1 11 :  11,  1 13 :  13,  4,  7, 1 14 :  14,  1

Since there is no number whose order is 8, there are no primitive roots modulo 15. Indeed, $φ$(15) = 4, where $λ$ is the Carmichael function.

Table of primitive roots
Numbers $$n$$ that have a primitive root are of the shape
 * $$n \in \{1, 2, 4, p^k, 2 \cdot p^k \; \; | \; \; 2 < p \text{ prime}; \; k \in \mathbb{N}\} ,$$
 * = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, ...}.

These are the numbers $$n$$ with $$\varphi(n) = \lambda(n),$$ kept also in the sequence in the OEIS.

The following table lists the primitive roots modulo $λ$ up to $$n=31$$:

Properties
Gauss proved that for any prime number $n$ (with the sole exception of $n$ = 3), the product of its primitive roots is congruent to 1 modulo $n$.

He also proved that for any prime number $p$, the sum of its primitive roots is congruent to $p$($p$ − 1) modulo $p$, where $μ$ is the Möbius function.

For example,

 * $p$ = 3, || $p$(2) = −1. || The primitive root is 2.
 * $μ$ = 5, || $p$(4) = 0. || The primitive roots are 2 and 3.
 * $μ$ = 7, || $p$(6) = 1. || The primitive roots are 3 and 5.
 * $μ$ = 31, ||$p$(30) = −1. || The primitive roots are 3, 11, 12, 13, 17, 21, 22 and 24.
 * }
 * $μ$ = 7, || $p$(6) = 1. || The primitive roots are 3 and 5.
 * $μ$ = 31, ||$a$(30) = −1. || The primitive roots are 3, 11, 12, 13, 17, 21, 22 and 24.
 * }
 * }

E.g., the product of the latter primitive roots is $$2^6\cdot 3^4\cdot 7\cdot 11^2\cdot 13\cdot 17 = 970377408 \equiv 1 \pmod{31}$$, and their sum is $$123 \equiv -1 \equiv \mu(31-1) \pmod{31}$$.

If $$a$$ is a primitive root modulo the prime $$p$$, then $$a^\frac{p-1}{2}\equiv -1 \pmod p$$.

Artin's conjecture on primitive roots states that a given integer $n$ that is neither a perfect square nor −1 is a primitive root modulo infinitely many primes.

Finding primitive roots
No simple general formula to compute primitive roots modulo $m$ is known. There are however methods to locate a primitive root that are faster than simply trying out all candidates. If the multiplicative order (its exponent) of a number $n$ modulo $× n$ is equal to $\varphi(n)$ (the order of $$\mathbb{Z}$$$m$), then it is a primitive root. In fact the converse is true: If $n$ is a primitive root modulo $m$, then the multiplicative order of $m$ is $$\varphi(n) = \lambda(n)~.$$ We can use this to test a candidate $p$ to see if it is primitive.

For $$n > 1$$ first, compute $$\varphi(n)~.$$ Then determine the different prime factors of $$\varphi(n)$$, say $pk$1, ..., $g$. Finally, compute
 * $$g^{\varphi(n)/p_i}\bmod n \qquad\mbox{ for } i=1,\ldots,k$$

using a fast algorithm for modular exponentiation such as exponentiation by squaring. A number $k$ for which these $n$ results are all different from 1 is a primitive root.

The number of primitive roots modulo $r$, if there are any, is equal to
 * $$\varphi\left(\varphi(n)\right)$$

since, in general, a cyclic group with $n$ elements has $$\varphi(r)$$ generators.

For prime $n$, this equals $$\varphi(n-1)$$, and since $$n / \varphi(n-1) \in O(\log\log n)$$ the generators are very common among {2, ..., $g$−1} and thus it is relatively easy to find one.

If $p$ is a primitive root modulo $g$, then $pk$ is also a primitive root modulo all powers $g$ unless $p$$p$−1 ≡ 1 (mod $g$2); in that case, $p$ + $g$ is.

If $pk$ is a primitive root modulo $g$, then $p$ is also a primitive root modulo all smaller powers of $g$.

If $pk$ is a primitive root modulo $g$, then either $g$ or $pk$ + $pk$ (whichever one is odd) is a primitive root modulo 2$p$.

Finding primitive roots modulo $p$ is also equivalent to finding the roots of the ($p$ − 1)st cyclotomic polynomial modulo $gp$.

Order of magnitude of primitive roots
The least primitive root $p$ modulo $p$ (in the range 1, 2, ..., $C$ − 1 ) is generally small.

Upper bounds
Burgess (1962) proved that for every ε > 0 there is a $gp$ such that $$g_p \leq C\,p^{\frac{1}{4}+\varepsilon}~.$$

Grosswald (1981) proved that if $$p > e^{e^{24}} \approx 10^{11504079571}$$, then $$g_p < p^{0.499}~.$$

Shoup (1990, 1992) proved, assuming the generalized Riemann hypothesis, that $p$ = O(log6 $C$).

Lower bounds
Fridlander (1949) and Salié (1950) proved that there is a positive constant $gp$ such that for infinitely many primes $C$ > $p$ log $M$.

It can be proved in an elementary manner that for any positive integer $M$ there are infinitely many primes such that $gp$ < $p$ < $M$ − $n$.

Applications
A primitive root modulo $n$ is often used in pseudorandom number generators and cryptography, including the Diffie–Hellman key exchange scheme. Sound diffusers have been based on number-theoretic concepts such as primitive roots and quadratic residues.

title: Primitive root modulo n


text:
Press

Press may refer to:

Media

 * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press"
 * Printing press, commonly called "the press"
 * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers
 * Press TV, an Iranian television network

People

 * Press (surname), a family name of English and origin
 * Press Cruthers (1890–1976), American Major League Baseball player
 * Press Maravich (1915–1987), American basketball player and coach
 * Press Taylor (born 1988), American football coach

Music

 * The Press (band), a New York City Oi! band
 * Press (album), by MU330
 * "Press" (Paul McCartney song)
 * "Press" (Cardi B song)

Sports and fitness

 * Bench press
 * Overhead press, the act of lifting a weight above the head
 * Full-court press, a tactic in basketball

Other uses

 * Machine press, a machine tool that changes the shape of a work-piece by the application of pressure
 * "the Press", colloquial name for pressganging, a 17th- to 19th-century Royal Navy method of forced conscription
 * Press (TV series), a 2018 BBC One/PBS TV series
 * Press (film), a Turkish film
 * Press Holdings, a UK holding company
 * PRESS statistic, a statistic in regression analysis
 * Linen-press, a cupboard or cabinet for storing clothes or linen

title: Press


text:
Talk:Black legend

No reference to Tree of Hate
This article seems to lack any reference to the brilliant book "Tree of Hate" by Phillip Powell, one of the most brilliant books on anti-Hispanic bias in the American education system.Harlyn35 (talk) 13:45, 12 October 2019 (UTC)

Spanish Black Legend
It has been noted many times that there is massive duplication between this article and the specific one on the Spanish Black Legend.

