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449 Hamburga

Hamburga (minor planet designation: 449 Hamburga) is a carbonaceous asteroid from the background population of the intermediate asteroid belt, approximately 75 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomers Max Wolf and Friedrich Schwassmann at Heidelberg Observatory on 31 October 1899, and later named after the city of Hamburg in Germany.

449 was a proposed target for the 1980s-1990s space probe mission proposal CRAF.

Description
Hamburga is classified as a C-type asteroid and is probably composed of carbonaceous material. It is named for the city of Hamburg in Germany. The name was announced in 1901 during a festival held by the Mathematical Society of Hamburg.

449 Hamburga was identified as one of three asteroids that were likely to be a parent body for chondrites along with 304 Olga and 335 Roberta. All three asteroids were known to have low-albedo (not reflect as much light) and be close to "meteorite producing resonances". Chrondrites are the most common type of meteor found on Earth, accounting for over 80% of all meteors. They are named for the tiny spherical silicate particles that are found inside them (those particles are called chondrules).

Proposed spacecraft visit
In the 1980s and 1990s, NASA considered a spacecraft mission to the asteroid. The mission plan called for a launch in 1995 and a flyby of Hamburga in early 1998. The McDonald's chain of restaurants expressed an interest in sponsoring the mission, due to the accidental similarity of the asteroid's name to the food item "hamburger", which was discussed in exploratory meetings between themselves and NASA.

In August 1988 in the United States' city of Baltimore, P. Weissman addressed the International Astronomical Union on a mission to this asteroid (449), a mission which also include a rendezvous with Comet Kopf. See Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby for more on the mission to the comet. This mission can also be compared to Rosetta, which successfully flew by two minor planets and orbited a Comet during its approach to the Sun in the early 21st century. P. Weissman later worked on the Rosetta mission.

Study
It was predicted that 449 occulted the star HIP 1424 in July 2013. Stellar occultations can allow a chord to be calculated.

An asteroid occultation was predicted for 18 Oct 2018 with the magnitude 12 star UCAC4-557-042266.

449 Hamburga has been observed to occult 15 stars between 1998 and 2023.

title: 449 Hamburga


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Talk:List of Italian divisions in World War II

from Vfd
On 17 Feb 2005, this article was nominated for deletion. The result was keep. See Votes for deletion/List of Italian divisions in WWII for a record of the discussion.

Rename
List of Italian divisions in WWII should be List of Italian divisions in World War II if there is no objection I will move it in a couple of days --Jim Sweeney (talk) 23:12, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

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


text: Talk:Fraktur (disambiguation)

title: Talk:Fraktur (disambiguation)


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Warmington, Northamptonshire

Warmington is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England with a population of 874 (as of the 2001 census), increasing to 939 at the 2011 Census.

The village's name means 'Farm/settlement which is connected with Wyrma'.

It is $2 1/2$ miles east of the town of Oundle near the Cambridgeshire border and is 10 miles south west of the city of Peterborough. It has a large 13th-century church, and fine watermill, manor house and dovecote. Most of the houses, however, were built in the 1960s and 1970s. A large estate of private homes has been added since the turn of the millennium increasing the size of the village by around 30%. Warmington is a working, functional village with some impressive old stone buildings which are considered very attractive. The Nene Way footpath runs through the village and is well signposted.

Amenities
Warmington has a small primary school that in 1980 had around 25 pupils in total but has since grown considerably over the years. There is a village shop and post office, a butcher's, a garage and a pub, The Red Lion which is the site of the annual fireworks party for villagers and visitors and a village hall which hosts social events, groups and clubs for all ages. The nearest junior and secondary schools are in Oundle.

There was a village police constable in a designated police house up until the late 1980s. Patrols are now made intermittently via Oundle constabulary who provide a PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) and local residents are advised by their local Neighbourhood Watch members.

Warmington has an old water mill which functioned until the mid twentieth century, which was previously restored and used as a retail outlet for the ceramic tile company, Fired Earth. In the late 1990s a fire destroyed the roof and much of the timber work in the building. Residents and visitors may walk from Warmington across the flood plains to Fotheringhay, a historic medieval village, and to the Fotheringhay castle site where Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed in 1587 and Richard III was born in 1452. There is currently an application to extract gravel from these historic flood plains and, whilst it is claimed that the footpath will remain in some form during the work with the plains restored following the work (10+years), the view will undoubtedly be altered forever.

In the village there are 28 listed buildings, including the Mill and the Dovecote.

The farmers fields that encircle the village and give its rural feel, are now mostly owned by the Proby family in nearby Elton village - who are based at Elton Hall. As little ago as the 1960s there were as many as 6 local farmers resident in the village employing villagers including John and David Simpson, Don Cooke, and Messrs. Kirby, Northern and Horsefield.

Transport
The village can be accessed by a single carriageway main road, the A605, or winding country lanes leading from villages such as Morborne and Ashton via the steep 'Cooke's Hill named after the farmers there in the 1960s and previously known as Broadgate Hill.

The oldest part of Warmington village is thought to be an area named Eaglethorpe, a small hamlet adjacent to the River Nene. A 1500-year-old skeleton was found during an archeological dig in Eaglethorpe during the completion of the A605 bypass in 2002.

title: Warmington, Northamptonshire


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Akaki Tsereteli

Count Akaki Tsereteli (აკაკი წერეთელი) (1840–1915), often mononymously known as Akaki, was a prominent Georgian poet and national liberation movement figure.

Early life and education
Tsereteli was born in the village of Skhvitori, Imereti region of western Georgia on June 9, 1840, to a prominent Georgian aristocratic family. His father was Prince Rostom Tsereteli, his mother, Princess Ekaterine, a daughter of Ivane Abashidze and a great-granddaughter of King Solomon I of Imereti.

Following an old family tradition, Tsereteli spent his childhood years living with a peasant’s family in the village of Savane. He was brought up by peasant nannies, all of which made him feel empathy for the peasants’ life in Georgia. He graduated from the Kutaisi Classical Gymnasium in 1852 and the University of Saint Petersburg Faculty of Oriental Languages in 1863.

Career and legacy
Tsereteli was a close friend of Ilia Chavchavadze, a Georgian progressive intellectual youth leader. The young adult generation of Georgians during the 1860s, led by Chavchavdze and Tsereteli, protested against the Tsarist regime and campaigned for cultural revival and self-determination of the Georgians.

He is an author of hundreds of patriotic, historical, lyrical and satiric poems, also humoristic stories and autobiographic novel. Tsereteli was also active in educational, journalistic and theatrical activities.

The famous Georgian folk song Suliko is based on Tsereteli’s lyrics. He died on January 26, 1915, and was buried at the Mtatsminda Pantheon in Tbilisi. He had a son, Russian opera impresario Alexey Tsereteli. A major boulevard in the city of Tbilisi is named after him, as is one of Tbilisi's metro stations.

Tsereteli is known for his Armenophobia. He attacked Armenians for their perceived mercantilism and portrayed them as a flea sucking Georgian blood in one fable.

title: Akaki Tsereteli


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450 Brigitta

Brigitta (minor planet designation: 450 Brigitta) is a typical Main belt asteroid. It is a member of the Eos family.

It was discovered by Max Wolf and A. Schwassmann on 10 October 1899 in Heidelberg.

title: 450 Brigitta


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Warmington

Warmington may refer to:
 * Places
 * Warmington, Northamptonshire, England
 * Warmington, Warwickshire, England
 * location of Warmington Priory
 * People
 * Brian Herbert Warmington (1924–2013), British historian
 * Cinde Warmington, American politician
 * Everald Warmington (born 1952), Jamaican politician
 * E. H. Warmington (1898–1987), noted Latin translator
 * Sir Marshall Warmington, 1st Baronet (1842–1908), English barrister and politician
 * Peter Warmington (born 1934), English soccer player
 * S. J. Warmington (1884-1941), British actor in the early 20th century
 * William Warmington (c.1556–1627 or later), English Roman Catholic priest
 * Michael Warmington (born 1971)

 * Title of Gentry
 * Warmington baronets

title: Warmington


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Byzantine–Georgian wars

The Byzantine-Georgian wars  (ბიზანტია-საქართველოს ომები) were a series of conflicts fought during the 11th-13th centuries over several strategic districts in the Byzantine-Georgian marchlands.

Background
The integrity of the Byzantine Empire itself was under serious threat after a full-scale rebellion, led by Bardas Skleros, broke out in 976. In the urgency of a situation, Georgian prince David III of Tao aided Basil II and after the decisive loyalist victory at the Battle of Pankaleia, he was rewarded by lifetime rule of key imperial territories in eastern Asia Minor. However, David's rebuff of Basil in Bardas Phocas’ revolt of 987 evoked Constantinople’s distrust of the Georgian rulers. After the failure of the revolt, David was forced to make Basil II the legatee of his extensive possessions.

This agreement destroyed a previous arrangement by which David had made his adopted son, Bagrat III of Georgia, his heir. When David died early in 1001, Basil II added his inheritance – Tao, Theodosiopolis, Phasiane and the Lake Van region (Apahunik) with the city of Manzikert – to the theme of Iberia.

The following year, the Georgian prince Gurgen, the natural father of Bagrat III, marched to take David’s inheritance, but was thwarted by the Byzantine general Nikephoros Ouranos, Dux of Antioch, forcing the successor Georgian Bagratids to recognize the new rearrangement. Despite these setbacks, Bagrat was able to become the first king of the unified Georgian state in 1008. He died in 1014, and his son, George I, inherited a longstanding claim to those territories in Tao which were in Byzantine hands.

Byzantine–Georgian war (1014–1022)
Young and ambitious, George I launched a campaign to restore the David Kuropalates’ succession to Georgia and captured Tao in 1014–1016. He also entered in an alliance with the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, Al-Hakim (c. 996–1021), that put Basil in a difficult situation, forcing him to refrain from an acute response to George's offensive. Beyond that, the Byzantines were at that time involved in a relentless war with the Bulgar Empire, limiting their actions to the west. But as soon as Bulgaria was conquered in 1018, and Al-Hakim was no longer alive, Basil led his army against Georgia. After a failed first attempt, preparations for a larger-scale campaign against the Kingdom of Georgia were set in train, beginning with the re-fortification of Theodosiopolis. In the autumn of 1021 Basil, at the head of a large army reinforced by the Varangian Guards, attacked the Georgians and their Armenian allies, recovering Phasiane and pushing on beyond the frontiers of Tao into inner Georgia. King George burned the city of Oltisi to keep it out of the enemy's hands and retreated to Kola. A bloody battle was fought near the village Shirimni at the Lake Palakazio (now Çildir, Turkey) on September 11 and the emperor won a costly victory, forcing George I to retreat northwards into his kingdom. Plundering the country on his way, Basil withdrew to winter at Trebizond.

