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Walter Davis Jr.

Walter Davis Jr. (September 2, 1932 – June 2, 1990) was an American bebop and hard bop pianist.

Davis once left the music world to be a tailor, but returned. A soloist, bandleader, and accompanist, he amassed a body of work while never becoming a high-profile name even within the jazz community. Davis played with Babs Gonzales' Three Bips & a Bop as a teen, then moved from Richmond to New York in the early 1950s. He played with Max Roach and Charlie Parker, recording with Roach in 1953.

He joined Dizzy Gillespie's band in 1956, and toured the Middle East and South America. He also played in Paris with Donald Byrd in 1958 and with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers in 1959.

After retiring from music for a while to run his tailor shop, Davis returned in the 1960s, producing records and writing arrangements for a local New Jersey group. He studied music in India in 1979, and played with Sonny Rollins in the early 1970s.

Biography
Davis was born in Richmond, Virginia and raised in East Orange, New Jersey. His mother played gospel music and he had uncles who were pianists. As a teenager, he performed with Babs Gonzales in Newark. In the 1950s, Davis recorded with Melba Liston and Max Roach. He played with Roach, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1958, he played with trumpeter Donald Byrd at Le Chat Qui Pêche in Paris and shortly after realized his dream of becoming pianist and composer-arranger for Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Davis married songwriter Mayme Watts, who was performing as a vocalist with the Walter Davis Jr. Trio.

Although he retired from music in the 1960s to work as a tailor, painter, and designer, he returned to his music career later that decade, and in the 1970s he performed with Sonny Rollins and again with the Jazz Messengers. He recorded with many other prominent jazz musicians, including Kenny Clarke, Sonny Criss, Jackie McLean, Pierre Michelot and Archie Shepp. Davis was known as an interpreter of the music of Bud Powell, but also recorded an album capturing the compositional and piano style of Thelonious Monk. Several of his compositions served as titles for albums by Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Combining traditional harmonies with modal patterns and featuring numerous rhythmic shifts along with internal melodic motifs within operatic, aria-like sweeping melodies, Davis's compositions included "Scorpio Rising", "Backgammon", "Uranus", "Gypsy Folk Tales", "Jodi", and "Ronnie Is a Dynamite Lady".

Davis had an occasional role as the piano player on the CBS television comedy Frank's Place. He also contributed to the soundtrack of the Clint Eastwood film Bird (1988).

Death
Davis died in New York City on June 2, 1990, aged 57, from complications of liver and kidney disease.

As sideman
With Art Blakey With Nick Brignola With Donald Byrd With Sonny Criss With Dameronia With Walt Dickerson With Teddy Edwards With Dizzy Gillespie With Slide Hampton With Etta Jones With Philly Joe Jones With Jackie McLean With Hank Mobley With Max Roach With Julian Priester With Sonny Rollins With Charlie Rouse With Art Taylor
 * Africaine (Blue Note, 1959)
 * Paris Jam Session (Fontana, 1961)
 * Roots & Herbs (Blue Note, 1961)
 * Gypsy Folk Tales (Roulette, 1977)
 * Burn Brigade (Bee Hive, 1979)
 * Byrd in Hand (Blue Note, 1959)
 * This is Criss! (Prestige, 1966)
 * Portrait of Sonny Criss (Prestige, 1967)
 * To Tadd with Love (Uptown, 1982)
 * Look Stop Listen (Uptown, 1983)
 * Live at the Theatre Boulogne-Billancourt Paris (Soul Note, 1989 [1994])
 * Walt Dickerson Plays Unity (Audio Fidelity, 1964)
 * Nothin' But the Truth! (Prestige, 1966)
 * World Statesman (Norgran, 1956)
 * Dizzy in Greece (Verve, 1957)
 * Explosion! The Sound of Slide Hampton (Atlantic, 1962)
 * Ms. Jones to You (Muse, 1976)
 * Philly Joe's Beat (Atlantic, 1960)
 * New Soil (Blue Note, 1959)
 * Let Freedom Ring (Blue Note, 1962)
 * Newark 1953 (Uptown, 1953 [2012])
 * The Max Roach Quartet featuring Hank Mobley (Debut, 1954)
 * Spiritsville (Jazzland, 1960)
 * Horn Culture (Milestone, 1973)
 * Soul Mates (Uptown, 1988 [1993]) featuring Sahib Shihab
 * Taylor's Tenors (Prestige, 1959)

title: Walter Davis Jr.


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Constantine the African

Constantine the African, OSB (Constantinus Africanus; died before 1098/1099, Monte Cassino ) was a physician who lived in the 11th century. The first part of his life was spent in Ifriqiya and the rest in Italy. He first arrived in Italy in the coastal town of Salerno, home of the Schola Medica Salernitana, where his work attracted attention from the local Lombard and Norman rulers. Constantine then became a Benedictine monk, living the last decades of his life at the abbey of Monte Cassino.

There is some debate about his birth and family religion, although it is well known that he ended his life as a monk at the Latin Christian Abbey of Monte Cassino, in southern Italy. This religious controversy suggested that he might born as Muslim, and after migration converted to catholic Christian, or he might born as Christian within an Arabic-speaking family. The native language of Constantine the African was Arabic. He was also fluent in Greek, Latin, and other languages, the skills he acquired during his extensive travels. His journey included Egypt, Syria, India, Ethiopia, and Persia. He was well-versed in medical knowledge before his arrival to Salerno in Italy where he joined the abbey of Monte Cassino south of Rome in 1077.

It was in Italy where Constantine compiled his vast opus, mostly composed of translations from Arabic sources. He translated into Latin, books of the great masters of Arabic medicine: Razes, Ibn Imran, Ibn Suleiman, and Ibn al-Jazzar; these translations are housed today in libraries in Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, and England. They were used as textbooks from the Middle Ages to the seventeenth century.

The historians of Constantine
The 12th-century monk Peter the Deacon is the first historian to write a biography of Constantine. He noted that Constantine was a Saracen, the medieval Franco-Italian term for a Muslim from North Africa. According to Peter, Constantine traveled through Babylon, India, and Ethiopia, where he became versed in science, before coming to Monte Cassino as a refugee from peers in Carthage jealous of his knowledge. However, Peter's legendary portrayal of Constantine has been questioned by some historians. Still, later historians such as Salvatore de Renzi and Charles Daremberg, curator of the National Library in Paris, and Leclerc, author of History of Arab Medicine, relied on this account. The German Moritz Steinscheider wrote a book dedicated to Constantine, which was printed in Berlin in 1865. German medical historian Karl Sudhoff created his Berber-Islamic thesis after discovering new and important documents touching on Constantine's life and religion in the village of La Trinità della Cava, which he published in the journal Archeion in 1922.

Emigration to Italy
According to Karl Sudhoff, Constantine emigrated first to Italy as a merchant (mercator) in Sicily, moving to Salerno, where he was called Constantine Siculus. As Constantine spoke no Italian, a North African doctor named Abbas of Curiat, from an island lying off the city of Mahdia in Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia), became his interpreter. Suffering from an illness, he took refuge with the king's brother Gusulf, where he noted that Abbas did not ask for the usual bottle of urine, and the doctor who came to examine him was inexperienced. After asking in vain to see any good Italian books on medicine, he concluded that medicine in Italy was limited to simple practical knowledge. Already having an extensive general knowledge, Constantine discovered a mission in life. After recovering, Constantine returned to Carthage in Ifriqiya, and practiced medicine for three years, collecting many books of medicine, then returned to southern Italy with his treasure. En route to Salerno he passed by the coast of Lucania by boat, where north of the Gulf of Polycastro a storm damaged some manuscripts, including the first three parts of the books of Ali Ibn Abbas Al Majoussi, which were lost. Arriving in Salerno with what remained of the books, Constantine converted to Christianity, then moved to Cassino, where he worked as an interpreter. The Sudhoff story ends with this event.

These are the parts borrowed and translated word-for-word from the study of Karl Sudhoff, a scientist who had a thorough knowledge of history and was renowned for reliable research. Although a trader, Constantine was learned, which is not surprising because education in the great mosque of the Zaytuna in Tunis and the homes of scientists was open to all. Trade between North Africa and Italy was flourishing, and did not cease during difficult times. North Africa had offices in various locations of Christian Sicily and southern Italy itself, including Bari, Taranto, Agripolis, and Gaglione.

North Africa exported olive oil, wax, leather, wool and derivatives, and imported wheat in famine years, and Islam did not prohibit trade with Christian countries.