I am therefore proposing that the majority of the material in this article be merged into the dedicated article.

Mauls (talk) 12:21, 11 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Agree. Veverve (talk) 12:30, 21 November 2019 (UTC)
 * I saw there was a consensus and did the merge (see: here and here). Veverve (talk) 12:57, 22 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks for tackling this, ! Schazjmd   (talk)  13:54, 22 November 2019 (UTC)

agree with merger, disagree that it should merge into the other page. The other page ought to be merged into this one, as this is the older page. Boynamedsue (talk) 07:38, 29 November 2019 (UTC)

Common elements of black legends
I find the following part confusing:

 * It is usually shown by tales with:

 * Narrations of black legends tend to include: Strong pathos, combined with a narrative that is easy to follow and emotionally loaded, created by:

It sounds inconsistent and I can't follow the reasoning. Is a part missing? There are too many colons ... Can you rephrase this part to be clearer? --Florian Blaschke (talk) 00:13, 11 February 2020 (UTC)

original language?
Did this article begin as a translation? I noticed a couple of usages that would be unlikely from a native English speaker. —Tamfang (talk) 00:59, 16 February 2020 (UTC)

Proposal to merge Black Legend (Spain) into this article
Following the discussion Fringe_theories/Noticeboard, several people have floated the idea proposal to merge Black legend (Spain) back into this article. The original decision to split was made unilaterally by an inexperienced brand-new user back in 2018. The term "Black Legend" primarily refers to the Spanish Black Legend, and it does not seem to me that the "Black Legend" concept is separately notable from the Spanish Black Legend, and therefore doesn't warrant a standalone article. Hemiauchenia (talk) 20:44, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Support merge. A merge will get rid of FRINGE and POV pertaining to this topic. ---Steve Quinn (talk) 17:09, 17 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Support. Excellent idea. jps (talk) 19:11, 17 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Support. The notability of "Black Legend" as a category to be studied separately from the "Spanish Black Legend" is far from established. The article leans heavily on the theories of Elvira Roca Barea, a philologist (rather than historian) who publishes popular history books, suggesting that there have been "black legends" about Rome, Russia, the USA and Spain (not Britain or the USSR, funnily enough) and that this constitutes a category she calls "imperophobia". This is a fringe theory in terms of our policies.
 * It is true that the term "black legend" was first applied to Napoleon rather than Spain, and that Barea's theory appears to be gaining some limited traction in pro-Putin articles from Russian journals. However, as of now, a merger and tidy up of the article seems in order.
 * I would suggest that after this process is complete, we should also look at merging Black Legend of the Spanish Inquisition into the article. Most texts dealing with the Black Legend discuss the Spanish inquisition, in depth and most text dealing with the Spanish inquisition don't mention the term "Black Legend".Boynamedsue (talk) 07:13, 18 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Are you ok with Template:sfn citation style such as in Book of Daniel? Was going to start working on the bibliography while i've the links handy, but dislike the inline markup cites. I'll take care of fixing up any merged content and keeping the references up to date. fiveby(zero) 15:32, 18 March 2024 (UTC)
 * No problem at all personally, I just tend to use the other way because it's what I'm familiar with. If you want to change to using that format, that's fine.--Boynamedsue (talk) 17:31, 18 March 2024 (UTC)
 * . I think we should merge Black Legend of the Spanish Inquisition into the already merged page. I agree that the Black Legend of the Spanish Inquisition is probably the most prominent aspect of this "Black Legend" topic. ---Steve Quinn (talk) 17:33, 19 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I don't have a problem with your proposal either. And thanks in advance---Steve Quinn (talk) 17:33, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

 * Support per . fiveby(zero) 14:53, 18 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Support There doesn't seem to be enough notability to Barea's analysis to necessitate a separate article. - Presidentman talk · contribs (Talkback) 20:26, 8 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I think this has gone on for long enough given the unanimous support that you have the full go-ahead to merge. Hemiauchenia (talk) 01:49, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

I've gone ahead and implemented the merge. Hemiauchenia (talk) 02:48, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

A Definition
Gibson, discussing 'Black Legend' and 'White Legend' in one of the most important works says: ...both phrases are figures of speech, not to be taken literally as noun and modifying adjective. But authors do provide definitions which make a noun of 'legend' and these can be practical and serviceable. Authors might be perfectly coherent while providing such a definition for their purposes, but i don't know that we could pick one of these, even without considering more polemical usage. Karmen says: Persistent employment of the label for ideological ends in order to rebut any criticism of Spain’s imperial record has made it both unsuitable to use and inaccurate. I think even trying to encompass our reasonable author's opinions we cannot not make a really suitable and accurate definition. I think using "...is a phrase" or "...is a term" is frowned upon for article introductions, but struggling to come up with a good alternative. fiveby(zero) 15:53, 30 March 2024 (UTC)
 * The body of esp. 16th and 17th century propaganda literature, probably the simplest and most straightforward def.
 * A negative, traditional and stereotypical portrayal of Spain and Spaniards in and based on that body of literature
 * Anti-Spanish attitudes, an otherness of Spain as less enlightened than her European rivals
 * That part of the record which is false or exaggerated
 * Hi, planned on citing those works in bibliography eventually, but leave in Further Reading till they are actually cited? About to change the lead section to follow above. fiveby(zero) 14:09, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
 * It just seems to me as a reader to be terribly cluttered to mix up sources which are called by citations and works which are not. DuncanHill (talk) 14:15, 13 April 2024 (UTC)
 * Oh don't read the article yet, it needs a lot of work! Is there a particular way editors are supposed to do bibliography first article writing? Sandbox or add sources to talk page maybe? fiveby(zero) 14:29, 13 April 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Black legend


text:
Min Guo

Min Guo may refer to:

 * Republic of China (disambiguation)
 * Min Kingdom

title: Min Guo


text:
Ida of Bernicia

Ida (died c. 559) is the first known king of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia, which he ruled from around 547 until his death in 559. Little is known of his life or reign, but he was regarded as the founder of a line from which later Anglo-Saxon kings in this part of northern England and southern Scotland claimed descent. His descendants overcame Brittonic resistance and ultimately founded the powerful kingdom of Northumbria.