Several attempts to negotiate the conflict went in vain and, in the meantime, George received reinforcements from the Kakhetians, and allied himself with the Byzantine commanders Nicephorus Phocas and Nicephorus Xiphias in their abortive insurrection in the emperor's rear. In December, George's ally, the Armenian king Senekerim of Vaspurakan, being harassed by the Seljuk Turks, surrendered his kingdom to the emperor. During the spring of 1022, Basil launched a final offensive, winning a crushing victory over the Georgians at Svindax. Menaced both by land and sea, King George handed over Tao, Phasiane, Kola, Artaan and Javakheti, and left his infant son Bagrat a hostage in Basil's hands.

Byzantine–Georgian war (1028)
Shortly after Bagrat IV's ascension to the throne, Constantine VIII sent in an army to take over the key city-fortress of Artanuji on behalf of the Georgian Bagratid prince Demetrius, son of Gurgen of Klarjeti, who had been dispossessed by Bagrat IV's grandfather, Bagrat III, of his patrimonial fief at Artanuji early in the 1010s. Several Georgians nobles defected to the Byzantines, but Bagrat's loyal subjects put up a stubborn fight. The Byzantines overran the Georgian borderlands and besieged Kldekari, a key fortress in Trialeti province, but failed to take it and marched back on the region Shavsheti. The local bishop Saba of Tbeti organized a successful defense of the area forcing the Byzantines to change their tactics.

The emperor Constantine VIII then sent Demetrius of Anacopia, an exiled Georgian prince, who was considered by many as a legitimate pretender to the throne, to take a Georgian crown by force. Constantine's death in 1028 rendered the Byzantine invasion abortive, and, in 1030, the regent, queen dowager Mariam paid a visit to the new emperor Romanos III (c. 1028–1034). She negotiated a peace treaty, and returned with the high Byzantine title of Curopalates for Bagrat in 1032. Mariam also brought him a Byzantine princess Helena as wife.

Demetrius of Anacopia
In 1033, the royal court faced another dynastic trouble, this time with Bagrat's half-brother Demetrius of Anacopia, a son of George I of his second marriage with Alda of Alania. Demetrius and Alda lived in Anacopia, a fortress in Abkhazia, which had been bequeathed to them by the late king George I. The efforts by Bagrat's mother Mariam to win Demetrius's loyalty to the crown went in vain. Threatened by Bagrat, Alda defected to the Byzantines and surrendered Anacopia to the emperor Romanos III in 1033, who honored her son Demetrius with the rank of magistros. According to The Georgian Chronicles: King Bagrat defeated a united army of his opponents and then besieged Anacopia, then he went back, leaving Otago Chachasdze and his army to take charge of the fortress.

Liparit IV of Kldekari
In 1038 Liparit IV, Duke of Kldekari was on the verge of capturing the Georgian city of Tbilisi, which had been under the Muslim sway for centuries; but fearing his growing power the Georgian nobles thwarted the plan and persuaded the king to make peace with the emir of Tbilisi. As a result, Liparit turned into a sworn enemy of Bagrat and began actively cooperating with foreign powers for vengeance. In 1039, he pledged his support to Bagrat's half-brother Demetrius of Anacopia who returned to Georgia with a Byzantine army to seize the crown.

Pretenders enjoyed numerous successes against the royal armies, despite their efforts to take a key fortress Ateni went in vain, Liparit and the Byzantines won a major victory at the Battle of Sasireti, where Bagrat suffered a crushing defeat and was forced to withdraw from his eastern possessions to take refuge in the western Georgian highlands. However Demetrius died unexpectedly in 1042. Alda, with Demetrius's son David, fled to her native Alania. Liparit continued the struggle against Bagrat and became a major champion of the Byzantine influence in the region.

Bagrat appealing to the emperor Constantine IX, it was arranged, through the Byzantine mediation, that Liparit should receive nearly a half of the realm (south of the Mtkvari River) only as a dutiful subject to the king of Georgia. Thus, in the period of 1045–1048, Liparit IV, Duke of Trialeti, Argveti, Lower and Upper Iberia, Prince-Constable of Georgia, became the most powerful person in the kingdom. Not without a good reason, the Arab chronicler Ibn al-Athir calls him "king of the Abasgians [i.e. Georgians]." Liparit, called Liparites by Byzantine writers, was at the same time a Byzantine dignitary with the prestigious rank of magistros (and possibly also curopalates).

During the Seljuk campaigns in Anatolia in 1048, Liparit, who had been fighting on the Byzantine side, was captured at the Battle of Kapetron. Bagrat took advantage of this, and returned to his eastern possessions. The king's fortunes were quickly reversed, however, upon Liparit's return from captivity in 1049 or 1051. The rebellious duke forced Bagrat to flee to Constantinople where he was kept, as a result of Liparit's intrigues, for three years. In the absence of Bagrat (1050–1053), Liparit was an effective ruler of Georgia; he even installed Bagrat's son George II as king and declared himself a regent. After Bagrat's return in 1053, Liparit again warred against him. Eventually, in 1060, he was arrested by his followers and surrendered to the king, who forced him into a monastery under the name of Anton. Liparit died shortly thereafter at Constantinople and was reburied to his patrimonial monastery at Katskhi in Georgia.

Peace
The second half of the 11th century was marked by the strategically significant invasion of the Seljuq Turks, who by the end of the 1040s had succeeded in building a vast empire including most of Central Asia and Persia. The Seljuk threat prompted the Georgian and Byzantine governments to seek a closer cooperation. To secure the alliance, Bagrat's daughter Maria married, at some point between 1066 and 1071, to the Byzantine co-emperor Michael VII Ducas.

Georgian expedition to Chaldia and the founding of the Trebizond Empire
Despite the territorial losses to Basil II, the Georgian kings succeeded in retaining their independence and in uniting most of the Georgian lands into a single state. Many of the territories ceded to the empire were conquered by the Seljuk Turks towards the 1070s-1080s, securing the theme of Iberia by the help of Byzantine governor, Gregory Pakourianos, who began to evacuate the region shortly after the disaster inflicted by the Seljuks on the Byzantine army at Manzikert. On this occasion, George II of Georgia was bestowed with the Byzantine title of Caesar, granted the fortress of Kars and put in charge of the Imperial Eastern limits.

Relations between the two Christian monarchies were then generally peaceful except for the episode of 1204, when Emperor Alexios III Angelos seized a sizable donation of the then Georgian regent Queen Tamar, that was meant for the monks of Mount Athos. Infuriated by this action, Tamar used this hostile act as a pretext for her expansion along the southwestern coast of the Black Sea, populated by a large Georgian-speaking population.

Tamar's ambitions were aided by the ongoing Fourth Crusade, which eventually fractured the Byzantine Empire.

A Georgian army under the command of Alexios and David Komnenos attacked the Byzantines from the east in late March or early April 1204. According to Georgian chronicles the expedition took eight days, it reached Trebizond via Lazona and seized Trebizond in April. The local commander doux Nikephoros Palaiologos, did not put up an effective defence against the Georgian forces.

On April 13, 1204, Constantinople fell to the Crusaders, where they established the Latin Empire. According to medieval sources, newly incorporated territories were given to Alexios and David Komnenos, where they founded a pro-Georgian state, the Empire of Trebizond. Alexios was proclaimed emperor, while David was appointed strategos. Some scholars believe that the new state was subject to Georgia, at least in the first years of its existence, at the beginning of the 13th century.

The following year, David Komnenos commanded the Georgian troops in a successful campaign that resulted in the conquest of territories between Trebizond and Heraclea Pontica, while Alexios defeated the Seljuks and recaptured Amisos, Sinope, Oinaion and Chalybia.

Tamar's political involvement in the Fourth Crusade, her exploitation of the Byzantine decline, and military campaigns, decisively expanded the Kingdom of Georgia's influence and number of tributaries, turning her kingdom into one of the most powerful Christian states at the time.

David VI's campaign of Trebizond
In the second half of the 13th century, when the political integrity of Georgia was broken and the state was divided into two kingdoms, Georgian influence in the Empire of Trebizond began to decline, and pro-Byzantine tendencies appeared in separate groups of the ruling circles of Trebizond. This resulted in a struggle for political hegemony in the Empire of Trebizond between the Georgian and Byzantine parties that lasted for years. In 1281, a coup took place in Trebizond, organized by the Georgian party. Emperor John II, who became the son-in-law of the royal house of the Byzantine Palaiologos, was deposed from the throne and even captured. Then he was released from prison, but he was not allowed to stay in Trebizond, and the deposed king went to Constantinople. In 1282, during John's absence from Trebizond, his relative, King David VI Narin of Georgia (David I of Imereti), tried to restore Georgian influence in the empire and besieged the capital. After the failure of the siege, the Georgian army occupied several provinces of the empire, including the historical Chaneti (Lazeti), and helped John's sister Theodora, daughter of Manuel I and his second wife Rusudan, to seize power, though soon in 1285 John II returned to the empire and regained power, and Queen Theodora took refuge in Georgia.

Trapezuntine Civil Wars
In the subsequent Trepizuntine civil war the Greek party, supported by the Genoese, and by Byzantine mercenaries were opposed by the local nobles, who considered themselves the patriotic champions of native rights. The opposition persuaded Anna, called Anachoutlou, the elder daughter of Emperor Alexios II of Trebizond and his Georgian wife Jiajak Jaqeli, to quit her monastic dress and escape to Lazia, where she was crowned empress and gained control over the region, and all the native Laz and the Tzan people, recognised her as the legal heir to the throne for being nearest legitimate heir of her brother Basil.

On July 17, 1341, Anna entered Trebizond triumphantly, followed by Laz warriors of the Georgian King George V (1314–1346) as well as by Trapezuntine Laz of the bandon of Greater Lazia, and ascended to the throne. She was crowned empress, supported, on the one hand, by the Amytzantarios family and, on the other, by the Laz, the Tzan and, in general, the people of the provinces of the Empire of Trebizond. The prevalence of the indigenous Amytzantarioi after Anna's ascension to the throne had provoked continuous attempts by the opposing Scholarioi to overthrow her with the support of other noble families.

