Alphabet (from Alpha, and Beta, the two first letters of the Greek alphabet), is the series of characters used in writing a language, and intended to represent the sounds of which it consists.
The English alphabet, like most of those of modern Europe, is derived directly from the Latin, the Latin from the ancient Greek, and that from the Phoenician, which again is believed to have had its origin in the Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Hebrew alphabet also having the same origin. The names of the letters in Phoenician and Hebrew must have been almost the same, for the Greek names, which, with the letters, were borrowed from the former, differ little from the Hebrew. By means of the names we may trace the process by which the Egyptian characters were transformed into letters by the Phoenicians. Some Egyptian character would, by its form, recall the idea of a house, for example, in Phoenician or Hebrew beth. This character would subsequently come to be used wherever the sound b occurred. Its form might be afterwards simplified, or even completely modified, but the name would still remain, as beth still continues the Hebrew name for b, and beta the Greek. Our letter m, which in Hebrew was called mim, water, has still a considerable resemblance to the zigzag wavy line which had been chosen to represent water, as in the zodiacal symbol for Aquarius.
The letter o, of which the Hebrew name means eye, no doubt originally intended to represent that organ. While the ancient Greek alphabet gave rise to the ordinary Greek alphabet and the Latin, the Greek alphabet of later times furnished elements for the Coptic, the Gothic, and the old Slavic alphabets. The Latin characters are now employed by a great many nations, such as the Italian, the French, the Spanish, the Portuguese, the English, the Dutch, the German, the Hungarian, the Polish, etc, each nation having introduced such modifications or additions as are necessary to express the sound of the language peculiar to it. The Greek alphabet originally possessed only sixteen letters, though the Phoenician had twenty-two.
The original Latin alphabet, as it is found in the oldest inscriptions, consisted of twenty-one letters; namely, the vowels a, e, i, o, and u (v), and the consonants b, c, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, x, z. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet had two characters for the digraph th, which were unfortunately not retained in later English; it had also the character ae. It wanted j, v, y (consonant), and z. The German alphabet consists of the same letters as the English, but the sounds of some of them are different.
Anciently certain characters called Runic were made use of by the Teutonic nations, to which some would attribute an origin independent of the Greek and Latin alphabets. While the alphabets of the west of Europe are derived from the Latin, the Russian, which is very complete, is based on the Greek, with some characters borrowed from the Armenian, etc. Among Asiatic alphabets, the Arabian (ultimately of Phoenician origin) has played a part analogous to that of the Latin in Europe, the conquests of Mohammedanism having imposed it on the Persian, the Turkish, the Hindustani, etc. The Sanskrit or Devanagari alphabet is one of the most remarkable alphabets of the world. As now used it has fourteen characters for the vowels and diphthongs, and thirty-three for the consonants, besides two other symbols. Our alphabet is a very imperfect instrument for what it has to perform, being both defective and redundant. An alphabet is not essential to the writing of a language, since ideograms or symbols may be used instead, as in Chinese.
In the English language there are twenty-six letters, A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y and Z, these twenty-six letters occur in use most disproportionately. At the start of the 20th century the proportion of use was as follows, but this will vary as new words, particularly scientific names are added to the English language:
E - 1000 , T - 770, A - 728, I - 704, S - 680, O - 672, N - 670, H - 540, R - 528, D - 392, L - 360, U - 296, C - 280, M - 272, F - 236, W - 190, Y - 184, P - 168, G - 168, B - 158, V - 120, K - 88, J - 55, Q - 50, X - 46, Z - 22
However, as an initial letter, the proportionate use was very different, with the most popular initial letters being:
S - 1194, C - 937, P - 804, A - 574, T - 571, D - 505, B - 463, M - 439, F - 388, I - 377, E- 340, H - 308, L - 298 and R - 291.
The most commonly occurring end letters are R, S, T, and D. Research Alphabet
Beowulf is a famous English epic. The poem is rich in the accurate and picturesque portrayal of the daily life in England in the 6th century. The only existing manuscript of Beiowulf belongs to the 8th or 9th century, and is in the Cottonian Library (British Museum). From internal evidence it is concluded that the poem in its essentials existed prior to the Anglo-Saxon colonization of Britain, and that it must be regarded either as brought to Britain by the Teutonic invaders, or as an early Anglo-Saxon translation of a Danish legend. From the allusions in it to Christianity, however, it must have received considerable modifications from its original form. It recounts the adventures of the hero Beowulf, especially his delivery of the Danish kingdom from the monster Grendel, and his equally formidable mother, and lastly the slaughter by Beowulf of a fiery dragon and his death from wounds received in the conflict. Research Beowulf
Chivalry is a term which indicates strictly the organization of knighthood as it existed in the middle agea, and in a general sense the spirit and aims which distinguished the knights of those times. The chief characteristics of the chivalric ages were a warlike spirit, a lofty devotion to the female sex, a love of adventure, and an undefinable thirst for glory. The Crusades gave for a time a religious turn to the spirit of chivalry, and various religious orders of knighthoodarose, such as the Knights of St John, the Templars, the Teutonic Knights, etc.