Scientific production
Constantine arrived at Cassino, bringing with him the manuscripts of medicine that he took from Tunis. They include works of the Kairouanese El Baghdadi:
 * The Kairouanese books
 * The book of melancholy of Ishaq Ibn Imran.
 * The book of the pulse, urine and food regime of Ibn Ishaq Suleiman.
 * The book "Zad Al Mussāfir" (Viaticum) of Ahmed Ibn Al Jazzar.
 * The Baghdadi books
 * The book "Al Hawi" of Abu Bakr Al Razi
 * The book "Al Kamil “ of Ali Ibn Al Abbas Al Majoussi, at least in part. Constantine translated the first ten books (on the theory of medicine) but his translation of the second ten books (on practice) do not entirely survive. (The same book was retranslated in the twelfth century by Stephen of Antioch, who was dismissive of Constantine's translation.)

Editions of Constantine's works
Constantine's works are most readily available in two sixteenth-century printed editions, the 1515 Lyons edition and the 1536 Basel edition. (Both editions are readily available online.) The Basel edition is missing some of Constantine's prefatory material, but Mark Jordan notes that, while both Basel and Lyons editions are problematic, and have undergone some humanistic retouching, the Basel edition may be more reliable. Modern scholars of the history of medicine, however, have tended to refer to the Lyons edition.

A recent and scholarly edition of the De Coitu is Constantini Liber de Coitu = El tratado de andrología de Constantino el Africano (Santiago de Compostela: Secretariado de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Santiago, 1983), with accompanying Spanish translation.

The Isagoge of Johannitius, which Constantine may have translated (the attribution is contested), has been edited by Gregor Maurach in Sudhoffs Archiv 62 (1978). This edition was never meant to be definitive, and it has received some criticism and corrections, most notably by Ursula Weisser.

English translations
Two English translations of De Coitu are readily available: The preface to Constantine's Pantegni is also available:
 * Delany, Paul. "Constantinus Africanus' De Coitu: A Translation." Chaucer Review 4, no. 1 (Summer 1969): 55-65.
 * Wallis, Faith, ed. Medieval Medicine: A Reader (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010), pp. 511–523.
 * Eric Kwakkel and Francis Newton, Medicine at Monte Cassino: Constantine the African and the oldest manuscript of his Pantegni (Turnhout, 2019), pp. 207-209.

The legend of Constantine
In his introduction of the complete works of Ambroise Pare, here what Doctor Malgaigne writes: "Constantine was born in Carthage and taken with an ardent desire to learn all sciences he went to Babylonia, learned grammar, logic, physics (medicine), geometry, arithmetic, mathematics, astronomy, necromancy, and music. After exhausting all sciences of the Chaldeans, Arabs and Persians he went to India, asked the scientists of this country, returned from Egypt where he completed his long study and after four decades of travel and work, he returned in his hometown. But the rarity and breadth of his knowledge scared his countrymen, they took him for a sorcerer and banished him. Constantine informed in time, fled and went to Salerno where he remained for some time hidden under the garb of a beggar. The brother of the king of Babylon who passes through this city, recognized him and presented him to the famous Robert Guiscard, who made him his first secretary. But more than eager to rest than with honors he left the court and retired to Monte Cassino where he spent the rest of his life translating from Arabic into Latin various medical books."

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Al-Khwarizmi

Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (c. 780), often referred to as simply al-Khwarizmi, was a polymath who produced vastly influential Arabic-language works in mathematics, astronomy, and geography. Hailing from Khwarazm, he was appointed as the astronomer and head of the House of Wisdom in the city of Baghdad around 820 CE.

His popularizing treatise on algebra, compiled between 813–33 as Al-Jabr (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing), presented the first systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations. One of his achievements in algebra was his demonstration of how to solve quadratic equations by completing the square, for which he provided geometric justifications. Because al-Khwarizmi was the first person to treat algebra as an independent discipline and introduced the methods of "reduction" and "balancing" (the transposition of subtracted terms to the other side of an equation, that is, the cancellation of like terms on opposite sides of the equation), he has been described as the father or founder  of algebra. The English term algebra comes from the short-hand title of his aforementioned treatise (الجبر, ). His name gave rise to the English terms algorism and algorithm; the Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese terms algoritmo; and the Spanish term guarismo and Portuguese term algarismo, both meaning "digit".

In the 12th century, Latin-language translations of al-Khwarizmi's textbook on Indian arithmetic (Algorithmo de Numero Indorum), which codified the various Indian numerals, introduced the decimal-based positional number system to the Western world. Likewise, Al-Jabr, translated into Latin by the English scholar Robert of Chester in 1145, was used until the 16th century as the principal mathematical textbook of European universities.

Al-Khwarizmi revised Geography, the 2nd-century Greek-language treatise by the Roman polymath Claudius Ptolemy, listing the longitudes and latitudes of cities and localities. He further produced a set of astronomical tables and wrote about calendric works, as well as the astrolabe and the sundial. Al-Khwarizmi made important contributions to trigonometry, producing accurate sine and cosine tables and the first table of tangents.

Life
Few details of al-Khwārizmī's life are known with certainty. Ibn al-Nadim gives his birthplace as Khwarazm, and he is generally thought to have come from this region. Of Persian stock,  his name means 'of Khwarazm', a region that was part of Greater Iran, and is now part of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Al-Tabari gives his name as Muḥammad ibn Musá al-Khwārizmī al-Majūsī al-Quṭrubbullī (محمد بن موسى الخوارزميّ المجوسـيّ القطربّـليّ). The epithet al-Qutrubbulli could indicate he might instead have come from Qutrubbul (Qatrabbul), near Baghdad. However, Roshdi Rashed denies this: "There is no need to be an expert on the period or a philologist to see that al-Tabari's second citation should read 'Muhammad ibn Mūsa al-Khwārizmī and al-Majūsi al-Qutrubbulli,' and that there are two people (al-Khwārizmī and al-Majūsi al-Qutrubbulli) between whom the letter wa [Arabic 'و' for the conjunction 'and'] has been omitted in an early copy. This would not be worth mentioning if a series of errors concerning the personality of al-Khwārizmī, occasionally even the origins of his knowledge, had not been made. Recently, G.J. Toomer ... with naive confidence constructed an entire fantasy on the error which cannot be denied the merit of amusing the reader."

On the other hand, David A. King affirms his nisba to Qutrubul, noting that he was called al-Khwārizmī al-Qutrubbulli because he was born just outside of Baghdad.

Regarding al-Khwārizmī's religion, Toomer writes:

"Another epithet given to him by al-Ṭabarī, 'al-Majūsī,' would seem to indicate that he was an adherent of the old Zoroastrian religion. This would still have been possible at that time for a man of Iranian origin, but the pious preface to al-Khwārizmī's Algebra shows that he was an orthodox Muslim, so al-Ṭabarī's epithet could mean no more than that his forebears, and perhaps he in his youth, had been Zoroastrians."

Ibn al-Nadīm's Al-Fihrist includes a short biography on al-Khwārizmī together with a list of his books. Al-Khwārizmī accomplished most of his work between 813 and 833. After the Muslim conquest of Persia, Baghdad had become the centre of scientific studies and trade. Around 820 CE, he was appointed as the astronomer and head of the library of the House of Wisdom. The House of Wisdom was established by the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mūn. Al-Khwārizmī studied sciences and mathematics, including the translation of Greek and Sanskrit scientific manuscripts. He was also a historian who is cited by the likes of al-Tabari and Ibn Abi Tahir.

During the reign of al-Wathiq, he is said to have been involved in the first of two embassies to the Khazars. Douglas Morton Dunlop suggests that Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī might have been the same person as Muḥammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir, the eldest of the three Banū Mūsā brothers.

Contributions

Al-Khwārizmī's contributions to mathematics, geography, astronomy, and cartography established the basis for innovation in algebra and trigonometry. His systematic approach to solving linear and quadratic equations led to algebra, a word derived from the title of his book on the subject, Al-Jabr.

On the Calculation with Hindu Numerals, written about 820, was principally responsible for spreading the Hindu–Arabic numeral system throughout the Middle East and Europe. It was translated into Latin as Algoritmi de numero Indorum. Al-Khwārizmī, rendered in Latin as Algoritmi, led to the term "algorithm".

Some of his work was based on Persian and Babylonian astronomy, Indian numbers, and Greek mathematics.

Al-Khwārizmī systematized and corrected Ptolemy's data for Africa and the Middle East. Another major book was Kitab surat al-ard ("The Image of the Earth"; translated as Geography), presenting the coordinates of places based on those in the Geography of Ptolemy, but with improved values for the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, and Africa.

He wrote on mechanical devices like the astrolabe and sundial. He assisted a project to determine the circumference of the Earth and in making a world map for al-Ma'mun, the caliph, overseeing 70 geographers. When, in the 12th century, his works spread to Europe through Latin translations, it had a profound impact on the advance of mathematics in Europe.