title: Ida of Bernicia


text:
Ida

Ida or IDA may refer to:

People

 * Ida (given name), including people so named
 * Ida (surname), a list of people so named

Astronomy

 * Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter
 * 243 Ida, an asteroid
 * International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station

Computing

 * Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a technology for increasing single-threaded performance on multi-core processors
 * Interactive Disassembler (now IDA Pro), a popular software disassembler tool for reverse engineering
 * Interactive Data Analysis, a software package for SPSS
 * Interchange of Data across Administrations (IDA), a predecessor programme to the IDABC in European eGovernment

Film and television

 * ID:A, a 2011 Danish film
 * Ida (film), a 2013 Polish film
 * Ida Galaxy, a fictional galaxy in the Stargate TV series

Greek mythology

 * Ida (mother of Minos), daughter of Corybas, the wife of Lycastus king of Crete, and the mother of the "second" king Minos of Crete
 * Ida (nurse of Zeus), who along with her sister Adrasteia, nursed Zeus on Crete
 * Mount Ida, a sacred mountain

Music

 * Ida (band), a U.S. indie rock group
 * Ida (singer), a Danish singer on X Factor

Organizations

 * In Defense of Animals, a non-profit organization for animal rights activism
 * Indian Dental Association
 * IDA Ireland, formerly the Industrial Development Authority
 * Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, a statutory board of the Singapore government
 * Information Design Association
 * Ingeniørforeningen i Danmark or Danish Society of Engineers, an association for engineers and others in technology
 * Institute for Defense Analyses, a U.S. non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers
 * International Dark-Sky Association, a U.S.-based non-profit organization
 * International Depositary Authority, established by the Budapest Treaty for the deposit the biological material for the recognition of patents, such as the Microbial Culture Collection
 * International Desalination Association, a global organization dedicated to desalination, desalination technology and water reuse
 * International Development Association of the World Bank Group
 * International Disability Alliance, an international alliance of individuals to defend the rights of those with disabilities
 * International Dispensary Association Foundation a NGO dedicated to improving access to medications in the developing world
 * International Documentary Association, a non-profit organization promoting documentary film, video and new media
 * International Dyslexia Association, a non-profit education and advocacy organization
 * Investment Dealers Association of Canada, now part of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada
 * Issues Deliberation Australia/America, a public policy think tank based in South Australia and Texas

Places

 * Ida Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
 * Ida, a community in Cavan–Monaghan Township, Ontario, Canada
 * Ida (barony), a barony in County Kilkenny, Ireland
 * Ida, Nigeria, a railway station in Nigeria
 * Ida (river), Slovakia
 * Ida, Eastern Cape, a town in South Africa near Otto Du Plessis Pass
 * Ida Valley, a locality in Central Otago, New Zealand
 * Ida, Vologda Oblast, Russia
 * Ida, Russia, a list of rural localities

United States

 * Ida, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
 * Ida, Kentucky, an unincorporated community
 * Ida, Louisiana, a village
 * Ida County, Iowa
 * Ida Township, Michigan
 * Ida, Michigan
 * Ida Township, Douglas County, Minnesota
 * Ida Lake, Shelby Township, Blue Earth County, Minnesota
 * Ida, Virginia, an unincorporated community
 * Ida., one of the abbreviations of Idaho

Science

 * Ida (plant), a genus in the family Orchidaceae
 * IDA*, an iterative deepening depth-first search algorithm
 * Iminodiacetic acid, a dicarboxylic acid amine
 * Incremental Dynamic Analysis, a method for assessing the seismic behavior of structures
 * Industrial Denatured Alcohol
 * Intradural anesthesia or spinal anaesthesia
 * Iron-deficiency anemia
 * Isotope dilution analysis
 * Ida, a fossil of the early primate genus Darwinius, species Darwinius masillae

Other uses

 * List of storms named Ida
 * Mount Ida, disambiguation page
 * I.D.A. (drug store), originally Independent Druggists' Alliance, a Canadian drug store
 * Ila (Hinduism) or Idā, a Vedic goddess
 * Ida (Middleverse), a fictional android librarian in comic books
 * Ida (sword), a type of sword used by the Yoruba people
 * Ida (yoga), a Nadi in Indian medicine and yoga
 * USS Ida (1863), a Union Navy steamer of the American Civil War
 * Individual Development Account, an asset building tool for low-income families
 * Princess Ida, the comic opera's eponymous fictional heroine
 * Idaho Falls Regional Airport's IATA airport code
 * Idaxo-Isuxa-Tiriki language's ISO 639-3 code

title: Ida


text:
Gwyneth Dunwoody

Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody (née Phillips; 12 December 1930 – 17 April 2008) was a British Labour Party politician, who was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Exeter from 1966 to 1970, and then for Crewe (later Crewe and Nantwich) from February 1974 to her death in 2008. She was a moderate socialist and had a reputation as a fiercely independent parliamentarian, described as "intelligent, obstinate, opinionated and hard-working".

Early and private life
Dunwoody was born in Fulham, London, where her father was Labour parliamentary agent. She belonged to an experienced political dynasty: her father, Welsh-born Morgan Phillips, was a former coalminer who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party between 1944 and 1962; her mother, Norah Phillips was a former member of London County Council who became a life peer in 1964 (allowing Dunwoody to be styled "The Honourable"), serving as a government whip in the House of Lords, and as Lord Lieutenant of Greater London from 1978 to 1986. Both of her grandmothers were suffragettes, and all four grandparents were Labour party loyalists.

She attended the Fulham County Secondary School for Girls, now the Fulham Cross Girls' School, and the Notre Dame Convent (a girls' grammar school) in Battersea. She left school aged 16, and became a journalist with a local newspaper in Fulham, covering births, marriages and deaths. She joined the Labour Party in 1947, and spoke at the 1948 Labour party conference in Scarborough. She worked as an actress in repertory and as a journalist in the Netherlands, learning fluent Dutch, before suffering a bout of tuberculosis.

Married life
She married John Dunwoody in 1954, the same year he qualified as a doctor. Her husband became a general practitioner based in Totnes in Devon. They had two sons and a daughter. Their daughter, Tamsin Dunwoody, was a member of the National Assembly for Wales for one term between 2003 and 2007 and from 2005 was Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks in the Welsh Assembly Government.

