Ave Maria ('Hail, Mary'), are the first two words of the angel Gabriel's salutation according to Luke I 28, and the beginning of the very common Latin prayer to the Virgin in the Roman Catholic Church. Its lay use was sanctioned at the end of the twelfth century, and a papal edict of 1326 ordains the repetition of the prayer thrice each morning, noon, and evening, the hour being indicated by sound of bells called the Ave Maria or Angelus Domini. The prayers are counted upon the small beads of the rosary, as the Paternosters are upon the large ones. Research Ave Maria
There have been many dates dubbed 'Black Monday', but the first was EasterMonday, 14th April 1360, 'so full dark of mist and hail, and so bitter cold that many men died on their horsebacks with the cold.' The day on which a number of English were slaughtered at a village near Dublin in 1209. The day of panic in 1745 when the Scottish rebels were reported to have arrived at Derby, and the Bank of England paid in sixpences. Research Black Monday
Snow is the frozen moisture of the atmosphere. Snow is comprised of flakes, each a unique six-sided or hexagonal crystal. Snow differs from hail in that hail is frozen rain drops which fall as a shower of ice pellets. Research Snow
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus often called simply Marcus Aurelius was Roman emperor and philosopher. He was born in 121 AD and died in 180 AD. He was the son-in-law, adopted son, and successor of Antoninus Pius. He succeeded to the throne in 161. His name originally was Marcus Annius Verus. He voluntarily shared the government with Lucius Verus, whom Antoninus Pius had also adopted. Brought up and instructed by Plutarch's nephew, Sextus, the orator Herodes Atticus, and Volusius Mecianus, the jurist, he had become acquainted with learned men, and formed a particular love for the Stoic philosophy. A war with Parthia broke out in the year of his accession, and did not terminate until 166.
A confederacy of the northern tribes now threatened Italy, while a frightful pestilence, brought from the East with the army, raged in Rome itself. Both emperors set out in person against the rebellious tribes. In 169 Verus died, and the sole command of the war devolved on Marcus Aurelius, who prosecuted it with the utmost rigour, and nearly exterminated the Marcomanni. His victory over the Quadi in 174 is connected with a famous legend. Dion Cassius tells us that the twelfthlegion of the Roman army was shut up in a defile, and reduced to great straits for want of water, when a body of Christians enrolled in the legion prayed for relief. Not only was rain sent, which enabled the Romans to quench their thirst, but a fierce storm of hail beat upon the enemy, accompanied by thunder and lightning, which so terrified them that a complete victory was obtained, and the legion was ever after called 'The Thundering Legion'. After this victory the Marcomanni, the Quadi, as well as the rest of the barbarians, sued for peace. The sedition of the Syrian governor Avidius Cassius, with whom Faustina, the empress, was in treasonable communication, called off the emperor from his conquests, but before he reached Asia the rebel was assassinated. Aurelius returned to Rome, after visiting Egypt and Greece, but soon new incursions of the Marcomanni compelled him once more to take the field. He defeated the enemy several times, but was taken sick at Sirmium, and died at Vindobona (Vienna) in 180.
His only extant work is the Meditations, written in Greek, and which has been translated into most modern languages. This may be regarded as a manual of practical morality, in which wisdom, gentleness, and benevolence are combined in the most fascinating manner. Many believe it to have been intended for the instruction of his son Commodus. Aurelius was one of the best emperors ever Rome saw, although his philosophy and the magnanimity of his character did not restrain him from the persecution of the Christians, whose religious doctrines he was led to believe - perhaps with good reason - were subversive of good government. Research Aurelius Antoninus
Joseph Hopkinson was an American jurist. He was born in 1770 and died in 1842. He was one of the counsel in the Pennsylvania insurgents' trials, and defended Judge Chase in his impeachment trials. He represented Pennsylvania in the US Congress as a Federalist from 1815 to 1819. He was a US District Judge from 1828 to 1842, and a member of the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention of 1837. He composed 'Hail Columbia'. Research Joseph Hopkinson
In Eastern mythology, Alrinach is the demon who presides over floods and earthquakes, rain and hail. It is she who causes ship wrecks. Research Alrinach
Climatology is the study of climate, its global variations and causes. Climatologists record mean daily, monthly, and annual temperatures and monthly and annual rainfall totals, as well as maximum and minimum values. Other data collected relate to pressure, humidity, sunshine, cold cover, and the frequency of days of frost, snow, hail, thunderstorms, and gales. The main facts are summarised in tables and climatological atlases published by nearly all the national meteorological services of the world. Research Climatology
Hail is a precipitation in the form of pellets of ice, known as hailstones. It is caused by the circulation of moisture in strong convection currents, usually within cumulonimbus clouds. Water droplets freeze as they are carried upwards. As the circulation continues, layers of ice are deposited around the droplets until they become too heavy to be supported by the currents and they fall as a hailstorm. Research Hail
President's March is a popular American national air composed in 1789 by Pfyles,, leader of the orchestra at the John Street Theatre, New York. It was played for the first time on Trenton Bridge as George Washington rode over on his way to be inaugurated. Later Judge Hopkinson set the words of Hail Columbia to the air, and it became immensely popular under that name. Research President's March
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Ave Maria