Algebra
Al-Jabr (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, الكتاب المختصر في حساب الجبر والمقابلة ) is a mathematical book written approximately 820 CE. It was written with the encouragement of Caliph al-Ma'mun as a popular work on calculation and is replete with examples and applications to a range of problems in trade, surveying and legal inheritance. The term "algebra" is derived from the name of one of the basic operations with equations (, meaning "restoration", referring to adding a number to both sides of the equation to consolidate or cancel terms) described in this book. The book was translated in Latin as Liber algebrae et almucabala by Robert of Chester (Segovia, 1145) hence "algebra", and by Gerard of Cremona. A unique Arabic copy is kept at Oxford and was translated in 1831 by F. Rosen. A Latin translation is kept in Cambridge.

It provided an exhaustive account of solving polynomial equations up to the second degree, and discussed the fundamental method of "reduction" and "balancing", referring to the transposition of terms to the other side of an equation, that is, the cancellation of like terms on opposite sides of the equation.

Al-Khwārizmī's method of solving linear and quadratic equations worked by first reducing the equation to one of six standard forms (where b and c are positive integers)
 * squares equal roots (ax2 = bx)
 * squares equal number (ax2 = c)
 * roots equal number (bx = c)
 * squares and roots equal number (ax2 + bx = c)
 * squares and number equal roots (ax2 + c = bx)
 * roots and number equal squares (bx + c = ax2)

by dividing out the coefficient of the square and using the two operations (الجبر "restoring" or "completion") and  ("balancing"). is the process of removing negative units, roots and squares from the equation by adding the same quantity to each side. For example, x2 = 40x − 4x2 is reduced to 5x2 = 40x. is the process of bringing quantities of the same type to the same side of the equation. For example, x2 + 14 = x + 5 is reduced to x2 + 9 = x.

The above discussion uses modern mathematical notation for the types of problems that the book discusses. However, in al-Khwārizmī's day, most of this notation had not yet been invented, so he had to use ordinary text to present problems and their solutions. For example, for one problem he writes, (from an 1831 translation) "If some one says: 'You divide ten into two parts: multiply the one by itself; it will be equal to the other taken eighty-one times.' Computation: You say, ten less a thing, multiplied by itself, is a hundred plus a square less twenty things, and this is equal to eighty-one things. Separate the twenty things from a hundred and a square, and add them to eighty-one. It will then be a hundred plus a square, which is equal to a hundred and one roots. Halve the roots; the moiety is fifty and a half. Multiply this by itself, it is two thousand five hundred and fifty and a quarter. Subtract from this one hundred; the remainder is two thousand four hundred and fifty and a quarter. Extract the root from this; it is forty-nine and a half. Subtract this from the moiety of the roots, which is fifty and a half. There remains one, and this is one of the two parts." In modern notation this process, with x the "thing" (شيء shayʾ) or "root", is given by the steps,
 * $$(10-x)^2=81 x$$
 * $$100 + x^2 - 20 x = 81 x$$
 * $$x^2+100=101 x$$

Let the roots of the equation be x = p and x = q. Then $$\tfrac{p+q}{2}=50\tfrac{1}{2}$$, $$pq =100$$ and
 * $$\frac{p-q}{2} = \sqrt{\left(\frac{p+q}{2}\right)^2 - pq}=\sqrt{2550\tfrac{1}{4} - 100}=49\tfrac{1}{2}$$

So a root is given by
 * $$x=50\tfrac{1}{2}-49\tfrac{1}{2}=1$$

Several authors have published texts under the name of, including Abū Ḥanīfa Dīnawarī, Abū Kāmil, Abū Muḥammad al-'Adlī, Abū Yūsuf al-Miṣṣīṣī, 'Abd al-Hamīd ibn Turk, Sind ibn 'Alī, Sahl ibn Bišr, and Sharaf al-Dīn al-Ṭūsī.

Solomon Gandz has described Al-Khwarizmi as the father of Algebra: "Al-Khwarizmi's algebra is regarded as the foundation and cornerstone of the sciences. In a sense, al-Khwarizmi is more entitled to be called 'the father of algebra' than Diophantus because al-Khwarizmi is the first to teach algebra in an elementary form and for its own sake, Diophantus is primarily concerned with the theory of numbers."

Victor J. Katz adds : "The first true algebra text which is still extant is the work on al-jabr and al-muqabala by Mohammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, written in Baghdad around 825."

John J. O'Connor and Edmund F. Robertson wrote in the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive: "Perhaps one of the most significant advances made by Arabic mathematics began at this time with the work of al-Khwarizmi, namely the beginnings of algebra. It is important to understand just how significant this new idea was. It was a revolutionary move away from the Greek concept of mathematics which was essentially geometry. Algebra was a unifying theory which allowed rational numbers, irrational numbers, geometrical magnitudes, etc., to all be treated as 'algebraic objects'. It gave mathematics a whole new development path so much broader in concept to that which had existed before, and provided a vehicle for future development of the subject. Another important aspect of the introduction of algebraic ideas was that it allowed mathematics to be applied to itself in a way which had not happened before."

Roshdi Rashed and Angela Armstrong write: "Al-Khwarizmi's text can be seen to be distinct not only from the Babylonian tablets, but also from Diophantus' Arithmetica. It no longer concerns a series of problems to be solved, but an exposition which starts with primitive terms in which the combinations must give all possible prototypes for equations, which henceforward explicitly constitute the true object of study. On the other hand, the idea of an equation for its own sake appears from the beginning and, one could say, in a generic manner, insofar as it does not simply emerge in the course of solving a problem, but is specifically called on to define an infinite class of problems."

According to Swiss-American historian of mathematics, Florian Cajori, Al-Khwarizmi's algebra was different from the work of Indian mathematicians, for Indians had no rules like the restoration and reduction. Regarding the dissimilarity and significance of Al-Khwarizmi's algebraic work from that of Indian Mathematician Brahmagupta, Carl B. Boyer wrote: "It is true that in two respects the work of al-Khowarizmi represented a retrogression from that of Diophantus. First, it is on a far more elementary level than that found in the Diophantine problems and, second, the algebra of al-Khowarizmi is thoroughly rhetorical, with none of the syncopation found in the Greek Arithmetica or in Brahmagupta's work. Even numbers were written out in words rather than symbols! It is quite unlikely that al-Khwarizmi knew of the work of Diophantus, but he must have been familiar with at least the astronomical and computational portions of Brahmagupta; yet neither al-Khwarizmi nor other Arabic scholars made use of syncopation or of negative numbers. Nevertheless, the Al-jabr comes closer to the elementary algebra of today than the works of either Diophantus or Brahmagupta, because the book is not concerned with difficult problems in indeterminant analysis but with a straight forward and elementary exposition of the solution of equations, especially that of second degree. The Arabs in general loved a good clear argument from premise to conclusion, as well as systematic organization – respects in which neither Diophantus nor the Hindus excelled."

Arithmetic
Al-Khwārizmī's second most influential work was on the subject of arithmetic, which survived in Latin translations but is lost in the original Arabic. His writings include the text kitāb al-ḥisāb al-hindī ('Book of Indian computation'), and perhaps a more elementary text, kitab al-jam' wa'l-tafriq al-ḥisāb al-hindī ('Addition and subtraction in Indian arithmetic'). These texts described algorithms on decimal numbers (Hindu–Arabic numerals) that could be carried out on a dust board. Called takht in Arabic (Latin: tabula), a board covered with a thin layer of dust or sand was employed for calculations, on which figures could be written with a stylus and easily erased and replaced when necessary. Al-Khwarizmi's algorithms were used for almost three centuries, until replaced by Al-Uqlidisi's algorithms that could be carried out with pen and paper.

As part of 12th century wave of Arabic science flowing into Europe via translations, these texts proved to be revolutionary in Europe. Al-Khwarizmi's Latinized name, Algorismus, turned into the name of method used for computations, and survives in the term "algorithm". It gradually replaced the previous abacus-based methods used in Europe.

Four Latin texts providing adaptions of Al-Khwarizmi's methods have survived, even though none of them is believed to be a literal translation: Dixit Algorizmi ('Thus spake Al-Khwarizmi') is the starting phrase of a manuscript in the University of Cambridge library, which is generally referred to by its 1857 title Algoritmi de Numero Indorum. It is attributed to the Adelard of Bath, who had translated the astronomical tables in 1126. It is perhaps the closest to Al-Khwarizmi's own writings.
 * Dixit Algorizmi (published in 1857 under the title Algoritmi de Numero Indorum )
 * Liber Alchoarismi de Practica Arismetice
 * Liber Ysagogarum Alchorismi
 * Liber Pulveris

Al-Khwarizmi's work on arithmetic was responsible for introducing the Arabic numerals, based on the Hindu–Arabic numeral system developed in Indian mathematics, to the Western world. The term "algorithm" is derived from the algorism, the technique of performing arithmetic with Hindu-Arabic numerals developed by al-Khwārizmī. Both "algorithm" and "algorism" are derived from the Latinized forms of al-Khwārizmī's name, Algoritmi and Algorismi, respectively.