The conflicts between the aristocratic families of Trebizond marked the reign of Anna, who was continuously under the threat of being deposed by the Scholarios family, as well as other aristocratic circles related to Constantinople. The attempts of the Scholarios family were supported by Constantinople, which was disappointed with the fall of Eirene Palaiologina and the ascent of Anna.

title: Byzantine–Georgian wars


text:
Talk:Schwabacher

Rephrase
Could someone who knows please rephrase the following sentence? I can't make head or tail of it at present!

The difference between the Schwabacher and other blackletter scripts is that in the small-letter o, both sides of the bow are broken, but the right part is not.

rossb 13:14, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC)

A jewish friend of mine's last name is Schwabacher. Should its use as a last name be mentioned? I don't know how common it is Canking 22:41, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Fraktur vs Schwabacher
The section about Nazi usage is about Fraktur, not Schwabacher what the article is about. Shouldn't this part be moved to the Fraktur article? Sevcsik (talk) 21:14, 17 March 2012 (UTC)

title: Talk:Schwabacher


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Wilhelm Weinberg

Wilhelm Weinberg (25 December 1862 –  27 November 1937) was a German obstetrician-gynecologist, practicing in Stuttgart, who in a 1908 paper, published in German in Jahresheft des Vereins für vaterländische Naturkunde in Württemberg (The Annals of the Society of National Natural History in Württemberg), expressed the concept that would later come to be known as the Hardy–Weinberg principle.

Weinberg is also credited as the first to explain the effect of ascertainment bias on observations in genetics.

Hardy–Weinberg principle
Weinberg developed the principle of genetic equilibrium independently of British mathematician G.H. Hardy. He delivered an exposition of his ideas in a lecture on 13 January 1908, before the Verein für vaterländische Naturkunde in Württemberg (Society for the Natural History of the Fatherland in Württemberg), about three months before the Hardy's notes from April 1908 of that year and five months before Hardy's paper was published in English in June 1908. His lecture was printed in the society's yearbook in September 1908.

Weinberg's contributions were unrecognized in the English speaking world for more than 35 years. In 1943, Curt Stern, a German scientist who immigrated to the United States before World War II, pointed out in a brief paper in Science that Weinberg's exposition was more comprehensive than Hardy's. Before 1943, the concepts in genetic equilibrium that are known today as the Hardy–Weinberg principle had been known as "Hardy's law" or "Hardy's formula" in English-language texts.

In 1999, James F. Crow wrote: “Why was Weinberg’s paper, published the same year as Hardy’s, neglected for 35 years?" The reason probably is that he wrote in German. At the time, genetics was largely dominated by English-speakers and work in other languages was often ignored.”

Ascertainment bias and analysis of phenotypic variance
Weinberg pioneered in studies of twins, developing techniques for analysis of phenotypic variation that partitioned this variance into genetic and environmental components. In the process, he recognized that ascertainment bias was affecting many of his calculations, and he produced methods to correct for it.

Weinberg observed that proportions of homozygotes in familial studies of classic autosomal recessive genetic diseases generally exceed the expected Mendelian ratio of 1:4, and he explained how this is the result of ascertainment bias. In his work with albino children, he recognized that in some families where both parents carry a recessive mutation, no disease occurs by chance. He reasoned that many carrier couples were not being counted, and he demonstrated methods for correcting results to produce the expected Mendelian ratios.

He discovered the answer to several seeming paradoxes caused by ascertainment bias. For example, he explained that the reason that parents as a whole are more fertile than their children is because children must necessarily come from fertile parents.

By the same token, he recognized that ascertainment was responsible for a phenomenon known as anticipation, the tendency for a genetic disease to manifest earlier in life and with increased severity in later generations. Weinberg recognized that this was because those later generations were the offspring of that selected group of earlier carriers that had successfully reproduced. Subsequent researchers have reasoned that such carriers who reproduce might be expected to carry favorable compensatory mutations that allowed them to reproduce successfully in spite of their disease. In a class of autosomal and X-linked dominant diseases known as trinucleotide repeat disorders (for example, Huntington's disease), a molecular mechanism for anticipation has also been demonstrated. It is caused by the instability of repeating nucleotide sequences that tend to undergo expansion, causing disease at an earlier and earlier age as trinucleotide repeats accumulate.

Biography
Weinberg was born in Stuttgart to Julius Weinberg, a German Jewish merchant, and Maria Magdalena Humbert, of Protestant faith.

He studied medicine at Tübingen, Berlin and Munich, receiving an M.D. in 1886. In 1889, he returned to Stuttgart, where he remained running a large practice as a gynecologist and obstetrician until he retired to Tübingen a few years before his death in 1937. Much of his academic life he spent studying genetics especially focusing on applying the laws of inheritance to populations.

Additional contributions by Weinberg to statistical genetics included the first estimate of the rate of twinning – Realizing that identical twins would have to be same-sex, while dizygotic twins could be either same or opposite sex, Weinberg derived the formula for estimating the frequency of monozygotic and dizygotic twins from the ratio of same sex and opposite twins to the total of maternities. Weinberg also estimated that the heritability of twinning itself was close to zero.

title: Wilhelm Weinberg


text:
Alan of Galloway

Alan of Galloway (before 1199 – 1234) was a leading thirteenth-century Scottish magnate. As the hereditary Lord of Galloway and Constable of Scotland, he was one of the most influential men in the Kingdom of Scotland and Irish Sea zone.

Alan first appears in courtly circles in about 1200, about the time he inherited his father's possessions and offices. After he secured his mother's inheritance almost two decades later, Alan became one of the most powerful magnates in the Scottish realm. Alan also held lands in the Kingdom of England, and was an advisor of John, King of England concerning Magna Carta. Alan later played a considerable part in Alexander II, King of Scotland's northern English ambitions during the violent aftermath of John's rejection of Magna Carta. Alan participated in the English colonisation of Ulster, receiving a massive grant in the region from the English king, and simultaneously aided the Scottish crown against rebel claimants in the western and northern peripheries of the Scottish realm. Alan entered into a vicious inter-dynastic struggle for control of the Kingdom of the Isles, supporting one of his kinsmen against another. Alan's involvement in the Isles, a region under nominal Norwegian authority, provoked a massive military response by Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway, causing a severe crisis for the Scottish crown.

As ruler of the semi-autonomous Lordship of Galloway, Alan was courted by the Scottish and English kings for his remarkable military might, and was noted in Norse saga-accounts as one of the greatest warriors of his time. Like other members of his family, he was a generous religious patron. Alan died in February 1234. Although under the traditional Celtic custom of Galloway, Alan's illegitimate son could have succeeded to the Lordship of Galloway, under the feudal custom of the Scottish realm, Alan's nearest heirs were his surviving daughters. Using Alan's death as an opportunity to further integrate Galloway within his realm, Alexander forced the partition of the lordship amongst Alan's daughters. Alan was the last legitimate ruler of Galloway, descending from the native dynasty of Fergus, Lord of Galloway.

Background
Alan was born sometime before 1199. He was the eldest son of Lochlann of Galloway, Frenchified as Roland, and his wife, Helen de Morville. His parents were likely married before 1185, possibly at some point in the 1170s, since Roland was compelled to hand over three sons as hostages to Henry II, King of England in 1186. Roland and Helen had three sons, and two daughters. The name of one of Alan's brothers is unknown, suggesting that he died young. The other, Thomas, became Earl of Atholl by right of his wife. One of Alan's sisters, Ada, married Walter Bisset, Lord of Aboyne. The other, Dervorguilla, married Nicholas de Stuteville, Lord of Liddel.

Alan's mother was the daughter of Richard de Morville, Anglo-Norman lord of Cunninghame and Lauderdale, and sister and heir of William de Morville, Lord of Lauderdale and Cunningham, Constable of Scotland. Alan's father was the eldest son of Uhtred, Lord of Galloway, son of Fergus, Lord of Galloway. The familial origins of Fergus are unknown, and he first appears on record in 1136. The mother of at least two of his children, Uhtred and Affraic, was an unknown daughter of Henry I, King of England. It was probably not long after Fergus' emergence into recorded history that he gave away Affraic in marriage to Amlaíb mac Gofraid, King of the Isles. One after-effect of these early twelfth-century marital alliances was that Alan—Fergus' great-grandson—was a blood relative of the early thirteenth-century kings of England and the kings of the Isles—men who proved to be important players throughout Alan's career.

Early career

Roland died in December 1200, after which Alan succeeded to the lordship of Galloway. Alan also inherited the constableship of Scotland, a pre-eminent position which had passed to Roland from the Morvilles by right of Roland's wife, the only surviving heir of Richard de Morville. As constable, Alan, like the earls of the realm, was responsible for leading the king's royal forces. It is uncertain whether the constable of this period took precedence over the earls in command of the king's army, or if the constable had charge of the realm's numerous marischals. His attachment to the importance of his position as constable is evidenced by the fact that this title tends to have taken priority over his hereditary title as ruler of Galloway.

Even before Roland's death, Alan was active in courtly circles, perhaps serving as his father's deputy. Alan's first known important attestation occurs late in December 1199, when he witnessed a royal charter at Forfar. From this point in his career until 1209, Alan appears to have been most often in the attendance of the Scottish king, witnessing several of the latter's royal charters. Alan's eminent standing in society is partly evidenced by the fact that, within these sources, his name tends to appear amongst the top four recorded names, and is usually the first name of non-comital rank. His second marriage, in about 1209, to the king's niece, Margaret, eldest daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon also reveals Alan's significant social standing. From about 1210 to 1215, his activity in Scottish affairs dwindles dramatically, whilst his activity in English affairs increases steadily.

Ulster ambitions

At some point in the first quarter of the thirteenth century, Alan was granted a vast swathe of territory in Ulster from John, King of England. The transaction itself almost certainly took place in the aftermath of the John's expedition to Ireland in 1210. The exact date of the transaction, however, cannot be ascertained due to a gap in English charter records between the months of April 1209 and May 1212. The brunt of John's nine-week Irish campaign appears to have been directed at wayward Anglo-Norman magnates—the troublesome Lacy family in particular. With his subsequent destruction of Hugh de Lacy, Earl of Ulster, and the confiscation of the latter's Irish earldom, John was evidently in a position to reward his own supporters with the Lacys' former possessions. A date of 1210 for Alan's grant, as well as the possibility of his participation in the English expedition of the same year, may be evidenced by the record of a certain "Alan, son of Roland" in the king's service that year.