Her husband stood as Labour candidate in the safe Conservative seat of Tiverton in 1959, and came close to winning Plymouth Sutton in 1964, losing by just 410 votes (David Owen would later hold for several years for Labour).

Meanwhile, Dunwoody was a councillor on Totnes Borough Council (now South Hams) from 1963 to 1966. Her husband was finally elected as Labour MP for Falmouth and Camborne in 1966 (she was elected at the same time in Exeter). He served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Security from 1969 until 1970. A well-regarded orator at the Labour Party Conference, John Dunwoody was spoken of as a future leader of the Party but lost his seat in the 1970 general election and did not return to Parliament. They were divorced in 1975.

Parliamentary career
Dunwoody stood as the Labour Party candidate for the Exeter seat in the 1964 general election. She was elected as Member of Parliament for Exeter in 1966, emulating her husband in Falmouth and Camborne. Like her husband, she also served as a junior minister, as a Parliamentary secretary at the Board of Trade, and also lost her seat at the 1970 general election.

In 1969 whilst serving as Parliamentary secretary to the board of trade she presented rock band Led Zeppelin with gold discs in recognition of the group exporting £5 million of records to the USA (£111,000,000 in 2024)

From 1970 to 1975, she was Director of the Film Producers Association of Great Britain and Consultant to the Association of Independent Cinemas.

She returned to the House of Commons after the February 1974 general election, becoming MP for the safe Labour seat of Crewe, having received the sponsorship of the National Union of Railwaymen (later part of RMT). Dunwoody was also a Member of the European Parliament between 1975 and 1979 (alongside John Prescott ) at a time when MEPs were nominated by national parliaments — MEPs have been directly elected since 1979.

In 1983, Dunwoody stood for election as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, alongside Peter Shore, on a Eurosceptic platform (a position she consistently maintained throughout her career - she voted against the Maastricht Treaty seven times ). The position was won by Roy Hattersley, and Dunwoody came last out of the four candidates with 1.3% of the Electoral College.

She did not return to ministerial office, but served as a front bench spokesman on, by turns, transport, health, and foreign affairs during the 18 years of Labour opposition from 1979 to 1997. She also served on the Labour National Executive Committee for seven years, from 1981 to 1988, collaborating closely with Betty Boothroyd. She resisted the Militant group in her constituency and later opposed all-women shortlists.

In 1983, boundary changes abolished the constituency of Crewe and created the constituency of Crewe and Nantwich, with many Conservative voters from Nantwich included in the new seat. She narrowly won the election in 1983 by 290 votes. She remained MP at Crewe and Nantwich until her death in 2008, having benefited from a further redrawing of the boundaries in 1997 which increased her majority substantially.

In 1998, she gained headlines around the world when she clashed with New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urging the return of the original Winnie the Pooh dolls from Donnell Library Center to the British Museum after she said she "detected sadness" in their display behind bulletproof glass in the United States library.

In October 2000, she was one of several candidates for the speakership of the House of Commons. The election was won by Michael Martin MP.

As a member for a constituency with a strong connection with the railway industry, she had considerable expertise on transport matters, and was Chair of the House of Commons' Transport Committee from 1997 to 2008. In this role she was a credible, independent-minded critic of the government, and she and her committee discomfited witnesses from the rail and air transport industries.

An attempt by the government whips to remove her and Donald Anderson, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, from their positions after the 2001 general election led to a revolt by back-bench members of Parliament, which resulted in them both being reinstated.

She was President of Labour Friends of Israel from 1988 to 1993, and was a parliamentary consultant to the British Fur Federation. She was one of 13 Labour MPs to vote against a reduction of the age of consent for homosexual acts to 16.

She had a house in her constituency, and a flat in the Barbican. She suffered from financial problems in the late 1980s, with a house in her constituency being repossessed due to mortgage arrears, was threatened with eviction from her London flat, and had furniture seized by bailiffs to meet rent arrears. She was sued by Barclays Bank due to an unpaid loan.

The Daily Telegraph described her as "Clever, acerbic, fiercely independent and often just plain funny", noting her willingness to cast party allegiance aside.

Death
Dunwoody died during the evening of 17 April 2008 in John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, following emergency heart surgery. Her funeral was held at St Margaret's, Westminster on 8 May 2008. She is buried at North Sheen Cemetery.

Her former husband died in 2006. She was survived by her daughter and two sons.

Her daughter Tamsin Dunwoody was selected as the Labour Party candidate in the by-election for Crewe and Nantwich. The by-election was announced by chief party whip Geoff Hoon on Wednesday 30 April 2008 and was held on Thursday 22 May 2008. Dunwoody lost the by-election and the Conservative candidate, Edward Timpson, became her mother's successor.

Records
In late September 2007, Dunwoody beat Irene Ward's record of the longest total service for a woman MP, at 37 years, 9 months. In early December 2007, she beat Barbara Castle's record of the longest unbroken service for a woman MP, at 33 years, 9 months. These records have since been broken by Margaret Beckett and Harriet Harman respectively.

Legacy
In January 2007, railway operator GB Railfreight named locomotive 66719 Gwyneth Dunwoody. Dunwoody Way in Crewe is named after Gwyneth Dunwoody.

title: Gwyneth Dunwoody


text:
Talk:Initialism

Comments
QANTAS seems like a bad example here because it is not an initialism but rather, like NATO, an acronym. No one pronounces QANTAS as Que Ay En Tee Ay Es, which, by definition, is the difference between an initialism and an acronym
 * viz. that the initialism is pronounced letter by letter and the acronym is pronounced as a single word unit.

M-W defines initialism as "an acronym formed from initial letters". The American Heritage dictionary makes the distinction you describe here (an acronym is a word and an initialism is pronounced letter by letter. -- Kimiko 07:28 18 May 2003 (UTC)

I'm removing the bit "The YMCA is now just a name and is no longer officially short for Young Men's Christian Association." - I can find no evidence that this has ever been true. Instead, I'm putting in KFC. - Jim Redmond 21:47, 16 Feb 2004 (UTC)

KFC is a good example but the reason may be incorrect according to this link the reason was not because of fried but because of the state of KY...But than again at the same site is this link  and at the bottom it does mention name change for fried's sake. I don't know. nothing changed. help. Ht1848 03:54, 2004 Aug 18 (UTC)

Proposed move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was procedural close. --BDD (talk) 17:34, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

Initialism → Acronym – That's where the term "initialism" is explained 219.79.91.54 (talk) 02:32, 13 February 2013 (UTC)

 * Speedy close if you want to discuss the retargetting of a redirect, you need to go to WP:RFD; as it is, why don't you just edit the redirect? -- 65.92.180.137 (talk) 05:59, 13 February 2013 (UTC)
 * The IP is right. Be bold and edit it yourself (add R to section) or take it to RfD. What you're proposing isn't actually a move. --BDD (talk) 17:34, 13 February 2013 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Ah true, sorry about that. ✅ 219.79.90.136 (talk) 13:21, 14 February 2013 (UTC)

title: Talk:Initialism


text:
Smithfield, London

Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England.

Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Bartholomew's Hospital and livery halls, including those of the Butchers' and Haberdashers' Companies. The area is best known for the Smithfield meat market, which dates from the 10th century, has been in continuous operation since medieval times, and is now London's only remaining wholesale market. From the 12th century to the 19th century the area hosted Bartholomew Fair. Smithfield's principal street is called West Smithfield, and the area also contains the City's oldest surviving church building, St Bartholomew-the-Great, dating from 1123 (most City churches were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666).

The area has borne witness to many executions of heretics and political rebels over the centuries, as well as Scottish knight Sir William Wallace, and Wat Tyler, leader of the Peasants' Revolt, among many other religious reformers and dissenters.

Smithfield Market, a Grade II listed-covered market building, was designed by Victorian architect Sir Horace Jones in the second half of the 19th century, and is the dominant architectural feature of the area. Some of its original market premises fell into disuse in the late 20th century and faced the prospect of demolition. The Corporation of London's public enquiry in 2012 drew widespread support for an urban regeneration plan intent upon preserving Smithfield's historical identity.

Smithfield area
In the Middle Ages, it was a broad grassy area known as Smooth Field, located beyond London Wall stretching to the eastern bank of the River Fleet. Given its ease of access to grazing and water, Smithfield established itself as London's livestock market, remaining so for almost 1,000 years. Many local toponyms are associated with the livestock trade: while some street names (such as "Cow Cross Street" and "Cock Lane") remain in use, many more (such as "Chick Lane", "Duck Lane", "Cow Lane", "Pheasant Court", "Goose Alley" ) have disappeared from the map after the major redevelopment of the area in the Victorian era.

Religious history
In 1123, the area near Aldersgate was granted by King Henry I for the foundation of St Bartholomew's Priory at the request of Prior Rahere, in thanks for his being nursed back to good health. The Priory exercised its right to enclose land between the vicinity of the boundary with Aldersgate Without (to the east), Long Lane (to the north) and modern-day Newgate Street (to the south), erecting its main western gate which opened onto Smithfield, and a postern on Long Lane. By facing the open space of Smithfield and by having 'its back to' the buildings lining Aldersgate Street, the Priory site has left a continuing legacy of limited connectivity between the Smithfield area and Aldersgate Street.

The Priory thereafter held the manorial rights to hold weekly fairs, which initially took place in its outer court on the site of present-day Cloth Fair, leading to "Fair Gate".

An additional annual celebration, the Bartholomew Fair, was established in 1133 by the Augustinian friars. Over time, this became one of London's pre-eminent summer fairs, opening each year on 24 August. A trading event for cloth and other goods as well as being a pleasure forum, the four-day festival drew crowds from all strata of English society.

In 1855, however, the City authorities closed Bartholomew Fair as they considered it to have degenerated into a magnet for debauchery and public disorder.

In 1348, Walter de Manny rented 13 acre of land at Spital Croft, north of Long Lane, from the Master and Brethren of St Bartholomew's Hospital, for a graveyard and plague pit for victims of the Black Death. A chapel and hermitage were constructed, renamed New Church Haw; but in 1371, this land was granted for the foundation of the Charterhouse, originally a Carthusian monastery.

Nearby and to the north of this demesne, the Knights Hospitaller established a Commandery at Clerkenwell, dedicated to St John in the mid-12th century. In 1194 they received a Charter from King Richard I granting the Order formal privileges. Later Augustinian canonesses established the Priory of St Mary, north of the Knights of St John property.

By the end of the 14th century, these religious houses were regarded by City traders as interlopers – occupying what had previously been public open space near one of the City gates. On numerous occasions vandals damaged the Charterhouse, eventually demolishing its buildings. By 1405, a stout wall was built to protect the property and maintain the privacy of the Order, particularly its church where men and women alike came to worship.

The religious houses were dissolved in the Reformation, and their lands broken up. The Priory Church of St John remains, as does St John's Gate. John Houghton (later canonized by Pope Paul VI as St John Houghton), The prior of Charterhouse went to Thomas Cromwell, accompanied by two other local priors, seeking an oath of supremacy that would be acceptable to their communities. Instead they were imprisoned in the Tower of London, and on 4 May 1535, they were taken to Tyburn and hanged – becoming the first Catholic martyrs of the Reformation. On 29 May, the remaining twenty monks and eighteen lay brothers were forced to swear the oath of allegiance to King Henry VIII; the ten who refused were taken to Newgate Prison and left to starve.

With the monks expelled, Charterhouse was requisitioned and remained as a private dwelling until its reestablishment by Thomas Sutton in 1611 as a charitable foundation; it was the basis of the school named Charterhouse and almshouses known as Sutton's Hospital in Charterhouse on its former site. The school was relocated to Godalming in 1872. Until 1899 Charterhouse was extra-parochial; that year it became a civil parish incorporated in the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. Some of the property was damaged during The Blitz, but it remains largely intact. Part of the site is now occupied by Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.

From its inception, the Priory of St Bartholomew treated the sick. After the Reformation it was left with neither income nor monastic occupants but, following a petition by the City Corporation, Henry VIII refounded it in December 1546, as the "House of the Poore in West Smithfield in the suburbs of the City of London of Henry VIII's Foundation". Letters Patent were presented to the City, granting property and income to the new foundation the following month. King Henry VIII's sergeant-surgeon, Thomas Vicary, was appointed as the hospital's first superintendent. The King Henry VIII Gate, which opens onto West Smithfield, was completed in 1702 and remains the hospital's main entrance.

The Priory's principal church, St Bartholomew-the-Great, was reconfigured after the dissolution of the monasteries, losing the western third of its nave. Reformed as an Anglican parish church, its parish boundaries were limited to the site of the ancient priory and a small tract of land between the church and Long Lane. The parish of St Bartholomew the Great was designated as a Liberty, responsible for the upkeep and security of its fabric and the land within its boundaries. With the advent of street lighting, mains water, and sewerage during the Victorian era, maintenance of such an ancient parish with so few parishioners became increasingly uneconomical after the Industrial Revolution. In 1910, it agreed to be incorporated by the Corporation of London which guaranteed financial support and security. Great St Barts' present parish boundary includes just 10 feet (3.048 m) of Smithfield – possibly delineating a former right of way.