Astronomy

Al-Khwārizmī's Zij as-Sindhind (زيج السند هند, "astronomical tables of Siddhanta" ) is a work consisting of approximately 37 chapters on calendrical and astronomical calculations and 116 tables with calendrical, astronomical and astrological data, as well as a table of sine values. This is the first of many Arabic Zijes based on the Indian astronomical methods known as the sindhind. The word Sindhind is a corruption of the Sanskrit Siddhānta, which is the usual designation of an astronomical textbook. In fact, the mean motions in the tables of al-Khwarizmi are derived from those in the "corrected Brahmasiddhanta" (Brahmasphutasiddhanta) of Brahmagupta.

The work contains tables for the movements of the sun, the moon and the five planets known at the time. This work marked the turning point in Islamic astronomy. Hitherto, Muslim astronomers had adopted a primarily research approach to the field, translating works of others and learning already discovered knowledge.

The original Arabic version (written c. 820) is lost, but a version by the Spanish astronomer Maslama al-Majriti (c. 1000) has survived in a Latin translation, presumably by Adelard of Bath (26 January 1126). The four surviving manuscripts of the Latin translation are kept at the Bibliothèque publique (Chartres), the Bibliothèque Mazarine (Paris), the Biblioteca Nacional (Madrid) and the Bodleian Library (Oxford).

Trigonometry
Al-Khwārizmī's Zīj as-Sindhind contained tables for the trigonometric functions of sines and cosine. A related treatise on spherical trigonometry is attributed to him.

Al-Khwārizmī produced accurate sine and cosine tables, and the first table of tangents.

Geography
Al-Khwārizmī's third major work is his (كتاب صورة الأرض, "Book of the Description of the Earth"), also known as his Geography, which was finished in 833. It is a major reworking of Ptolemy's second-century Geography, consisting of a list of 2402 coordinates of cities and other geographical features following a general introduction.

There is one surviving copy of, which is kept at the Strasbourg University Library. A Latin translation is at the Biblioteca Nacional de España in Madrid. The book opens with the list of latitudes and longitudes, in order of "weather zones", that is to say in blocks of latitudes and, in each weather zone, by order of longitude. As Paul Gallez notes, this system allows the deduction of many latitudes and longitudes where the only extant document is in such a bad condition, as to make it practically illegible. Neither the Arabic copy nor the Latin translation include the map of the world; however, Hubert Daunicht was able to reconstruct the missing map from the list of coordinates. Daunicht read the latitudes and longitudes of the coastal points in the manuscript, or deduced them from the context where they were not legible. He transferred the points onto graph paper and connected them with straight lines, obtaining an approximation of the coastline as it was on the original map. He did the same for the rivers and towns.

Al-Khwārizmī corrected Ptolemy's gross overestimate for the length of the Mediterranean Sea from the Canary Islands to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean; Ptolemy overestimated it at 63 degrees of longitude, while al-Khwārizmī almost correctly estimated it at nearly 50 degrees of longitude. He "depicted the Atlantic and Indian Oceans as open bodies of water, not land-locked seas as Ptolemy had done." Al-Khwārizmī's Prime Meridian at the Fortunate Isles was thus around 10° east of the line used by Marinus and Ptolemy. Most medieval Muslim gazetteers continued to use al-Khwārizmī's prime meridian.

Jewish calendar
Al-Khwārizmī wrote several other works including a treatise on the Hebrew calendar, titled (رسالة في إستخراج تأريخ اليهود, "Extraction of the Jewish Era"). It describes the Metonic cycle, a 19-year intercalation cycle; the rules for determining on what day of the week the first day of the month Tishrei shall fall; calculates the interval between the Anno Mundi or Jewish year and the Seleucid era; and gives rules for determining the mean longitude of the sun and the moon using the Hebrew calendar. Similar material is found in the works of Al-Bīrūnī and Maimonides.

Other works
Ibn al-Nadim's, an index of Arabic books, mentions al-Khwārizmī's (كتاب التأريخ), a book of annals. No direct manuscript survives; however, a copy had reached Nusaybin by the 11th century, where its metropolitan bishop, Mar Elias bar Shinaya, found it. Elias's chronicle quotes it from "the death of the Prophet" through to 169 AH, at which point Elias's text itself hits a lacuna.

Several Arabic manuscripts in Berlin, Istanbul, Tashkent, Cairo and Paris contain further material that surely or with some probability comes from al-Khwārizmī. The Istanbul manuscript contains a paper on sundials; the Fihrist credits al-Khwārizmī with (كتاب الرخامة). Other papers, such as one on the determination of the direction of Mecca, are on the spherical astronomy.

Two texts deserve special interest on the morning width and the determination of the azimuth from a height. He wrote two books on using and constructing astrolabes.

Honours

 * Al-Khwarizmi (crater) — A crater on the far side of the Moon.
 * 13498 Al Chwarizmi — Main-belt Asteroid, Discovered 1986 Aug 6 by E. W. Elst and V. G. Ivanova at Smolyan.
 * 11156 Al-Khwarismi — Main-belt Asteroid, Discovered 1997 Dec 31 by P. G. Comba at Prescott.

Biographical

 * Brentjes, Sonja (2007). "Khwārizmī: Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al‐Khwārizmī " in Thomas Hockey et al.(eds.). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, Springer Reference. New York: Springer, 2007, pp. 631–633. (PDF version )
 * Hogendijk, Jan P., Muhammad ibn Musa (Al-)Khwarizmi (c. 780–850 CE) – bibliography of his works, manuscripts, editions and translations.
 * Sezgin, F., ed., Islamic Mathematics and Astronomy,  Frankfurt: Institut für Geschichte der arabisch-islamischen Wissenschaften, 1997–99.
 * Sezgin, F., ed., Islamic Mathematics and Astronomy,  Frankfurt: Institut für Geschichte der arabisch-islamischen Wissenschaften, 1997–99.

Algebra

 * Hughes, Barnabas. Robert of Chester's Latin translation of al-Khwarizmi's al-Jabr: A new critical edition. In Latin. F. Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden (1989). ISBN 3-515-04589-9.
 * Hughes, Barnabas. Robert of Chester's Latin translation of al-Khwarizmi's al-Jabr: A new critical edition. In Latin. F. Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden (1989). ISBN 3-515-04589-9.
 * Hughes, Barnabas. Robert of Chester's Latin translation of al-Khwarizmi's al-Jabr: A new critical edition. In Latin. F. Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden (1989). ISBN 3-515-04589-9.
 * Hughes, Barnabas. Robert of Chester's Latin translation of al-Khwarizmi's al-Jabr: A new critical edition. In Latin. F. Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden (1989). ISBN 3-515-04589-9.
 * Hughes, Barnabas. Robert of Chester's Latin translation of al-Khwarizmi's al-Jabr: A new critical edition. In Latin. F. Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden (1989). ISBN 3-515-04589-9.

Astronomy

 * (Hogendijk's homepage. Publication in English, no. 25).
 * (Description and analysis of seven recently discovered minor works related to al-Khwarizmi).
 * (Van Dalen's homepage. List of Publications, Articles – no. 5).
 * (Van Dalen's homepage. List of Publications, Articles – no. 5).
 * (Van Dalen's homepage. List of Publications, Articles – no. 5).
 * (Van Dalen's homepage. List of Publications, Articles – no. 5).

title: Al-Khwarizmi


text:
Pinetree Line

The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) (after its creation), over half were staffed by United States Air Force personnel with the balance operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The line was the first coordinated system for early detection of a Soviet bomber attack on North America, but before the early 1950s radar technology quickly became outdated and the line was in full operation only for a short time.

History

Plans for what would become the Pinetree Line were underway as early as 1946 within the Permanent Joint Board on Defense (PJBD), a Canadian-U.S. organization. However, the costs of running such a system in the post-war era was too high, and instead Canada concentrated on the areas around Ontario and Quebec, while the United States set up stations in the Midwest and along the eastern seaboard. With the successful test of an atomic bomb in the USSR, plans changed considerably. In 1949 Congress agreed to a $161 million construction program in co-operation with the RCAF, for a continuous line of stations across southern Canada. The USAF's Continental Air Command and the RCAF met in October 1950 to start planning, and in January 1951 the PJBD presented Recommendation 51/1 for the Extension of the Continental Radar Defence System. The USAF later requested an additional set of six (potentially) mobile stations to provide low-level coverage. Later, it was learned the original radar systems performed better than expected, hence a number of the mobile sites were never deployed.