Other sources, however, point to 1212 as the year of Alan's grant. For instance, the thirteenth-century Gesta Annalia I states that, when the English and Scottish kings concluded their treaty at Norham in February 1212, Alan did homage for the "extensive" Irish lands that the English king had given him. The fifteenth-century historian Walter Bower echoed this statement, adding that Alan obtained a lordship of one hundred sixty knights' fees, and took an oath on William's behalf to uphold the treaty. Certain documentary sources appear to lend credibility to aforementioned accounts. Specifically, a confirmation charter from John to Alan, dating to 1215; a somewhat dubious copy of a letter from William to John, which makes reference to Alan's seal; and the copy of a letter from the Irish justiciar concerning the delivery of seisin to Alan's proxies, which appears to date to April or May 1212. In July 1213, Alan was granted right to the forests and fairs upon his Irish lands.

There is reason to suspect that Alan obtained William's approval in regard to his dealings with John. In 1211, Ross and Moray, the northern peripheries of the Scottish realm, were invaded by Gofraid mac Domnaill, a member of the Meic Uilleim, a kindred that contested the kingship. Facing continued opposition early in 1212, William likely undertook the treaty negotiations at Norham as a means of retaining good relations with John, and the agreement itself was likely concluded in the context of shared security concerns. The Meic Uilleim appear to have drawn support against the Scottish crown from peripheral regions of the realm, and likely from Gaelic Ulster as well. In fact, Gofraid's invasion may well have been based from Ulster, and could have been an after-effect of John's campaign there. The most powerful native Gaelic ruler in the region during this period was Áed Méith Ua Néill, King of Tír Eoghain, a figure who appears to have not only seized upon the power vacuum created by Hugh's fall, but may have also aided the Meic Uilleim insurrection in Scotland. The successful implementation of Alan's massive grant in Ulster, therefore, would have not only served English interests in the region, but would have also dramatically increased the security of the Scottish realm. In effect, the alliance between John and Alan appears to have been a coordinated campaign constructed by the English and Scottish crowns in an effort to secure the control of outlying territories where their royal authority was disputed.

The territories granted to Alan encompassed most of what is today northern County Antrim and far north-eastern County Londonderry, stretching from Glenarm to Coleraine. The vast scale of Alan's allotment suggests that it was almost certainly a speculative grant, with little prospect that he could assemble the necessary men and resources to enfeoff and populate the area. Furthermore, his territories lay on the fringes of former Lacy power, in a region where native Gaelic power was still strong. Alan was not the only member of his family allotted Ulster lands from the English. His brother, Thomas, and his cousin, Donnchad mac Gilla Brigte, Earl of Carrick, also received grants of lands nearby.

In English service
In July 1212, John summoned Alan to send one thousand of the "best and most vigorous" Gallovidian troops to assist the English forces in a planned campaign directed at northern Wales. The fact that William appears to have been in John's presence at Carlisle in late June, conceivably with Alan and Thomas as well, suggests that John's solicitation for Alan's military support had William's consent. In fact, the Scots had previously received military aid against the Meic Uilleim in the form of Brabantine mercenaries lent by John, which may reveal that William used John's summons as an opportunity to make recompense. Although Alan accepted the summons, he refused to pay for the troops' upkeep as John had originally requested. This may show that Alan reasoned that his refusal would avoid any suggestion that Galloway owed England military service. Late in 1214, William died and was succeeded by his son, Alexander II. According to Gesta Annalia I, it was shortly after Alexander's coronation that Alan received royal confirmation of his right to the constableship.

Up until 1215, Alan was able to successfully serve both his liege lords: the kings of England and Scotland. As time progressed, however, the political situation in England began to deteriorate, and John faced ever-mounting baronial resistance. Meanwhile, in Scotland, Alexander associated himself with some John's leading opponents. Although Alan likely attempted to maintain dual allegiances for as long as possible, he soon threw in his lot with John's cause. From about January to Easter, John had been in continuous negotiations with the rebel barons. On 5 May 1215, after a breakdown in mediations, the rebels renounced their fealty to the king. On the same day, John authorised a prest of three hundred merks to Alan, an act that appears to reveal the importance that the king placed upon Alan's substantial military arsenal.

Midway through June, John was forced to accept the terms of his opponents, and so confirmed the charter of liberties known as Magna Carta, a concession that led most of the rebel barons to renew their pledges of homage to him. Alan's involvement in the negotiations is evidenced by the fact that he was in the king's presence in Windsor on 3 June, when he is recorded to have exchanged gifts with the king. Furthermore, Alan's name is one of twenty-seven advisors recorded in the preamble of the charter, revealing that he was one of the magnates who counselled the king regarding the document. Clear evidence of Alan's influence on the deliberations may be the inclusion of a provision—clause fifty-nine—requiring John to satisfy certain grievances claimed by Alexander. By the end of June, Alan was confirmed in his Irish lands, whilst Thomas received custody of the castle of Antrim, and was granted an Ulster lordship centred at Coleraine. Also in 1215, Henry de Loundres, Archbishop of Dublin, the Justiciar of Ireland, was ordered by the English Crown to allow Alan to transport goods between Ulster and Galloway.

End of English-Scottish ambiguity

When John later rejected Magna Carta, and Alexander took up arms against him, Alan sided with the latter, and appears to have taken a considerable part in the subsequent conflict. In 1216, for instance, Alan was identified as a rebel in arms by an English government memorandum, and the Chronicle of Melrose reports that Gallovidians formed part of the Scottish army that invaded Northumberland in July 1217. Furthermore, when the English ordered Alexander to hand over custody of the castle of Carlisle in September 1217, Alan's name was also included in the correspondence directed at the Scots.

A particular war-time charter granted by Alan, confirming the lands of Kirkby Thore and Hillbeck to John of Newbiggin, also evidences Alan's allegiance with Alexander against John. Although these particular lands laid within Westmorland, and had been granted by John to Robert de Vieuxpont in 1203, Alan's Morville ancestors had held the district as late as 1173, giving him a claim to the region. The charter itself may have been granted in Westmorland, no earlier than about June 1216 and no later than about October 1217, and indicates that Robert's effective overlordship of the region had been superseded by Alan. The names of many of those who attested the charter had strong familial or tenurial connections with Scotland, and many were open opponents of John. Not only does the charter reveal that Alan pursued territorial claims whilst serving Scottish interests, but it forms part of a body of evidence suggesting that Alexander envisaged the imposition of Scottish royal authority over Northumberland. Although Alan's war-time acquisitions in northern England were only temporary, appearing to have lasted about a year, the after-effects of his influence reverberated for years to come. For instance, in about 1219 his clerk was indicted for unlawfully drawing revenues in Penrith, and in 1223 Robert de Vieuxpont was still having difficulty regaining possession of lands that Alan had confirmed to John of Newbiggin.

Re-engagement with the English

The peace secured between the English and Scottish kings did not lead to Alan's speedily return to business south of the border. Contributing factors to Alan's tardiness in English affairs were likely the death of his mother in June 1217, and his subsequent succession to the Morville inheritance of Lauderdale and Cunningham, substantial territorial blocks within the Scottish realm. In fact, Alan does not appear to have enjoyed the same amiable relationship with Henry's regime as he had during John's administration, and it wasn't until 1220 that matters concerning Alan's fealty to Henry, and the confirmation of Alan's English and Irish estates were finally settled. In April of that year, correspondence was sent on behalf of Alan to Henry explaining that Alan and his brother were unable to make use of their Ulster lands. The English Crown thereupon ordered that Alan's lands were to restored to him, with a directive to that effect issued to Geoffrey de Marisco, Justiciar of Ireland, and a request for Alan to attend the upcoming summit between Alexander and Henry at York. Consequently, in June, Alan rendered homage to Henry at the aforementioned assembly, where he duly received confirmation of his English and Irish possessions, and was one of the twelve Scottish magnates who swore to uphold Alexander's oath that the latter would marry one of Henry's sisters, either Joan or Isabella.

Peripheral operations

Little is certain of Alan's activities in the early 1220s, although his position as constable suggests that he was involved in Alexander's peripheral campaigns during these years. One such operation, directed deep into the Highlands against a certain Domnall mac Niall, seems to have been based from Inverness, and perhaps directed into the Strathspey and Great Glen regions. Alexander's success in this campaign may have led to his establishment of the Comyns in Badenoch, and to the creation of lordships in Stratherrick, Boleskine, and Abertarff. It is unknown if this campaign was connected to the maritime operations undertaken by Alan's brother in the same year. According to the Annals of Loch Cé, Thomas had slain Diarmait Ua Conchobair, a claimant to the kingship of Connacht, whilst the latter was en route to Connacht with a mercenary fleet recruited in the Hebrides. In fact, this clash may have been related to an ultimately unsuccessful Scottish intrusion into Argyll in the same year.

The only record of this Argyllian campaign is preserved by Gesta Annalia I, which notes that Alexander's forces included Gallovidians. Both this source and the Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland by Andrew Wyntoun, reveal that Alexander's troops mounted a second and successful assault the following year, resulting in the region's submission. The target of Alexander's animosity may have been Ruaidrí mac Ragnaill, Lord of Kintyre, who appears to have held Kintyre and the outer Islands of the Clyde. It is uncertain if the latter had been aiding the Meic Uilleim, although his recorded involvement with Thomas in 1212 against the Cenél nEógain suggests otherwise. If, on the other hand, Ruaidrí had involved himself with Diarmait, an opponent of Henry's ally Cathal Crobderg Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht, Ruaidrí would have placed himself at odds with both English and Scottish interests. Whatever the case, following the second royal campaign into Argyll, Alexander soon consolidated his authority in the Firth of Clyde through the apparent expulsion of Ruaidrí, the construction of a royal castle at Tarbert, the erection of a royal burgh at Dumbarton in 1222, and the eventual endowment of Cowal to the family of the royal steward.