After the Reformation, a separate parish likewise dedicated to St Bartholomew was granted in favour of St Bartholomew's Hospital; named St Bartholomew-the-Less, it remained under the hospital's patronage, unique in the Church of England, until 1948, when the hospital was nationalized in the National Health Service. The church benefice has since been joined again with its ancient partner, the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great.

Following the diminished influence of the ancient Priory, predecessor of the two parishes of St Bartholomew, disputes began to arise over rights to tithes and taxes payable by lay residents who claimed allegiance with the nearby and anciently associated parish of St Botolph Aldersgate – an unintended consequence and legacy of King Henry VIII's religious reforms.

Smithfield and its market, situated mostly in the parish of St Sepulchre, was founded in 1137, and was endowed by Prior Rahere, who also founded St Barts. The ancient parish of St Sepulchre extended north to Turnmill Street, to St Paul's Cathedral and Ludgate Hill in the south, and along the east bank of the Fleet (now the route of Farringdon Street). St Sepulchre's Tower contains the twelve "bells of Old Bailey", referred to in the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons". Traditionally, the Great Bell was rung to announce the execution of a prisoner at Newgate.

Civil history
As a large open space close to the City, Smithfield was a popular place for public gatherings. In 1374 Edward III held a seven-day tournament at Smithfield, for the amusement of his beloved Alice Perrers. Possibly the most famous medieval tournament at Smithfield was that commanded in 1390 by Richard II. Jean Froissart, in his fourth book of Chronicles, reported that sixty knights would come to London to tilt for two days, "accompanied by sixty noble ladies, richly ornamented and dressed". The tournament was proclaimed by heralds throughout England, Scotland, Hainault, Germany, Flanders and France, so as to rival the jousts given by Charles of France at Paris a few years earlier, upon the arrival of his consort Isabel of Bavaria. Geoffrey Chaucer supervised preparations for the tournament as a clerk to the King. It is told that, between 1389 and 1394, another large tournament was celebrated in the city which spawned the Portuguese legend of the Twelve of England, where twelve Portuguese knights were called to defend the honour of several ladies-in-waiting of John of Gaunt's castillian wife Constance of Castile. At the time, John of Gaunt's daughter Philipa of Lancaster was married to John of Aviz, King of Portugal, lending credence to the story, although how much and which parts of it are true is still debated.

Along with Tyburn, Smithfield was for centuries the main site for the public execution of heretics and dissidents in London. The Scottish nobleman Sir William Wallace was executed in 1305 at West Smithfield. The market was the meeting place prior to the Peasants' Revolt and where the Revolt's leader, Wat Tyler, was slain by Sir William Walworth, Lord Mayor of London on 15 June 1381.

Religious dissenters (Catholics as well as other Protestant denominations such as Anabaptists) were sentenced to death in this area during the Crown's changing course of religious orientation started by King Henry VIII. About fifty Protestants and religious reformers, known as the Marian martyrs, were executed at Smithfield during the reign of Mary I.

G.K. Chesterton observed ironically: "It is foolish, generally speaking, for a philosopher to set fire to another philosopher in Smithfield Market because they do not agree in their theory of the universe. That was done very frequently in the last decadence of the Middle Ages, and it failed altogether in its object."

- Heretics 1905

On 17 November 1558, several Protestant heretics were saved by a royal herald's timely announcement that Queen Mary had died shortly before the wooden faggots were to be lit at the Smithfield Stake. Under English Law death warrants were commanded by Sign Manual (the personal signature of the Monarch), invariably upon ministerial recommendation, which if unexercised by the time of a Sovereign's death required renewed authority. In this case Queen Elizabeth did not approve the executions, thus freeing the Protestants. During the 16th century, the Smithfield site was also the place of execution of swindlers and coin forgers, who were boiled to death in oil.

By the 18th century, the "Tyburn Tree" (near the present-day Marble Arch) became the main place for public executions in London. After 1785, executions were again moved, this time to the gates of Newgate prison, just to the south of Smithfield.

The Smithfield area emerged largely unscathed by the Great Fire of London in 1666, which was abated near the Fortune of War Tavern, at the junction of Giltspur Street and Cock Lane, where the statue of the Golden Boy of Pye Corner is located. In the late 17th century several residents of Smithfield emigrated to North America, where they founded the town of Smithfield, Rhode Island.

West Smithfield Bars
Until the 19th century, the area included boundary markers known as the West Smithfield Bars (or more simply, Smithfield Bars). These marked the northern boundary of the City of London and were placed at a point approximating to where modern Charterhouse Street meets St John Street, which was historically the first stretch of the Great North Road. The Bars were on the route of the former Fagswell Brook, a tributary of the Fleet, which marked the City's northern boundary in the area. The Bars are first documented in 1170 and 1197, and were a site of public executions.

Today
Since the late 1990s, Smithfield and neighbouring Farringdon have developed a reputation for being a cultural hub for up-and-coming professionals, who enjoy its bars, restaurants and nightclubs.

Nightclubs such as Fabric and Turnmills pioneered the area's reputation for trendy night life, attracting professionals from nearby Holborn, Clerkenwell and the City on weekdays. At weekends, the clubs and bars in the area, having late licences, draw people into the area from outside London too.

Smithfield has also become a venue for sporting events. Until 2002 Smithfield hosted the midnight start of the annual Miglia Quadrato Car Rally, but with the increased night club activity around Smithfield, the UHULMC (a motoring club) decided to move the event's start to Finsbury Circus. Since 2007, Smithfield has been the chosen site of an annual event dedicated to road bicycle racing known as the Smithfield Nocturne.

Number 1, West Smithfield is head office of the Churches Conservation Trust.

Origins
Meat has been traded at Smithfield Market for more than 800 years, making it one of the oldest markets in London. A livestock market occupied the site as early as the 10th century.

In 1174 the site was described by William Fitzstephen as: "a smooth field where every Friday there is a celebrated rendezvous of fine horses to be traded, and in another quarter are placed vendibles of the peasant, swine with their deep flanks, and cows and oxen of immense bulk." Costs, customs and rules were meticulously laid down. For instance, for an ox, a cow or a dozen sheep one could get 1 penny. The livestock market expanded over the centuries to meet demand from the growing population of the City. In 1710, the market was surrounded by a wooden fence containing the livestock within the market. Until the market's abolition, the Gate House at Cloth Fair ("Fair Gate") employed a chain (le cheyne) on market days. Daniel Defoe referred to the livestock market in 1726 as being "without question, the greatest in the world", and data available appear to corroborate his statement.