The system was eventually deployed as a series of 33 main stations and 6 smaller "gap fillers". The majority of these ran in a line at about the 53rd parallel in the west (to offer coverage of major Canadian cities) and about the 50th parallel in the east. A second line ran up the eastern seaboard from the southern tip of Nova Scotia to the southern tip of Baffin Island. Of these, 22 of the main stations and all of the gap fillers were paid for by the USAF, leaving 11 to the RCAF. However 16 of the main stations were staffed by RCAF personnel. On 1 January 1955, the system was officially handed over to RCAF command, and over time an additional 10 stations were added. The stations on the east coast used the Pole Vault system for communication.

The Pinetree Line had several technical problems that limited its usefulness almost immediately. For one, the system used a simple pulse radar technique, which made it unable to detect targets close to the ground due to radar clutter as well as being trivially easy to jam using the recently-introduced carcinotron tube. Another was that its location near population centres meant it offered only a last minute warning, and as the USSR moved to jet-powered bombers the warning time was reduced. Studies were already underway in 1951 to build a series of Doppler bistatic radar stations somewhat farther north, which would develop into the Mid-Canada Line. By 1957, just over a year after the Mid-Canada Line was operational, a more advanced long-range search radar, mainly in the Canadian north and Alaska were deployed comprising the Distant Early Warning Line.

The Pinetree stations were kept operational during this period, and most underwent modifications as a part of the deployment of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE). SAGE dramatically reduced the workload at the stations, cutting staff requirements by well over half. By the later 1950s some were being mothballed as newer systems came on line to the north. Nevertheless, many of the Pinetree stations were kept operational into the 1980s, particularly on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Radar stations
Initial sort is based on longitude from east to west.

title: Pinetree Line


text:
Raglan Castle

Raglan Castle (Castell Rhaglan) is a late medieval castle located just north of the village of Raglan in the county of Monmouthshire in south east Wales. The modern castle dates from between the 15th and early 17th centuries, when the successive ruling families of the Herberts and the Somersets created a luxurious, fortified castle, complete with a large hexagonal keep, known as the Great Tower or the Yellow Tower of Gwent. Surrounded by parkland, water gardens and terraces, the castle was considered by contemporaries to be the equal of any other in England or Wales.

During the First English Civil War, Raglan was occupied by a Royalist garrison on behalf of Charles I but was taken by Parliamentarian forces in 1646 and its walls slighted, or deliberately put beyond military use. After the Stuart Restoration in 1660, the Somersets declined to restore it and it became first a source of local building materials, then a romantic ruin. It is now a tourist attraction.

Early history of the castle
Following the Norman invasion of Wales, the area around the village of Raglan was granted to William FitzOsbern, the Earl of Hereford. Some historians, such as John Kenyon, suspect that an early motte and bailey castle may have been built on the Raglan site during this period: the location had strategic importance and archaeologists have discovered the remains of a possible bailey ditch on the site. The local manor was held by the Bloet family from the late 12th century until the late 14th century, and the family built a manor house somewhere on the site during this period, surrounded by a park. By the late medieval period the Raglan site was surrounded by the large deer parks of Home Park and Red Deer Park, the latter being enclosed at the end of the period.

15th to 16th centuries

The current Raglan Castle was begun by Sir William ap Thomas, the lesser son of a minor Welsh family who rose through the ranks of mid-15th century politics, profiting from the benefits of the local offices he held. William married first Elizabeth, a wealthy heiress, and then Gwladus, another heiress who would prove to be a powerful regional figure in her own right. In 1432, Sir William purchased the manor of Raglan, where he had already been staying as a tenant, for 1,000 marks (£666 13s 4d) and commenced a programme of building work that established the basic shape of the castle as seen today, although most of it—with the exception of the South Gate and the Great Tower—was later built over.

Sir William's son dropped the Welsh version of his name, calling himself William Herbert. He continued to rise in prominence, supporting the House of York during the War of the Roses, fighting in the Hundred Years War in France but making his fortune from the Gascon wine trade. He was also closely associated with Welsh politics and status; he was the first Welshman to be made an earl and was described by contemporary poets as the "national deliverer" who might achieve Welsh independence. In the 1460s William used his increasing wealth to remodel Raglan on a much grander scale. The symbolism of the castle architecture may have reflected the Welsh family roots: historian Matthew Johnson has suggested that the polygonal towers were possibly designed to imitate those of Caernarfon Castle, whose architecture carries numerous allusions to the eventual return of a Roman Emperor to Wales. Historian Anthony Emery has described the resulting castle as one of the "last formidable displays of medieval defensive architecture".

There was an important link between Raglan Castle and the surrounding parkland, in particular the Home Park and the Red Deer Park. Historian Robert Liddiard suggests that on the basis of the views from the castle at this time, the structured nature of the parks would have contrasted with the wilderness of the mountain peaks framing the scene beyond, making an important statement about the refinement and cultured nature of the castle lord. In the 15th century there were also extensive orchards and fish ponds surrounding the castle, favourably commented upon by contemporaries.

William Herbert was executed as a Yorkist supporter in 1469 after the Battle of Edgecote Moor. Building work may have stopped for a period under his son, also called William Herbert, before recommencing in the late 1470s. By 1492, the castle passed to Elizabeth Somerset, William Herbert's daughter, who married Sir Charles Somerset, passing the castle into a new family line.

Sir Charles Somerset was politically successful under both Henry VII and Henry VIII, being made the Earl of Worcester. His son, Henry Somerset, died shortly after inheriting Raglan, but not before using lead reclaimed from Tintern Abbey to help the building work at Raglan Castle during the dissolution of the monasteries. His son and grandson, William Somerset and Edward Somerset, proved to be what John Kenyon describes as "wealthy, brilliant and cultured men". William rebuilt much of the Pitched Stone Court, including the hall, adding the Long Gallery and developing the gardens into the new Renaissance style. The Somerset family owned two key castles in the region, Raglan and Chepstow, and these appeared to have figured prominently as important status symbols in paintings owned by the family.

17th century

Edward Somerset made minor improvements to the interior of the castle at the start of the 17th century, but focused primarily on the exterior, expanding and developing the gardens and building the moat walk around the Great Tower. The resulting gardens were considered the equal of any others in the kingdom at the time.

Upon inheriting Raglan in 1628, Henry Somerset, then the 5th Earl of Worcester, continued to live a grand lifestyle in the castle in the 1630s, with a host of staff, including a steward, Master of Horse, Master of Fishponds, surveyors, auditors, ushers, a falconer and many footmen. The interior walls were hung with rich tapestries from Arras in France, while an inventory taken in 1639 recorded a large number of silver and gilt plate kept in the Great Tower, including an ostrich egg cup, and a silver basket for oranges and lemons, then luxury items in Wales. Mead was a popular drink in the castle, but contemporaries described the castle as being a particular sober and respectful community. Henry developed the entrance route to the castle, including building the Red Gate. His son Edward, Lord Herbert became famous for building a "water commanding machine" in the Great Tower, which used steam to pump a huge spout of water high into the air from the moat.

In August 1642 the First English Civil War began between Royalist supporters of Charles I and Parliament. Raglan Castle was still held by Henry, then an elderly man, supported by his son, Lord Herbert. Both men were firm royalists. King Charles sent his own son, Prince Charles, on a fund-raising tour of friendly regions, starting with Raglan Castle in October 1642, following which Henry was promoted to be the first Marquess of Worcester. Tensions grew in the immediate region, partially driven by religious tensions between some of the more Protestant local people and the Roman Catholic Marquess; on one of these occasions a local group attempted to search the castle, but were reportedly driven away by the sudden noise of Lord Herbert's steam-engine. The defences of Raglan were improved after this, with modern earthwork bastions built around the castle and a powder mill created; a garrison of around 300 men was established at a cost of £40,000. Heavier cannon were installed in the bastions, with lighter pieces placed in the castle towers.

Lord Herbert left the castle to join the campaign against Parliament, returning at intervals to acquire more funds for the war. Charles I himself visited the castle twice, first in June 1645 after the battle of Naseby and again in 1646, when he enjoyed playing bowls on the castle's green. The Royalist cause was now close to military collapse, and the Marquess started to send some valuables, including the oak panelling from the parlour, some plaster ceiling and many pictures, to his brother at nearby Troy House for safe-keeping. Lord Herbert was captured in Ireland, and an attack on Raglan itself appeared imminent.