Ulster ambitions ended

In 1223 and 1224, Hugh de Lacy waged war to recover his former Irish lands, allied himself to Áed Méith, and soon overran most of Ulster. In regard to Alan's family during this resurgence, the Annals of Ulster reveal that Áed Méith destroyed Thomas' castle at Coleraine. Alan wrote to Henry in 1224, stating that he had been active in the king's service from June to September, and was about to launch a planned invasion of Ireland, but had just received intelligence indicating that a deal had been concluded between Hugh and the justiciar; additionally in his letter, Alan asked the king for confirmation of such a truce, and requested, in the event that Hugh were to be restored to favour, that his own and his brother's lands would be safeguarded by the king. Although Alan received a royal licence to colonise his Irish lands the following year, there is no evidence that he or his brother were able to develop them.

Late in 1225, Thomas received monetary aid from the king in the form of an annuity of one hundred marks, likely meant to cover the military and territorial losses suffered by Thomas in Ulster. Despite the reassurances from the English that the brothers' lands were to be protected, there is evidence suggesting that, by as late as 1227, their lands were still under threat from Hugh. In 1229, Alan and Thomas were listed amongst other Irish tenants-in-chief summoned to take part in a planned English military campaign in France. Although Thomas obeyed the king, Alan—who had not received royal compensation for his toils in Ireland—declined Henry's summons. It was likely in the same year that Alan married Hugh's daughter, Rose, as recorded by the Chronicle of Lanercost. It is possible that Alan commenced this union in an effort to salvage something of his family's prospects in Ulster which had by then fallen under Hugh's overlordship. It may have also been an attempt by Alan to gain another ally to assist him in the Isles. In any case, the Irish ambitions that Alan had doggedly pursued since 1212 had finally come to an end.

Instability and kin-strife in the Isles

Although the return and restoration of Hugh almost certainly contributed to Alan's inability to succeed in Ulster, the latter may have overextended his resources pursuing interests in the Isles. When Gofraid mac Amlaíb, King of the Isles died in 1187, he had apparently intended that his younger son, Amlaíb Dub, would succeed to the kingship. Since the latter had been only a child at the time, the Islesmen instead inaugurated Ragnall, Gofraid's eldest (albeit illegitimate) son. As the first quarter of the thirteenth century began to wane, contentions between the half-brothers broke out into outright war, and Alan is recorded aiding Ragnall against Amlaíb Dub.

From the perspective of the Scots, the instability in the Isles was almost certainly a cause for concern. Conflict amongst the Islesmen could have led to hostilities overflowing into the Scottish realm, and feuding in the Isles could have been exploited by elements opposed to the Scottish crown. As a result, it is possible that Scots decided to support one half-brother against another, in the expectation that the victor would destroy the power of his rival, thus restoring stability in the region. Of the two, Ragnall appears to have been the most palatable to the Scots, and may have been a key player in Scottish plans to counter the threat of the Meic Uilleim, and their probable Ulster supporters, the Uí Néill.

In about 1225, the Chronicle of Mann records that Alan aided Ragnall in an unsuccessful military expedition in the Hebrides against Amlaíb Dub. Shortly afterwards in about 1225 or 1226, the same source states that an unnamed daughter of Ragnall married Thomas, Alan's illegitimate son. Unfortunately for Ragnall, the marital alliance appears to have cost him the kingship, since the chronicle records that the Manxmen had him removed from power and replaced with Amlaíb Dub. The recorded resentment of the marital alliance may indicate that Alan's son was intended to eventually succeed Ragnall, who was perhaps about sixty years-old at the time. A plan intended to place a Scottish magnate's son on the throne would have been almost certainly encouraged by the Scottish crown, considering its potential to bring stability to the region, and the prospect of expanding Scottish royal authority.

Following his expulsion, Ragnall appears to have gone into exile at Alan's court in Galloway. In 1228, whilst Amlaíb Dub and his chieftains were absent in Hebrides, the chronicle records the invasion of Mann by Ragnall, Alan, and Thomas. The attack appears to have resulted in the complete devastation of the southern half of the island, since the chronicle declares that it was almost reduced to a desert. The chronicle's report that Alan installed bailiffs on Mann, with instructions to collect tribute from the island and send it back to Galloway, may reveal the price that Ragnall had to pay for Alan's support in the affair. Suffering serious setbacks at the hands of his enemies, Amlaíb Dub reached out for English assistance against Ragnall, as evidenced from correspondence dating to the same year, between Henry and Amlaíb Dub, in which the latter alluded to aggression dealt from Alan. Gallovidian successes were short-lived, however, as once Alan left Mann for home, Amlaíb Dub and his forces arrived on the scene, and routed the remaining Gallovidians.

Early in January 1229, Ragnall launched yet another invasion of Mann. Although the chronicle's description of the attack alludes to Gallovidian involvement, as it states that the expedition originated from Galloway, the fact that Ragnall commanded only five ships suggests that this support may have been waning. Weeks later, Ragnall and Amlaíb Dub met in battle on Mann, where the former was finally defeated and slain. The lack of substantial Gallovidan support in Ragnall's final foray may have been due to a flare-up of insurrection in Scotland that required Alan's immediate attention as constable of the realm. According to Bower, a certain Gilla Escoip, who was almost certainly a Meic Uilleim, had burned the castle of Abertarff and sacked Inverness. Alexander's presence at Elgin in June 1228 corroborates Bower's claim that royal forces operated in the north against Gilla Escoip. The campaign itself appears to have been long and arduous, as Bower reports that Gilla Escoip and his two sons were slain in the following year. Alexander appears to have conducted further operations in the north in 1230, about the time that the Meic Uilleim were extirpated once and for all.

Although Alan's marital alliance with Ragnall had likely been welcomed by the Scottish crown, the fact that the two were unable to quickly deal with Amlaíb Dub caused serious repercussions. The Meic Uilleim insurrection of 1228–1230, for instance, may have been a byproduct of the instability prolonged by Alan's involvement in the Isles. Even so, Alan's actions appear to have also led to the end of Irish support for the Meic Uilleim. If he had indeed married Rose in 1229, for instance, this union may well have compelled her father to disassociate Áed Méith from lending support to the Meic Uilleim. Whatever the case, Uí Néill ambitions in the Isles appear to have come to an abrupt end with Áed Méith's death the following year, after-which the latter's kin became embroiled for years in a struggle against the Meic Lochlainn over the kingship of Tír Eoghain.

Escalation and confrontation in the Isles

The death of Alan's ally did not deter Gallovidian interests in the Isles. In fact, it is probable that Alan and certain members of the Meic Somairle—Dubgall and Donnchad, sons of Dubgall mac Somairle—continued to harass the recently inaugurated Amlaíb Dub. According to Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar, reports of open warfare in the Isles reached the court of Hákon Hákonarson, King of Norway, the nominal overlord of the Isles, in the summer of 1229. Specifically, the saga singles out the aforementioned sons of Dubgall mac Somairle as "unfaithful" to the Norwegian king, and several versions of the source describe Alan as the "greatest warrior at that time", possessing a large force of men and ships with which he plundered throughout the Hebrides. Early in 1230, Amlaíb Dub arrived at the king's court, having been forced from the Isles by Alan and his allies.

Several versions of the saga allege that Alan had boasted that it was no harder to sail to Norway than it was to sail from Norway to Scotland, suggesting that Alan thought himself capable of even invading Norway. In fact, this bluster may well have been designed by Amlaíb Dub to direct further Norse animosity at Alan. Whatever the case, the saga reveals that Hákon had begun preparations for a military campaign in the Isles well before Amlaíb Dub's arrival. In fact, the king is stated to have appointed a certain Óspakr as King of the Isles, giving him command of the Norwegian fleet tasked with restoring peace in the region. Within days of Amlaíb Dub's arrival in Norway, Óspakr's twelve-ship fleet set sail for the Isles, gaining another twenty after reaching Orkney. The campaign itself is documented in several sources, such as the Chronicle of Mann, the Chronicle of Lanercost, and the Icelandic annals, with the most detailed source being Hákonar saga Hákonarsonar. Once in the Isles at Islay, the fleet met up with three members of the Meic Somairle, apparently kinsmen of Óspakr, including the aforementioned sons of Dubgall mac Somairle. At about this point, the saga states that the fleet had reached a size of eighty ships, a number which suggests a fighting force of about three thousand men.

Meanwhile, news of the gathering Norse fleet reached Alexander, who appears to have made straight for the western coast, diverting his attention to the now rapidly developing crisis. On 28 May, Alan is recorded in the presence of the king at Ayr, where the Scottish royal forces appear to have assembled. It was probably June when the Norse fleet finally rounded Kintyre, entered the Firth of Clyde, and made landfall on Bute, where Óspakr's forces stormed and captured the castle of Rothesay. The fortress itself was a holding of Walter fitz Alan II, Steward of Scotland, which may well reveal the anxiety felt by the Meic Somairle in the face of the steward's steadily increasing regional influence. Reports that Alan was in the vicinity, at the command of a massive fleet, forced the Norse to withdraw to Kintyre. In fact, the Eirspennill version of the saga numbers Alan's fleet at almost two hundred ships, whilst the Flateyjarbók, Frísbók, and Skálholtsbók versions number it at one hundred and fifty. These totals suggest that Alan commanded a force of two thousand or three thousand men.

It was perhaps following the Norse withdrawal to Kintyre that Óspakr succumbed to wounds suffered on Bute, whereupon command was assumed by Amlaíb Dub. The latter then used the fleet to serve his own needs, diverting it to Mann, where he used it to reinstate himself on the island. There the Norwegians overwintered before returning for home in 1231, and following the death of Ragnall's illegitimate son Gofraid Donn, King of the Isles the same year, Amlaíb Dub regained complete control of the island kingdom. The events of 1230–1231 marked a dramatic end of Alan's ambitions in the Isles. Even though it had not been his intention, Alan's prolonged campaigning against Amlaíb Dub had caused a grave international crisis. In fact, the Norse had not been intent on solely restoring order in the Isles, but had directed their retaliatory campaign squarely at Scottish-held territories, thereby endangering the recent westward advances of the Scottish crown. Although Alan's unexpected appearance in force off Kintyre had overawed the Norse, the Scots had only narrowly averted full-scale war, and as a result, Alan almost certainly incurred Alexander's subsequent displeasure.