The education of a knight in the days of chivalry was as follows: In his twelfth year he was sent to the court of some baron or noble knight, where he spent his time chiefly in attending on the ladies, and acquiring skill in the use of arms, in riding, etc. When advancing age and experience in the use of arms had qualified the page for war, he became an esquire, or squire. This word is from the Latinscutum, a shield, it being among other offices the squire's business to carry the shield of the knight whom he served. The third and highest rank of chivalry was that of knighthood, which was not conferred before the twenty-first year, except in the case of distinguished birth or great achievements. The individual prepared himself by confessing, fasting, etc; religious rites were performed; and then, after promising to be faithful, to protect ladies and orphans, never to lie nor utter slander, to live in harmony with his equals, etc, he received the accolade, a slight blow on the neck with the flat of the sword from the person who dubbed him a knight. This was often done on the eve of battle, to stimulate the new knight to deeds of valour; or after the combat, to reward signal bravery.
The rules of chivalry only applied to the nobility. While knights on the battle field and in combat enjoyed rules of engagement and a degree of mutual respect - with the notable exception of the Battle of Agincourt where the captured French knights were murdered at the order of king Henry V - peasants, or the ordinary common folk, were slaughtered and raped by knights as though they were not human at all, and certainly not treated in a chivalrous fashion. Research Chivalry
Civil Law (jus civile) among the Romans was a term nearly corresponding to what in modern times is implied by the phrase positive law, that is, the rules of right established by any government. They contradistinguished it from natural law (jus naturale), by which they meant a certain natural order followed by all living beings; also from the general laws of mankind established by the agreement of all nations and governments (jus gentium). With the growth and multiplication of the edicts issued by the praetors (in whose hands was the supreme administration of justice) for the modification and extension of the positive enactments a further distinction became necessary, the whole body of this praetorian law being known by the name of jus honorarium as opposed to the strict formal law (jus civile). The latter, however, included both the private law (jus privatum), which relates to the various legal relations of the different members of the state - the citizens - and the public law (jus publicum), that is, the rules respecting the limits, rights, obligations, etc, of the public authorities.
The final digest of Roman law was made in the 6th century AD under the Emperor Justinian, but at first was only admitted as formally binding in a small part of Italy. After the llth century, in Upper Italy, particularly in the school of Bologna, the body of the Roman law, put together by Justinian, was formed by degrees into a system applicable to the wants of all nations; and on this model the ecclesiastical and Papal decrees were arranged, and to a considerable degree the native laws of the new Teutonic states. From all these the Roman law was distinguished under the name of civil law. In this sense, therefore, civil law means ancient Roman law; and it is contradistinguished from canon law and feudal law, though the feudalcodes of the Lombards have been received into the corpus juris civilis, or body of civil law. As the Roman code exerted the greatest influence on the private law of modern Europe, the expression civil law is also used to embrace all the rules relating to the private rights of citizens. Under the term civil law, therefore, in both Europe and America, is to be understood not only the Roman law, but also the modern private law of the various countries; for example, in Germany, Das gemeine Deutsche Privatrecht, in France the Code civil des Francais or Code Napoleon. In this sense it is chiefly opposed to criminal law, particularly in reference to the administration of justice, which is to be divided into civil justice and criminal justice. Research Civil Law
In Britain, the Civil List was formerly the whole expenses of the government, with the exception of those of the army, navy, and other military departments. It is now limited to the expenses proper to the maintenance of the household of the sovereign. It was once a principle in England, as in other Teutonic nations, that the monarch was to pay all the expenses of government; even including those of the army, from the possessions of the crown, and until the Restoration the whole expenses of the government continued to be defrayed out of the royal revenue. In the reign of William, the Commons adopted the principle of separating the regular and domestic expenses of the king-from the public expenditure, and establishing a systematic and periodical control over the latter. Research Civil List
Compurgation was a mode of defence allowed by the Anglo-Saxon law in England, and common to most of the Teutonic tribes. The accused was permitted to call a certain number (usually twelve) of men, called compurgators, who joined their oaths to his in testimony to his innocence. They were persons taken from the neighbourhood, or otherwise known to the accused, and acted rather in the character of jurymen than that of witnesses, for they swore to their belief, not to what they knew; that is, on the accused making oath of his innocence they swore that they believed he was speaking the truth. Compurgation in the ecclesiastical courts was not abolished until the reign of Elizabeth I. Research Compurgation
The Feudal System is that system by which land (known as a, fief) is held by a vassal on condition of fidelity, that is, in consideration of services to be rendered to his superior or feudal lord. The nature of the feudal system is to be explained by its origin amongst the Germanic tribes.
In the earliest times the relation of superior and vassal did not exist in connection with the ownership of land. Each freeman had his share of the tribe lands, which were held simply on condition of his fulfilling his public duties of attendance at the councils of the mark or township and performing his share of military service in the wars or musters decreed at such councils. The noble had, of course, more land and more influence than the simple freeman, but there need be no tie of vassalage between them. This seems to have been the primitive social organization of the Anglo-Saxons and other German tribes. The lands held by all freemen, whether noble or ordinary freemen, under this system, are said to be allodial, as distinguished from feudal lands, which imply service to a superior lord.