In expectation of a siege, the castle garrison was increased to around 800 soldiers; the avenue of trees outside the castle gates were cut down, and neighbouring buildings destroyed to prevent their being used by Parliamentary forces. Large amounts of food were brought in to support the growing castle community, which also included a number of the wider Herbert family and other regional Royalist leaders who had sought shelter there. The first Parliamentary army arrived in early June, under the command of Colonel Morgan and Sir Trevor Williams. After several calls for the castle to surrender, a siege ensued, lasting through the summer months. In August, additional Parliamentarian forces under General Fairfax arrived, and calls for the castle to surrender were renewed. Fairfax's men began to dig trenches towards the castle, and used these to move mortars forward, probably including the famous "Roaring Meg", bringing the interior of the castle into artillery range. Facing a hopeless situation, the Marquess surrendered the castle on 19 August on relatively generous terms for the garrison. The Marquess himself was arrested and sent to Windsor Castle, where he died shortly afterwards. Informed shortly before his death that Parliament had granted his request to be buried in the family vault at Windsor, the Marquess remarked; "Why then I shall have a better castle when I am dead, than they took from me when alive."

Fairfax ordered the castle to be totally destroyed under the supervision of Henry Herbert, a descendant of William ap Thomas. The fortifications proved too strong, however, and only a few of the walls were destroyed, or slighted. Historian Matthew Johnson describes the event as having the atmosphere of a "community festival", as local people dredged the castle moat in search of treasure, and emptied the fishponds of valuable carp. The castle's library, including an important collection of Welsh documents and books, was either stolen or destroyed.

Despite some immediate confiscations after the siege, by the time of the Restoration of Charles II, the Somerset family had managed to recover most of their possessions, including Raglan Castle. Henry Somerset, the 3rd Marquess, decided to prioritise the rebuilding of his other houses at Troy and Badminton, rather than Raglan, reusing some of the property sent away for safety before the war, or salvaged after the slighting.

18th to 21st centuries

For the first half of the 18th century, the castle continued to deteriorate, with the Somerset family allowing their stewards to quarry stone from the castle for the repair of other estate buildings. One particular estate surveyor called Hopkins became known as the "Grand Dilapidator", due to the number of chimneys, window frames and staircases he had removed from the castle. Henry Somerset, the 5th Duke, finally put an end to this practice in 1756, and the castle became a tourist attraction, part of the popular Wye Tour. Seats, fences and bridges were installed, and the first guidebook to the site was published in the early 19th century.

The Great Hall was temporarily re-roofed in the 1820s, when the castle was used for a "Grand Entertainment" by the Somersets, and in 1830 Jeffrey Wyattville was employed to reinstate the Grand Staircase. The Monmouthshire antiquarian Joseph Bradney recorded a visit to the castle by Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, then Prince and Princess of Wales, in October 1881. In 1938 Henry Somerset, the 10th Duke, entrusted guardianship of Raglan Castle to the Commissioner of Works, and the castle became a permanent tourist attraction. Today, the castle is classed as a Grade I listed building and as a Scheduled Monument, administered by Cadw. Between 2003 and 2007 Cambrian Archaeological Projects led excavations at the castle in advance of a planned new visitor centre.

Architecture

Raglan Castle was built in several phases, initial work occurring in the 1420s and 1430s, a major phase in the 1460s, with various alterations and additions at the end of the 16th century. The castle was built in stone, initially pale sandstone from Redbrook, and later Old Red Sandstone, with Bath Stone used for many of the detailed features. Like similar properties of the period, the castle of the 1460s was almost certainly designed to be approached and entered in a particular way, maximising the aesthetic and political value of the fortification. At Raglan, the design highlighted the Great Tower: a typical senior visitor would ride through Raglan village, and first the tower and then the rest of the castle would appear suddenly over the slight rise on the hill. A visitor would have needed to circle the Great Tower and the moat, before coming in through the gatehouse, into the Pitched Stone Court, around the edge of the communal hall, before reaching the previously hidden, and more refined, inner Fountain Court. Only then would a privileged guest be able to enter the Great Tower itself, overlooking the Herbert family's own chambers. Many less senior visitors or servants would never have entered this far, seeing only the external elements of the castle, but perhaps having been impressed by the outside of the Great Tower as they arrived.

There has been much discussion amongst academics about the extent to which Raglan was influenced by contemporary French designs; one school of thought suggests that it was heavily influenced by designs that were then popular in the south of France; others oppose this "diffusionist" school of thought, and argue that there is insufficient evidence to draw such a conclusion. Another line of debate has been over the nature of the castle's defences, in particular its gunloops. Many castles built around the same time as Raglan appear to have been built with less concern for defences than in the past, their military features more symbolic than real. At Raglan, there are numerous gunloops throughout the castle's defences, but many were ill-placed if the intention was to use them in a conflict; some could barely have been used at all. Traditionally, an evolutionary explanation for this was given: Raglan's gunloops were of an early period, later surpassed in other castles. More recent explanations emphasise the prestigious symbolism of gunloops for the Herbert family when they built the castle, even if many might have been impossible to use. Anthony Emery notes that Raglan's gunloops were better sited than many at the time, and at least "the owner was up to date in his symbolism"; Robert Liddiard suggests that the poor placing of some of the gunloops for aesthetic purposes might have actually been a conversation point for those visitors with experience of fighting in France and the "correct" placing of such defences.

Gatehouse and Closet Tower
The three-storey gatehouse to Raglan Castle dates from the 1460s and is approached over a stone bridge restored in 1949. Characterised by extensive machicolations and gunloops, the gatehouse would originally have had a twin-set of portcullises and a drawbridge. The intention of the design was at least partially defensive, but was also intended to provide a dramatic and impressive entrance for senior visitors to the castle. The upper part of the gatehouse provided chambers for the constable of the castle. Immediately to the west of the gatehouse was the castle library, once famous for its collection of Welsh literature. On the east side of the gatehouse is the three-storey Closet Tower; this was designed to be integral to the gatehouse, and may have contained the original castle treasury, conveniently accessible by the constable. The Closet Tower was partly altered in later years, possibly to allow the basement to be used as a magazine in the English Civil War.

Pitched Stone Court and Fountain Court

The Pitched Stone Court forms the north-east corner of the castle, and provided a centre for the castle services and servants; it takes its name from the late-Tudor cobbling, or pitched stones. On the east side of the court is the former office wing, a 16th-century construction mostly destroyed during the siege of 1646. The castle kitchens and pantries are on the north side, containing two large fireplaces and storage facilities for food and supplies in their cellars. In the 1460s, the first floors to these buildings included chambers for the senior servants. The buttery in the north-west corner would have been used to store and serve beer and wine.

On the south-west side of the court is the hall, a 16th-century design incorporating an earlier hall on the same site. 64 by wide, the hall was originally 42 ft high, with a roof made of Irish oak, lit and ventilated by a cupola in the middle. A large oriel window lit the end of the hall occupied at dinner by the earls of Worcester, which by the time Raglan was built would have been used only for larger formal occasions. Originally, the hall would have been fitted with carved wooden panelling and a minstrel's gallery. The Fountain Court lies to the west of the Pitched Stone Court, and is named after a marble fountain that once stood in the centre of it, featuring a white horse on a black marble base, complete with a flow of running water. The fountain was probably installed somewhat after the initial construction of the court in the 1460s, dating instead to Edward Somerset in the late 16th century; the horse symbolised Edward's prestigious role as Master of the Horse. The Fountain Court was built to provide luxurious accommodation for the family and guests—by the 15th century, it was important to be able to provide private chambers for visitors, and this court could hold up to four distinct groups of visitors in comfort. The Fountain Court as a whole is marked by what Augustus Pugin described as extremely fine, elegant and delicate stonework.

The castle chapel runs alongside the east side of the court, 41 ft long and originally laid with bright yellow and tiles and decorated with gold and silver vestments. The Long Gallery stretches across the whole east first-floor of the Fountain Court and, although now ruined, would have been a show-piece for the earls' wealth and power. The gallery was 126 ft long and during the Tudor period it would have been wood-panelled throughout and lined with tapestries and paintings. The Long Galley was intended to allow family and guests to relax inside and to admire the gardens, water gardens and the deer park to the north of the castle. Although most of this decoration has since been lost, two caryatid statues can still be seen on the walls of the Long Gallery, modelled on a work by the French artist Hugues Sambin.

