Medival Warfare essays

Medival Warfare essays Medieval Warfare Amos 1 Warfare and Punishment during the Middle Ages were very brutal and used a variety of weapons, strategies, and torture devices. Spanning some 1,000 years of conflict, from the fifth to the 15th century, the Middle Ages was a period in which the mounted warrior, armored or otherwise, dominated the battlefield. This was particularly true of the nomadic warrior societies from the European steppes and Central Asia, who had a massive impact on settled society. (Gilbert 40) Many of these warrior societies turned themselves into Middle Age empires, awaiting to be conquered by another. The forces of Byzantium, or the Eastern Roman empire were defending remnants of Romes conquests. Eventually due to fierce pressure from the Turkic peoples, the army faltered and lost some of their territory. The Roman tradition did live on. While the Western half of Romes empire collapsed, the Eastern empire reasserted itself as a military force in the eastern Mediterranean, using combinations of infantry, cavalry, bowmen to defeat their less sophisticated foes (Gilbert 42). A very important element to the strength of the Byzantine empire, lay in its disciplined heavy cavalry- the cataphracts. These cavalry men were equipped with full metal scale armor which extended to cover the horse as well as the rider. Both men and horses were trained very rigorously and were capable of carrying out very complex and difficult objectives on the battlefield (Gilbert 43). These men were not only talented in the use of their lance or sword, but also very skilled bowmen which made them very intimidating adversaries. The role of calvary - and the status of the horse and its rider - was of paramount importance in the religiously inspired territorial expansion of the Arab tribes (Gilbert 46). The Islamic empire not only delivered serious blows to Byz...

Usher Surname Meaning and Family History

Usher Surname Meaning and Family History Usher is an occupational surname for a servant or courtier who served as an officer of a court to introduce strangers, or usher visitors in and out of meetings in large houses or palaces. It may also have originated as an occupational surname for the under-master of a school or who worked as a gatekeeper. The name derives from the Middle English usher,  Old French ussier, or  huissier, from the Late Latin ustiarius, meaning  door or gate.   Surname Origin:  French,  Irish, English Alternate Surname Spellings:  USSHER, USSIER, HUISSIER Famous People with the USHER Surname James Ussher - 17th-century Archbishop of ArmaghRichard Usher - English clown  and theatre designerAndrew Usher, II  - successful Scottish whiskey distillerDavid Usher -  Ã‚  English-born, Canadian singer songwriter and recording artistHezekiah Usher - first known bookseller in the American colonies Where is the USHER Surname Most Common? The Usher  surname, according to surname distribution information from  Forebears, is most prevalent in the United States, where it ranks as the 4,706th  most common last name. Usher is much more common based on population percentage in Belize, however, where it is the 10th most common surname. It is also found in England, Australia and South Africa. WorldNames PublicProfiler  data indicates  that the Usher surname is somewhat more commonly found in the North of England, as well as in the Midlands region of Ireland, the Northern Territory of Australia, Ontario in Canada, and in the Otorohanga, Stratford, Waimakariri and Taupo districts of New Zealand. Genealogy Resources for the Surname USHER Usher Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as an Usher  family crest or coat of arms for the Usher surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. USHER Family Genealogy ForumThis free message board is focused on descendants of Usher ancestors around the world. Search the forum for posts about your Usher ancestors, or join the forum and post a query about your own Usher ancestors. FamilySearch - USHER  GenealogyExplore over 240,000 results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Usher surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. USHER Surname Mailing ListFree mailing list for researchers of the Usher  surname and its variations includes subscription details and a searchable archives of past messages. GeneaNet - Usher RecordsGeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Usher surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. The Usher  Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Usher  surname from the website of Genealogy Today. Ancestry.com: Usher SurnameExplore over 600,000 digitized records and database entries, including census records, passenger lists, military records, land deeds, probates, wills and other records for the Usher surname on the subscription-based website, Ancestry.com. Usher Surname - GeniRead more about the history of the Usher surname and search for Usher family trees on the genealogy website Geni.com.- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back to  Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins

A monkey's uncle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A monkey's uncle - Essay Example John Scopes a school teacher from Tennessee was indicted in violation of law by teaching a evolution theory in the public school. The case promised to be an unprecedented show due to the controversial topic and number of eminent participants. Local town leaders could not but use the publicity in order to help their small town. Jennings Bryan considering the evolution theory improbable worried about the erosion of the young people’s moral health. According to his logic the evolution theory and the low percentage of the believers among youth presented a real threat to the future of the society. Having received the strong support from the worried parents he decided to fight teaching Darwinism at schools. In early 1925 his political campaign resulted in a legislative changes, known as the Butler Act which prohibited the denial of the Biblical account of man’s origin and teaching of the evolution theory in the public schools of Tennessee.1 So it was no surprise when Bryan re ceived a request to join the prosecution team in the Dayton trial on behalf of the World’s Christian Fundamentals Association and local prosecutor Sue Hicks (Linder, â€Å"William Jennings Bryan†). In contrast Clarence Darrow, as a modernist, had opposite views on the religion vs. science issue. He was convinced that religious fundamentalism threatened the entire system of public education by doubting the skepticism of inquiry that moved the progress (Linder, â€Å"Clarence Darrow†). When Darrow found out that Bryans was going to lead the prosecution team, he decided to volunteer to challenge Bryan’s program and him personally. In spite of the reluctant attitude of the American Civil Liberties Union leadership, the defendant John Scopes insisted on the Darrow’s participation as a defender. Though the case resembled with the eternal struggle of the opposite good and evil, it still was a prosecutor and defender matter which strategy was rigidly prepa red by both sides. The Prosecution focused on two things: the prove of the actual violation of the Butler?s Act by John Scopes; and influence on the public and jury by using the religious rhetoric and socializing with the local population. The defense in its turn made a stake on the repealing the indictment on the state and federal constitutional levels seeking the declaration in higher instance of that the prohibiting evolution theory in public schools was unconstitutional. Here should be made a short remark over the constitutional grounds of the issue. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment guaranties the protection of the of the US citizens from the using public fund or establishments to favor any particular religious tradition over another, or non-religion over the religion, or religion over non-religion. Hence, teaching of evolution as a scientific theory does not contradict to the First Amendment. Today the controversy between evolution and creationism remains as an i mportant question in the American society. The status of teaching these topics is under constant debate in legal, religious and political circles. While some religions do not reject the evolution theory several fundamentalist branches of Christianity zealously resist its teaching. However, after normally it is taught in the science courses. Teaching of creationism and intelligent design as science due to its obvious religious background were declared unconstitutional. The core of the current debate lies in the different views on whether evolution/intelligent design