Family
Alan was married three times. His first wife appears to have been a daughter of Roger de Lacy, Constable of Chester. It was likely upon this union that Alan gained the English lordship of Kippax as maritagium from his father-in-law. Alan's second marriage, to David's daughter Margaret, is dated to 1209 by the Chronicle of Lanercost and Chronicle of Melrose. The date of Alan's third marriage, to Hugh's daughter Rose, is generally thought to date to 1229, as stated by the Chronicle of Lanercost. Another possible date for this marriage is about a decade earlier. Alan's second marriage, therefore, allied him to the Scottish royal family, and his first and third marriages allied him to the two main branches of the powerful Lacy family—firstly the Pontefract branch, and afterwards the Woebley branch.

Alan had several children from his first two marriages, although only daughters appear to have reached adulthood. One daughter from his first marriage died whilst a Scottish hostage of the English king, her death being reported in June 1213. Helen, another daughter from Alan's first marriage, married Roger de Quincy. Although the date of this union is unknown, it may have taken place before Alan's death, and could well have been the point when her husband came into possession of Kippax. At some point before 1234, Christiana, one of Alan's daughters from his second marriage, married William de Forz. In 1233, Dervorguilla, a younger daughter from Alan's second marriage, married John de Balliol, Lord of Barnard Castle. Alan had a son named Thomas. A product of Alan's second marriage, he was his only known legitimate male offspring. Although the date of this son's death is unknown, he may have lived into in the 1220s. Additionally, Alan had an illegitimate son, also named Thomas.

Death

Thomas, Alan's brother, died in 1231, possibly from injuries suffered in a tournament accident. Alan's death, about three years later in 1234, is recorded by the Annals of Ulster, the Chronicle of Melrose, and the Chronicle of Lanercost—the later specifying the month February. Alan's body was interred at Dundrennan Abbey, a Cistercian religious house founded by his paternal great-grandfather. There amongst the monastic ruins, a particular dilapidated effigy of grey stone is generally identified as his. As the last Gallovidian ruler in the legitimate patrilineal line descended from Fergus, Alan's death brought an abrupt end to about half a century of stable Gallovidian rule under he and his father, and the lack of a legitimate male heir to succeed himself led to a sudden succession crisis.

It is possible that Alan had hoped that his illegitimate son, Thomas, would be able succeed to the lordship. Celtic custom would not have barred the latter from the succession. According to feudal practice, however, Alan's nearest heirs were his three daughters. As it turned out, the Gallovidian succession was quickly seized upon by the Scottish crown. The prospect of Alan's illegitimate son succeeding to the lordship threatened to reignite Gallovdian interests in the Isles, and thereby threatened the welfare of the Scottish realm. On the other hand, the husbands of Alan's daughters were prominent men of Anglo-Norman descent, and the prospect of bringing about the demise of the semi-autonomous lordship, through its division between such eminent Englishmen, was an advantageous opportunity that Alexander could not pass up.

Although it is possible that the people of Galloway regarded Alan's illegitimate son as their rightful lord, the Chronicle of Melrose states that they appealed to Alexander to take the whole lordship into his own hands, suggesting that whilst the Gallovidians were willing to accept that illegitimacy indeed excluded Alan's son from the inheritance, they were unwilling to accept female succession. Whatever the case, Alexander denied the Gallovidian's their request, quickly crushed their subsequent retaliatory uprising, and went ahead with the tripartite partitioning. One of the Scots who played a key part in the king's destruction of the Gallovidian resistance was Ferchar mac in tSagairt, Earl of Ross, a rising star in Alexander's administration, who happened to be Amlaíb Dub's father-in-law.

Following Alan's death, the constableship passed to Roger de Quincy, husband of Alan's eldest surviving daughter, Helen. Alan's Irish lands were not inherited by his daughters. Forty years after his death, these lands are recorded in the hands of the Bissets, although precisely how this came about is uncertain. The succession of the Irish and Gallovidian lands of Alan's brother, Thomas, is also uncertain. In fact, Thomas' lands should have passed to his son, Patrick, had the latter not died on the eve of his inheritance (under suspicious circumstances, apparently at the hands of the Bissets).

Assessment

Throughout his career, Alan appears to have moved seamlessly between the native Gaelic environment of Galloway, and the Frankish cultural environment of the English and Scottish royal courts. In this respect, Alan followed in his father's footsteps, who first appears in records under forms of the native Gaelic name Lochlainn, before adopting forms of the continental Roland. In fact, Alan's own name may also be evidence of Frankish influence on his family. Surviving charters concerning Alan's lordship reveal that his dependants were almost exclusively drawn from the Frankish milieu. Few of these sources concern Galloway specifically, however, and not one concerns the ancestral Gallovidian patrimony. Comparatively more charter evidence survives documenting the holdings of his cousin, Donnchad, who ruled nearby Carrick. In contrast to the acta concerning Alan, these sources reveal that many of Donnchad's dependants were drawn from the native aristocracy, which could be evidence that Alan's lordship in Galloway followed a similar course.

Although it is debatable to what extent the dramatic events of 1230–1231 influenced Alexander's break-up of Galloway, Alan's standing in the king's service diminished after 1231 and starkly contrasted that of the royal steward, Walter fitz Alan. As the lord of Renfrew, North Kyle and Bute, and allied in marriage to the nearby earls of Carrick and Lennox, the steward was the most powerful Scottish magnate in the Clyde region after Alan. Whilst Alan's career declined, the climb of the steward's steward's standing can be gauged with his reception of the office of Justiciar of Scotia and his continued consolidation of Cowal. Alexander, therefore, appears to have turned from Alan to Walter fitz Alan, entrusting the latter with the task of imposing royal authority further west into Argyll.

The sheer scale of the military resources at Alan's disposal was remarkable, as indicated by John's request of one thousand of Alan's best warriors, and by the sheer size of his galley-fleet of 1230–1231. As a native kindred of Gaelic heritage, Alan's family was remarkable for its religious foundations and endowments. Alan himself endowed St Andrew's Priory, in Northampton, where his father was interred. In 1218, Alan founded Tongland Abbey, a Premonstratensian religious house in Galloway, He went on a pilgrimage to Canterbury in 1220, accompanied by Walter fitz Alan, and Robert de Brus, Lord of Annandale. There they observed the translation of the remains of St Thomas of Canterbury on 7 July, marking the martyred saint's jubilee. In fact, Alan's Morville ancestors were closely related to Hugh de Morville, one of the saint's killers, and this relationship may partly account for Alan's pious journey.

title: Alan of Galloway


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Zhiuli Shartava

Zhiuli Shartava (ჟიული შარტავა; March 7, 1944 – September 27, 1993) was a Georgian politician and National Hero who served as the Head of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia and was killed by Abkhaz militants during the ethnic cleansing of Georgians in Abkhazia in 1993.

Biography
Shartava was born on March 7, 1944, in Senaki, Georgian SSR. An engineer by education, he was elected to the Parliament of Georgia in 1992. Shartava chaired the Council of Ministers and the Council of Self-Defence of Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia during the Georgian-Abkhazian War in 1993. When the city of Sukhumi fell to the Abkhazian separatist forces on September 27, 1993, Shartava with other members of the Abkhaz Government (Guram Gabiskiria, Raul Eshba, Alexander Berulava, Mamia Alasania, Sumbat Saakian, Misha Kokaia and others) refused to flee and were captured by the Abkhaz militants. Initially they were promised safety, however Shartava and others from the Council of Ministers were killed by the militants and according to UN report Shartava was tortured. In 2005, American journalist Malcolm Linton displayed his photo materials taken during the war in Abkhazia at the art gallery in Tbilisi, where Shartavas body was identified among the pile of corpses, clearly visible on one of the photographs. On video materials taken during the capture of Sukhumi by the militants, Shartava is carried out from the Government building and physically assaulted, after which he was forced into the van and taken to the outskirts of Sukhumi where he was killed with other Georgian and Abkhaz members of the government and their staff. Shartava's body was handed over to the Georgian side and was buried in the western Georgian city of Senaki. In 1994, Shartava was officially honored as the National Hero of Georgia posthumously in 2004.

title: Zhiuli Shartava


text:
Fraktur (folk art)

Fraktur is a highly artistic and elaborate illuminated folk art created by the Pennsylvania Dutch, named after the Fraktur script associated with it. Most Fraktur were created between 1740 and 1860.

Fraktur drawings were executed in ink and/or watercolors and are found in a wide variety of forms: the Vorschriften (writing samples), the Taufscheine (birth and baptismal certificates), marriage and house blessings, book plates, and floral and figurative scenes. The earlier Fraktur were executed entirely by hand, while printed text became increasingly common in later examples. Common artistic motifs in Fraktur include birds (distelfinks), hearts, and tulips, as well as blackletter (Fraktur) and italic calligraphy.

Many major American museums, including the American Folk Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Winterthur Museum have Fraktur in their collections. Important Fraktur have been sold by major American auction houses and antique dealers for prices in excess of $100,000. The definitive text on Fraktur is widely considered to be The Fraktur-Writings or Illuminated Manuscripts of the Pennsylvania Germans, written by Dr. Donald A. Shelley and published by the Pennsylvania German Society in 1961. In late 2004, the majority of Dr. Shelley's Fraktur collection was sold at public auction at Pook & Pook, Inc. in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, for $913,448.

Notable artists
Notable fraktur artists within the Pennsylvania German community include:
 * Christian Alsdorff
 * Johannes Bard
 * Samuel Bentz
 * Martin Brechall
 * George Peter Deisert
 * George Heinrich Engellhard
 * Johann Adam Eyer
 * Johann Conrad Gilbert
 * Samuel Gottschall
 * Johann Jacob Friedrich Krebs
 * Christian Mertel
 * Daniel Otto
 * Johann Henrich Otto
 * Daniel Peterman
 * Francis Charles Portzline
 * Daniel Schumacher
 * Johannes Ernst Spangenberg
 * Christian Strenge
 * John Van Minian

Other artists of note include Jacob Strickler, from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and Anna Weber, an Ontario resident and one of a few fraktur artists active in Canada. Anonymous artists whose work is recognized include the Cross-Legged Angel Artist, the Ehre Vater Artist, and the Sussel-Washington Artist. Stylistically related work was produced by Ludwig Denig.

title: Fraktur (folk art)


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Jiří Novák

Jiří Novák (born 22 March 1975) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was born in Zlín, Czechoslovakia but resides nowadays in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Career
Novák turned professional in 1993 and won seven singles and 18 doubles titles during his career, winning $7,614,063 in prize money. For six years, he was the highest-ranked male Czech tennis player in the ATP rankings. On October 21, 2002, Novák reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 5. He retired in 2007.