Between 1740 and 1750 the average yearly sales at Smithfield were reported to be around 74,000 cattle and 570,000 sheep. By the middle of the 19th century, in the course of a single year 220,000 head of cattle and 1,500,000 sheep would be "violently forced into an area of five acres, in the very heart of London, through its narrowest and most crowded thoroughfares". The volume of cattle driven daily to Smithfield started to raise major concerns.

The Great North Road traditionally began at Smithfield Market, with St John Street and Islington High Street forming the initial stages. Road mileages were taken from Hicks Hall, a short distance up St John Street, some 90 metres north of the West Smithfield Bars. The site of the hall continued to be used as the starting point for mileages even after it was demolished soon after 1778. The road followed St John Street, and continued north, eventually leading to Edinburgh. Using the former site of the hall as the starting point ended in 1829, with the establishment of the General Post Office at St Martin's-le-Grand, which became the new starting point, with the route following Goswell Road before joining Islington High Street and then re-joining the historic route.

Local campaigning against the cattle market
In the Victorian period, pamphlets started circulating in favour of the removal of the livestock market and its relocation outside of the City, due to its extremely poor hygienic conditions as well as the brutal treatment of the cattle. The conditions at the market in the first half of the 19th century were often described as a major threat to public health:

"Of all the horrid abominations with which London has been cursed, there is not one that can come up to that disgusting place, West Smithfield Market, for cruelty, filth, effluvia, pestilence, impiety, horrid language, danger, disgusting and shuddering sights, and every obnoxious item that can be imagined; and this abomination is suffered to continue year after year, from generation to generation, in the very heart of the most Christian and most polished city in the world."

In 1843, the Farmer's Magazine published a petition signed by bankers, salesmen, butchers, aldermen and City residents against further expansion of the meat market, arguing that livestock markets had been systematically banned since the Middle Ages in other areas of London:

"Our ancestors appear, in sanitary matters, to have been wiser than we are. There exists, amongst the Rolls of Parliament of the year 1380, a petition from the citizens of London, praying – that, for the sake of the public health, meat should not be slaughtered nearer than 'Knyghtsbrigg', under penalty, not only of forfeiting such animals as might be killed in the 'butcherie', but of a year's imprisonment. The prayer of this petition was granted, audits penalties were enforced during several reigns."

Thomas Hood wrote in 1830 an Ode to the Advocates for the Removal of Smithfield Market, applauding those "philanthropic men" who aim at removing to a distance the "vile Zoology" of the market and "routing that great nest of Hornithology [sic]". Charles Dickens criticised locating a livestock market in the heart of the capital in his 1851 essay A Monument of French Folly drawing comparisons with the French market at Poissy outside Paris:

"Of a great Institution like Smithfield, [the French] are unable to form the least conception. A Beast Market in the heart of Paris would be regarded an impossible nuisance. Nor have they any notion of slaughter-houses in the midst of a city. One of these benighted frog-eaters would scarcely understand your meaning, if you told him of the existence of such a British bulwark."

An Act of Parliament was passed in 1852, under the provisions of which a new cattle market should be constructed at Copenhagen Fields, Islington. The Metropolitan Cattle Market opened in 1855, leaving West Smithfield as waste ground for about ten years during the construction of the new market.

Victorian Smithfield: meat and poultry market

The present Smithfield meat market on Charterhouse Street was established by act of Parliament: the Metropolitan Meat and Poultry Market Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c. cxciii). It is a large market with permanent buildings, designed by architect Sir Horace Jones, who also designed Billingsgate and Leadenhall markets. Work on the Central Market, inspired by Italian architecture, began in 1866 and was completed in November 1868 at a cost of £993,816 (£ as of ).

The Grade II listed main wings (known as East and West Market) are separated by the Grand Avenue, a wide roadway roofed by an elliptical arch with decorations in cast iron. At the two ends of the arcade, four prominent statues represent London, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Dublin; they depict bronze dragons charged with the City's armorial bearings. At the corners of the market, four octagonal pavilion towers were built, each with a dome displaying carved stone griffins.

As the market was being built, a cut and cover railway tunnel was constructed below street level to create a triangular junction with the railway between Blackfriars and Kings Cross through Snow Hill Tunnel. Closed in 1916, it has been revived and is now used for Thameslink rail services. The construction of extensive railway sidings, beneath Smithfield Park, facilitated the transfer of animal carcasses to its cold store, and directly up to the meat market via lifts. These sidings closed in the 1960s. They are now used as a car park, accessed via a cobbled descent at the centre of Smithfield Park. Today, much of the meat is delivered to market by road.

The first extension of Smithfield's meat market took place between 1873 and 1876 with the construction of the Poultry Market immediately west of the Central Market. A rotunda was built at the centre of the old Market Field (now West Smithfield), comprising gardens, a fountain and a ramped carriageway to the station beneath the market building. Further buildings were subsequently added to the market. The General Market, built between 1879 and 1883, was intended to replace the old Farringdon Market located nearby and established for the sale of fruit and vegetables when the earlier Fleet Market was cleared to enable the laying out of Farringdon Street between 1826–1830.

A further block (also known as Annexe Market or Triangular Block,) consisting of two separate structures (the Fish Market and the Red House), was built between 1886 and 1899. The Fish Market, built by John Mowlem & Co., was completed in 1888, one year after Sir Horace Jones' death. The Red House, with its imposing red brick and Portland stone façade, was built between 1898 and 1899 for the London Central Markets Cold Storage Co. Ltd.. It was one of the first cold stores to be built outside the London docks and continued to serve Smithfield Market until the mid-1970s.

20th century
During the Second World War, a large underground cold store at Smithfield was the theatre of secret experiments led by Dr Max Perutz on pykrete, a mixture of ice and woodpulp, believed to be possibly tougher than steel. Perutz's work, inspired by Geoffrey Pyke and part of Project Habakkuk, was meant to test the viability of pykrete as a material to construct floating airstrips in the Atlantic to allow refuelling of cargo planes in support of Admiral the Earl Mountbatten's operations. The experiments were carried out by Perutz and his colleagues in a refrigerated meat locker in a Smithfield Market butcher's basement, behind a protective screen of frozen animal carcasses. These experiments became obsolete with the development of longer-range aircraft, resulting in abandonment of the project.