The west side of the Fountain Court comprises the apartments, with a number of bay windows and window seats facing west and north across the park. The Grand Staircase divides the apartments; restored between 2010 and 2011, the staircase would originally have had a substantial porch, similar to the one that survives in the Pitched Stone Court, and would have been a centre-piece of the Fountain Court. Although examples of such straight-flight staircases can be found in other late-medieval buildings, the architectural historian John Newman considers the Grand Staircase had "a grandeur hard to parallel in 15th-century England." The apartments to the west of the staircase are more complex than the others, designed to create somewhat greater privacy, and overlooked the gardens to the west of the castle. On the south side of the court is the South Gate, the original entrance to the castle prior to the 1460s reconstruction. The fan-vaulted gatehouse closely resembles the contemporary cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral, but by the 16th century had been converted to the entrance to the bowling green in the terrace beyond.

On the south-east side of the court were the 16th-century parlour on the first-floor, and the dining room above it—both 49 by. These were intended to provide rooms that were more private than the main hall, but more public than a personal chamber. Now ruined, they would originally have been decorated with carved wainscoting and elaborate, carved chimney-pieces. Alongside these rooms, overlooking the Great Tower, were the private rooms for the lord's family, of higher quality than the other accommodation in the castle. Some of the carved badges and shields on the external walls of these state apartments still remain intact, as in the hall; these were a popular contemporary feature of 15th-century great castles, and would have created a similar effect to those at Warkworth Castle in Northumberland and Raby Castle in County Durham.

Great Tower

The Great Tower at Raglan Castle, sometimes called the Yellow Tower of Gwent, sits outside the rest of the castle, protected by a moat and linked to the Fountain Court by a bridge. The fortification is representative of a trend during the 15th and 16th centuries in British castle building: tower keeps such as this, large, solid buildings designed for private accommodation, probably inspired by those in France, had started to appear in the 14th century at Dudley and Warkworth. In the 15th century the fashion spread, with the creation of French-influenced palatial castles featuring complex tower keeps, such as those at Wardour and Tattershall. These were expensive buildings to construct, each built to a unique design and, as historian Norman Pounds has suggested, "were designed to allow very rich men to live in luxury and splendour".

The hexagonal Great Tower was probably begun in the 1430s and 1440s, possibly on the motte of a previous castle. The tower today has lost not only one of its walls but part of its upper structure, and would originally have been three storeys high with probably additional machicolations on top similar to those on the gatehouse. It was designed to be a self-contained fortification, with its own water and food supplies, and luxurious quarters lit by large windows on the upper floors. Originally the tower was reached by a bascule drawbridge, usually considered to be drawn from contemporary French designs, such as those at Ferté-Milon and Vannes. This drawbridge was designed to have two parts—a wide, heavy bridge that would be raised or lowered when the family was in residence, and a thinner bridge, easier to lift, designed for the use of servants at other times. The Herberts used the bridge as their badge, and it can be seen in the carved window designs around the castle. The drawbridge was replaced with a grander stone bridge in the 1460s, probably at a cost of around £900 to £1000. An apron wall with six turrets was also added around the tower at around the same time.

The original moat around the tower would have been a simple design, but it was redesigned in the 1460s to provide a walkway around the outside of the Great Tower. The niches in the walls of the walkway are of 17th-century origin, and would originally have held classical statues—the walkway would have provided a dignified way of admiring the Great Tower. It is likely that fish would have been bred in the moat.

Landscape and gardens
The former 16th- and 17th-century gardens of Raglan Castle are still visible in the form of several long terraces to the north of the castle, overlooking the lower ground beyond. First created in the second half of the 16th century, these terraces would originally have included a number of knot gardens, probably with Italianate sculpture and carved stone balustrades. The gardens at their peak would have probably resembled those at Nonsuch Palace, where the Somersets also had an interest as the royal keepers. The valley below retains some signs of the drainage ditches that once formed part of the water gardens that flooded the bottom of the site, although the original "water-parterre" to the north-west of the castle, another water garden in the south, and the extensive gardens around the south-west of the castle are now no longer visible. The castle's bowling green still survives, on a terrace just beyond the South Gate entrance. The castle's parks reverted to agricultural use by the 19th century, and Raglan is now surrounded by fields. The gardens and park at Raglan are designated Grade I on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

title: Raglan Castle


text:
Talk:Leatherhead

Untitled
That's quite enough Leatherhead bashing for one article don't you think. The high street is revamped and the team is still the best in the Mole Valley and not too shabby when compared to the rest of Surrey.

I will be writing to my MP forthwith! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.35.81.17 (talk) 12:43, 12 May 2004 (UTC)

The Head
Editing == The Head - thank you : ) x this is how easy it is, next time contact me direct Ms Teacher \ I do not appreciate your arrogance! Dexywilson 13:19, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Dexywilson 13:32, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

leave the Head alone from Monkey

The Head
Lol - we have been deleted again - probably by some outsider - can't be bothered to check the edits, but you know who you are loser ; ) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.106.172.138 (talk) 08:16, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

Again we have been deleted by Suzanne the self appointed custodian of Leatherhead history?

The history of the town has no chance unless of course we delete Suzzanne as spam - now there's a thought!

I have reinstated The Head Thank you!

Greg Wilson The Head

Dexywilson 09:36, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

I deleted info on this exceptionally minor local pop group which had no references on it other than it's own myspace advert. There was no other information about them on google. SuzanneKn 21:20, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

I strongly object to deletions being made after little or no research being carried out - looking for The Head in google is not really what I would classify as extensive research (by the way we are in there if you look!)  If you have not heard of us, my guess is you that you either were not born or raised in Leatherhead or are under thirty. The links to the MySpace page are not an advert (you obviously do not know anything about MySpace) The http://www.myspace.com/theheadfromleatherhead page actually gives you the information you are looking for! If you took the time to read the history of the band, you would see that The Head are 'significant 'and for a period of nearly three years, were the most well known band in the area. The single was a local hit and the band and many of their fans were and still are, supporters of Leatherhead Football Club.

As for your comments with regard to, exceptionally, insignificant and minor - I suggest you do your research more thoroughly in the future!

Thank you

Greg Wilson The Head

Dexywilson 04:18, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

Lol - we have been deleted again - probably by some outsider - can't be bothered to check the edits, but you know who you are loser ; ) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.106.172.138 (talk) 08:16, 15 December 2013 (UTC)

Again we have been deleted by Suzanne the self appointed custodian of Leatherhead history?

The history of the town has no chance unless of course we delete Suzzanne as spam - now there's a thought!

I have reinstated The Head Thank you!

Greg Wilson The Head

Dexywilson 09:36, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

I deleted info on this exceptionally minor local pop group which had no references on it other than it's own myspace advert. There was no other information about them on google. SuzanneKn 21:20, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

I strongly object to deletions being made after little or no research being carried out - looking for The Head in google is not really what I would classify as extensive research (by the way we are in there if you look!)  If you have not heard of us, my guess is you that you either were not born or raised in Leatherhead or are under thirty. The links to the MySpace page are not an advert (you obviously do not know anything about MySpace) The http://www.myspace.com/theheadfromleatherhead page actually gives you the information you are looking for! If you took the time to read the history of the band, you would see that The Head are 'significant 'and for a period of nearly three years, were the most well known band in the area. The single was a local hit and the band and many of their fans were and still are, supporters of Leatherhead Football Club.

As for your comments with regard to, exceptionally, insignificant and minor - I suggest you do your research more thoroughly in the future!

Thank you

Greg Wilson The Head

Dexywilson 04:18, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

LEATHERHEAD FC
I object most strongly to the assertion that LeatherheadFC have fallen into obscurity.If this supposed to be part of an encyclopedia,then I suggest you get your facts right!A full history of the club is available on the website www.leatherheadfc-net. Since being restructured before the start of the 2000 season by the supporters, the club has gone from strentgh to strength, and is looking forward to competing in the new restructured league in the 2004/5 season, after a sucsessful season in the Ryman League Division 1.

Paul Everett,Commercial Manager,LEATHERHEAD FC — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.154.28.203 (talk) 18:02, 12 May 2004 (UTC)

Clean-up required
The article is considerably behind many comparable articles (eg Guildford, Epsom, Dorking, Redhill). The content is currently heavily weighted towards the football club and there are several unqualified subjective comments (and even a retort to one of them within the article itself). Perhaps someone with knowledge of the town would expand the article with some more useful objective facts suitable for an encyclopedia! Halsteadk 23:18, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

 * Article considerably improved since 6 January (old version: ). Comment above no longer relevant. Halsteadk 15:37, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

Air Transport
Whether it is 'lucky' to be near two major international airports is a highly debatable claim, and is, in any event, oddly anthropomorphic language. Rather than edit to, say, 'Unfortunately, Leatherhead is rather close to two international airports...' I've stated the fact of the town's location relative to airports baldly. 81.187.211.188 18:41, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

 * I've removed the info on Air and it's pasted below as really the airport are a distance away

===Air=== SuzanneKn — Preceding undated comment added 17:29, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Leatherhead is fairly close to two of London's major Airports.
 * Gatwick: 30-40 minutes anti-clockwise on the M25 then M23.
 * Heathrow: 30-40 minutes clockwise on the M25.