Novák was the first player to face Roger Federer at Wimbledon. In this first-round match at the 1999 tournament, Novák defeated Federer in five sets.

Novák created a tennis school in the Czech Republic and one of his students was the fourteen year old Preet Chandi before she went on to be an adventurer.

Tennis records

 * One of eleven players to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon (1999); the other ten being Yevgeny Kafelnikov (2000), Tim Henman (2001), Mario Ančić (2002), Rafael Nadal (2008), Tomáš Berdych (2010), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2011), Sergiy Stakhovsky (2013), Novak Djokovic (2014, 2015, 2019), Milos Raonic (2016), Kevin Anderson (2018) and Hubert Hurkacz (2021).

title: Jiří Novák


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George I of Georgia

 * There was also a Giorgi I, Catholicos of Kartli who ruled in 677–678.

George I (გიორგი I) (998 or 1002 – 16 August 1027), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 2nd king (mepe) of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1014 until his death in 1027.

George I ascended the throne when he was still too young to equal his father Bagrat III, must first suffer a first defeat against the nobles who imposed on him the return to the independence of Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti. But soon he managed to regain his strength and extended his power in the region, with numerous vassals in Caucasus and sphere of influence in Armenia. However, the Byzantine Empire, with which his father had already experienced the first tensions, proved strong enough to fight in a conflict started by George under the reign of Basil II, a conflict which devastated the entire south of the country to annex the former “Kingdom of the Iberians”, the Tao. Fortunately for his heritage, George, thanks to astute diplomacy (alliance with the Fatimids, etc.) preserved the independence of his country which hardly became vassalized and paid no tribute under his reign.

Early life
George was born in 998 or, according to a later version of the Georgian chronicles, 1002, to King Bagrat III, who had already begun his work of unification of Georgian lands. From this, George is the adopted grandson of the great David III the Kuropalates, true architect of Georgian unification, but also biologically of Gurgen of Iberia, last holder of the distinction of King of the Georgians. From these two fatherhoods, George finds himself the heir of an ancient family of the high Georgian nobility, the Bagrationi dynasty, which reigned over the majority of the Georgian states before 1010.

In 1010, when the king of Kakheti and Hereti Kvirike III was finally defeated and his domains annexed after a two-year war, Georgia found itself finally unified. The father of the young prince thus found himself one of the most powerful monarchs of the Caucasus and in a few years, reduced to vassalage the Shaddadids and, according to the Georgian charters, the Armenian lands, of same as all the Caucasian tribes of North Caucasus. However, Bagrat III died four years later, on May 7, 1014. His only son and crown prince, George, was ascended to the throne.

Loss of Kakheti-Hereti
The new King George I therefore has little experience in political affairs, unlike his father, given his young age. The monarch has not acquired enough knowledge on the complex issue of the nobility but has already reached an age where one can no longer think of a regent (or, at least, of an advisor with too much of influence), if we do not want to end up as a puppet of some lord thinking only of his noble allies. For this reason, George cannot prevent the first crisis of his reign from occurring with the nobility. The latter, representing the old Georgian upper class before unification, decided to attack the most vulnerable region of the kingdom because it had joined it last and in great difficulty: Kakheti.

The aznaurs (lords), described as “perfidious” by the Georgian Chronicles, who lived in good conditions when Kakheti was an independent kingdom and were exiled to western Georgia by King Bagrat III in 1010, revolt against the power of the king and the unity of the country. Returning to their country, they captured and took hostage the local governors (eristavi, also meaning "grand duke") appointed by Georgia. King George I, taken by surprise, could only comply with the requests of the nobility and, in an agreement which cut off Georgia by more than a third of its territory from the first year of George's reign, recognized the independence of Kakheti and frees the former “Chorbishop” Kvirike III, who takes the title of “King of Kakheti-Hereti”. For his part, King George I must remove the title of the "King of Ranis and Kakhetians" from his father's old title, to retain the title of "King of the Abkhazians and Iberians".

However, it cannot be claimed that Kvirike III really considered himself anything other than a Georgian monarch. Indeed, his people, like himself, still depend on the Georgian Orthodox Church, with only an independent de facto bishop sitting in Alaverdi. Against all contrary sources, the Georgian language is still used by the Kakhetians and politically, he later finds himself allied with Georgia against two common enemies: the Alans, living on the other flank of the Greater Caucasus, and the Shaddadids, and this from the reign of the successor of George I, Bagrat IV.

Georgian influence in the Caucasus
When in 1014 Bagrat III died, Georgia can be called "the first power of the Caucasus". Indeed, there are few contenders for this title. In the north, all the nomadic tribes and peoples thinking of forming “countries” have already fallen under the suzerainty of the first sovereign of unified Georgia, even if some (such as the Alans) de facto escape the jurisdiction of Georgia. In the east, as was said above, neither the Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti nor the Shaddadids (which then continued to pay tribute) faced Georgia and, while one was considered ally, the other is truly a vassal. Ultimately, only the kingdom of Armenia, to the south, had the same military power as Georgia.

Gagik I reigned over the Armenian kingdom since 989. Armenian and foreign chronicles qualify him as a strong and powerful king in the region, then in the same way as David III Kuropalates. However, he died almost thirty years later, in 1020, believing to leave definitively powerful domains to his descendants. However, his eldest son and designated successor, Hovhannes-Smbat III, hardly lived up to his father, which aroused the anger of his younger brother Ashot, nicknamed the Valiant. He revolted and, without using too many weapons, managed to carve out a truly small independent kingdom in the north-east of Armenia in 1021. The king of Vaspurakan, Senekerim-Hovhannes, ingeniously decided to pose as a arbitrator of the two brothers to avoid a civil conflict in the region which could subsequently prompt Byzantine Empire to intervene. But again, nothing new is proposed and he now remains the first person in Armenia.

It was then that George I intervened. The king of Georgia replaces Senekerim-Hovhannes and proposes a real solution to the problem. As arbiter, he divided the Armenia of Gagik I and gave the region of Ani to Hovhannes-Smbat III, while Ashot received the lands located between Georgia and the Abbasid Caliphate. However, a simple incident breaks the deal. Aristakes Lastivertsi relates that Ashot was seized with anger when he learned that his brother, to rest on the way to Ani, stopped one night in Chatik, in the domains of the younger brother. Ashot sent a delegation to George I, who decided to come “to his aid”. Immediately, the Georgian monarch went to Ani and, without encountering defense, took the city, plundered and destroyed it. Subsequently, nobles loyal to the legitimate successor of Gagik I changed sides and delivered Hovhannes-Smbat to George, who freed him in exchange for several fortresses and vassalage to Ani. Georgia now finds itself in first position in the Caucasus. However, this is not enough for George. He not only wants a title, but also land. Apparently he has recovered from the loss of East Georgia and is ready to take on a bigger enemy.

War with the Byzantine Empire
George I, still young and proud of his few exploits, decided to rekindle the old tensions between his nation and the Byzantine Empire, which had been experiencing imperialist pressures in this region of the Caucasus since at least the reign of Justinian I (527-565). Moreover, he truly considered himself the successor of the one who tried to unify the Georgian lands, and the loss of Kakheti and Hereti led him to seek new domains in the south-west. This is how he came to think of Tao, the ancient Kingdom of the Iberians and hereditary domain of the first Bagrations, which had been bequeathed by will to Emperor Basil II by David III Kuropalates, as punishment for the latter's support for the rebel Bardas Phokas, and part of which was offered by Byzantine Empire to Bagrat III.

Since the year 1000, Basil II had been at war with the Bulgarians and therefore had little time to deal with Georgia. For this reason, George I invaded the disputed patrimony for the first time in 1015/1016, without receiving a direct military response from the emperor. However, Aristakes Lastivertsi reports an exchange of letters between Basil and the Georgian monarch: "“— Abandon the portion of the inheritance of the curopalate that I had given to your father, and be content to reign in your patrimony. — Of what the prince my father possessed, I will not give a single house to anyone. »" Following this refusal, Basil II intervened directly, despite his difficulties in Bulgaria, but the renewal of the alliance between Georgia and Byzantium's main enemy, the Fatimid Caliphate (against whom the Byzantine emperor had waged war between 992 and 995), repulsed the Greek troops for the first time. However, by 1018, Bulgaria was completely under Byzantine control. The Bulgarian tsar was dethroned and Bulgaria became a province of the Byzantine Empire. A little later, the Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah died and was succeeded by his son Al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah, who was too inexperienced to think about Georgia. George I once again found himself alone in the international arena and Basil II sent all his troops against him. The two armies met on the plains of Basiani, in Tao, but George I retreated, burning the town of Oltisi to throw the Greeks off course, before being caught again at Cola. Not far from there, at the village of Shirimni, the Georgian rearguard was attacked by the Byzantine vanguard, leading to a fierce battle on 11 September 1021, which was won with difficulty by the troops of Basil II, who was himself present at the heart of the battlefield, after the death of the greatest Georgian generals of the time. The Georgian troops left the region in a hurry to take refuge in Samtskhe, but the Byzantines still pursued them and ravaged Javakheti, before setting fire to the town of Artaani.

A game of chase ensued. From Samtskhe, at the sight of the approaching enemy armies, George I retreated to the Trialeti. Once there, he gave the soldiers of Byzantine Empire no time to arrive; in the meantime, his camp was reinforced by soldiers from Kakheti-Hereti and the mountains of the Great Caucasus. Basil II then routed and camped at Artaani for the winter, taking advantage of the period to devastate the region in retaliation. Later, he set up camp on the territory of the empire itself, near Trebizond, where he received the submission of Hovhannes-Smbat III of Armenia, although he was a vassal of Georgia, and where the first attempts at negotiations with Georgia took place. At the same time, Vaspurakan was ceded to Byzantium by King Senekerim-Hovhannes Artsruni, who was threatened by the Seljuks. Georgia found itself surrounded and, as a last resort, intervened in the enemy's internal affairs.

