The Coronation Chair is an ancient chair kept in Westminster Abbey, and used at the coronation of the sovereigns of England, all of whom have been crowned in it since Edward I. It is said to have been made for that king, and is architectural in design, having a high, upright, gabled, and crocketed back, with panels of tracery work, and rests on four carved lions. In a space beneath the seat is the famous Coronation Stone, the Scottish Lia Fail or 'Stone of Destiny', carried off to England by Edward I. It is said to have been originally brought from Ireland, and was used in the coronation of the Scottish kings at Scone. It is a block of red sandstone, derived, according to Skene, from the rocks near Scone. There is also a coronation chair for the consort, made for the coronation of Mary II, when she was crowned along with William III. Research Coronation Chair
In the chivalric period of the middle ages, courts of love were courts composed of knights, poets, and ladies, who discussed and gave decisions on subtle questions of love and gallantry. The first of these courts was probably established in Provence about the 12th century. They reached their highest splendour in France, under Charles VI, through the influence of his consortIsabella of Bavaria, whose court was established in 1380. An attempted revival was made under Louis XIV by CardinalRichelieu. Research Courts of Love
The ostrich (Struthio) is a member of the order Struthioniformes. It is the largest bird in existence, with the adult male reaching 245 centimetres in height, the neck being almost one metre in length. The special peculiarity of the bird is the reduction of the toes to two, these corresponding to the third and fourth of the typical foot. The foot and tarsus are both stout; the head is small, with large eyes, and a short, broad and depressed beak. The wing and tail feathers are large and soft and have broad, equal vanes, while the long neck is practically naked. The male ostrich is coloured black, with pure white tail and wing plumes, the female is greyish. The wings are rudimentary and incapable of flight but the strong legs enable it to run fast for long distances. In the wild, ostriches consort in parties of five or six individuals, though larger herds are occasionally seen.
Ostriches feed on grass, leaves, seeds and fruit mingled with animal matter. Ostriches are polygamous, the male consorting usually with from two to four females. They do not build a proper nest, instead all the females associated with a single male deposit their eggs together in a single shallow excavation constructed in the sand, dug by the male.
Ostriches have long been hunted for their feathers, with a devastating reduction in their numbers which led in 1865 to the first ostrich farm being establish in the Cape Colony to produce feathers for commerce. Today ostrich meat is eaten, and ostrich farms are appearing in Britain and elsewhere also. Research Ostrich More pictures of Ostrich
John Bell was a Scottish surgeon. He was born in 1763 at Edinburgh 1763 and died in 1820. After completing his professional education he travelled for a short time in Russia and the north of Europe; and on his return to Edinburgh began to deliver extramural lectures on surgery and midwifery. These lectures, which he delivered between the years 1786 and 1796, were very highly esteemed, and speedily brought him into an extensive practice as a consulting and operating surgeon. His principal works are: The Anatomy of the Human Body, Discourses on the Nature and Cure of Wounds, The Principles of Surgery, and Letters on Professional Character, etc.
John Bell was a Scottish surgeon. He was born in 1763 at Edinburgh 1763 and died in 1820. After completing his professional education he travelled for a short time in Russia and the north of Europe; and on his return to Edinburgh began to deliver extramural lectures on surgery and midwifery. These lectures, which he delivered between the years 1786 and 1796, were very highly esteemed, and speedily brought him into an extensive practice as a consulting and operating surgeon. His principal works are: The Anatomy of the Human Body, Discourses on the Nature and Cure of Wounds, The Principles of Surgery, and Letters on Professional Character, etc.
John Bell was a Scottish surgeon. He was born in 1763 at Edinburgh 1763 and died in 1820. After completing his professional education he travelled for a short time in Russia and the north of Europe; and on his return to Edinburgh began to deliver extramural lectures on surgery and midwifery. These lectures, which he delivered between the years 1786 and 1796, were very highly esteemed, and speedily brought him into an extensive practice as a consulting and operating surgeon. His principal works are: The Anatomy of the Human Body, Discourses on the Nature and Cure of Wounds, The Principles of Surgery, and Letters on Professional Character, etc.
Adelaide was queen of England. She was born in 1792 and died in 1849. The daughter of George, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Meiningen, and wife of the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV, King of England whom she married on the 11th of July, 1818. She had two daughters, who died in infancy. She became queen-consort on William attaining the throne in 1830, and was for a time unpopular from being supposed to be averse to reform. On the death of William she passed into private life, with an allowance of 100,000 pounds a year. Research Adelaide
Queen Alexandra was the daughter of Christian IX of Denmark. She was born in 1844 and died in 1925. She married Edward VII in 1863 when he was the prince of Wales, becoming princess of Wales and on his coronation in 1901 she became consort She was highly popular from the first in Britain, and the feeling never waned, the Queen constantly showing an interest in all benevolent causes. She was the mother of six children, one of whom died in infancy, while the eldest, Edward, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, was cut off in 1892 at the age of twenty-eight. Queen Alexander founded theImperial (Royal) Military Nursing Service in 1902. Research Alexandra
Abbreviations
Research Coronation Chair