That odd wording was back, until I changed it to something like the above.

Earthlyreason 15:20, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

 * Shouldn't we just remove the section on airports completely? Practically every town or city in the home counties is within similar easy reach of one or more of the London airports. This type of information really doesn't need to be in all the other articles, so it doesn't need to be in this article either.
 * This isn't a travel guide... let's keep the focus to Leatherhead. --David Edgar 15:46, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

 * I wouldn't strongly object to removing the airports reference. It's just that being 'half-way' between Heathrow and Gatwick is locally noted. No big deal. Earthlyreason 08:13, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

Leisure activities
There was a long list of these which were mostly spam and actually not Leatherhead. I'm moved them to a list List of leisure activities in Leatherhead SuzanneKn 16:11, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Not just the Head we're all spam ! - someone please advise her what spam is she obviously has no idea - we can't let this person determine what Leatherhead is - there may be nothing to do, but we still love the town and do not need her interference !! The Head

Dexywilson 15:56, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

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Churches
It seems a little odd that only the Anglican church of St Mary & St Nicholas is given and none of the other churches that belong to "Churches Together in Leatherhead" (CTiL), namely: the Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Peter, Christ Church (United Reformed), Pioneer Engage and the Methodist Church. Details are available on the CTiL website: http://churchesleatherhead.org/

The are other groups that do not subscribe to CTiL such as Calvary Chapel (which is shown on the Leatherhead Article), the Strict Baptist Church and Kingscroft Chapel. There may be others besides. 46.208.57.74 (talk) 14:03, 19 April 2011 (UTC) Ray

Taxis
I've removed the taxis section from the article, but this appears to be controversial. Therefore I think this needs to be discussed. My proposal is to remove the taxi section from the article because the sole purpose of it seems to be to provide free advertising to local taxi companies. The text about there being a taxi rank outside the station seems unnecessary travel guide - style "information", hence why I feel that the entire section should be removed. Mrmatiko (talk) 13:13, 11 June 2012 (UTC)
 * A late approval. It does not feature in WP:UKTOWNS.  That's a good guide if anyone cares to read about what people should learn about places! -  Adam37   Talk  15:49, 28 December 2013 (UTC)

Model
fainl you for the model.clic under : http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Openstreetmap logo.svg/90px-Openstreetmap logo.svg — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.254.246.254 (talk) 18:09, 12 January 2014 (UTC)

Town Centre
The town centre section within 'The Town', is difficult to understand and could benefit from re-writing SovalValtos (talk) 16:13, 30 April 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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Supreme Court decision affects Leatherhead
The following is from the Village green article and provides specifics about the Leatherhead decision ... perhaps someone wants to add a bit about it in the Leatherhead article. See the section marked in bold, below:

ALSO: See these articles, specifically about the Leatherhead decision: https://www.womblebonddickinson.com/uk/insights/news/wbd-advises-nhs-property-services-supreme-court-win-village-green-case AND https://www.womblebonddickinson.com/uk/insights/news/wbd-advises-nhs-property-services-supreme-court-win-village-green-case ALSO the earlier article, https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/leatherhead-resident-saves-leach-grove-14547272

UK Supreme Court decision On 11 December 2019, a Supreme Court decision put the future of some village greens at risk in England and Wales. The case involved five fields (13 hectares) in south Lancaster, the Mooreside Fields, owned by Lancashire County Council. The lands had been available for public use for over 50 years. According to the Commons Act 2006, land used for informal recreation for at least 20 years can be registered as a green and is then protected from development. (Granted, the Growth and Infrastructure Act of 2013 specified that land designated for planning applications could not be registered as a village green, but that did not apply in the Moorside Fields case.)

The Moorside Fields Community Group attempted to registered the lands in 2016 under the Commons Act. The local authority challenged the registration, wanting to retain control of the lands for future expansion of the nearby Moorside Primary School's playing fields. The Council's challenge failed in the High Court and then in the Court of Appeal; the registration of the land as a village green could proceed.[7] The Council subsequently appealed to the UK Supreme Court.

In the appeal decision, cited as R (on the application of Lancashire County Council) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Respondent) the Court overturned the previous judgments. At the same time, the Supreme Court also ruled against the registration of lands in a separate case in Surrey involving the 2.9 hectare Leach Grove Wood at Leatherhead, owned by the National Health Service.[8][9] After publication of the decision in the Moorside Fields case, Lancashire County Council told the news media that the fields might be needed for expansion of the school grounds and praised the Supreme Court decision as one that would "protect this land for future generations". [10]

In effect, the Supreme Court decision left the fields open to development for any purpose deemed appropriate by the Council. This could have far-reaching ramifications in England and Wales, according to the Open Spaces Society, a national conservation group that was founded in 1865. "This is a deeply worrying decision as it puts at risk countless publicly owned green spaces which local people have long enjoyed, but which, unknown to them, are held for purposes which are incompatible with recreational use", a representative told The Guardian.[11] Peter K Burian (talk) 16:29, 15 December 2019 (UTC)

 * Hi I have added a section on Leach Grove Wood and the UK Supreme Court decision here. Best wishes Mertbiol (talk) 14:16, 27 November 2021 (UTC)

Etymology
I made an edit to the etymology section to remove suggestion that Lēod-rida is Brythonic for public ford. That is clearly incorrect. Lēod is clearly Old English. Rida is trickier but *rida is posited as a ridable ford. Coates takes issue with that, but it is a proposed word in Old English, not Brythonic. Brythonic has rrɨd for a ford, thus the alternative suggestion from Coates, which is Brythonic. If we are looking at Brythonic, I am surprised no one has considered the etymology of Lledrod as an alternative. But they haven't. So, anyway, where we are is that we have a source that states that Leatherhead probbably comes from "public ford" but lists "grey ford" (per Coates) as an alternative. Then it wrongly tells us that Leode is primitive Welsh. The source is tertiary and sites 4 references: Now I have not yet tracked down a copy of Gover et al. nor of Watts. But I cannot see where that source is getting its information from. It seems to contradict its own source in saying that is primitive Welsh. Sirfurboy🏄 (talk) 16:46, 4 July 2024 (UTC) Thus yes, the source we have is mistaken. The sources it cites contradicts its own information. I'll make another edit. Sirfurboy🏄 (talk) 23:13, 4 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Watts; Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-names 365
 * E. Ekwall; Dictionary of English Place-Names 292
 * A.D. Mills; Dictionary of English Place-Names 293
 * Gover et al.; Place-names of Surrey 78-79
 * Mills tells us the etymology is
 * Ekwall says:
 * Watts says
 * Gover, I can't locate, but managed to preview on Gooogle books sufficient to affirm no mention fo Brythonic or Welsh.

title: Talk:Leatherhead


text:
User talk:03dcombe

Thanks for experimenting with Wikipedia. Your test worked, and has now been removed. Please use Sandbox for any other tests you want to do, since testing material in articles will normally be removed quickly. Please see the welcome page if you would like to learn more about contributing to our encyclopedia. Thanks. Lupo 12:44, 12 May 2004 (UTC)

Please stop adding nonsense to the Wikipedia. It is considered vandalism. If you want to experiment, please use the sandbox. Thank you. Lupo 13:02, 12 May 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:03dcombe


text:
Eure (river)

The Eure is a river between Normandy and Centre-Val de Loire in north-western France, left tributary of the Seine. It is 229 km long. It rises at Marchainville in the Orne department and joins the Seine near Pont-de-l'Arche. Two departments are named after the Eure, namely Eure and Eure-et-Loir.

Places along the river:
 * Orne (61): Marchainville, La Lande-sur-Eure, Neuilly-sur-Eure.
 * Eure-et-Loir (28): Courville-sur-Eure, Saint-Georges-sur-Eure, Fontenay-sur-Eure, Chartres, Saint-Prest, Maintenon, Nogent-le-Roi, Mézières-en-Drouais, Cherisy, Anet.
 * Eure (27): Évreux, Ivry-la-Bataille, Garennes-sur-Eure, Bueil, Merey, Pacy-sur-Eure, Ménilles, Chambray, Croisy-sur-Eure, Autheuil-Authouillet, Acquigny, Louviers, Le Vaudreuil, Val de Reuil, Pont-de-l'Arche, Martot.

Its main tributaries are the Avre, the Iton and the Blaise from the left and the Voise, the Drouette and the Vesgre from the right.

title: Eure (river)