In 1022, the Anatolian strategist Nikephoros Xiphias (a Byzantine general of the time who had distinguished himself in the war against the Bulgars) and his namesake Nikephoros Phokas (nicknamed "Au Col Tors"), son of the former rebel Bardas Phokas, revolted against Emperor Basil II. Officially, the reason for the revolt was that the two Nikephoroses had not been called by Constantinople to lead the Transcaucasian campaign; but in reality, the real instigator of the rebellion was George I of Georgia, who had taken advantage of the jealousy of the Byzantine generals. However, on 11 September 1022, one year to the day after the defeat at Shirmni, the rebels were finally defeated by Basil, who dragged them off to Constantinople. Basil II had understood who was behind the revolt and once again turned against the Georgian monarch, who had to accept a forced peace.

George then sent Prince Zviad Liparitisdze with numerous troops to meet the Byzantine emperor and took the opportunity to capture Tao again, during the winter of 1022-1023. Following the advice of treacherous Georgian lords, George I ordered the Byzantine troops to be attacked. The king joined his army in person in the plain of Basiani and a fierce battle began. The Byzantine part of the enemy army is defeated but the battalions coming from Kievan Rus' continue the fight hard, until they completely defeat the Georgians, several of whose lords and fighters perish. Peace talks resumed and a treaty was finally concluded between Basil II and George I. According to the terms of this treaty, the young prince Bagrat, the king's eldest son and aged 3 year old, was sent to Constantinople as a hostage of the emperor for three years. Georgia must also renounce fourteen fortresses and all claims to the domains of David III Kuropalates. Georgia now finds himself deprived of Tao, Javakheti, Shavsheti, the plains of Basiani and the towns of Artaani and Kola. This first Byzantine-Georgian war thus ended with a Byzantine victory.

End of the reign and death
Two years after the end of the war, Basil II died on December 15, 1025. His brother Constantine VIII succeeded him on the imperial throne, just as the three-year period during which Crown Prince Bagrat was to remain in Constantinople had come to an end. Constantine didn't see it that way, however, and asked the catapan of Iberia, Nikita, to take back the six-year-old Bagrat, who was still on Georgian territory. The catapan Nikita tried to recover the prince by force, but it was already too late: an innumerable Georgian army, ready for battle to defend the future king, stood in front of him.

Later, the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Melchizedek I (c. 1010 - 1033) traveled in Constantinople for what can be considered the first discussions between Byzantium and Georgia since the end of the war. There, as his country's ambassador to the empire, he bought the Tao villages of Zadvareki, Orota and another whose name is unknown. In Shavsheti, Naghvarevi was also taken, as were Tontio in Javakheti, Orotan in the Kola region, Makharovani in Phanavari and Nakalakevi and Berdadzoni in Sacoeti. All these lands were later assigned to the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Two more years later, on August 16, 1027, King George I died while traveling in the Trialeti region, in the village of Mkinvarni (also known as Itsroni or Vironi). He was buried in the Bagrati Cathedral in his capital Kutaisi. A recently discovered grave, presumably robbed in the 19th century, is proposed to have belonged to George I. According to the Georgian Chronicles, the whole country mourned him, for during his reign he had surpassed all his ancestors in every possible quality. His son, then aged seven, was recognized and proclaimed King of Georgia, under the name of Bagrat IV.

Heritage
When King George I died, he left a dubious legacy. On the one hand, he let a third of his territories fall into the hands of the nobles, but diplomatically, he truly outdid his father, turning the man who was supposed to be his closest enemy (Kvirike III of Kakheti) into a loyal ally who helped him in his future campaigns. Diplomatically, he also succeeded in taking control of the internal affairs of his Armenian neighbor, but also made alliances that enabled him to avoid a first invasion by Byzantium. However, the same enemy defied all these dangers to invade southwestern Georgia in 1021-1023. But this did not prevent his distant eighteenth-century descendant Vakhushti Bagrationi from venerating him to the point of praising him in the Georgian Chronicles:

"' King George I died, still young and full of all sorts of qualities. No one among his ancestors had been his equal in energy, heroism, generosity, perfections of body and face, and ability to govern. He died leaving all the peoples of his royal domains in affliction, each one regretting his goodness, his heroism, his bravery.'"

Traces of George I's reign are few and far between. The main one is the construction of the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral on the site of the former wooden church built under the protection of the Iberian rulers Mirian III and his wife Nana, in the 4th century. From the time of George I onwards, almost all future Georgian kings were crowned in the town of Mtskheta, the former administrative and now religious capital of Georgia. Indeed, Svetistskhoveli was the official seat of the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia until 2004, when it was transferred to Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi.

Family
George I married Mariam of Vaspurakan, the youngest daughter of King Senekerim-Hovhannes Artsruni, who had allied himself with the Georgian monarch during the Armenian affair. According to sources, the marriage took place before 1018, when the couple's first child was born. Together, therefore, the couple had four children:
 * Bagrat IV of Georgia (1018 – 24 November 1072), King of Georgia (1027 – 1072).
 * Gurandukht, married Smbat, son of David I Anhoghin.
 * Martha
 * Kata, married Abbas I of Kars.

Subsequently, a second marriage was proposed with Alda, the daughter of an Alanian king[34]. The thesis of this marriage is not certain, as the repudiation of Queen Mariam has never been recorded in Georgian sources, and some Byzantine and Georgian authors refer to Alda as George I's "wife". But the Georgian Chronicles record that Mariam and George were still together in 1026, when their son Bagrat returned from Constantinople. It is therefore more likely that Alda was little more than a concubine of the Georgian king, which is understandable considering the vassalage of the Alans to Georgia. In any case, it is certain that at least one son was born of this marriage:
 * Demetrius of Anakopia

In literature
The most important representation of Giorgi I in historical fiction is probably in Konstantine Gamsakhurdia's magnum opus, The Hand of the Great Master. The author has often noted that he has been deeply interested in George's character and historical figure for a long time, as well as his reign full of turmoil and turbulence. In the story, the king is portrayed as a philanderer who enjoys feasting in low-class taverns with his comrades disguised as random peasants. The author seems to be emphasizing on the king's human, fleshly wishes and desires, despite his position on the social ladder, such as lust, love, loathing and compassion.

title: George I of Georgia


text:
Henry Wanyoike

Henry Wanyoike (born 10 May 1974) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is blind and competes in the Paralympics and in marathon racing.

Early career
Wanyoike is one of the world's fastest runners. While still a child he was already being groomed to join an elite corps of athletes in a country that is known for producing more world-class middle-distance runners over the last twenty years than any other country on earth. He excelled at the 5,000 and 10,000-meter distances.

Wanyoike became almost completely blind after suffering a stroke on May 1, 1995. "I went to bed a normal person, the following day I found myself in darkness." That night he lost 95% of his vision, and lost the rest gradually over the next few years. He was in despair. "I thought my life had come to an end."

His mother Grace brought him to the Kikuyu Eye Clinic (a nearby hospital supported by Christian Blind Mission International (CBMI), recognised as one of the best centers for the visually impaired in East Africa. Petra Verweyen, the chief of the Low Vision Project of the clinic, helped him to find his way back into life and arranged for him to learn to knit pullovers. With gratitude for the help he received at the project he promised himself he would help other blind people and teach them to become self-sufficient, as he had done. After winning his first gold medal in Sydney, Australia in 2000 at the Paralympic games, he has bought knitting machines through prize money and charitable donations from such international personalities as Arnold Schwarzenegger. He now employs other blind Kenyans and teaches them how to knit pullovers.

A blind runner is connected to a guide by a tether on the wrist, which the guide uses to subtly indicate, without breaking stride, when to turn, accelerate or avoid an obstacle, whether on the track or on the road, as in a marathon. Once Henry got used to working with guides, he quickly established himself as a world-class non-sighted runner, earning a spot on the Kenyan national squad for the 5000-meter race at the Sydney Paralympics in 2000. As he ran so quickly another problem emerged, that his guides could not keep up. Nevertheless, he not only won the gold medal but set a Paralympic record too. Now Wanyoike runs with his track guide and childhood friend, Joseph Kibunja.

Unlike most Kenyan athletes, who tend to concentrate on one or two events, Henry is among those very few who have ventured beyond. Over the last five years, he has won gold or silver medals in the marathon, half-marathon, 10 km road race, the 10,000 meters, 5,000 meters and the 1,500 meters. No other Kenyan athlete has ventured so widely and so successfully. His time of 2:31:31 at the Hamburg Marathon in 2005 still stands as the world record for blind runners.

Achievements

 * December 2007: 8th overall at Singapore half-marathon (1:25:15)
 * November 2006: 121st at the New York Marathon (2:40:14) - 38,368 participants
 * April 2006: 5th. at the Bonn half-marathon (1:14:44) - 2,675 participants
 * February 2006: 6th at the Hong Kong half-marathon (1:16:47) - 9,000 participants
 * January 2006: 53rd at the Mumbai Marathon (2:52) - Only 177 of 3,000 participants came to the goal in time (5h)
 * December 2005: Winner of the Singapore half-marathon (1:16:07)
 * October 2005: 3rd at the TUI half-marathon in Palma, Mallorca (1:15:24)
 * September 2005: Winner at the half-marathon in Wetzlar (01:14:41)
 * May 2005: 3rd Place with approx. 4500 participants in the half-marathon in Hannover (1:11:25)
 * April 2005 (24 April): New world record in Hamburg: 2:31:31
 * April 2005 (17 April): New world record in London: 2:32:51
 * September 2004: Athens gold and world record over 5,000 m (15:11.07) and 10,000 m (31:37.25)
 * May 2004: Boston new fable world record time in the Marathon (2:33:20)
 * February 2004: Hong Kong winner and world record in the half marathon (1:10:26)
 * December 2003: Singapore silver in road running over 5,000 meters
 * October 2003: Panafrican Games gold over 1500 meters
 * August 2003: Canada gold over 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters
 * May 2003: Winner in the Boston Marathon (2:49:03)
 * October 2002: Boston Trophy winner over road running of 5,000 meters
 * July 2002: Lille: two gold medals and world records over 5,000 m (15:17.75) and 10,000 m (32:34.31)
 * April 2002: World record and gold in the blind marathon of Japan
 * January 2002: in Cairo: two gold medals over 800 and 1500 meters, silver over 400 meters
 * 2000: Paralympics in Sydney: Winner and the first gold medal over 5,000 meters (15:46.29)

title: Henry Wanyoike


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title: User talk:194.74.199.42


text: User talk:202.92.128.25

title: User talk:202.92.128.25