By the close of the 10th century, however, this system had undergone considerable modifications. The masses of Teutonic invaders who overran Gaul and England had necessarily to confer exceptional powers on their leaders; and as they were for long very much in the position of military in an enemy's country, these powers were naturally continued. Thus it was that kings, before unknown to the Anglo-Saxons, make their appearance immediately after their descent upon Britain. It was common for a chief or great man to have a retinue or body-guard composed of valiant youths, who were furnished by the chief with arms and provisions, and who in return devoted themselves to his service. These companions (Anglo-Saxon, Gesithas; German, Gesellen) originally received no pay except their arms, horses, and provisions, and the portion of the spoils which remained after the chieftain had taken his own share. But when conquered lands came to be apportioned and large districts fell into the hands of kings or dukes and their subordinates, they gave certain portions of the territory to their attendants to enjoy for life. These estates were called beneficia or fiefs, because they were only lent to their possessors, to revert after their death to the grantor, who immediately gave them to another of his servants on the same terms.
As the son commonly esteemed it his duty, or was forced by necessity, to devote his arm to the lord in whose service his father had lived, he also received his father's fief; or rather, he was invested with it anew. By the usage of centuries this custom became a right and the fief became hereditary. A fief rendered vacant by the death of the holder was at once taken possession of by his son, on the sole condition of paying homage to the feudal superior. Thus a feudal nobility and a feudal system arose and for a time existed alongside of the old allodial system. But gradually the greater security to be got by putting one's self under the protection of some powerful ruler or leader gave the feudal system the predominance. The free proprietor of landed property, oppressed by powerful neighbours, sought refuge in submitting to some more powerful nobleman, to whom he surrendered his land, receiving it back as a vassal.
Even the inferior nobility found it to be to their advantage to have themselves recognized as feudatories of the nearest duke or earl; and as the royal power steadily advanced, the offices of duke, ealdorman, gerefa, etc., were always bestowed by the king. Thus the crown became the source of all authority and possession in the country. The land which had once been 'folcland,' or the land of the people, became the land of the king, from whom all titles to it were held to be derived. Such at least was the development of feudalism in England, where its centralizing tendencies, especially in the matter of holding land from the crown, were strongly reinforced by the circumstances of the conquest under William The Conqueror. Under him and his immediate successors there was a struggle between royalty and the nobility, which ended in the power of the latter sinking before that of the kings.
On the other hand, in Germany, France, and elsewhere on the Continent, the disintegrating tendencies of feudalism as a system of government had full play. In these countries the weakening of the kingly authority encouraged the great feudal dukes and counts to set up in an almost absolute independence, which in France was afterwards gradually lost as the monarchy grew stronger, but in Germany continued to divide the land down almost to modern times into a number of petty principalities.
Among the chief agencies that overthrew the feudal system were the rise of cities, the change in modes of warfare, and the spread of knowledge and civilization. The spirit of the feudal system, grounded on the prevalence of landed property, was necessarily foreign to cities which owed their origin to industry and personal property, and founded thereon a new sort of power. The growth of this new class, with its wealth and industrial importance, has contributed more than anything else to a social and political development before which the old feudal relations of society have almost totally disappeared. Even yet, however, the laws relating to land still bear the stamp of feudalism in various countries. Research Feudal
Futhork is the name given to the earliest or runic alphabet in use among the Teutonic or Germanic nations of northern Europe, so called from its first six letters, f, u, th, o, r, k. Research Futhork
Honeymoon is traditionally the thirty days following marriage. The term originates from the Teutonic tradition of drinking honey-wine (hydromel) for thirty days after marriage. In modern times the term refers to a short holiday taken by the couple following their marriage. Research Honeymoon
The Teutonic Order was an order of knighthood established in 1198. The order originated in the charity of some German merchants who established a hospital during the Siege of Acre in 1990. The order was formally constituted in 1198 at Jerusalem. Membership was confined to Germans, and it was in Germany that the order carried out most of its work, including the conquest and conversion of Prussia.
Acquiring political importance, the order ruled large areas on the borders of Poland and Russia, owing allegiance to no power except the pope. The headquarters of the order were moved from Acre to Marienburg in 1308. The order was finally defeated by the Poles under Ladislas at Tannenberg in 1410.
Following the defeat of the order, its subjects revolted and in 1440 The PrussianLeague was formed and in 1466 it helped Poland to take west Prussia from the Teutonic Order by the treaty of Thorn. This treaty gave the knights of the Teutonic Order control of East Prussia as vassal of Poland, and half the knights were to be Polish. The Teutonic Order remained in this state for sixty years until in 1526 its grand master Albert of Brandenburg became a protestant and made the territories an hereditary grand duchy. The Teutonic Order continued to exist with its headquarters at Mergentheim until 1809. It was revived as an Austrian order of knighthood in 1834. Research Teutonic Order
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Alphabet