Towards the very end of the Second World War, a V-2 rocket struck the north side of Charterhouse Street, near the junction with Farringdon Road (1945). The explosion caused massive damage to the market buildings, affected the railway tunnel structure below, and caused more than 110 deaths.

On 23 January 1958, a fire broke out in the basement of Union Cold Storage Co at the Smithfield Poultry Market. The fire spread throughout the maze of basements under the market and burned for three days. Over 1,700 fire fighters with 389 fire engines were required to bring the blaze under control. Two firefighters were killed and 50 were injured or treated for smoke inhalation. The market was largely destroyed, and large portions not directly affected by fire collapsed as basements caved in. The introduction of breathing apparatus by the London Fire Brigade was a direct result of the fire.

A red plaque commemorating the two firefighters who died was unveiled at the market on the 60th anniversary of the fire. A replacement building was designed by Sir Thomas Bennett in 1962–63, with a reinforced concrete frame, and external cladding of dark blue brick. It is Grade II listed. The main hall is covered by an enormous concrete dome, shaped as an elliptical paraboloid, spanning 225 ft by 125 ft and only 3 in thick at the centre. The dome is believed to have been the largest concrete shell structure built at that time in Europe.

Today
Smithfield is the City of London's only major wholesale market (Leadenhall Market nowadays attracts more tourist trade) which has escaped relocation out of central London to cheaper land, better transport links, and more modern facilities. (Covent Garden, Spitalfields and Billingsgate have all relocated). The market operates to supply inner City butchers, shops and restaurants with quality fresh meat, and so its main trading hours are 4:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon each weekday. Instead of moving away, Smithfield Market continues to modernise its existing site: its imposing Victorian buildings have had access points added for the loading and unloading of lorries.

The buildings stand above a warren of tunnels: previously, live animals were brought to market by hoof (from the mid-19th century onwards they arrived by rail) and were slaughtered on site. The former railway tunnels are now used for storage, parking and as basements. An impressive cobbled ramp spirals down around West Smithfield's public garden, on the south side of the market, providing access to part of this area. Some of the buildings on Charterhouse Street on Smithfield's north side maintain access to the tunnels via their basements.

Some of the former meat market buildings have now changed use. For example, the former Central Cold Store, on Charterhouse Street is now, most unusually, a city centre cogeneration power station operated by Citigen. The Metropolitan Cold Stores was converted in 1999 into the nightclub Fabric and the 'Smiths' of Smithfield bars and restaurants.

Smithfield comprises the market as its central feature, surrounded by many old buildings on three sides and a public open space (or Rotunda Garden) at West Smithfield, beneath which there is a public car park. The south side is occupied by St Bartholomew's Hospital (known as Barts in common parlance), and on the east side by the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great. The Church of St Bartholomew the Less is located next to the King Henry VIII Gate, the hospital's main entrance.

The north and south of the square are now closed to through traffic, as part of the City's security and surveillance cordon known as the Ring of steel. Security for the market is provided by its market constabulary.

Future
In early 2019, it was proposed in plans put forward by the Court of Common Council, the City of London Corporation's main decision-making body, that Billingsgate Fish Market, New Spitalfields Market, and Smithfield Market would move to a new consolidated site in Dagenham Dock. A formal planning application was made in June 2020, and received outline permission in March 2021.

Demolition and development plans
Since 2005, the General Market (1883) and the adjacent Fish Market and Red House buildings (1898), part of the Victorian complex of the Smithfield Market, have been facing a threat of demolition. The City of London Corporation, ultimate owners of the property, has been engaged in public consultation to assess how best to redevelop their disused property and regenerate the area. Former property developers Thornfield Properties had planned to demolish the historic site and build a seven-storey office block, offering 350000 sqft of office space, with a retail outlet on the ground floor.

Several campaigns, promoted by English Heritage and Save Britain's Heritage among others, were run to raise public awareness of this part of London's Victorian heritage. Grade II listed building protection was approved for the Red House Cold Store building in 2005 by then-Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, on the basis of new historical evidence qualifying the complex as "the earliest existing example of a purpose-built powered cold store".

Whilst the market continues to trade, its future remains unclear following government Planning Minister Ruth Kelly's instigating a major public inquiry in 2007. The public inquiry for the demolition and redevelopment of the General Market Building took place between 6 November 2007 and 25 January 2008. In August 2008, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears announced that planning permission for the General Market's redevelopment had been refused, stating that the threatened buildings made "a significant contribution" to the character and appearance of Farringdon and the surrounding area.

On 12 October 2012, Henderson Group unveiled its £160 million-plan for redeveloping the western side of the Central Market. Henderson proposed that the fish market, General Market and Red House buildings, all over a century old, be demolished to make way for restaurants, retailers and office buildings, while they would restore and retain much of the market building's original perimeter walls, with a new piazza being created in the General Market. Marcus Binney of the campaign group Save Britain's Heritage said: "This proposal constitutes the worst mutilation of a Victorian landmark in the last 30 years." Some of the buildings on Lindsey Street opposite the East Market were demolished in 2010 to allow the construction of the new Elizabeth line station at Farringdon. The demolished buildings include Smithfield House (an early 20th-century unlisted Hennebique concrete building), the Edmund Martin Ltd. shop (an earlier building with alterations dating to the 1930s), and two Victorian warehouses behind them.

In March 2015, the Museum of London revealed plans to vacate its Barbican site at 150 London Wall and move into the General Market Building. The Barbican site closed on 4 December 2022, to prepare for the subsequent move. The foundation stone for its new West Smithfield site was unveiled on 16 October 2023, with the reopening of the museum at the new site still planned for 2026.

Words and phrases

 * Smithfield bargain originally referred to a deal in which the purchaser was exploited. The term later came to mean (in reference to the meat market) a marriage of convenience, one to the groom's financial benefit. In this context it was also known as a Smithfield Match. Still later the term came to be used to refer to improper dealings, such as when MPs allowed their vote to be bought.
 * Smithfield Races, an alternative name for the old horse market. It originated in the distant past, when there was horse racing at Smithfield. Although the racing ceased as the surrounding area steadily developed, the name continued to be used for a long time afterwards.

In film
Episode 1 of Espionage (TV series), "The Incurable One", (broadcast in the UK on the 5th. of October, 1963), includes footage of Steven Hill, and Ingrid Thulin walking towards, through, and out of the market into the area.

title: Smithfield, London